diff --git a/Taskfile.yml b/Taskfile.yml
index e3dc52fd..8b767b8d 100644
--- a/Taskfile.yml
+++ b/Taskfile.yml
@@ -32,12 +32,12 @@ tasks:
 
     build:server:
         cmds:
-            - go build -o dist/bin/wavesrv cmd/server/main-server.go
+            - go build -o dist/bin/wavesrv{{exeExt}} cmd/server/main-server.go
         sources:
             - "cmd/server/*.go"
             - "pkg/**/*.go"
         generates:
-            - dist/bin/wavesrv
+            - dist/bin/wavesrv{{exeExt}}
         deps:
             - go:mod:tidy
 
diff --git a/cmd/server/main-server.go b/cmd/server/main-server.go
index 5b994469..34d777b3 100644
--- a/cmd/server/main-server.go
+++ b/cmd/server/main-server.go
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import (
 	"log"
 	"os"
 	"os/signal"
+
 	"runtime"
 	"strconv"
 	"sync"
@@ -80,6 +81,12 @@ func main() {
 		log.Printf("error acquiring wave lock (another instance of Wave is likely running): %v\n", err)
 		return
 	}
+	defer func() {
+		err = waveLock.Unlock()
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Printf("error releasing wave lock: %v\n", err)
+		}
+	}()
 
 	log.Printf("wave home dir: %s\n", wavebase.GetWaveHomeDir())
 	err = filestore.InitFilestore()
@@ -105,9 +112,9 @@ func main() {
 		time.Sleep(30 * time.Millisecond)
 		pidStr := os.Getenv(ReadySignalPidVarName)
 		if pidStr != "" {
-			pid, err := strconv.Atoi(pidStr)
+			_, err := strconv.Atoi(pidStr)
 			if err == nil {
-				syscall.Kill(pid, syscall.SIGUSR1)
+				log.Printf("WAVESRV-ESTART\n")
 			}
 		}
 	}()
diff --git a/emain/emain.ts b/emain/emain.ts
index 2152c81b..b2f83426 100644
--- a/emain/emain.ts
+++ b/emain/emain.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ import * as path from "path";
 import * as readline from "readline";
 import { debounce } from "throttle-debounce";
 import * as services from "../frontend/app/store/services";
+import os from "os";
+import fs from "fs";
 
 const electronApp = electron.app;
 const isDev = process.env.WAVETERM_DEV;
@@ -23,6 +25,7 @@ let waveSrvReadyResolve = (value: boolean) => {};
 let waveSrvReady: Promise<boolean> = new Promise((resolve, _) => {
     waveSrvReadyResolve = resolve;
 });
+
 let waveSrvProc: child_process.ChildProcessWithoutNullStreams | null = null;
 electronApp.setName(isDev ? "NextWave (Dev)" : "NextWave");
 const unamePlatform = process.platform;
@@ -40,7 +43,7 @@ function getBaseHostPort(): string {
 
 // must match golang
 function getWaveHomeDir() {
-    return path.join(process.env.HOME, ".w2");
+    return path.join(os.homedir(), ".w2");
 }
 
 function getElectronAppBasePath(): string {
@@ -60,6 +63,11 @@ function getWaveSrvPath(): string {
     return path.join(getGoAppBasePath(), "bin", "wavesrv");
 }
 
+function getWaveSrvPathWin(): string {
+    const appPath = path.join(getGoAppBasePath(), "bin", "wavesrv.exe");
+	return `& "${appPath}"`
+}
+
 function getWaveSrvCwd(): string {
     return getWaveHomeDir();
 }
@@ -77,7 +85,12 @@ function runWaveSrv(): Promise<boolean> {
         envCopy[WaveDevVarName] = "1";
     }
     envCopy[WaveSrvReadySignalPidVarName] = process.pid.toString();
-    const waveSrvCmd = getWaveSrvPath();
+	let waveSrvCmd: string;
+	if (process.platform === "win32") {
+		waveSrvCmd = getWaveSrvPathWin();
+	} else {
+    	waveSrvCmd = getWaveSrvPath();
+	}
     console.log("trying to run local server", waveSrvCmd);
     const proc = child_process.spawn(getWaveSrvPath(), {
         cwd: getWaveSrvCwd(),
@@ -108,6 +121,10 @@ function runWaveSrv(): Promise<boolean> {
         terminal: false,
     });
     rlStderr.on("line", (line) => {
+		if (line.includes("WAVESRV-ESTART")) {
+			waveSrvReadyResolve(true);
+			return;
+		}
         console.log(line);
     });
     return rtnPromise;
@@ -232,11 +249,6 @@ electron.ipcMain.on("isDevServer", () => {
     return isDevServer;
 });
 
-process.on("SIGUSR1", function () {
-    ``;
-    waveSrvReadyResolve(true);
-});
-
 (async () => {
     const startTs = Date.now();
     const instanceLock = electronApp.requestSingleInstanceLock();
@@ -245,16 +257,21 @@ process.on("SIGUSR1", function () {
         electronApp.quit();
         return;
     }
+	const waveHomeDir = getWaveHomeDir();
+	if (!fs.existsSync(waveHomeDir)) {
+		fs.mkdirSync(waveHomeDir);
+	}
     try {
         await runWaveSrv();
     } catch (e) {
         console.log(e.toString());
     }
-    console.log("waiting for wavesrv ready signal (SIGUSR1)");
     const ready = await waveSrvReady;
     console.log("wavesrv ready signal received", ready, Date.now() - startTs, "ms");
 
-    let clientData = await services.ClientService.GetClientData();
+    console.log("get client data");
+    let clientData = await services.ClientService.GetClientData().catch(e => console.log(e)) as Client;
+    console.log("client data ready");
     let windowData: WaveWindow = (await services.ObjectService.GetObject(
         "window:" + clientData.mainwindowid
     )) as WaveWindow;
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 990843d4..0f985907 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ go 1.22
 toolchain go1.22.1
 
 require (
+	github.com/alexflint/go-filemutex v1.3.0
 	github.com/creack/pty v1.1.18
 	github.com/golang-migrate/migrate/v4 v4.17.1
 	github.com/google/uuid v1.4.0
@@ -17,7 +18,6 @@ require (
 	github.com/sawka/txwrap v0.2.0
 	github.com/spf13/cobra v1.8.0
 	github.com/wavetermdev/waveterm/wavesrv v0.0.0-20240508181017-d07068c09d94
-	golang.org/x/sys v0.20.0
 	golang.org/x/term v0.17.0
 )
 
@@ -29,4 +29,5 @@ require (
 	github.com/spf13/pflag v1.0.5 // indirect
 	github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.4 // indirect
 	go.uber.org/atomic v1.7.0 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/sys v0.20.0 // indirect
 )
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 7f1f1f43..f496a489 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 filippo.io/edwards25519 v1.1.0 h1:FNf4tywRC1HmFuKW5xopWpigGjJKiJSV0Cqo0cJWDaA=
 filippo.io/edwards25519 v1.1.0/go.mod h1:BxyFTGdWcka3PhytdK4V28tE5sGfRvvvRV7EaN4VDT4=
+github.com/alexflint/go-filemutex v1.3.0 h1:LgE+nTUWnQCyRKbpoceKZsPQbs84LivvgwUymZXdOcM=
+github.com/alexflint/go-filemutex v1.3.0/go.mod h1:U0+VA/i30mGBlLCrFPGtTe9y6wGQfNAWPBTekHQ+c8A=
 github.com/cpuguy83/go-md2man/v2 v2.0.3/go.mod h1:tgQtvFlXSQOSOSIRvRPT7W67SCa46tRHOmNcaadrF8o=
 github.com/creack/pty v1.1.18 h1:n56/Zwd5o6whRC5PMGretI4IdRLlmBXYNjScPaBgsbY=
 github.com/creack/pty v1.1.18/go.mod h1:MOBLtS5ELjhRRrroQr9kyvTxUAFNvYEK993ew/Vr4O4=
@@ -46,16 +48,19 @@ github.com/spf13/pflag v1.0.5 h1:iy+VFUOCP1a+8yFto/drg2CJ5u0yRoB7fZw3DKv/JXA=
 github.com/spf13/pflag v1.0.5/go.mod h1:McXfInJRrz4CZXVZOBLb0bTZqETkiAhM9Iw0y3An2Bg=
 github.com/stretchr/objx v0.1.0/go.mod h1:HFkY916IF+rwdDfMAkV7OtwuqBVzrE8GR6GFx+wExME=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.3.0/go.mod h1:M5WIy9Dh21IEIfnGCwXGc5bZfKNJtfHm1UVUgZn+9EI=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.4.0/go.mod h1:j7eGeouHqKxXV5pUuKE4zz7dFj8WfuZ+81PSLYec5m4=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.4 h1:CcVxjf3Q8PM0mHUKJCdn+eZZtm5yQwehR5yeSVQQcUk=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.4/go.mod h1:sz/lmYIOXD/1dqDmKjjqLyZ2RngseejIcXlSw2iwfAo=
 github.com/wavetermdev/waveterm/wavesrv v0.0.0-20240508181017-d07068c09d94 h1:/SPCxd4KHlS4eRTreYEXWFRr8WfRFBcChlV5cgkaO58=
 github.com/wavetermdev/waveterm/wavesrv v0.0.0-20240508181017-d07068c09d94/go.mod h1:ywoo7DXdYueQ0tTPhVoB+wzRTgERSE19EA3mR6KGRaI=
 go.uber.org/atomic v1.7.0 h1:ADUqmZGgLDDfbSL9ZmPxKTybcoEYHgpYfELNoN+7hsw=
 go.uber.org/atomic v1.7.0/go.mod h1:fEN4uk6kAWBTFdckzkM89CLk9XfWZrxpCo0nPH17wJc=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.16.0/go.mod h1:/VUhepiaJMQUp4+oa/7Zr1D23ma6VTLIYjOOTFZPUcA=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.20.0 h1:Od9JTbYCk261bKm4M/mw7AklTlFYIa0bIp9BgSm1S8Y=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.20.0/go.mod h1:/VUhepiaJMQUp4+oa/7Zr1D23ma6VTLIYjOOTFZPUcA=
 golang.org/x/term v0.17.0 h1:mkTF7LCd6WGJNL3K1Ad7kwxNfYAW6a8a8QqtMblp/4U=
 golang.org/x/term v0.17.0/go.mod h1:lLRBjIVuehSbZlaOtGMbcMncT+aqLLLmKrsjNrUguwk=
 gopkg.in/check.v1 v0.0.0-20161208181325-20d25e280405/go.mod h1:Co6ibVJAznAaIkqp8huTwlJQCZ016jof/cbN4VW5Yz0=
+gopkg.in/yaml.v2 v2.2.2/go.mod h1:hI93XBmqTisBFMUTm0b8Fm+jr3Dg1NNxqwp+5A1VGuI=
 gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1 h1:fxVm/GzAzEWqLHuvctI91KS9hhNmmWOoWu0XTYJS7CA=
 gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1/go.mod h1:K4uyk7z7BCEPqu6E+C64Yfv1cQ7kz7rIZviUmN+EgEM=
diff --git a/pkg/filestore/blockstore_dbsetup.go b/pkg/filestore/blockstore_dbsetup.go
index 63bcf88d..3580ebd6 100644
--- a/pkg/filestore/blockstore_dbsetup.go
+++ b/pkg/filestore/blockstore_dbsetup.go
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"log"
-	"path"
+	"path/filepath"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/wavetermdev/thenextwave/pkg/util/migrateutil"
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ func InitFilestore() error {
 
 func GetDBName() string {
 	waveHome := wavebase.GetWaveHomeDir()
-	return path.Join(waveHome, FilestoreDBName)
+	return filepath.Join(waveHome, FilestoreDBName)
 }
 
 func MakeDB(ctx context.Context) (*sqlx.DB, error) {
diff --git a/pkg/wavebase/wavebase.go b/pkg/wavebase/wavebase.go
index 5e5bcac2..423ead07 100644
--- a/pkg/wavebase/wavebase.go
+++ b/pkg/wavebase/wavebase.go
@@ -11,21 +11,19 @@ import (
 	"log"
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
-	"path"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"runtime"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
 	"time"
 
-	"golang.org/x/sys/unix"
+	"github.com/alexflint/go-filemutex"
 )
 
 const WaveVersion = "v0.1.0"
 const DefaultWaveHome = "~/.w2"
 const WaveHomeVarName = "WAVETERM_HOME"
 const WaveDevVarName = "WAVETERM_DEV"
-const HomeVarName = "HOME"
 const WaveLockFile = "waveterm.lock"
 
 var baseLock = &sync.Mutex{}
@@ -37,8 +35,8 @@ func IsDevMode() bool {
 }
 
 func GetHomeDir() string {
-	homeVar := os.Getenv(HomeVarName)
-	if homeVar == "" {
+	homeVar, err := os.UserHomeDir()
+	if err != nil {
 		return "/"
 	}
 	return homeVar
@@ -52,7 +50,7 @@ func ExpandHomeDir(pathStr string) string {
 	if pathStr == "~" {
 		return homeDir
 	}
-	return path.Join(homeDir, pathStr[2:])
+	return filepath.Join(homeDir, pathStr[2:])
 }
 
 func ReplaceHomeDir(pathStr string) string {
@@ -142,18 +140,16 @@ func DetermineLang() string {
 	return osLang
 }
 
-func AcquireWaveLock() (*os.File, error) {
+func AcquireWaveLock() (*filemutex.FileMutex, error) {
 	homeDir := GetWaveHomeDir()
 	lockFileName := filepath.Join(homeDir, WaveLockFile)
 	log.Printf("[base] acquiring lock on %s\n", lockFileName)
-	fd, err := os.OpenFile(lockFileName, os.O_RDWR|os.O_CREATE, 0600)
+	m, err := filemutex.New(lockFileName)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	err = unix.Flock(int(fd.Fd()), unix.LOCK_EX|unix.LOCK_NB)
-	if err != nil {
-		fd.Close()
-		return nil, err
-	}
-	return fd, nil
+
+	err = m.TryLock()
+	return m, err
+
 }
diff --git a/pkg/wstore/wstore_dbsetup.go b/pkg/wstore/wstore_dbsetup.go
index f79e2cea..fafdade3 100644
--- a/pkg/wstore/wstore_dbsetup.go
+++ b/pkg/wstore/wstore_dbsetup.go
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"log"
-	"path"
+	"path/filepath"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/jmoiron/sqlx"
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ func InitWStore() error {
 
 func GetDBName() string {
 	waveHome := wavebase.GetWaveHomeDir()
-	return path.Join(waveHome, WStoreDBName)
+	return filepath.Join(waveHome, WStoreDBName)
 }
 
 func MakeDB(ctx context.Context) (*sqlx.DB, error) {