windows-build-tools
Advanced tools
On Windows? Want to compile native Node modules? Install the build tools with this one-liner. Start PowerShell as Administrator and run:
npm install --global --production windows-build-tools
Or, if you are using Yarn:
yarn global add windows-build-tools
After installation, npm will automatically execute this module, which downloads and installs Visual C++ Build Tools, provided free of charge by Microsoft. These tools are required to compile popular native modules. If not already installed, it will also install Python 2.7, configuring your machine and npm appropriately.
:bulb: [Windows Vista / 7 only] requires .NET Framework 4.5.1 (Currently not installed automatically by this package)
Both installations are conflict-free, meaning that they do not mess with existing installations of Visual Studio, C++ Build Tools, or Python. If you see anything that indicates otherwise, please file a bug.
This module is capable of installing either the build tools from Visual Studio 2017 or Visual Studio 2015. Since Node's underlying build tools still don't fully support 2017, you might have a better experience with 2015 - even if it sounds a bit outdated. On the other hand, if you are only trying to compile a certain set of modules, the 2017 build tools are smaller and install a bit quicker.
By default, this tool will install the 2015 build tools. To change that, run this script with
the --vs2017 parameter.
npm [--python-mirror=''] [--proxy=''] [--debug] [--strict-ssl] [--resume] [--sockets=5] [--vcc-build-tools-parameters=''] [--vs2017] [--dry-run-only] install --global windows-build-tools
Optional arguments:
--offline-installers: Path to a folder with already downloaded installers. See--python-mirror: Use a given mirror to download Python (like --python_mirror=https://npm.taobao.org/mirrors/python/). You can alternatively set a PYTHON_MIRROR environment variable.--proxy: Use a given proxy. You can alternatively set a PROXY environment variable.--debug: Be extra verbose in the logger output. Equal to setting the environment variable DEBUG to *.--strict-ssl: Enables "Strict SSL" mode. Defaults to false.--resume: By default, windows-build-tools will resume aborted downloads. Set to false to disable.--sockets: Specifies the number of http sockets to use at once (this controls concurrency). Defaults to infinity.--vcc-build-tools-parameters: Specifies additional parameters for the Visual C++ Build Tools 2015. See below for more detailed usage instructions.--silent: The script will not output any information.--vs2017: Install the Visual Studio 2017 Build Tools instead of the Visual Studio 2015 ones.--dry-run-only: Don't actually do anything, just print what the script would have done.You can pass additional parameters directly to the VCC Build Tools installer. This tool does not check if the parameters make sense - passing incorrect parameters might break the whole installation.
Supply parameters to windows-build-tools as a JSON array. Here's quick example (note the double quotes):
npm --vcc-build-tools-parameters='[""--allWorkloads""]' install --global windows-build-tools
/AdminFile: Specifies the installation control file./CreateAdminFile: Specifies the location to create a control file that can then be used/CustomInstallPath: Set Custom install location./ForceRestart: Always restart the system after installation./Full: Install all product features./InstallSelectableItems: <item1;item2;...;itemN> Choose which selectable item(s) to be installed.
-selectable item to be installed, just pass in this switch without any value./Layout: Create a copy of the media in specified folder./NoRefresh: Prevent setup checking for updates from the internet./NoRestart: Do not restart during or after installation./NoWeb: Prevent setup downloading from the internet./Passive: Display progress but do not wait for user input./ProductKey: <25-character product key> Set custom product key (no dashes)./PromptRestart: Prompt the user before restarting the system./Repair: Repair the product./Uninstall: Uninstall the product./Uninstall /Force: Uninstall the product and features shared with other products.If you run windows-build-tools with --vs2017, the available parameters are documented here.
By default, windows-build-tools will download the latest installers from Microsoft each time
it's installed. Alternatively, you can prepare a folder that contains installers. They need to
have their original names:
vs_BuildTools.exe or BuildTools_Full.exepython-2.7.14.amd64.msi or python-2.7.14.msiThen, run windows-build-tools with the --offline-installers argument:
npm install -g --production windows-build-tools --offline-installers="C:\Users\John\installers"
This package currently only handles the most common use case, none of the edge cases. If you encounter errors, we'd greatly appreciate error reports (and even pull requests). This is currently tested on Windows 10.
windows-build-tools 4.0 and up require at least Node v8.windows-build-tools 3.0 and up require at least Node v6.windows-build-tools 1.0 and up require at least Node v4.It's saved under %USERPROFILE%\.windows-build-tools\python27.
windows-build-tools works best if installed from an account with administrative rights. However,
thanks to @brucejo75, the following steps can be taken to install to a different user account:
cmd.exe as administrator.set APPDATA=C:\Users\<Me>\AppData\Roaming
npm config set prefix C:\Users\<Me>\AppData\Roaming\npm
set USERNAME=<Me>
set USERPROFILE=C:\Users\<Me>
Ensure that the variables passed match your location of npm's roaming data and the location
of user profiles on your machine. For <me>, substitute the name of the account you want to
install windows-build-tools for. For more information, see the npm config set prefix
description here.
npm install -g --production windows-build-toolsIn theory, windows-build-tools supports all pure C++ addons for Node.js (and virtually everything
else that requires a native compiler toolchain to be installed on your machine).
To ensure that that's true, we take a fresh Windows 10 installation, add windows-build-tools, and
ensure that the most popular native Node addons compile from source. Those are: node-sass, bcrypt, sqlite3, serialport, websocket, deasync, grpc, canvas, sharp,
hiredis, leveldown, nodegit, zqm, ffi, libxmljs, iconv, ref, sleep, microtime, couchbase, bignum,
kerberos, and ursa.
The Python installation was made possible by Ali Hajimirza, who kindly wrestled with Python's MSIs until they surrendered.
Copyright (C) 2018 Felix Rieseberg. Licensed MIT. For more details, please see LICENSE.
FAQs
Install C++ Build Tools for Windows using npm
The npm package windows-build-tools receives a total of 6,230 weekly downloads. As such, windows-build-tools popularity was classified as popular.
We found that windows-build-tools demonstrated a not healthy version release cadence and project activity because the last version was released a year ago. It has 1 open source maintainer collaborating on the project.
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