Download MSVC compiler/linker & Windows SDK without installing full Visual Studio

!README.md

This downloads standalone 64-bit MSVC compiler, linker & other tools, also headers/libraries from Windows SDK into portable folder, without installing Visual Studio. Has bare minimum components - no UWP/Store/WindowsRT stuff, just files & tools for 64-bit native desktop app development.

Run python.exe portable-msvc.py and it will download output into msvc folder. By default it will download latest available MSVC & Windows SDK - currently v14.32.17.2 and v10.0.22621.0.

You can list available versions with python.exe portable-msvc.py --show-versions and then pass versions you want with --msvc-version and --sdk-version arguments.

To use cl.exe/link.exe from output folder, first run setup.bat - after that PATH/INCLUDE/LIB env variables will be setup to use all the tools as usual. You can also use clang-cl.exe with these includes & libraries.

To use clang-cl.exe without running setup.bat, pass extra /winsysroot msvc argument (msvc is folder name where output is stored).

portable-msvc.py

#!/usr/bin/env python3

import io
import os
import sys
import stat
import json
import shutil
import hashlib
import zipfile
import tempfile
import argparse
import subprocess
import urllib.error
import urllib.request
from pathlib import Path

OUTPUT = Path("msvc")        # output folder
DOWNLOADS = Path("downloads") # temporary download files

# other architectures may work or may not - not really tested
HOST   = "x64" # or x86
TARGET = "x64" # or x86, arm, arm64

MANIFEST_URL = "https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/channel"
MANIFEST_PREVIEW_URL = "https://aka.ms/vs/17/pre/channel"

ssl_context = None

def download(url):
  with urllib.request.urlopen(url, context=ssl_context) as res:
    return res.read()

total_download = 0

def download_progress(url, check, name, filename):
  fpath = DOWNLOADS / filename
  if fpath.exists():
    data = fpath.read_bytes()
    if hashlib.sha256(data).hexdigest() == check.lower():
      print(f"\r{name} ... OK")
      return data

  global total_download
  with fpath.open("wb") as f:
    data = io.BytesIO()
    with urllib.request.urlopen(url, context=ssl_context) as res:
      total = int(res.headers["Content-Length"])
      size = 0
      while True:
        block = res.read(1<<20)
        if not block:
          break
        f.write(block)
        data.write(block)
        size += len(block)
        perc = size * 100 // total
        print(f"\r{name} ... {perc}%", end="")
    print()
    data = data.getvalue()
    digest = hashlib.sha256(data).hexdigest()
    if check.lower() != digest:
      exit(f"Hash mismatch for f{pkg}")
    total_download += len(data)
    return data

# super crappy msi format parser just to find required .cab files
def get_msi_cabs(msi):
  index = 0
  while True:
    index = msi.find(b".cab", index+4)
    if index < 0:
      return
    yield msi[index-32:index+4].decode("ascii")

def first(items, cond):
  return next(item for item in items if cond(item))
  

### parse command-line arguments

ap = argparse.ArgumentParser()
ap.add_argument("--show-versions", action="store_true", help="Show available MSVC and Windows SDK versions")
ap.add_argument("--accept-license", action="store_true", help="Automatically accept license")
ap.add_argument("--msvc-version", help="Get specific MSVC version")
ap.add_argument("--sdk-version", help="Get specific Windows SDK version")
ap.add_argument("--preview", action="store_true", help="Use preview channel for Preview versions")

args = ap.parse_args()


### get main manifest

URL = MANIFEST_PREVIEW_URL if args.preview else MANIFEST_URL

try:
  manifest = json.loads(download(URL))
except urllib.error.URLError as err:
  import ssl
  if isinstance(err.args[0], ssl.SSLCertVerificationError):
    # for more info about Python & issues with Windows certificates see https://stackoverflow.com/a/52074591
    print("ERROR: ssl certificate verification error")
    try:
      import certifi
    except ModuleNotFoundError:
      print("ERROR: please install 'certifi' package to use Mozilla certificates")
      print("ERROR: or update your Windows certs, see instructions here: https://woshub.com/updating-trusted-root-certificates-in-windows-10/#h2_3")
      exit()
    print("NOTE: retrying with certifi certificates")
    ssl_context = ssl.create_default_context(cafile=certifi.where())
    manifest = json.loads(download(URL))
  else:
    raise

### download VS manifest

ITEM_NAME = "Microsoft.VisualStudio.Manifests.VisualStudioPreview" if args.preview else "Microsoft.VisualStudio.Manifests.VisualStudio"

vs = first(manifest["channelItems"], lambda x: x["id"] == ITEM_NAME)
payload = vs["payloads"][0]["url"]

vsmanifest = json.loads(download(payload))


### find MSVC & WinSDK versions

packages = {}
for p in vsmanifest["packages"]:
  packages.setdefault(p["id"].lower(), []).append(p)

msvc = {}
sdk = {}

for pid,p in packages.items():
  if pid.startswith("Microsoft.VisualStudio.Component.VC.".lower()) and pid.endswith(".x86.x64".lower()):
    pver = ".".join(pid.split(".")[4:6])
    if pver[0].isnumeric():
      msvc[pver] = pid
  elif pid.startswith("Microsoft.VisualStudio.Component.Windows10SDK.".lower()) or \
       pid.startswith("Microsoft.VisualStudio.Component.Windows11SDK.".lower()):
    pver = pid.split(".")[-1]
    if pver.isnumeric():
      sdk[pver] = pid

if args.show_versions:
  print("MSVC versions:", " ".join(sorted(msvc.keys())))
  print("Windows SDK versions:", " ".join(sorted(sdk.keys())))
  exit(0)

msvc_ver = args.msvc_version or max(sorted(msvc.keys()))
sdk_ver = args.sdk_version or max(sorted(sdk.keys()))

if msvc_ver in msvc:
  msvc_pid = msvc[msvc_ver]
  msvc_ver = ".".join(msvc_pid.split(".")[4:-2])
else:
  exit(f"Unknown MSVC version: f{args.msvc_version}")

if sdk_ver in sdk:
  sdk_pid = sdk[sdk_ver]
else:
  exit(f"Unknown Windows SDK version: f{args.sdk_version}")

print(f"Downloading MSVC v{msvc_ver} and Windows SDK v{sdk_ver}")


### agree to license

tools = first(manifest["channelItems"], lambda x: x["id"] == "Microsoft.VisualStudio.Product.BuildTools")
resource = first(tools["localizedResources"], lambda x: x["language"] == "en-us")
license = resource["license"]

if not args.accept_license:
  accept = input(f"Do you accept Visual Studio license at {license} [Y/N] ? ")
  if not accept or accept[0].lower() != "y":
    exit(0)

OUTPUT.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
DOWNLOADS.mkdir(exist_ok=True)


### download MSVC

msvc_packages = [
  # MSVC binaries
  f"microsoft.vc.{msvc_ver}.tools.host{HOST}.target{TARGET}.base",
  f"microsoft.vc.{msvc_ver}.tools.host{HOST}.target{TARGET}.res.base",
  # MSVC headers
  f"microsoft.vc.{msvc_ver}.crt.headers.base",
  # MSVC libs
  f"microsoft.vc.{msvc_ver}.crt.{TARGET}.desktop.base",
  f"microsoft.vc.{msvc_ver}.crt.{TARGET}.store.base",
  # MSVC runtime source
  f"microsoft.vc.{msvc_ver}.crt.source.base",
  # ASAN
  f"microsoft.vc.{msvc_ver}.asan.headers.base",
  f"microsoft.vc.{msvc_ver}.asan.{TARGET}.base",
  # MSVC redist
  #f"microsoft.vc.{msvc_ver}.crt.redist.x64.base",
]

for pkg in msvc_packages:
  p = first(packages[pkg], lambda p: p.get("language") in (None, "en-US"))
  for payload in p["payloads"]:
    filename = payload["fileName"]
    download_progress(payload["url"], payload["sha256"], pkg, filename)
    with zipfile.ZipFile(DOWNLOADS / filename) as z:
      for name in z.namelist():
        if name.startswith("Contents/"):
          out = OUTPUT / Path(name).relative_to("Contents")
          out.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
          out.write_bytes(z.read(name))


### download Windows SDK

sdk_packages = [
  # Windows SDK tools (like rc.exe & mt.exe)
  f"Windows SDK for Windows Store Apps Tools-x86_en-us.msi",
  # Windows SDK headers
  f"Windows SDK for Windows Store Apps Headers-x86_en-us.msi",
  f"Windows SDK Desktop Headers x86-x86_en-us.msi",
  # Windows SDK libs
  f"Windows SDK for Windows Store Apps Libs-x86_en-us.msi",
  f"Windows SDK Desktop Libs {TARGET}-x86_en-us.msi",
  # CRT headers & libs
  f"Universal CRT Headers Libraries and Sources-x86_en-us.msi",
  # CRT redist
  #"Universal CRT Redistributable-x86_en-us.msi",
]

with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as d:
  dst = Path(d)

  sdk_pkg = packages[sdk_pid][0]
  sdk_pkg = packages[first(sdk_pkg["dependencies"], lambda x: True).lower()][0]

  msi = []
  cabs = []

  # download msi files
  for pkg in sdk_packages:
    payload = first(sdk_pkg["payloads"], lambda p: p["fileName"] == f"Installers\\{pkg}")
    msi.append(DOWNLOADS / pkg)
    data = download_progress(payload["url"], payload["sha256"], pkg, pkg)
    cabs += list(get_msi_cabs(data))

  # download .cab files
  for pkg in cabs:
    payload = first(sdk_pkg["payloads"], lambda p: p["fileName"] == f"Installers\\{pkg}")
    download_progress(payload["url"], payload["sha256"], pkg, pkg)

  print("Unpacking msi files...")

  # run msi installers
  for m in msi:
    subprocess.check_call(["msiexec.exe", "/a", m, "/quiet", "/qn", f"TARGETDIR={OUTPUT.resolve()}"])


### versions

msvcv = list((OUTPUT / "VC/Tools/MSVC").glob("*"))[0].name
sdkv = list((OUTPUT / "Windows Kits/10/bin").glob("*"))[0].name


# place debug CRT runtime files into MSVC folder (not what real Visual Studio installer does... but is reasonable)

dst = OUTPUT / "VC/Tools/MSVC" / msvcv / f"bin/Host{HOST}/{TARGET}"

DOWNLOAD_FOLDER = Path("crtd")
(DOWNLOADS / DOWNLOAD_FOLDER).mkdir(exist_ok=True)

pkg = "microsoft.visualcpp.runtimedebug.14"
dbg = first(packages[pkg], lambda p: p["chip"] == HOST)
for payload in dbg["payloads"]:
  name = payload["fileName"]
  download_progress(payload["url"], payload["sha256"], name, DOWNLOAD_FOLDER / name)

msi = DOWNLOADS / DOWNLOAD_FOLDER / first(dbg["payloads"], lambda p: p["fileName"].endswith(".msi"))["fileName"]

with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as d2:
  subprocess.check_call(["msiexec.exe", "/a", str(msi), "/quiet", "/qn", f"TARGETDIR={d2}"])
  for f in first(Path(d2).glob("System*"), lambda x: True).iterdir():
    f.replace(dst / f.name)


# download DIA SDK and put msdia140.dll file into MSVC folder

DOWNLOAD_FOLDER = Path("dia")
(DOWNLOADS / DOWNLOAD_FOLDER).mkdir(exist_ok=True)

pkg = "microsoft.visualc.140.dia.sdk.msi"
dia = packages[pkg][0]
for payload in dia["payloads"]:
  name = payload["fileName"]
  download_progress(payload["url"], payload["sha256"], name, DOWNLOAD_FOLDER / name)

msi = DOWNLOADS / DOWNLOAD_FOLDER / first(dia["payloads"], lambda p: p["fileName"].endswith(".msi"))["fileName"]

with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(dir=DOWNLOADS) as d2:
  subprocess.check_call(["msiexec.exe", "/a", str(msi), "/quiet", "/qn", f"TARGETDIR={d2}"])

  if HOST == "x86": msdia = "msdia140.dll"
  elif HOST == "x64": msdia = "amd64/msdia140.dll"
  else: exit("unknown")

  # remove read-only attribute
  target = dst / "msdia140.dll"
  if target.exists():
    target.chmod(stat.S_IWRITE)

  src = Path(d2) / "Program Files/Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0/DIA SDK/bin" / msdia
  src.replace(target)


### cleanup

shutil.rmtree(OUTPUT / "Common7", ignore_errors=True)
for f in ["Auxiliary", f"lib/{TARGET}/store", f"lib/{TARGET}/uwp"]:
  shutil.rmtree(OUTPUT / "VC/Tools/MSVC" / msvcv / f)
for f in OUTPUT.glob("*.msi"):
  f.unlink()
for f in ["Catalogs", "DesignTime", f"bin/{sdkv}/chpe", f"Lib/{sdkv}/ucrt_enclave"]:
  shutil.rmtree(OUTPUT / "Windows Kits/10" / f, ignore_errors=True)
for arch in ["x86", "x64", "arm", "arm64"]:
  if arch != TARGET:
    shutil.rmtree(OUTPUT / "Windows Kits/10/Lib" / sdkv / "ucrt" / arch)
    shutil.rmtree(OUTPUT / "Windows Kits/10/Lib" / sdkv / "um" / arch)
  if arch != HOST:
    shutil.rmtree(OUTPUT / "VC/Tools/MSVC" / msvcv / f"bin/Host{arch}", ignore_errors=True)
    shutil.rmtree(OUTPUT / "Windows Kits/10/bin" / sdkv / arch)

# executable that is collecting & sending telemetry every time cl/link runs
(OUTPUT / "VC/Tools/MSVC" / msvcv / f"bin/Host{HOST}/{TARGET}/vctip.exe").unlink(missing_ok=True)


### setup.bat

SETUP = f"""@echo off

set ROOT=%~dp0

set MSVC_VERSION={msvcv}
set MSVC_HOST=Host{HOST}
set MSVC_ARCH={TARGET}
set SDK_VERSION={sdkv}
set SDK_ARCH={TARGET}

set MSVC_ROOT=%ROOT%VC\\Tools\\MSVC\\%MSVC_VERSION%
set SDK_INCLUDE=%ROOT%Windows Kits\\10\\Include\\%SDK_VERSION%
set SDK_LIBS=%ROOT%Windows Kits\\10\\Lib\\%SDK_VERSION%

set VCToolsInstallDir=%MSVC_ROOT%\\
set PATH=%MSVC_ROOT%\\bin\\%MSVC_HOST%\\%MSVC_ARCH%;%ROOT%Windows Kits\\10\\bin\\%SDK_VERSION%\\%SDK_ARCH%;%ROOT%Windows Kits\\10\\bin\\%SDK_VERSION%\\%SDK_ARCH%\\ucrt;%PATH%
set INCLUDE=%MSVC_ROOT%\\include;%SDK_INCLUDE%\\ucrt;%SDK_INCLUDE%\\shared;%SDK_INCLUDE%\\um;%SDK_INCLUDE%\\winrt;%SDK_INCLUDE%\\cppwinrt
set LIB=%MSVC_ROOT%\\lib\\%MSVC_ARCH%;%SDK_LIBS%\\ucrt\\%SDK_ARCH%;%SDK_LIBS%\\um\\%SDK_ARCH%
"""

(OUTPUT / "setup.bat").write_text(SETUP)

print(f"Total downloaded: {total_download>>20} MB")
print("Done!")

Ahhh, sorry. Ya, I didn't even realize there was an update right after I downloaded it initially. I just copy and pasted the latest code and it seems to be working.

Good Job! and, how to setup for vcpkg to use the download MSVC compiler?

You'll need to figure out that yourself. I have no idea how vcpkg works, I do not use it.

hi, i made a change to line 221, apparently when running OUTPUT.resolve() at some point it adds quotes around the whole f"" argument and it makes it looks something like "TARGETDIR=C:\my\path with spaces\" instead of TARGETDIR="C:\my\path with spaces\" which causes subprocess.CalledProcessError.

the line that worked for me was:
subprocess.check_call(f"msiexec.exe /a \"{m}\" /quiet /qn TARGETDIR=\"{OUTPUT.resolve()}\"")

also awesome script, it's so convenient to finally have a portable msvc compiler.

why i got Windows Sdk not found when i tried to run hello world program? I thought running the bat file will set the env vars

I was hoping that using this I could install modules with python pip that compile stuff from source. But attempting to do so still produces this:

      error: Microsoft Visual C++ 14.0 or greater is required. Get it with "Microsoft C++ Build Tools": https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/visual-cpp-build-tools/

Is there something else that will make it work? Perhaps this is really the same issue as @nmsobri is experiencing...?

@AlisterH Try setting set DISTUTILS_USE_SDK=1 environment variable before running pip. By default python setuptools tries to use vswhere.exe & registry information & hardcoded vcvarsall.bat bat file to find where Visual Studio is installed. But that env variable should override all of it, and simply expect cl.exe & link.exe & others be available on PATH (which is done by my setup.bat file).

See more info here: https://docs.python.org/3/distutils/apiref.html#module-distutils.msvccompiler

Great, thanks!

clang cant run the linker

clang version 16.0.4
Target: x86_64-pc-windows-msvc
Thread model: posix
InstalledDir: C:\Users\Joey\scoop\apps\llvm\current\bin
 "link.exe" -out:a.exe -defaultlib:libcmt -defaultlib:oldnames "-libpath:C:\\Users\\Joey\\scoop\\apps\\llvm\\current\\lib\\clang\\16\\lib\\windows" -nologo hello.obj
clang: error: unable to execute command: program not executable
clang: error: linker command failed with exit code 1 (use -v to see invocation)

it is in PATH, and cl runs it fine

What happens when you run link.exe with all those arguments manually?

What happens when you run link.exe with all those arguments manually?

link.exe -out:a.exe -defaultlib:libcmt -defaultlib:oldnames -libpath:C:\Users\Joey\scoop\apps\llvm\current\lib\clang\16\lib\windows -nologo hello.obj
I think this is equivalent, it produces a working executable

doing the wierd clang quote thing works fine too
link.exe -out:a.exe -defaultlib:libcmt -defaultlib:oldnames "-libpath:C:\\Users\\Joey\\scoop\\apps\\llvm\\current\\lib\\clang\\16\\lib\\windows" -nologo hello.obj
only change to the command is renaming a.out to a.exe and not quoting link.exe

Running with -fuse-ld=lld works btw

"program not executable" is a very strange error. I don't think this is related to msvc files. Because if link.exe works when running manually then everything is fine. Instead it is something else with your scoop or clang setup. Like it's trying to execute some different link.exe, maybe you have multiple ones in path, or maybe scoop is doing some modifications to environment for something, I don't know how scoop works.

program not executable is the same error you get when link.exe isnt in PATH

building and installing from source solved the issue, strangely uninstalling the source build and then installing from scoop makes the scoop version work

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Users\Joey\Downloads\portable-msvc.py", line 83, in <module>
    vsmanifest = json.loads(download(payload))
                            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "C:\Users\Joey\Downloads\portable-msvc.py", line 27, in download
    return res.read()
           ^^^^^^^^^^
  File "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\PythonSoftwareFoundation.Python.3.11_3.11.1264.0_x64__qbz5n2kfra8p0\Lib\http\client.py", line 482, in read
    s = self._safe_read(self.length)
        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\PythonSoftwareFoundation.Python.3.11_3.11.1264.0_x64__qbz5n2kfra8p0\Lib\http\client.py", line 633, in _safe_read
    raise IncompleteRead(data, amt-len(data))
http.client.IncompleteRead: IncompleteRead(12025853 bytes read, 564488 more expected)

no longer works

That sounds like downloading of file was interrupted. Try running it again. Or get the url and try downloading in your browser to see what happens. Maybe you're running extra firewalls or whatever 3rd party security software, try disabling it.

Really useful script for getting msvc setup on a fresh windows install (or docker container in my case). Two small inconveniences though:

• At some point the script renames/moves files from a temp location into the msvc folder, however if the script is running on a mapped volume (and therefore essentially a different drive), you get errors OSError: [WinError 17] The system cannot move the file to a different disk drive. I think this could be solved by using an os move instead of rename function somewhere?
• The generated setup.bat works well in cmd, but is a pain to use in powershell - would it be possible to create an additional powershell version of this, i.e. using $env:PATH ... instead of set PATH ...

Thanks for providing this script though, I'd been banging my head for a couple of days trying to get msvc working properly in my container before I found this.

another issue, cmake cannot get CMAKE_VS_PLATFORM_NAME value

-- CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME: Windows
-- CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR: AMD64
-- CMAKE_VS_PLATFORM_NAME:
-- Use static onnxruntime libraries
-- CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME: Windows
-- CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR: AMD64
-- CMAKE_VS_PLATFORM_NAME:
CMake Error at cmake/onnxruntime-win-x64-static.cmake:11 (message):
This file is for Windows x64 only. Given:
Call Stack (most recent call first):
cmake/onnxruntime.cmake:59 (include)
cmake/onnxruntime.cmake:139 (download_onnxruntime)
CMakeLists.txt:142 (include)

Two small inconveniences though

Fixed them in my fork: https://gist.github.com/CrendKing/154abfa33200ef1cda38ddd61f4d414b.

This tool inspired me to make BuildToolsInspector because Flutter still doesn't work correctly with this one. It's not finished yet and I kinda give up, but it's pretty customizable in case any of you want to fork it. It tries to mimic the original build tools installer (by searching nested dependencies) rather than looking for specific packages.

EDIT3:

I figured out how vswhere works, but it may need some config files that will be generated automatically if you install VS using the official installer. Technically, we can generate it ourself but it's quite complicated. Steps:

1. Get the Microsoft.VisualStudio.Setup.Configuration package (download the payload, check from manifest)
2. Extract the MSI file (e.g. by using Uni Extract 2 or msiexec /a). Move the files/folder to build tools install folder (e.g C:\BuildTools\VisualStudio\Setup)
3. Register the dll by using this command (use the x86 version even on x64 OS):
   "%SystemRoot%\SysWoW64\regsvr32.exe" "C:\BuildTools\VisualStudio\Setup\x86\Microsoft.VisualStudio.Setup.Configuration.Native.dll"
4. Create a new reg value CachePath under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\Setup
5. Set the cache path as C:\BuildTools\VisualStudio\Packages (for reference, the default path is %ProgramData%\Microsoft\VisualStudio\Packages)
6. Create a new _Instances folder in the Packages folder
7. Download example instance files from this link (VS build tools 2022). I can't attach zip here, not sure why
8. Modify some path(s) in state.json to the right path (e.g. from C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools to C:\BuildTools)
9. Check if the portable installation is detected using vswhere

Unfortunately I get an error. This is my output:
D:\Software\MSVC>python portable-msvc.py
Downloading MSVC v14.38.17.8 and Windows SDK v22621
Do you accept Visual Studio license at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=2179911 [Y/N] ? Y
microsoft.vc.14.38.17.8.tools.hostx64.targetx64.base ... 100%
microsoft.vc.14.38.17.8.tools.hostx64.targetx64.res.base ... 100%
microsoft.vc.14.38.17.8.crt.headers.base ... 100%
microsoft.vc.14.38.17.8.crt.x64.desktop.base ... 100%
microsoft.vc.14.38.17.8.crt.x64.store.base ... 100%
microsoft.vc.14.38.17.8.crt.source.base ... 100%
microsoft.vc.14.38.17.8.asan.headers.base ... 100%
microsoft.vc.14.38.17.8.asan.x64.base ... 100%
Windows SDK for Windows Store Apps Tools-x86_en-us.msi ... 100%
Windows SDK for Windows Store Apps Headers-x86_en-us.msi ... 100%
Windows SDK Desktop Headers x86-x86_en-us.msi ... 100%
Windows SDK for Windows Store Apps Libs-x86_en-us.msi ... 100%
Windows SDK Desktop Libs x64-x86_en-us.msi ... 100%
Universal CRT Headers Libraries and Sources-x86_en-us.msi ... 100%
15bc5316e373960d82abc253bceaa25d.cab ... 100%
2630bae9681db6a9f6722366f47d055c.cab ... 100%
26ea25236f12b23db661acf268a70cfa.cab ... 100%
2a30b5d1115d515c6ddd8cd6b5173835.cab ... 100%
4a4c678668584fc994ead5b99ccf7f03.cab ... 100%
61d57a7a82309cd161a854a6f4619e52.cab ... 100%
68de71e3e2fb9941ee5b7c77500c0508.cab ... 100%
69661e20556b3ca9456b946c2c881ddd.cab ... 100%
b82881a61b7477bd4eb5de2cd5037fe2.cab ... 100%
dcfb1aa345e349091a44e86ce1766566.cab ... 100%
e072b3b3d3164e26b63338dce51862a7.cab ... 100%
e3d1b35aecfccda1b4af6fe5988ac4be.cab ... 100%
766c0ffd568bbb31bf7fb6793383e24a.cab ... 100%
8125ee239710f33ea485965f76fae646.cab ... 100%
c0aa6d435b0851bf34365aadabd0c20f.cab ... 100%
c1c7e442409c0adbf81ae43aa0e4351f.cab ... 100%
07a57cdb41ba28cced14005f087267be.cab ... 100%
2e876dd22fa5e6785f137e3422dd50ec.cab ... 100%
4fe4c8b88812f5339018c0eef95acdb9.cab ... 100%
05047a45609f311645eebcac2739fc4c.cab ... 100%
0b2a4987421d95d0cb37640889aa9e9b.cab ... 100%
13d68b8a7b6678a368e2d13ff4027521.cab ... 100%
463ad1b0783ebda908fd6c16a4abfe93.cab ... 100%
5a22e5cde814b041749fb271547f4dd5.cab ... 100%
ba60f891debd633ae9c26e1372703e3c.cab ... 100%
e10768bb6e9d0ea730280336b697da66.cab ... 100%
f9b24c8280986c0683fbceca5326d806.cab ... 100%
58314d0646d7e1a25e97c902166c3155.cab ... 100%
16ab2ea2187acffa6435e334796c8c89.cab ... 100%
2868a02217691d527e42fe0520627bfa.cab ... 100%
6ee7bbee8435130a869cf971694fd9e2.cab ... 100%
78fa3c824c2c48bd4a49ab5969adaaf7.cab ... 100%
7afc7b670accd8e3cc94cfffd516f5cb.cab ... 100%
80dcdb79b8a5960a384abe5a217a7e3a.cab ... 100%
96076045170fe5db6d5dcf14b6f6688e.cab ... 100%
80dcdb79b8a5960a384abe5a217a7e3a.cab ... 100%
96076045170fe5db6d5dcf14b6f6688e.cab ... 100%
a1e2a83aa8a71c48c742eeaff6e71928.cab ... 100%
b2f03f34ff83ec013b9e45c7cd8e8a73.cab ... 100%
beb5360d2daaa3167dea7ad16c28f996.cab ... 100%
eca0aa33de85194cd50ed6e0aae0156f.cab ... 100%
f9ff50431335056fb4fbac05b8268204.cab ... 100%
Unpacking msi files...
microsoft.visualcpp.runtimedebug.14/vc_RuntimeDebug.msi ... 100%
microsoft.visualcpp.runtimedebug.14/cab1.cab ... 100%
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "D:\Software\MSVC\portable-msvc.py", line 248, in
f.replace(dst / f.name)
File "D:\Software\Python\Lib\pathlib.py", line 1188, in replace
os.replace(self, target)
OSError: [WinError 17] Das System kann die Datei nicht auf ein anderes Laufwerk verschieben: 'C:\Users\imelf\AppData\Local\Temp\tmp6cetkl7r\System64\concrt140d.dll' -> 'msvc\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.38.33130\bin\Hostx64\x64\concrt140d.dll'

How can I fix this? Any help is appreciated.

@florianingerl
You cant set the output dir to D drive, only the C drive that is the same as the temp dir.
This is because the os.replace function, which only works on the same drive.
Fixed in my fork: https://gist.github.com/Delphier/386097ba36f6399e2e593c59d66d224b

Hello Delphier, Thanks for your reply. Should I thus try to rerun the python-script of your fork? Because I don't see the place where I can set the output dir to D drive in the python script and do it myself. All the best, Florian

…

On Tue, Dec 5, 2023 at 11:29 AM Delphier ***@***.***> wrote: ***@***.**** commented on this gist. ------------------------------ @florianingerl <https://github.com/florianingerl> You cant set the output dir to D drive, only the C drive as the temp dir. This is because the os.replace function, which only works on the same drive. Fixed in my fork: https://gist.github.com/Delphier/386097ba36f6399e2e593c59d66d224b — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <https://gist.github.com/mmozeiko/7f3162ec2988e81e56d5c4e22cde9977#gistcomment-4782714> or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AE6YEWRFRTYMT34MBU6L6HTYH3ZRVBFKMF2HI4TJMJ2XIZLTSKBKK5TBNR2WLJDHNFZXJJDOMFWWLK3UNBZGKYLEL52HS4DFQKSXMYLMOVS2I5DSOVS2I3TBNVS3W5DIOJSWCZC7OBQXE5DJMNUXAYLOORPWCY3UNF3GS5DZVRZXKYTKMVRXIX3UPFYGLK2HNFZXIQ3PNVWWK3TUUZ2G64DJMNZZDAVEOR4XAZNEM5UXG5FFOZQWY5LFVEYTCNRQHA2DANBSU52HE2LHM5SXFJTDOJSWC5DF> . You are receiving this email because you were mentioned. Triage notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS <https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675> or Android <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub> .

Copy portable-msvc.py to a folder on the C drive, and then run the script.
or download my fork, that support any folder.

Big thanks!

Hello Delphier, Thanks a lot. Now I get another error later: D:\Software\MSVC>python portable-msvc.py Downloading MSVC v14.38.17.8 and Windows SDK v22621 Do you accept Visual Studio license at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=2179911 [Y/N] ? Y microsoft.vc.14.38.17.8.tools.hostx64.targetx64.base ... 100% microsoft.vc.14.38.17.8.tools.hostx64.targetx64.res.base ... 100% microsoft.vc.14.38.17.8.crt.headers.base ... 100% microsoft.vc.14.38.17.8.crt.x64.desktop.base ... 100% microsoft.vc.14.38.17.8.crt.x64.store.base ... 100% microsoft.vc.14.38.17.8.crt.source.base ... 100% microsoft.vc.14.38.17.8.asan.headers.base ... 100% microsoft.vc.14.38.17.8.asan.x64.base ... 100% Windows SDK for Windows Store Apps Tools-x86_en-us.msi ... 100% Windows SDK for Windows Store Apps Headers-x86_en-us.msi ... 100% Windows SDK Desktop Headers x86-x86_en-us.msi ... 100% Windows SDK for Windows Store Apps Libs-x86_en-us.msi ... 100% Windows SDK Desktop Libs x64-x86_en-us.msi ... 100% Universal CRT Headers Libraries and Sources-x86_en-us.msi ... 100% 15bc5316e373960d82abc253bceaa25d.cab ... 100% 2630bae9681db6a9f6722366f47d055c.cab ... 100% 26ea25236f12b23db661acf268a70cfa.cab ... 100% 2a30b5d1115d515c6ddd8cd6b5173835.cab ... 100% 4a4c678668584fc994ead5b99ccf7f03.cab ... 100% 61d57a7a82309cd161a854a6f4619e52.cab ... 100% 68de71e3e2fb9941ee5b7c77500c0508.cab ... 100% 69661e20556b3ca9456b946c2c881ddd.cab ... 100% b82881a61b7477bd4eb5de2cd5037fe2.cab ... 100% dcfb1aa345e349091a44e86ce1766566.cab ... 100% e072b3b3d3164e26b63338dce51862a7.cab ... 100% e3d1b35aecfccda1b4af6fe5988ac4be.cab ... 100% 766c0ffd568bbb31bf7fb6793383e24a.cab ... 100% 8125ee239710f33ea485965f76fae646.cab ... 100% c0aa6d435b0851bf34365aadabd0c20f.cab ... 100% c1c7e442409c0adbf81ae43aa0e4351f.cab ... 100% 07a57cdb41ba28cced14005f087267be.cab ... 100% 2e876dd22fa5e6785f137e3422dd50ec.cab ... 100% 4fe4c8b88812f5339018c0eef95acdb9.cab ... 100% 05047a45609f311645eebcac2739fc4c.cab ... 100% 0b2a4987421d95d0cb37640889aa9e9b.cab ... 100% 13d68b8a7b6678a368e2d13ff4027521.cab ... 100% 463ad1b0783ebda908fd6c16a4abfe93.cab ... 100% 5a22e5cde814b041749fb271547f4dd5.cab ... 100% ba60f891debd633ae9c26e1372703e3c.cab ... 100% e10768bb6e9d0ea730280336b697da66.cab ... 100% f9b24c8280986c0683fbceca5326d806.cab ... 100% 58314d0646d7e1a25e97c902166c3155.cab ... 100% 16ab2ea2187acffa6435e334796c8c89.cab ... 100% 2868a02217691d527e42fe0520627bfa.cab ... 100% 6ee7bbee8435130a869cf971694fd9e2.cab ... 100% 78fa3c824c2c48bd4a49ab5969adaaf7.cab ... 100% 7afc7b670accd8e3cc94cfffd516f5cb.cab ... 100% 80dcdb79b8a5960a384abe5a217a7e3a.cab ... 100% 96076045170fe5db6d5dcf14b6f6688e.cab ... 100% a1e2a83aa8a71c48c742eeaff6e71928.cab ... 100% b2f03f34ff83ec013b9e45c7cd8e8a73.cab ... 100% beb5360d2daaa3167dea7ad16c28f996.cab ... 100% eca0aa33de85194cd50ed6e0aae0156f.cab ... 100% f9ff50431335056fb4fbac05b8268204.cab ... 100% Unpacking msi files... microsoft.visualcpp.runtimedebug.14/vc_RuntimeDebug.msi ... 100% microsoft.visualcpp.runtimedebug.14/cab1.cab ... 100% Traceback (most recent call last): File "D:\Software\MSVC\portable-msvc.py", line 246, in <module> subprocess.check_call(["msiexec.exe", "/a", str(msi), "/quiet", "/qn", f"TARGETDIR={d2}"]) File "D:\Software\Python\Lib\subprocess.py", line 413, in check_call raise CalledProcessError(retcode, cmd) subprocess.CalledProcessError: Command '['msiexec.exe', '/a', 'C:\\Users\\imelf\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\tmpmmmsqd3b\\vc_RuntimeDebug.msi', '/quiet', '/qn', 'TARGETDIR=MSVC\\tmp9rkm4qgk']' returned non-zero exit status 1603. Is there also a reason for this that can be solved? All the best, Florian

…

On Tue, Dec 5, 2023 at 2:49 PM Asadbek Sayfiyev ***@***.***> wrote: ***@***.**** commented on this gist. ------------------------------ Big thanks! — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <https://gist.github.com/mmozeiko/7f3162ec2988e81e56d5c4e22cde9977#gistcomment-4782895> or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AE6YEWVSZA4VVYSWODQBTZDYH4Q5HBFKMF2HI4TJMJ2XIZLTSKBKK5TBNR2WLJDHNFZXJJDOMFWWLK3UNBZGKYLEL52HS4DFQKSXMYLMOVS2I5DSOVS2I3TBNVS3W5DIOJSWCZC7OBQXE5DJMNUXAYLOORPWCY3UNF3GS5DZVRZXKYTKMVRXIX3UPFYGLK2HNFZXIQ3PNVWWK3TUUZ2G64DJMNZZDAVEOR4XAZNEM5UXG5FFOZQWY5LFVEYTCNRQHA2DANBSU52HE2LHM5SXFJTDOJSWC5DF> . You are receiving this email because you commented on the thread. Triage notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS <https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675> or Android <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub> .

@florianingerl I think the target dir must be full path, not relative path. Try replacing TARGETDIR={d2} with TARGETDIR={Path(d2).resolve()}.

Or just use the original code, install it in C, you can move it to D drive later.

Works great with cl / link! But clang-cl is unrecognized, even after running the batch script. Any ideas?

If it says clang-cl.exe is unrecognized then you have not set PATH to where it is installed. Either put folder where clang-cl is in the PATH env variable, or run by specifying absolute path to clang-cl.exe.

Where is clang-cl.exe supposed to be installed? After running the setup.bat, cl.exe and link.exe are recognized, so I'm not sure env variables is the issue.

You can install it anywhere. When you run llvm/clang installer then by default it will install in C:\Program Files\LLVM. But during installation you can put any location there - it's up to you where you want it.

Oh, my bad. I thougth that clang came preinstalled with the packages. So this is just the integration with msvc?

Right, this downloads MSVC compiler & linker and Windows SDK headers & libs. Not clang. You can install clang from their github releases. It will be able to use Windows headers & libs from this script.

Perfect, thank you!

Leaving this here for future masochists to find on Google:

Want to use .NET NativeAOT with this script's Visual Studio environment? Pass in /p:IlcUseEnvironmentalTools=true into dotnet publish.

Hope this helps! I sure wish someone had documented this before... but oh well, atleast others won't suffer as much as I did

I hit this error, what cert does it complain about?

    return self.do_open(http.client.HTTPSConnection, req,
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python312\Lib\urllib\request.py", line 1347, in do_open
    raise URLError(err)
urllib.error.URLError: <urlopen error [SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED] certificate verify failed: certificate has expired (_ssl.c:1000)>

Script is connecting to Microsoft server to download MSVC. Expired certificate may be result of incorrect date on your computer - check that you have correct date set. Another reason could be bad 3rd party proxy / firewall / network monitoring or security software which is intercepting all https requests.

@mmozeiko great advice!
so I opened up the certmgr.msc util and went one by one over all the cert hives and just deleted those that are older then 2024!
it did the trick and I was able to successfully run the script!

proofs -

c:\Prg\>python portable-msvc.py --show-versions
MSVC versions: 14.29 14.30 14.31 14.32 14.33 14.34 14.35 14.36 14.37 14.38 14.39
Windows SDK versions: 18362 19041 20348 22000 22621

btw, what is the goal of adding this into latest script?

  # executable that is collecting & sending telemetry every time cl/link runs
  (OUTPUT / "VC/Tools/MSVC" / msvcv / f"bin/Host{arch}/{arch}/vctip.exe").unlink(missing_ok=True)

It deletes vctip.exe ("VC++ Technology Improvement Program") which is runs every time you run cl/link and sends telemetry to Microsoft servers. Compiler & linker still works fine without this file. I don't want compiler making network requests every time I compile something.

You can also opt out of MSVC telemetry by editing registry: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/ide/visual-studio-experience-improvement-program#registry-settings But it requires changing HKLM keys, so admin rights required, which I don't want for this python script.

To resolve the SSL error ssl.SSLCertVerificationError: [SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED] certificate verify failed: certificate has expired (_ssl.c:1000)
You can add these two lines at the beginning of the portable-msvc.py.

import ssl
ssl._create_default_https_context = ssl._create_unverified_context

That is a bad way to solve this problem. Do not ever do that. It disables TLS verification, so you won't know if things you connect & download are valid and not intercepted/mangled with. Fix your computer time & apply OS updates instead.

hi! it seems it's not possible to download hostx64-86 cross toolchain? the bin directory barely have any files afterward.
I tried another tool and the result was the sazme.
it seems this is an issue on microsoft's side?

also, running the script with python 3.12 results in NameError: name 'exit' is not defined
the solution seems to be replacing exit(0) with sys.exit(0).

feature request: is it possible to add the ability to specify the folder where the toolchain is located? at the moment it seems to be hardcoded to msvc.

There's no issue on MS side. I just never really tested other hosts/targets than x64. I've fixed the script so it now works for x64 host & x86 target. arm/arm64 may still be not properly done, have not tested it.

Not sure why you see error with exit - it is perfectly valid to call, even in Python 3.12: https://docs.python.org/3/library/constants.html#exit
Only issue I could see is that your Python installation is done in a strange way that does not have default site module.

You can just rename msvc folder after script runs. It's not like this code keeps track of this folder and keeps it up to date or tracks what is installed. This tool is not supposed to be fancy installer. Just a quick "run once and forget" kind of tool.

Hi @florianingerl How did you solved the issue? Installing in C: Directory also give the same error.

Hi all. I would like to use the portable version of MSVC with VSCode and the associated Microsoft plugins (C/C++ and CMake-tools). Unfortunately, as expected, these tools rely, not on the simple env variables used, but on the official over-complicated mechanism for detecting the installation of MSVC (.bat of the MSVC console and also probably vswhere.exe and registry keys).
Does anyone know how to do the equivalent setup manually? I've tried many things by picking up technical elements from cmake, ninja, etc... but I haven't found any functional solution. If anyone knows how to do it, it would be great. Thanks

I don't know VScode, but cmake will find all the compiler executable from PATH - so as long as you run setup.bat it will just work. If you don't want to run setup.bat, you can manually specify cl.exe, link, lib.exe, etc.. locations with cmake variables.

I believe you'll need at least these:

• CMAKE_C_COMPILER=path/to/cl.exe
• CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=path/to/cl.exe
• CMAKE_C_COMPILER_LINKER=path/to/link.exe
• CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_LINKER=path/to/link.exe
• CMAKE_AR_COMPILER=path/to/lib.exe
• CMAKE_MT_COMPILER=path/to/mt.exe

Instead of manually specifying these variables every time, you can create cmake toolchain file and the pass it with -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE argument, see the docs here: https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/manual/cmake-toolchains.7.html

But again - easiest way is just to run setup.bat and then cmake -G Ninja path/to/project will just work. No need for vswhere or registry keys.

Any Linux equivalent available? It tries to run msiexec.exe.
I get

...
f9ff50431335056fb4fbac05b8268204.cab ... 100%
Unpacking msi files...
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/home/ephemssss/novorender/ifc2brep-0/scripts/external-tools/portable-msvc.py", line 248, in <module>
    subprocess.check_call(["msiexec.exe", "/a", m, "/quiet", "/qn", f"TARGETDIR={OUTPUT.resolve()}"])
  File "/usr/lib/python3.10/subprocess.py", line 364, in check_call
    retcode = call(*popenargs, **kwargs)
  File "/usr/lib/python3.10/subprocess.py", line 345, in call
    with Popen(*popenargs, **kwargs) as p:
  File "/usr/lib/python3.10/subprocess.py", line 971, in __init__
    self._execute_child(args, executable, preexec_fn, close_fds,
  File "/usr/lib/python3.10/subprocess.py", line 1863, in _execute_child
    raise child_exception_type(errno_num, err_msg, err_filename)
FileNotFoundError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: 'msiexec.exe'

It seems there exists msiextract tool, I have not tried using it myself: https://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/focal/man1/msiextract.1.html

.. but on the official over-complicated mechanism for detecting the installation of MSVC (.bat of the MSVC console and also probably vswhere.exe and registry keys). Does anyone know how to do the equivalent setup manually?

@lolo120916 For vswhere detection see my finding above, it's possible but kinda complicated. At least it works with Flutter last time I tried.

I used procmon to detect how the registry/vswhere works, but probably still missed some things.

@mmozeiko and @AndhikaWB
Thank you both. What I did was restart from scratch with VS Code. I did the simplest thing possible, as suggested by mmozeiko (by the way, huge thanks for his script and for taking the time to respond to messages), I launched VS Code with the environment variables set by setup.bat. And then, in VS Code, I simply added "cmake.generator": "Ninja" to the project's settings.json (and nothing more, especially). I then generated the CMakeLists.txt using the `"CMake: Quick Start" command. With the "CMake Tools" extension, I was then able to build and debug the project step by step.
Phew. Ninja handles everything on its own: it's wonderful.
Above all, don't try to do anything more complicated as suggested in the docs of the C/C++ and CMake Tools extensions: without MSVC console and without vswhere.exe able to detect things automagically, it just creates chaos ;-).

hi! i am sorry, but why is this script needed? like it's 345 lines - what problem it addresses?
it seems it is for setting up the MSVC minimally and portably. as the upstream doesn't provide it standalone without bloat.

is that the case?

also, what steps do i need to take after running this script to be able to build cpp-dependent libraries?

To use cl.exe/link.exe from output folder, first run setup.bat - after that PATH/INCLUDE/LIB env variables will be setup to use all the tools as usual. You can also use clang-cl.exe with these includes & libraries.

i am sorry for blabbering, i am just thinking out loud as this msvc stuff has been bothering me for well over an year now.

---

also, there is lots of wisdom here in comments, ...
it would have been good if it was a repo itself, so that all those things could have a better place like discussions or wiki etc.

it's kinda hard following it above where different things meshing with each other

update2: after merging 3 way with @ CrendKing's fork (comment), i now shows error 1619

Unpacking msi files...
microsoft.visualcpp.runtimedebug.14/vc_RuntimeDebug.msi ... 100%
microsoft.visualcpp.runtimedebug.14/cab1.cab ... 100%
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "...\portable-msvc\portable-msvc_merged.py", line 272, in <module>
    subprocess.check_call(["msiexec.exe", "/a", f"\"{msi}\"", "/quiet", "/qn", f"TARGETDIR=\"{d2}\""])
  File "...\Python\Python312\Lib\subprocess.py", line 413, in check_call
    raise CalledProcessError(retcode, cmd)
subprocess.CalledProcessError: Command '['msiexec.exe', '/a', '"...portable-msvc\\tmpz69rwo5s\\vc_RuntimeDebug.msi"', '/quiet', '/qn', 'TARGETDIR="...portable-msvc\\tmpx6j7fbvb"']' returned non-zero exit status 1619.

---

update1: searching duckduckgo.com, i found this table listing error codes & their description at msi/error-codes.
and the one i am seeing, non-zero exit status 1639 is an "invalid command line argument"

Error code	Value	Description
ERROR_INSTALL_PACKAGE_OPEN_FAILED	1619	This installation package couldn't be opened. Verify that the package exists and is accessible, or contact the application vendor to verify that this is a valid Windows Installer package.
ERROR_INVALID_COMMAND_LINE	1639	Invalid command line argument. Consult the Windows Installer SDK for detailed command-line help.
ERROR_INSTALL_FAILURE	1603	A fatal error occurred during installation.

list of msiexec options, i.e. output of msiexec /?

Windows ® Installer. V 5.0.19041.3636 

msiexec /Option <Required Parameter> [Optional Parameter]

Install Options
	</package | /i> <Product.msi>
		Installs or configures a product
	/a <Product.msi>
		Administrative install - Installs a product on the network
	/j<u|m> <Product.msi> [/t <Transform List>] [/g <Language ID>]
		Advertises a product - m to all users, u to current user
	</uninstall | /x> <Product.msi | ProductCode>
		Uninstalls the product
Display Options
	/quiet
		Quiet mode, no user interaction
	/passive
		Unattended mode - progress bar only
	/q[n|b|r|f]
		Sets user interface level
		n - No UI
		b - Basic UI
		r - Reduced UI
		f - Full UI (default)
	/help
		Help information
Restart Options
	/norestart
		Do not restart after the installation is complete
	/promptrestart
		Prompts the user for restart if necessary
	/forcerestart
		Always restart the computer after installation
Logging Options
	/l[i|w|e|a|r|u|c|m|o|p|v|x|+|!|*] <LogFile>
		i - Status messages
		w - Nonfatal warnings
		e - All error messages
		a - Start up of actions
		r - Action-specific records
		u - User requests
		c - Initial UI parameters
		m - Out-of-memory or fatal exit information
		o - Out-of-disk-space messages
		p - Terminal properties
		v - Verbose output
		x - Extra debugging information
		+ - Append to existing log file
		! - Flush each line to the log
		* - Log all information, except for v and x options
	/log <LogFile>
		Equivalent of /l* <LogFile>
Update Options
	/update <Update1.msp>[;Update2.msp]
		Applies update(s)
	/uninstall <PatchCodeGuid>[;Update2.msp] /package <Product.msi | ProductCode>
		Remove update(s) for a product
Repair Options
	/f[p|e|c|m|s|o|d|a|u|v] <Product.msi | ProductCode>
		Repairs a product
		p - only if file is missing
		o - if file is missing or an older version is installed (default)
		e - if file is missing or an equal or older version is installed
		d - if file is missing or a different version is installed
		c - if file is missing or checksum does not match the calculated value
		a - forces all files to be reinstalled
		u - all required user-specific registry entries (default)
		m - all required computer-specific registry entries (default)
		s - all existing shortcuts (default)
		v - runs from source and recaches local package
Setting Public Properties
	[PROPERTY=PropertyValue]

Consult the Windows ® Installer SDK for additional documentation on the
command line syntax.

Copyright © Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Portions of this software are based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group.

---

i got this following error after getting a popup window titled Windows Installer & showing output similar to msiexec /?, it seems to be similar to these:

• by @bogez57 (exit-code: 1639) comment, probable fix shared by @properchopsticks at comment
• by @florianingerl (exit-code: 1603) comment
• by @poonamj03 (exit-code not shared): comment

---

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "...\portable-msvc\portable-msvc.py", line 273, in <module>
    subprocess.check_call(["msiexec.exe", "/a", str(msi), "/quiet", "/qn", f"TARGETDIR={d2}"])
  File "...\Python\Python312\Lib\subprocess.py", line 413, in check_call
    raise CalledProcessError(retcode, cmd)
subprocess.CalledProcessError: Command '[
        'msiexec.exe', 
        '/a', 
        '$LOCALAPPDATA\\Temp\\tmp0y593jh9\\vc_RuntimeDebug.msi', 
        '/quiet', 
        '/qn', 
        'TARGETDIR=$LOCALAPPDATA\\Temp\\tmprg5jtiha'
]' returned non-zero exit status 1639.

i wish there was a way to do retry from the "Unpacking msi files..." part, it feels stupid to download all those .base, .msi, .cab etc files over and over and over and over again.

Updated script to leave downloaded files in downloads folder. If msiexec fails then you can try running its command manually without /quiet /qn flags to see if it produces more detailed error message.

thanks a lot. super awesome refactoring.

I got this error:

Unpacking msi files...
vc_RuntimeDebug.msi ... 100%
cab1.cab ... 100%
VC_diasdk.msi ... 100%
cab1.cab ... 100%
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "msvc.py", line 309, in <module>
    target.chmod(stat.S_IWRITE)
  File "C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python312\Lib\pathlib.py", line 1327, in chmod
    os.chmod(self, mode, follow_symlinks=follow_symlinks)
FileNotFoundError: [WinError 2] The system cannot find the file specified: 'msvc\\VC\\Tools\\MSVC\\14.39.33519\\bin\\Hostx64\\x64\\msdia140.dll'

Fixed it, please try running script again.