msvc-kit

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A portable MSVC Build Tools installer and manager for Rust/Windows.

TL;DR

# Install the CLI
cargo install msvc-kit

# Download latest MSVC + Windows SDK into default data dir
msvc-kit download

# Apply environment to current shell (PowerShell)
msvc-kit setup --script --shell powershell | Invoke-Expression

Features

• Download MSVC compiler from Microsoft servers
• Download Windows SDK to a chosen directory
• Auto environment setup for immediate use (cc-rs compatible)
• Version management for host/target architectures (x64, x86, arm64, arm)
• Library API for programmatic usage
• Resumable downloads with redb-based index for fast skip
• Manifest caching with ETag/Last-Modified conditional requests
• TLS backend uses native-tls (Windows schannel) to avoid rustls/awslc-sys build issues
• Multi-format extraction (VSIX, MSI, CAB)
• Hash verification with SHA256
• Self-update via axoupdater, compatible with cargo-dist releases

Installation

• Via Winget (Recommended)

  winget install loonghao.msvc-kit
  

• Via PowerShell Script

  irm https://github.com/loonghao/msvc-kit/releases/latest/download/install.ps1 | iex
  

• From crates.io

  cargo install msvc-kit
  

• Pre-built Binaries

  # Download and extract to a directory in your PATH
  Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://github.com/loonghao/msvc-kit/releases/latest/download/msvc-kit-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.zip" -OutFile msvc-kit.zip
  Expand-Archive msvc-kit.zip -DestinationPath $env:USERPROFILE\.cargo\bin -Force
  

• From source

  git clone https://github.com/loonghao/msvc-kit.git
  cd msvc-kit
  cargo install --path .
  

Release bundles

• On every tagged release (or release-please cut), CI builds and uploads msvc-bundle-<msvc>-<sdk>-<arch>.zip for x64, x86, and arm64 directly to the GitHub Release.
• Bundles are created via msvc-kit bundle --accept-license; by downloading you agree to the Microsoft Visual Studio License Terms.

Quick Start (CLI)

Download

# Latest versions
msvc-kit download

# Specify versions / dirs / arch
# MSVC version can be short (14.44) or full (14.44.34823)
msvc-kit download \
  --msvc-version 14.44 \
  --sdk-version 10.0.26100.0 \
  --target C:\msvc-kit \
  --arch x64 \
  --host-arch x64

# Download only MSVC (skip SDK)
msvc-kit download --no-sdk

# Download only SDK (skip MSVC)
msvc-kit download --no-msvc

# Control parallel downloads (default: 4)
msvc-kit download --parallel-downloads 8

# Skip hash verification
msvc-kit download --no-verify

Note: MSVC version can be specified as short format (e.g., 14.44) which auto-resolves to the latest build, or full format (e.g., 14.44.34823) for a specific build.

Version Compatibility Quick Reference:

See Version Compatibility Guide for detailed information.

Setup Environment

# Generate script for current shell
msvc-kit setup --script --shell powershell | Invoke-Expression

# Or for CMD
msvc-kit setup --script --shell cmd > setup.bat && setup.bat

# Portable script (rewrites install root to %~dp0runtime)
msvc-kit setup --script --shell cmd --portable-root "%~dp0runtime" > setup.bat

# Or for Bash/WSL
eval "$(msvc-kit setup --script --shell bash)"

# Persist to Windows registry (requires admin)
msvc-kit setup --persistent

Create Portable Bundle

Create a self-contained bundle with MSVC toolchain that can be used anywhere:

# Create bundle (requires accepting Microsoft license)
msvc-kit bundle --accept-license

# Specify output directory and architecture
msvc-kit bundle --accept-license --output ./my-msvc-bundle --arch x64

# Cross-compilation bundle (x64 host targeting ARM64)
msvc-kit bundle --accept-license --host-arch x64 --arch arm64

# Also create a zip archive
msvc-kit bundle --accept-license --zip

# Specify versions
msvc-kit bundle --accept-license --msvc-version 14.44 --sdk-version 10.0.26100.0

The bundle contains:

• msvc-kit.exe - CLI tool
• VC/Tools/MSVC/{version}/ - MSVC compiler and tools
• Windows Kits/10/ - Windows SDK
• setup.bat - CMD activation script
• setup.ps1 - PowerShell activation script
• setup.sh - Bash/WSL activation script
• README.txt - Usage instructions

Usage:

# Extract and run setup script
cd msvc-bundle
setup.bat          # CMD
.\setup.ps1        # PowerShell
source setup.sh    # Bash/WSL

# Now cl, link, nmake are available
cl /nologo test.c

List Versions

msvc-kit list              # Show installed versions
msvc-kit list --available  # Show available versions from Microsoft

Clean Up

msvc-kit clean --msvc-version 14.44   # Remove specific MSVC version
msvc-kit clean --sdk-version 10.0.26100.0  # Remove specific SDK version
msvc-kit clean --all                  # Remove all installed versions
msvc-kit clean --all --cache          # Also clear download cache

Configuration

Config file: %LOCALAPPDATA%\loonghao\msvc-kit\config\config.toml

msvc-kit config                        # Show current config
msvc-kit config --set-dir C:\msvc-kit  # Set install directory
msvc-kit config --set-msvc 14.44       # Set default MSVC version
msvc-kit config --set-sdk 10.0.26100.0 # Set default SDK version
msvc-kit config --reset                # Reset to defaults

Print Environment Variables

msvc-kit env                  # Print as shell script
msvc-kit env --format json    # Print as JSON

Self-Update

# Check for updates without installing
msvc-kit update --check

# Update to the latest version
msvc-kit update

# Update to a specific version
msvc-kit update --version 0.2.5

The self-update feature is powered by axoupdater and queries GitHub Releases directly. It is compatible with both cargo-dist and custom release workflows. The self-update feature is enabled by default and can be disabled with --no-default-features at build time.

Caching & Progress

• Progress display: Single-line spinner by default. Set MSVC_KIT_INNER_PROGRESS=1 for detailed file progress.
• Skip logic: Downloads are skipped when:
  • cached: File exists in index with matching hash
  • 304: Server returns Not Modified (ETag/Last-Modified match)
  • size match: File size matches expected (best-effort, noted in code)

TLS Backend Configuration

By default, msvc-kit uses native-tls (SChannel on Windows) to avoid requiring cmake and NASM during compilation. This resolves the aws-lc-sys build issue.

# Default: native-tls (recommended, no extra build deps)
[dependencies]
msvc-kit = "0.2"

# Or explicitly choose a TLS backend:
msvc-kit = { version = "0.2", default-features = false, features = ["native-tls"] }

# Use rustls instead (requires cmake + NASM on Windows):
msvc-kit = { version = "0.2", default-features = false, features = ["rustls-tls"] }

Library Usage

[dependencies]
msvc-kit = "0.2"

use msvc_kit::{download_msvc, download_sdk, setup_environment, DownloadOptions};
use msvc_kit::{list_available_versions, Architecture};

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> msvc_kit::Result<()> {
    // List available versions from Microsoft
    let versions = list_available_versions().await?;
    println!("Latest MSVC: {:?}", versions.latest_msvc);
    println!("Latest SDK: {:?}", versions.latest_sdk);

    // Download with builder pattern
    let options = DownloadOptions::builder()
        .target_dir("C:/msvc-kit")
        .arch(Architecture::X64)
        .build();

    let msvc = download_msvc(&options).await?;
    let sdk = download_sdk(&options).await?;
    let env = setup_environment(&msvc, Some(&sdk))?;

    println!("cl.exe: {:?}", env.cl_exe_path());
    Ok(())
}

See Library API Documentation for full API reference.

Architecture Support

License

MIT License - see LICENSE.

Important: Microsoft Software License Notice

The MSVC compiler and Windows SDK downloaded by this tool are property of Microsoft and subject to Microsoft Visual Studio License Terms.

• msvc-kit itself is MIT licensed
• MSVC Build Tools and Windows SDK are NOT redistributable - users must download them directly
• By using msvc-kit download or msvc-kit bundle --accept-license, you agree to Microsoft's license terms
• This tool automates the download process; it does not redistribute Microsoft software