msvcup is a standalone tool for installing the MSVC toolchain and Windows SDK without Visual Studio. The Visual Studio Installer manages thousands of components, modifies the registry, and can take hours to configure. msvcup treats the toolchain as a versioned asset rather than global system state. The build environment is defined by code, not a GUI. - Fast: Runs in milliseconds when already installed. Put it at the start of every build script. - Reproducible: Lock file ensures everyone gets the same toolchain. - Isolated: Every package is installed to its own versioned directory. No registry modifications. No conflicts. - Cross-compilation: Target x64, arm64, or x86 out of the box. - Minimal: Download only what's needed to get a working native toolchain/SDK.
What's new in 2026_04_08
What's Changed - update msi by @marler8997 in https://github.com/marler8997/msvcup/pull/41 msi dependency now handles some newer msi files which omit the file table (install no files). Full Changelog: https://github.com/marler8997/msvcup/compare/v2026_03_02...v2026_04_08
What's Changed - toolchain-native.cmake and toolchain-cross.cmake by @marler8997 in https://github.com/marler8997/msvcup/pull/32 - move cache to LOCALAPPDATA by @marler8997 in https://github.com/marler8997/msvcup/pull/33 - fix fetch log messages by @marler8997 in https://github.com/marler8997/msvcup/pull/29 Full Changelog: https://github.com/marler8997/msvcup/compare/v2026_02_24...v2026_03_02
2026_02_24Feb 25, 2026
This release brings in our own MSI installer (http://github.com/marler8997/msi). The system msiexec.exe installer only works on windows, and also has intermittent issues such as failing if more than one instance is running on the system at at time. Our MSI installer fixes these limitations.
Frequently asked questions
Is msvcup free?
Yes. msvcup is free and open-source software released under the MIT license.
What is the latest version of msvcup?
The latest version is 2026_04_08, released on Apr 14, 2026.
Is it safe to download msvcup?
The download button links to the official installer published on github.com, the same file Windows Package Manager installs. You can verify the downloaded file by comparing its SHA-256 checksum with ddf0139aa771f8a546e0ad68cbf3e0440d25a6a782bb5df0074512c688528b98.
Which Windows versions does msvcup support?
msvcup runs on Windows and is available for 64-bit (x64), ARM64, 32-bit (x86) systems.
How do I uninstall msvcup?
Open Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find msvcup and select Uninstall. From the command line, run winget uninstall --id=JonathanMarler.msvcup -e.
Is there a portable version of msvcup?
Yes. msvcup is available as a portable ZIP archive (msvcup-x86_64-windows.zip, 64-bit (x64)) that runs without installation. Copy it to any folder or USB drive and run it from there.
Alternatives to msvcup
Other Development kits programs for Windows from different developers.
The Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 SP1 Redistributable Package (x64) installs runtime components of Visual C++ Libraries required to run 64-bit applications developed with Visual C++ 2005 SP1 on a computer
The Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Package (x86) installs runtime components of Visual C++ Libraries required to run 32-bit applications developed with Visual C++ 2008 SP1 on a computer
The Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Package (x64) installs runtime components of Visual C++ Libraries required to run 64-bit applications developed with Visual C++ 2008 SP1 on a computer
The Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 SP1 Redistributable Package (x64) installs runtime components of Visual C++ Libraries required to run 64-bit applications developed with Visual C++ 2010 SP1 on a computer
The Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 SP1 Redistributable Package (x86) installs runtime components of Visual C++ Libraries required to run 32-bit applications developed with Visual C++ 2010 SP1 on a computer
