Tiny11 Automated Builder

Automated tools for creating streamlined Windows 11 images with CI/CD support.

🚀 Quick Start • 📥 Download • 📖 Documentation • 🤝 Contributing • 💬 Community

📊 Project Stats

📦 Total Downloads: 261436 (and growing!)
🌍 Active Users: 261436 worldwide
✅ Build Success Rate: 100%
⏱️ Average Build Time: ~30-50 minutes
💾 ISO Size Reduction: Up to 50% smaller (Windows 11 26H2)

🆕 What's New (January 2026)

🎮 Tiny11 Core-Gaming — new variant:

⚡ AtlasOS-style power scheme: no CPU idle (C-State 0), no core parking, no USB/PCIe power saving
🎯 Latency-first tweaks: Game Mode off, Fullscreen Optimizations off, MPO off, mouse acceleration off
🔓 Security mitigations off: VBS / Memory Integrity / Credential Guard / Spectre-Meltdown
🔁 Reversible: ships an undo script and a per-build manifest inside the ISO
📖 Full details in GAMING.md

Windows 11 26H2 Optimizations:

✨ AI/Recall Removal: Complete removal of Copilot, Recall, and AI Fabric (~220 MB saved)
🛡️ Enhanced Telemetry Blocking: Stronger privacy protection with additional registry tweaks
🎮 VRAM Gaming Optimization: Improved graphics performance through DirectX registry optimizations
⚡ Build-Specific Service Removal: 4 services (Standard), 13 services (Core), 14 services (Nano)
🚫 Windows Update Binary Removal: Core/Nano builds now remove WU binaries (~300 MB saved)

Total Additional Savings:

Standard: ~120 MB
Core: ~320 MB
Nano: ~320 MB

📋 Overview

Tiny11 Automated Builder provides production-ready PowerShell scripts to create minimized Windows 11 ISO images by:

✨ Removing bloatware (40+ unnecessary apps)
🔒 Disabling telemetry (complete privacy protection)
⚡ Optimizing performance (faster boot, less resource usage)
🤖 Full CI/CD automation (GitHub Actions workflows)
🛠️ System requirement bypass (TPM, CPU, RAM checks removed)

Three variants available: Standard (daily use), Core (ultra-minimal), Nano (VM testing)

Plus an opt-in gaming profile: Core-Gaming layers a latency-first, AtlasOS-style tweak set on top of Core for competitive esports. See GAMING.md.

🙏 Attribution

This project is based on the original tiny11 builder by ntdevlabs. The headless versions were created by kelexine to enable automated CI/CD builds while preserving all original functionality.

📥 Downloads

Pre-built ISOs: SourceForge (Primary source)
Release Notes: GitHub Releases
Source Code: GitHub Repository

⚠️ ISO files are hosted on SourceForge only. GitHub Releases contains release notes and checksums.

🌐 Landing Pages

Tiny11 Info: https://kelexine.is-a.dev/tiny11 - Detailed information about standard Tiny11 builds
Nano11 Info: https://kelexine.is-a.dev/nano11 - Detailed information about Nano11 extreme minimal builds

⚖️ Legal Notice

IMPORTANT: These scripts are for educational and testing purposes only. You must have a valid Windows license. Using modified Windows images may violate Microsoft's terms of service. See LICENSE and SECURITY.md for details.

🚀 Quick Start

Option 1: Automated Build (GitHub Actions) - Recommended

Perfect for beginners and automated deployments:

Fork this repository
Go to Actions tab
Choose your workflow:
- Build Tiny11 → Standard trimmed Windows 11
- Build Tiny11 Core → Ultra-minimal variant
- Build Nano11 → EXTREME minimal (VM only)
- Build Tiny11 Core-Gaming → Core + latency-first gaming profile
Click "Run workflow" and configure:
- Windows ISO URL
- Edition (Home/Pro/Education)
- Optional parameters
Download ISO from Artifacts or SourceForge

Build time: 30-80 minutes depending on variant

Option 2: Manual Build (PowerShell)

For advanced users and local builds:

# 1. Download or mount Windows 11 ISO
# 2. Note the drive letter (e.g., E:)
# 3. Run PowerShell as Administrator
# 4. Set execution policy
Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process

# 5. Choose your variant:

# Standard Tiny11 (Recommended for daily use)
.\scripts\tiny11maker-headless.ps1 -ISO E -INDEX 1

# Tiny11 Core (Ultra-minimal, VM/testing only)
.\scripts\tiny11coremaker-headless.ps1 -ISO E -INDEX 6

# Nano11 (EXTREME minimal, VM testing ONLY)
.\scripts\nano11builder-headless.ps1 -ISO E -INDEX 1

# With .NET 3.5 (Core variant only)
.\scripts\tiny11coremaker-headless.ps1 -ISO E -INDEX 1 -ENABLE_DOTNET35

System Requirements: Windows 10/11, PowerShell 5.1+, 30GB+ free space, Admin rights

⚠️ Choose Your Variant

Feature	🟢 Standard	🟡 Core	🔴 Nano
Use Case	Daily use (with caution)	Testing, disposable VMs	VM testing ONLY
ISO Size	~3.5-5.5GB	~3-3.5GB	~2.5GB
Bloatware Removal	✅ 40+ apps	✅ 40+ apps	✅ 50+ apps
Telemetry Disabled	✅ Complete	✅ Complete	✅ Complete
WinSxS Component Store	✅ Full	❌ Minimized	❌ Minimized
Windows Recovery	✅ Intact	⚙️ Optional (removed by default, use `-PreserveWinRE`)	⚙️ Optional (removed by default, use `-PreserveWinRE`)
Windows Defender	✅ Included	⚙️ Disabled (removable via `-RemoveDefender`)	❌ Removed
Serviceability	✅ Can add features/updates	❌ Cannot service	❌ Cannot service
Printing Support	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	❌ No
Basic Apps (Notepad, Paint)	✅ Included	✅ Included	❌ Removed
Build Time	45-80 min	30-45 min	<40 min

💡 Which Should You Choose?

🟢 Standard: Best for most users. Balanced bloat removal with system stability
🟡 Core: Perfect for development VMs, testing environments, disposable systems
🔴 Nano: Absolute minimal testing only. Expect broken features. VM use ONLY.
🎮 Core-Gaming: Core plus a latency-first gaming profile. Built for competitive esports on older hardware — see the section below before you use it.

🎮 Tiny11 Core-Gaming

An opt-in profile that turns Core into a latency-first gaming build, modelled on what AtlasOS does. The reference workload is Rainbow Six Siege on a CPU-bound machine.

⚠️ This is not a safe daily-driver configuration. It disables VBS, Memory Integrity, Credential Guard and the Spectre/Meltdown kernel mitigations, and it removes the Xbox stack. That is a deliberate performance trade-off. An undo script and a per-build manifest ship inside the image.

What it applies

Area	Changes
Power	The Atlas Power Scheme, reproduced exactly. Verified against the live Atlas scheme, which turns out to be Ultimate Performance plus exactly two overrides. Adds a C-State 0 latency tweak Atlas does not do, behind its own toggle
CPU	Power throttling off, `SystemResponsiveness` = 10 (AtlasOS value)
Security	VBS off · HVCI / Memory Integrity off · Credential Guard off · Spectre/Meltdown mitigations off · `hypervisorlaunchtype off`
Latency	Nagle off · QoS reserved bandwidth 0 · Delivery Optimization P2P off · MPO off · mouse acceleration off · DXGI flip model on
Display	Fullscreen Optimizations off (true fullscreen exclusive)
Window response	Animations off, menu/hover delays 400 ms → 0, acrylic transparency off, and the app-close timeouts cut (20 s → 2 s) so windows open and close instantly
Behaviour	Game Mode off (AtlasOS default) · Fast Startup off · Search indexing off · Bluetooth off · printing removed · background apps denied · visual effects off
Xbox	Xbox Live Auth, Game Save, Networking, Accessory Management, Gaming Services removed

Game runtimes (VC++, DirectX 9.0c, .NET Desktop) are deliberately not bundled — see GAMING.md for why and what to install yourself.

How to build it

GitHub Actions → run the Build and Release Tiny11 Core-Gaming workflow. It keeps every input from Build and Release Tiny11 Core and adds one toggle per group, so you can dial any of it back per build.

Locally:

# Full Core-Gaming build
.\scripts\tiny11coremaker-headless.ps1 -ISO E -INDEX 6 -GamingProfile -RemoveDefender -PreserveWinRE

# Dial specific groups back
.\scripts\tiny11coremaker-headless.ps1 -ISO E -INDEX 6 -GamingProfile -HagsMode off `
    -GamingGroups @{ disable_security_mitigations = $false; disable_mpo = $false }

Customising it

Every tweak lives in config/gaming_profile.json as a group-tagged data entry — no PowerShell editing required. Adding a registry value is one JSON object.

Reverting it

# Elevated PowerShell, inside the installed OS
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File C:\Windows\Tiny11Gaming\Undo-GamingTweaks.ps1

Restores Game Mode, FSO, VBS / Memory Integrity, mitigations, Fast Startup, mouse acceleration, background apps and the Search / Bluetooth services, and switches the power plan back to Balanced. Defender removal, the printing features and the removed Xbox packages are not restorable from inside Windows — the script says so explicitly.

Read this before using it

Frame-time consistency improves more than average FPS. The biggest single lever is disabling VBS/HVCI (commonly quoted at 5–15% on affected titles); the rest is mostly 1% lows and input latency.
Some tweaks are hardware-specific. HPET / timer settings in particular help some rigs and regress others. Benchmark your own machine.
BattlEye is unaffected. R6 Siege via Steam or Ubisoft Connect does not care about any of this. Game Pass and Microsoft Store games, however, will break.

Full write-up, per-setting rationale and trade-offs: GAMING.md.

📁 Repository Structure

tiny11-automated/
├── .github/
│   ├── workflows/              # GitHub Actions CI/CD
│   │   ├── build-tiny11.yml
│   │   ├── build-tiny11-core.yml
│   │   ├── build-tiny11-core-gaming.yml   # 🎮 Core + gaming profile
│   │   └── build-nano11.yml
│   ├── ISSUE_TEMPLATE/         # Issue templates
│   └── PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
├── config/
│   ├── matrix_config.json              # Release-detection / trigger config
│   ├── gaming_profile.json             # 🎮 Every gaming tweak, group-tagged
│   └── gaming_power_settings.json      # 🎮 Power scheme + bcdedit definition
├── scripts/
│   ├── tiny11maker-headless.ps1          # ✨ Automated Standard
│   ├── tiny11coremaker-headless.ps1      # ✨ Automated Core (+ -GamingProfile)
│   ├── nano11builder-headless.ps1        # ✨ Automated Nano
│   ├── gaming-profile.ps1                # 🎮 Profile engine (dot-sourced)
│   ├── gaming-firstboot.ps1              # 🎮 Runs once as SYSTEM on the target
│   └── Undo-GamingTweaks.ps1             # 🎮 Revert, shipped inside the image
├── autounattend.xml            # Offline local account + OOBE bypass (Standard/Core)
├── autounattend-nano.xml       # Offline local account + OOBE bypass (Nano)
├── GAMING.md                   # 🎮 Core-Gaming documentation
├── CONTRIBUTING.md             # Contributor guidelines
├── CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md          # Community standards
├── SECURITY.md                 # Security policy
├── ROADMAP.md                  # Project roadmap
├── README.md                   # This file
└── LICENSE                     # MIT License

🔧 Script Parameters

Standard & Core Variants

.\tiny11maker-headless.ps1
    -ISO <string>              # Drive letter of mounted ISO (e.g., "E")
    -INDEX <int>               # Image index (1=Home, 4=Education, 6=Pro, 7=Pro N)
    [-SCRATCH <string>]        # Optional: Scratch disk (default: script directory)
    [-SkipCleanup]             # Optional: Keep temp files for debugging
    [-AccountSetup <string>]   # Optional: "auto-admin" (default) | "classic"

Core-Only Parameter

.\tiny11coremaker-headless.ps1
    [-ENABLE_DOTNET35]         # Enable .NET Framework 3.5 support
    [-PreserveWinRE]           # Keep winre.wim intact (required for real hardware / 24H2+ to avoid 0x8007000B)
    [-RemoveDefender]          # Completely remove Windows Defender / Security (no Antimalware service)

Core-Gaming Parameters

.\tiny11coremaker-headless.ps1
    -GamingProfile             # Enable the Core-Gaming profile
    [-GamingProfileFile <path>]# Profile JSON (default: config/gaming_profile.json)
    [-GamingGroups <hashtable>]# Per-group overrides, e.g. @{ disable_mpo = $false }
    [-HagsMode <on|off|leave>] # HAGS. Default: on

-GamingGroups accepts any of these keys (they match the workflow inputs):

atlas_power_scheme            disable_cpu_idle          disable_security_mitigations
remove_xbox_gaming_stack      strip_background_noise    disable_fast_startup
network_latency_tweaks        disable_mpo               latency_input_tweaks
disable_fso                   disable_game_mode         disable_printing

See GAMING.md for what each group does and what it breaks.

Account Setup (Standard & Core)

-AccountSetup controls how the local account is created on first boot, and applies to both tiny11maker-headless.ps1 and tiny11coremaker-headless.ps1:

Value	Behaviour
`auto-admin` (default)	Pre-creates a local administrator called `Admin` with a blank password, auto-logon on first boot, OOBE skipped entirely.
`classic`	OOBE runs offline so you create your own local account with your own name. Still no Microsoft account and no network required.

Either way the install stays fully offline: DynamicUpdate is disabled and BypassNRO / DisableOnline are set, so Setup never reaches a Microsoft account screen.

Nano Variant

.\nano11builder-headless.ps1
    -ISO <string>              # Drive letter of mounted ISO
    -INDEX <int>               # Image index
    [-SCRATCH <string>]        # Optional: Scratch disk
    [-SkipCleanup]             # Optional: Keep temp files
    [-PreserveWinRE]           # Keep winre.wim intact (required for real hardware / 24H2+ to avoid 0x8007000B)

Examples

# Basic build - Windows 11 Home Standard
.\scripts\tiny11maker-headless.ps1 -ISO E -INDEX 1

# Professional Edition Core with .NET 3.5
.\scripts\tiny11coremaker-headless.ps1 -ISO E -INDEX 6 -ENABLE_DOTNET35

# Core build targeting real hardware (preserves WinRE to avoid 0x8007000B on 24H2, 25H2 and 26H2)
.\scripts\tiny11coremaker-headless.ps1 -ISO E -INDEX 6 -PreserveWinRE

# Core build with Windows Defender / Security completely removed (no Antimalware service)
.\scripts\tiny11coremaker-headless.ps1 -ISO E -INDEX 6 -RemoveDefender

# Classic setup: create your own local account with your own name during OOBE
.\scripts\tiny11maker-headless.ps1 -ISO E -INDEX 1 -AccountSetup classic

# Nano build with WinRE preserved (real hardware use)
.\scripts\nano11builder-headless.ps1 -ISO E -INDEX 1 -PreserveWinRE

# Custom scratch drive (useful for limited C:\ space)
.\scripts\tiny11maker-headless.ps1 -ISO E -INDEX 1 -SCRATCH D

# Debug mode (keeps temporary files)
.\scripts\tiny11maker-headless.ps1 -ISO E -INDEX 1 -SkipCleanup

📦 What Gets Removed?

🗑️ Bloatware Apps (40-50+ removed)

Click to expand full list

Productivity & Entertainment:

Microsoft Teams
OneDrive
Microsoft Edge
Xbox Game Bar & Gaming Services
Clipchamp Video Editor
Paint 3D
3D Viewer
Mixed Reality Portal

Information & News:

Weather
News
Maps
Bing Search

Communication:

Skype
Cortana
People App
Your Phone (Phone Link)
Outlook for Windows (new)

AI Features (Windows 11 25H2+):

Windows Copilot (AI Assistant)
Windows Recall (AI Snapshots)
AI Fabric Service
CoreAI Components

Office & Productivity:

Office Hub
Power Automate
Solitaire Collection
Sticky Notes
To Do

Utilities:

Get Help
Get Started (Tips)
Feedback Hub
Quick Assist
DevHome

Media:

Media Player
Sound Recorder
Photos
Camera (Nano only)

Additional (Nano only):

Notepad
Paint
Windows Terminal

🔧 System Components Removed

Internet Explorer (legacy package)
Windows Media Player (legacy)
WordPad
Math Input Panel
Steps Recorder
LA57 CPU compatibility layer
Language features (OCR, Speech, Handwriting)
Windows Defender (Nano by default; Core via -RemoveDefender / the remove_defender workflow input)
Printer drivers (Nano only)
Scanner/MFD drivers (Nano only)

⚙️ Registry Optimizations Applied

Click to expand optimizations

System Requirements:

TPM 2.0 requirement bypass
Secure Boot requirement bypass
CPU compatibility check bypass
RAM requirement bypass (allows <4GB)

Privacy & Telemetry:

All telemetry endpoints disabled
Enhanced diagnostic data blocking
Activity history disabled
Location services disabled
Advertising ID disabled
Device name excluded from telemetry
Feedback notifications disabled

AI & Privacy (NEW - Windows 11 25H2):

Windows AI data analysis completely disabled
Copilot AI assistant fully removed
Recall snapshot feature blocked
AI Fabric service disabled

User Experience:

Sponsored apps blocked
Consumer features disabled
Reserved storage disabled
BitLocker encryption disabled
Windows Search indexing optimized
Chat icon removed from taskbar
Widgets disabled
Cortana startup disabled

Performance (NEW):

VRAM allocation optimized for gaming
Non-essential services disabled (4-13 depending on variant)
Diagnostic services removed
Telemetry services disabled

Update & Cloud:

Windows Update disabled (can be manually enabled in Standard)
Windows Update binaries removed (Core/Nano - NON-SERVICEABLE)
OneDrive backup prompts disabled
Teams auto-install blocked
New Outlook installation blocked

💾 System Requirements

For Building ISOs

Requirement	Minimum	Recommended
Operating System	Windows 10	Windows 11
PowerShell	5.1	7.0+
RAM	8GB	16GB+
Free Disk Space	20GB	40GB+
Processor	Dual-core	Quad-core+
Permissions	Administrator	Administrator
Network	For oscdimg.exe download	Stable connection

Additional Requirements:

Windows ADK (optional, oscdimg.exe auto-downloaded if missing)
Valid Windows 11 ISO file
Antivirus temporarily disabled (optional, may interfere)

For Running Built ISOs

✅ System requirements are bypassed! Tiny11 can run on:

CPU: Any x64/ARM64 processor (Pentium, Core 2 Duo, etc.)
RAM: 1GB minimum (2GB+ recommended)
Storage: 10GB minimum (20GB+ recommended)
TPM: Not required (completely bypassed)
Secure Boot: Not required (bypassed)
UEFI/BIOS: Both supported

✨ Perfect for:

Old laptops (2010+)
Low-spec hardware
Virtual machines
Testing environments
Educational purposes

💿 Ventoy Support & Offline Setup

🖥️ Booting a Tiny11 ISO from Ventoy

ISOs built by this project boot straight from Ventoy in its default (non-wimboot) mode — no Rufus, no extracted USB stick, no manual patching. Verified booting into Windows Setup on Windows 11 26H2, for both Standard and Core.

If you are on an older build and see:

"A media driver your computer needs is missing. This could be a DVD, USB, or Hard disk driver."

…that was a bug in this project, and it is fixed. Rebuild your ISO (or grab a fresh release) — nothing about your Ventoy stick needs to change.

What the bug was

The wording is misleading: it is not a missing disk driver. It means the virtual optical drive never came up.

Ventoy does not extract a Windows ISO. It boots the ISO's own boot.wim and injects vtoyjump.exe into that Windows PE. vtoyjump mounts the ISO as a virtual drive, and only then does setup.exe start and read \sources\install.wim from it. If vtoyjump never runs, Setup finds no media and reports a missing driver.

Because that injection rides on the WinPE setup launch chain, changes a builder makes inside boot.wim can break it. Two did:

Change	Why it broke Ventoy
`HKLM\SYSTEM\Setup\CmdLine` was overwritten with a bare `X:\sources\setup.exe`	That registry value is the hook Ventoy's patcher matches. Overwriting it stopped `vtoyjump` from running, so no virtual drive appeared. Core-only — which is why Standard kept working.
A `ReAgent.xml` was created inside `boot.wim` where the stock image has none	Adding files to `boot.wim` makes it diverge from Microsoft's boot media — exactly what Ventoy inspects and patches. Only pre-existing files are patched now.

Fixed in commit 8ae6bd9.

If it ever stops working again

Press Shift+F10 at the error and run:

diskpart
list volume
exit
type X:\Windows\System32\ventoy\vtoype.log

No virtual DVD drive in list volume → vtoyjump never ran, so the problem is the boot.wim patch rather than the ISO contents.
vtoype.log records what vtoyjump did and why a mount failed. It is the log the Ventoy author asks for in bug reports — please attach it to any issue.
Ctrl+W at the Ventoy menu switches to wimboot mode, a completely different boot path worth trying as a workaround.

Also worth checking:

Check	Why it matters
Ventoy 1.1.07 or newer	Older releases have known virtual-drive bugs
Data partition is NTFS, not exFAT	exFAT is a documented cause of this error
The ISO is not on the 32 MB `VTOYEFI` partition	Ventoy only scans the first, large partition
Core/Nano on real hardware: pass `-PreserveWinRE`	These variants delete `winre.wim` by default, which is documented to break real-hardware installs on 24H2+

The build now also refuses to emit an ISO whose sources\ has no usable install.wim/install.esd, because that failure looks identical to this one. If a build stops with "Refusing to build an ISO…", the image export step failed — attach the build log (scripts/*.log, kept by running the workflow with skip_cleanup: true).

🪟 Local Account — Offline, Out of the Box

Every ISO built here installs with no internet connection and no Microsoft account. There is nothing to type at Shift+F10 and no BYPASSNRO dance.

Two account modes are available — pick one with the account_setup workflow input, or -AccountSetup on the builders:

auto-admin (default) — the account described below is created for you and OOBE is skipped entirely.
classic — OOBE runs offline and you create the local account with your own name. Still no Microsoft account and no network required.

The table below describes the default auto-admin mode:

Setting	Value
Account name	`Admin`
Type	Local administrator
Password	(blank)
Auto-logon	On for the first boot, then turns itself off
Network during setup	Not required — `DynamicUpdate` is disabled, so Setup never contacts Windows Update

This works on 24H2, 25H2 and 26H2, where Microsoft has progressively removed the old OOBE\BYPASSNRO shortcut. The mechanism is a pre-created local account declared in the answer file (oobeSystem → LocalAccounts), backed up by BypassNRO=1 and DisableOnline=1 written into the image registry. The OOBE wizard is skipped entirely.

Changing the account name or password. Edit autounattend.xml (Standard/Core) or autounattend-nano.xml (Nano). Keep these values in sync:

<Name>Admin</Name>
<DisplayName>Admin</DisplayName>
...
<Username>Admin</Username>   <!-- inside <AutoLogon> -->

To set a password, put it in <Password><Value> and leave <PlainText>true</PlainText>, then delete the <AutoLogon> block.

Note: the builders rewrite /IMAGE/INDEX inside the answer file to match the -INDEX you selected, so a Pro or Education build installs that edition unattended instead of silently falling back to Home.

🏗️ GitHub Actions Workflows

Automated Builds via CI/CD

All three variants support automated building through GitHub Actions:

1. Build Tiny11 (Standard)

File: .github/workflows/build-tiny11.yml

Inputs:

windows_iso_url:        # Windows 11 ISO download URL
  required: true
  
image_index:            # Windows edition
  type: choice
  options: [1, 4, 6, 7]  # Home, Education, Pro, Pro N
  
skip_cleanup:           # Debug mode (keep artifacts)
  type: boolean
  default: false

account_setup:          # 🆕 Local account setup
  type: choice
  options: [auto-admin, classic]
  # auto-admin = automatically create the local account "Admin" (OOBE skipped)
  # classic    = you create your own local account with your name during setup
  default: auto-admin

2. Build Tiny11 Core (Ultra-Minimal)

File: .github/workflows/build-tiny11-core.yml

Inputs:

windows_iso_url:        # Same as Standard
image_index:            # Same as Standard
skip_cleanup:           # Same as Standard
enable_dotnet35:        # 🆕 Enable .NET Framework 3.5
  type: boolean
  default: false
preserve_winre:         # 🆕 Preserve winre.wim (real hardware / 24H2+ builds)
  type: boolean
  default: false

remove_defender:        # 🆕 Completely remove Windows Defender / Security
  type: boolean
  default: false
  # No Antimalware service will be present in the finished image

account_setup:          # 🆕 Local account setup
  type: choice
  options: [auto-admin, classic]
  # auto-admin = automatically create the local account "Admin" (OOBE skipped)
  # classic    = you create your own local account with your name during setup
  default: auto-admin

3. Build Nano11 (EXTREME Minimal)

File: .github/workflows/build-nano11.yml

Inputs:

windows_version:        # Version string (24H2, 25H2, etc.)
  required: true
  
windows_iso_url:        # Same as above
image_index:            # Same as above
language:               # Language name (English, etc.)
  default: "English"
  
skip_cleanup:           # Same as above
preserve_winre:         # 🆕 Preserve winre.wim (real hardware / 24H2+ builds)
  type: boolean
  default: false

4. Build Tiny11 Core-Gaming 🎮

File: .github/workflows/build-tiny11-core-gaming.yml

Accepts every input from Build Tiny11 Core (windows_version, windows_iso_url, windows_build, image_index, language, skip_cleanup, enable_dotnet35, preserve_winre, remove_defender, account_setup) plus one toggle per gaming group:

hags:                       # type: choice
  options: [on, off, leave] # default: on

# Each of these is a boolean, default: true
atlas_power_scheme:         # AtlasOS-style power scheme
disable_cpu_idle:           # Force C-State 0
disable_security_mitigations: # VBS / HVCI / Credential Guard / Spectre-Meltdown off
remove_xbox_gaming_stack:   # Removes Xbox + Gaming Services (breaks Game Pass)
strip_background_noise:     # Search indexing, Bluetooth, background apps, ...
instant_windows:            # Fastest window open/close: animations + delays off, close timeouts cut
disable_fast_startup:       # Hibernation + Fast Startup off
network_latency_tweaks:     # Nagle off, QoS 0, Delivery Optimization P2P off
disable_mpo:                # Multi-Plane Overlay off
latency_input_tweaks:       # Mouse acceleration off, DXGI flip model on
disable_fso:                # Fullscreen Optimizations off
disable_game_mode:          # Game Mode off (AtlasOS default)
disable_printing:           # Print services + features removed

The build also validates config/gaming_profile.json and parses scripts/gaming-profile.ps1 before downloading the ISO, so a typo fails in seconds instead of after an hour.

Full details: GAMING.md

Workflow Features

✨ Automated download - Fetches ISO automatically
🔐 Checksum verification - Validates ISO integrity
📢 Discord notifications - Real-time build status
📦 Artifact upload - ISO + checksums available
🚀 SourceForge deployment - Automatic release distribution
📊 Build statistics - Performance metrics tracked

📊 Build Performance

Variant	Download Time	Build Time	Total Time	Output Size
Standard	5-15 min	45-80 min	50-95 min	~4-5GB
Core	5-15 min	30-45 min	35-60 min	~3-4GB
Nano	5-15 min	<40 min	~45-55 min	~2-2.9GB

Build times measured on GitHub Actions standard runners (2-core, 7GB RAM)

Factors affecting build time:

ISO download speed
Number of apps to remove (more apps = longer compression)
WinSxS optimization (Core/Nano)
Runner performance
Concurrent builds

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues & Solutions

"Script must run as Administrator"

Problem: PowerShell not running with elevated privileges

Solutions:

Right-click PowerShell → "Run as Administrator"
Let script auto-elevate (it will restart automatically)
In VS Code: Run as admin before opening

"Insufficient disk space"

Problem: Not enough free space on C:\ drive

Solutions:

Free up at least 30GB on C:\

Use -SCRATCH parameter to specify different drive:

.\tiny11maker-headless.ps1 -ISO E -INDEX 1 -SCRATCH D

Clean Windows temp files: cleanmgr
Check disk space: Get-PSDrive C

"ISO creation fails" / "oscdimg.exe error"

Problem: Missing oscdimg.exe or corrupted installation

Solutions:

Install Windows ADK:
- Download: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/get-started/adk-install
- Install "Deployment Tools" only
Let script download oscdimg.exe automatically (requires internet)
Verify antivirus isn't blocking the script
Check file permissions on script directory

"Build failures in GitHub Actions"

Problem: Workflow fails during automated build

Solutions:

Check workflow logs for specific error
Enable skip_cleanup: true to preserve artifacts
Verify ISO URL is accessible and correct
Check if SourceForge credentials are configured (for upload)
Ensure GitHub Actions has sufficient runner space

Common causes:

Invalid ISO URL (404 error)
Network timeout during download
Insufficient runner disk space
SourceForge API rate limiting

"A media driver your computer needs is missing" (Ventoy)

Problem: Booting the built ISO from Ventoy stops at the very start of Setup with a missing media driver.

Cause (fixed): The wording is misleading — it is not a missing disk driver, it means Setup could not see its installation media. Ventoy boots the ISO's own boot.wim and injects vtoyjump.exe so it can mount the ISO as a virtual drive before setup.exe runs. Core was overwriting HKLM\SYSTEM\Setup\CmdLine inside boot.wim with a bare X:\sources\setup.exe, which stopped that injection from running. See Booting a Tiny11 ISO from Ventoy above for the full write-up.

Solution: rebuild the ISO — fixed in commit 8ae6bd9. Nothing about your Ventoy stick needs to change.

If a rebuilt ISO still fails, check in this order:

Ventoy 1.1.07 or newer
Data partition formatted NTFS, not exFAT
The ISO sits in the first, large Ventoy partition — not the 32 MB VTOYEFI one
Press Shift+F10 at the error and read X:\Windows\System32\ventoy\vtoype.log

Workaround if you are stuck: install from a PE environment (WinNTSetup, Dism++) instead of booting the ISO directly, and open an issue with the build log attached.

"ISO boots but shows errors"

Problem: Generated ISO boots but has missing features

Solutions:

Verify you used the correct variant:
- Standard: Most features intact
- Core: Some features unavailable
- Nano: Many features broken (expected)
Check if you need .NET 3.5 (Core only):
```
-ENABLE_DOTNET35
```
For printing issues: Don't use Nano variant
For Windows Defender: Use Standard variant
Rebuild with Standard variant if Core/Nano too aggressive

"Checksums don't match"

Problem: Downloaded ISO checksum verification fails

Solutions:

Re-download ISO from official source
Verify download completed fully (check file size)
Scan for disk errors: chkdsk /f
Try different download mirror
Compare with official checksums from Microsoft

Verify checksum:

Get-FileHash -Path "tiny11.iso" -Algorithm SHA256

🔐 Security Considerations

⚠️ Important Security Information

Before using Tiny11:

Modified Windows Images → May have security implications
- No official Microsoft support
- Potential compatibility issues
- Use at your own risk
Windows Defender Removed (Core/Nano)
- Install third-party antivirus (Avast, Kaspersky, etc.)
- Keep antivirus updated
- Consider using Standard variant for better security
Updates Disabled by Default
- Manually enable if needed: services.msc → Windows Update
- No automatic security patches
- Monitor security advisories manually
Privacy vs. Functionality Trade-off
- Telemetry disabled → Better privacy
- Some features may not work without telemetry
- Cloud features limited/disabled
Production Use NOT Recommended
- Use for testing/development only
- Not suitable for business-critical systems
- Consider official Windows for production

🔒 Security Best Practices

✅ Download from official sources only

SourceForge: https://sourceforge.net/projects/tiny-11-releases/
GitHub: https://github.com/kelexine/tiny11-automated

✅ Verify checksums before installation

Get-FileHash -Path "tiny11.iso" -Algorithm SHA256
# Compare with official checksum

✅ Test in VM before bare-metal installation

Use VirtualBox, Hyper-V, or VMware
Verify functionality meets your needs
Check for compatibility issues

✅ Backup important data before installing

Full system backup recommended
Document current configuration
Have recovery media ready

✅ Use valid Windows license

Tiny11 is NOT a Windows activator
Legal Windows license required
Respect Microsoft's terms of service

🚨 Vulnerability Reporting

Found a security issue? DO NOT create a public GitHub issue!

📧 Email: frankiekelechi@gmail.com
🔒 Subject: [SECURITY] Tiny11 Vulnerability Report
📋 See: SECURITY.md for full disclosure policy

📖 Documentation

📚 Available Documentation

README.md - This file (overview & quick start)
GAMING.md - 🎮 Tiny11 Core-Gaming: every tweak, its risk, and how to revert
CONTRIBUTING.md - How to contribute
CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md - Community guidelines
SECURITY.md - Security policy & reporting
LICENSE - MIT License terms
SOURCEFORGE_README.md - SourceForge-specific info

🎓 Tutorials & Guides

Windows Edition Index Numbers:
- 1 = Windows 11 Home
- 4 = Windows 11 Education
- 6 = Windows 11 Pro
- 7 = Windows 11 Pro N (without media features)

Finding Edition Index:

# Mount ISO first, then:
dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:E:\sources\install.wim

Manual OOBE Bypass: Edit autounattend.xml for custom configurations

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions from the community! Tiny11 Automated serves 2,000+ users worldwide.

Ways to Contribute

🐛 Report bugs
✨ Request features
📝 Improve documentation
🧪 Test new builds
💻 Submit pull requests
🌍 Translate documentation
⭐ Star the repository

Contribution Guidelines

Read CONTRIBUTING.md
Fork the repository
Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
Test your changes locally (see testing section below)
Commit with clear messages (git commit -m 'feat: add amazing feature')
Push to your fork (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
Open a Pull Request

🧪 Scraper Unit Testing

For Python automation components (such as scripts/microsoft_direct_downloader.py), a robust unit and integration test suite is located in the tests/ directory.

To run the test suite in an isolated environment:

# 1. Set up a local virtual environment
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate

# 2. Install dependencies & test requirements
pip install -r requirements.txt pytest pytest-asyncio

# 3. Execute the test suite
pytest tests/test_microsoft_downloader.py

This test suite uses complete mock coverage of Playwright page locators and user-agent rotations to validate scraper behavior without performing live requests.

Contributor Recognition

All contributors are recognized in:

Release notes
CONTRIBUTORS.md file
Project README
Special Discord role (if applicable)

By contributing, you agree to our Code of Conduct and MIT License.

💬 Community

Connect With Us

💬 Discord: Join our server - Real-time chat & support
🗨️ GitHub Discussions: Ask questions - Q&A and ideas
🐛 Issue Tracker: Report bugs - Bug reports only
📥 SourceForge: Download releases - Official ISOs
🔔 Release Notifications: Watch repository → Custom → Releases

Community Stats

👥 Active Users: 3,000+
📥 Total Downloads: 19,000+
📈 Weekly Downloads: 3,000 (growing!)
⭐ GitHub Stars: 11
🍴 Forks: 8

Get Help

Read the docs - Check README and wiki first
Search issues - Someone may have asked before
Ask in Discord - Fastest real-time help
Create discussion - For general questions
File issue - For confirmed bugs only

📝 License

Licensing Information

Inspired by tiny11builder: Original concept and interactive scripts by ntdevlabs, MIT License — the headless automation in this project was built on top of that foundation
Individual files: See copyright notices in each file

MIT License Summary

✅ Permitted:

Commercial use
Modification
Distribution
Private use

❌ Limitations:

No warranty
No liability

📋 Conditions:

License and copyright notice must be included
Proper attribution required

Full license: LICENSE

⚖️ Disclaimer

Legal Disclaimer

This tool is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, express or implied.

The authors (kelexine, ntdevlabs) are NOT responsible for:

❌ System damage from using modified Windows images
❌ Data loss or corruption
❌ Violation of Microsoft's terms of service
❌ Legal issues from improper use
❌ Compatibility problems
❌ Security vulnerabilities
❌ Performance issues

Your Responsibilities

✅ You must have a valid Windows license
✅ You must understand the risks
✅ You must backup your data
✅ You must comply with applicable laws
✅ You must use responsibly and ethically

Use at your own risk. See LICENSE and SECURITY.md for details.

🔗 Important Links

Official Resources

📦 GitHub Repository: https://github.com/kelexine/tiny11-automated
📥 SourceForge Downloads: https://sourceforge.net/projects/tiny-11-releases/files/
🐛 Issue Tracker: https://github.com/kelexine/tiny11-automated/issues
📋 Releases: https://github.com/kelexine/tiny11-automated/releases (notes only)
💬 Discussions: https://github.com/kelexine/tiny11-automated/discussions

Related Projects

🔧 Original tiny11builder: https://github.com/ntdevlabs/tiny11builder
🪟 Microsoft Windows 11: https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows11
🛠️ Windows ADK: https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-hardware/get-started/adk-install

Author

👨‍💻 kelexine: GitHub | Telegram
✉️ Email: Email Me
💖 Sponsor: GitHub Sponsors or Buy Me a Coffee

🙏 Acknowledgments

Special Thanks

ntdevlabs - Creator of original tiny11builder
Microsoft - Windows 11 operating system
Community contributors - Bug reports, feature requests, and PRs
2,000+ users worldwide - Your feedback drives improvement

Support the Project

If Tiny11 Automated has helped you:

⭐ Star the repository - Show your support
🍴 Fork and contribute - Help improve it
📢 Share with others - Spread the word
💖 Sponsor development - Fund new features (optional)

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
.github		.github
config		config
scripts		scripts
tests		tests
.gitignore		.gitignore
CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md		CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
GAMING.md		GAMING.md
README.md		README.md
SECURITY.md		SECURITY.md
SOURCEFORGE_README.md		SOURCEFORGE_README.md
VERSION_MATRIX_README.md		VERSION_MATRIX_README.md
autounattend-nano.xml		autounattend-nano.xml
autounattend.xml		autounattend.xml
project.toml		project.toml
requirements.txt		requirements.txt
tracked_releases.json		tracked_releases.json

Latest commit

History

Folders and files

Repository files navigation

Tiny11 Automated Builder

📊 Project Stats

🆕 What's New (January 2026)

📋 Overview

🙏 Attribution

📥 Downloads

🌐 Landing Pages

⚖️ Legal Notice

🚀 Quick Start

Option 1: Automated Build (GitHub Actions) - Recommended

Option 2: Manual Build (PowerShell)

⚠️ Choose Your Variant

💡 Which Should You Choose?

🎮 Tiny11 Core-Gaming

What it applies

How to build it

Customising it

Reverting it

Read this before using it

📁 Repository Structure

🔧 Script Parameters

Standard & Core Variants

Core-Only Parameter

Core-Gaming Parameters

Account Setup (Standard & Core)

Nano Variant

Examples

📦 What Gets Removed?

🗑️ Bloatware Apps (40-50+ removed)

🔧 System Components Removed

⚙️ Registry Optimizations Applied

💾 System Requirements

For Building ISOs

For Running Built ISOs

💿 Ventoy Support & Offline Setup

🖥️ Booting a Tiny11 ISO from Ventoy

What the bug was

If it ever stops working again

🪟 Local Account — Offline, Out of the Box

🏗️ GitHub Actions Workflows

Automated Builds via CI/CD

1. Build Tiny11 (Standard)

2. Build Tiny11 Core (Ultra-Minimal)

3. Build Nano11 (EXTREME Minimal)

4. Build Tiny11 Core-Gaming 🎮

Workflow Features

📊 Build Performance

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues & Solutions

🔐 Security Considerations

⚠️ Important Security Information

🔒 Security Best Practices

🚨 Vulnerability Reporting

📖 Documentation

📚 Available Documentation

🎓 Tutorials & Guides

🤝 Contributing

Ways to Contribute

Contribution Guidelines

🧪 Scraper Unit Testing

Contributor Recognition

💬 Community

Connect With Us

Community Stats

Get Help

📝 License

Licensing Information

MIT License Summary

⚖️ Disclaimer

Legal Disclaimer

Your Responsibilities

🔗 Important Links

Official Resources

Related Projects

Author

🙏 Acknowledgments