Prepare a Windows Simulator Machine

Use this guide before you install Pista Agent on a Windows simulator machine.

Before You Start

You have administrator access to the Windows machine.
The machine can connect to the internet.

Pista Setup is multi-game and does not ask for a game directory in the web app. Before pairing, however, every Windows station must have standard registered Content Manager pointing to a valid licensed AC or AC PRO installation with an exact 17-digit SteamID64.

Windows Access

Sign in to Windows with the account the venue uses for simulator operation.
Confirm the account has administrator access.
Keep this Windows user account stable after pairing.

Avoid moving Assetto Corsa between Windows users after the machine is paired. Game and configuration paths can move with the Windows profile.

Install Assetto Corsa

Install Assetto Corsa or Assetto Corsa PRO from the venue's licensed source before running Pista Setup. Content Manager must point to that valid install before Setup will ask for a pairing code.

Common sources include:

Steam installation owned by the venue or machine owner.
A custom licensed Dropbox or file-based installation supplied to the venue.

Pista Agent does not purchase, download, or install the base game. It validates the CM-selected installation locally and never uploads or asks staff to enter its path.

Every Pista-managed Assetto Corsa simulator also needs the venue's chosen, licensed CSP and Pure setup. Install and update those runtime mods through their supported tools. Pista discovers the game root but does not catalog, compare, install, or repair runtime-mod versions.

Install Content Manager

Content Manager in its default per-user storage is required before every Windows station pairs. Pista reads CM's _ac_root to validate the selected AC or AC PRO installation and its selected SteamId as the station's exact 17-digit SteamID64. This prerequisite also applies when the station primarily runs Assetto Corsa Competizione, DiRT Rally 2.0, or another supported game.

Install Content Manager normally for the exact Windows account that operates the simulator. Run it once, select the Steam account used by this simulator, keep its acmanager Windows integration enabled, point it at the intended Assetto Corsa or AC PRO installation, and keep its default application-data storage: %LOCALAPPDATA%\AcTools Content Manager. Pista reads only that default location; portable CM installations and custom storage locations are unsupported in v1. Pista does not install Content Manager or use it to launch the game.

For each simulator type the venue wants to reproduce, set up one source simulator in Content Manager the way it should run. A Display capture saves that simulator's current video, system graphics and Oculus files, plus its triple-screen and onboard-camera files when present. If either of those two is absent on the source, the captured preset intentionally removes it from assigned simulators. See Manage Station Settings.

Save settings before capture. Content Manager can stay open; applying waits for Assetto Corsa to close. CSP settings use a separate shared capture. Continue to install CSP and Pure through their supported venue process.

Check Network Access

Before pairing, confirm that:

The internet connection is stable.
The Windows system time and timezone are correct.
Security software allows Pista Agent to run.
If the venue uses independent Level recovery, security software allows the Level agent to run.
Security software allows Tailscale and Windows OpenSSH Server to run.
The machine can download large content archives.

PISTA creates and owns a dedicated local administrator named pista-support for key-only SSH over Tailscale. Do not create that account manually or reuse it for simulator operation; Setup refuses to take over an unowned account with the same name.

Level is independent from the required Tailscale/OpenSSH support rail. A Level setup or grouping failure is reported as a warning and does not make an otherwise ready Pista Agent installation incomplete.

Name the Simulator in Pista

Before pairing the Windows machine, create or confirm the simulator in the venue dashboard. Use a venue-facing label such as Station 1 or Front Left so staff and support can identify the physical machine.

Confirm It Worked

The machine is ready to pair when the network checks pass, the matching simulator exists in Pista, and Content Manager provides the valid AC root and SteamID64. Setup checks these before it asks for or consumes a pairing code.