How do I add VCBuild.exe to Windows 10 w/o Visual Studio

Question

So I am trying to compile gyp and it wants to call VCBuild.exe apparently...

MSBUILD : error MSB3428: Could not load the Visual C++ component "VCBuild.exe".
 To fix this, 1) install the .NET Framework 2.0 SDK, 2) install Microsoft Visua
l Studio 2005 or 3) add the location of the component to the system path if it
is installed elsewhere.  [C:\...\node_module
s\browser-sync\node_modules\socket.io\node_modules\engine.io\node_modules\ws\no
de_modules\utf-8-validate\build\binding.sln]

So I install the .Net framework using this but when I go to the cmd line I get...

'VCBuild.exe' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

so what am I missing what do I need to get VCBuild without Visual Studio?

I realize what it means but I don't even think that framework will install on Win 10. I tried that already — Jackie, Jan 28 '16 at 19:26
Also this was Windows 10 so I am not sure how well Vs 2005 will run and I don't have a copy so those are no-go options. — Jackie, Jan 28 '16 at 20:49
How could I be more verbose I said right in the question without Visual Studio and on Win 10 — Jackie, Jan 28 '16 at 22:05
So how do I get that component without installing Vs2005 I still haven't found a download location. I tried installing the Win10 SDK — Jackie, Jan 29 '16 at 00:35
Really? Silly that an "Open Source" project would require a proprietary library. — Jackie, Jan 29 '16 at 14:24

score 66 · Accepted Answer · edited Mar 02 '17 at 07:00

66

npm install -g windows-build-tools

ran in an administration window:

Starting installation...
Launched installers, now waiting for them to finish.
This will likely take some time - please be patient!
Waiting for installers... -Successfully installed Python 2.7
Waiting for installers... /Successfully installed Visual Studio Build Tools.

edited Mar 02 '17 at 07:00

bertieb

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answered Mar 02 '17 at 04:39

gravityaddiction

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Great, now I have multiple Python installs when all I wanted was VCBuild. – aroth Jan 05 '18 at 00:51
Worked perfectly for me - running Windows 7 Enterprise – jBoive Jan 08 '18 at 10:48
It took more than 15 minutes to complete, but worked eventually! – ktsangop Jan 12 '18 at 14:20
2

This solved part of the node-gyp problems, still missing "VCBuild" though. – s.meijer Jan 18 '18 at 13:42
7

An additional `choco install -y vcbuildtools` fixed my build environment. – s.meijer Jan 18 '18 at 14:03
2

Windows 10, works. Just takes so long you wonder is it stuck or not, keep waiting. – Syed Priom Apr 19 '18 at 15:49
Windows 10 worked; it found my existing Python and didn't install a new one. Yes takes a long time at the end. – Lavamantis Jan 16 '20 at 21:09
why it tells me "is not recognized as an internal or external command" for both choco and npm? I am on windows 10, calling the command from administrator command prompt – Vincenzooo Jul 12 '22 at 11:48

score 5 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 13 '18 at 02:53

5

(This answer comes from comments above from @s.meijer. But I think it deserves to be an answer by its own.)

Run choco install vcbuildtools will install vcbuild that satisfies npm build needs on Windows.

answered Aug 13 '18 at 02:53

Penghe Geng

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score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 14 '19 at 11:12

I'm just posting this in case it saves anyone some time.

I tried all the answers I could find regarding this issue and they didn't work, ie:

// running powershell as administrator  
npm install --global --production windows-build-tools 

choco install vcbuildtools

The only thing that made "VCBuild.exe" errors go away was installing:

NET Framework 2.0 Software Development Kit (SDK)

The installation was a bit weird, I ran the .exe file and nothing seemed to happen but, judging by the fact that the install error messages went away, apparently it worked and was installed.

Not sure if this really helped, but I'm going to vote up. Seems like `windows-build-tools` didn't fully help, and the .NET 2.0 SDK is silent (no UI) which is confusing. After 2-3 minutes, the rebuilding worked. — misha, Jul 22 '19 at 06:11

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jan 29 '16 at 15:10

0

Looks like the answer was staring me in the face... You can't :-(

I found the steps to compile on the node-gyp Readme.md

It does in fact require VS2015 for Windows which sucks because

answered Jan 29 '16 at 15:10

Jackie

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Ended up being 16GBs – Jackie Jan 29 '16 at 15:20
VC++ on its own is >3GB though. – Nick Cox Feb 23 '16 at 22:04

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Jul 04 '22 at 08:43

0

I got this error when I was trying to run an AngularJs application (requiring Node.js 6x) in an Node.js 12x env. Downgrading my version of Node.js made this go away. TIP: If you need to flip between Node versions, look at http://nvm.sh

answered Jul 04 '22 at 08:43

Scala Enthusiast

101
1

Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers [in the help center](/help/how-to-answer). – Community Jul 04 '22 at 08:59

How do I add VCBuild.exe to Windows 10 w/o Visual Studio

5 Answers5