How-To

How to Install RSAT on Windows 11

By Brian Burgess

Published June 28, 2023

Remote Server Administration Tools (or RSAT) allow you to remotely manage Windows PCs and servers. Learn how to install RSAT on Windows 11 using this guide.

Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) is a vital set of tools that allows for remote management of other Windows PCs and servers.

While there isn’t an easy-to-locate button to install RSAT, you can install it on Windows 11 using the Optional Features section in the Settings menu. You’ll need to use a different method to gain additional features for enhanced server administration, however.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to install RSAT on Windows 11 using the Settings app or via the Windows PowerShell terminal.

How to Install RSAT on Windows 11

If you want to install RSAT on your Windows PC, the best way to do it is to use the Settings menu.

Install RSAT on Windows 11:

1. Press the Windows key + I keyboard shortcut to launch the Settings menu.
2. Click Apps from the left column and select the Optional features option on the right.
3. Click the View features button next to the Add an optional feature option.
4. Type RSAT in the search field at the top of the following window, select all features you want to add, and click the Next button.
5. Click the Install button.
6. You can monitor the progress of the component installation under the Recent actions section.

Note that it can take several minutes for the installation to complete. Once the RSAT components are installed, close out of Settings, and restart Windows 11.

Verify Your RSAT Installation

To verify the RSAT features and their state, you can execute a command to view that information. This provides a simple way to know if there’s an RSAT component that’s missing that you’ll need to install or reinstall.

For instance, if you’re looking for tools to manage a server, you may need to install additional components to do this.

To verify your current RSAT installation:

1. Press the Windows key, type PowerShell, and click the Run as Administrator option.
2. Type (or copy and paste) the following command in the Windows Terminal and press Enter:

   Get-WindowsCapability -Name RSAT* -Online | Select-Object -Property DisplayName, State

3. A list of all RSAT features and their state will be listed for review.
4. Another easy way to check what’s been installed or uninstalled is from the Optional features history section in Settings.

How to Install All RSAT Components on Windows 11

If you know you want to install all RSAT components, you can do it easily by running a command from Windows Terminal or Windows PowerShell.

This will unlock functionality to control servers, for instance.

To install RSAT using PowerShell on Windows 11:

1. Open a new Windows Terminal or PowerShell window as an administrator on your PC.
2. When the Terminal launches, enter the following command and press Enter:

   Get-WindowsCapability -Name RSAT* -Online | Add-WindowsCapability -Online

   

3. The process will take several minutes—you’ll see a progress bar while each component is installed.
4. To monitor installation progress, you can also open Settings to the Optional features > Recent actions section.

How to Uninstall RSAT on Windows 11

If you no longer need to use RSAT, you can uninstall it via the Optional features menu in Windows Settings.

To uninstall RSAT on Windows 11:

1. Press Windows key + I or right-click the Start menu and press Settings to open the Settings menu.
2. In Settings, select Apps from the left column and click Optional features on the right.
3. On the right, scroll down to the Installed features section and type RSAT in the search field to bring up the list of installed components.
4. Click the dropdown icon next to the component you want to remove and click the Uninstall button.

Remote Management Made Easier on Windows 11

When managing remote servers, you’ll want all the available tools you can get. Now, provided you’re running Windows 11 Pro, Education, or Enterprise editions, the RSAT tools are built-in, and you only need to enable them.

As an administrator, there are other Windows 11 features you might be interested in. For example, you can make Windows 11 apps always run as admin. You can run File Explorer as an administrator if you want elevated privileges to change system files significantly.

If you execute commands from the Run dialog, you can also make the Run box run commands as admin instead.