How do I run msbuild from the command line using Windows SDK 7.1?

Question

I'm setting up .NET 4.0 support on our CI server. I've installed .NET 4.0, and the .NET tools from the Windows 7.1 SDK.

On .NET 2.0 and 3.5, that just worked. With .NET 4, when I run the "Windows SDK 7.1 Command Prompt" from the Start menu, it complains about

The x86 compilers are not currently installed. x86-x86
Please go to Add/Remove Programs to update your installation.
.
Setting SDK environment relative to C:\Program Files\Microsoft
SDKs\Windows\v7.1
\.
Targeting Windows Server 2008 x86 Debug

Then when I try to run msbuild, I get:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v7.1>msbuild
'msbuild' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v7.1>

I can't quite believe that installing the runtime and SDK will leave you with a system that can't run msbuild... have I missed some obvious step or obscure Windows Update, or is time to give up and start hacking the system path?

What is MS Build trying to build? If it's a C++ project, make sure the x86 compilers are installed. If you CI server is Server Core, make sure you install WOW64 (Though I've had no success running CI on Server Core) — vcsjones, Jun 12 '11 at 00:07
Nope - plain .NET 4.0 web apps on a Windows Server 2008 SP1... — Dylan Beattie, Jun 12 '11 at 00:12
Erm, so you can't quite belief that you can configure a build server without paying the license fee? The VS license allows you to install on more than one machine. I'd recommend you take advantage of that. — Hans Passant, Jun 12 '11 at 00:18
What is the `%VCTools%` environment variable set to? It should be set to a path. Does `cl.exe` exist in that path? Also, are you on a non-English Windows? I've heard some reports of this problem on localized Windows installation. — vcsjones, Jun 12 '11 at 00:21
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/887894/how-to-find-windows-sdks-setenv-cmd-setenv-cmd-does-not-work-correctly — Kyle Alons, Jun 12 '11 at 01:02

score 391 · Accepted Answer · edited Jul 01 '23 at 13:25

391

To enable msbuild in Command Prompt, you simply have to add the directory of the msbuild.exe install on your machine to the PATH environment variable.

You can access the environment variables by:

Right clicking on Computer
Click Properties
Then click Advanced system settings on the left navigation bar
On the next dialog box click Environment variables
Scroll down to PATH
Edit it to include your path to the framework (don't forget a ";" after the last entry in here).

For reference, my path was C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319

Path Updates:

As of MSBuild 12 (2013)/VS 2013/.NET 4.5.1+ and onward MSBuild is now installed as a part of Visual Studio.

For VS2015 the path was %ProgramFiles(x86)%\MSBuild\14.0\Bin

For VS2017 the path was %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\<YOUR_VS_EDITION>\MSBuild\15.0\Bin

For VS2019 the path was %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\<YOUR_VS_EDITION>\MSBuild\Current\Bin

For VS2022 the path was %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\<YOUR_VS_EDITION>\MSBuild\Current\Bin

where <YOUR_VS_EDITION> matches the Visual Studio edition that you have installed, i.e., Preview, Community, Professional, Enterprise.

edited Jul 01 '23 at 13:25

atalantus

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answered Sep 26 '12 at 19:07

propagated

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2

I do this as well to make msbuild always available in PowerShell – Wiebe Tijsma Oct 23 '13 at 08:35
54

Just remember to restart the Prompt after add the new path. – Campinho Feb 25 '15 at 21:48
3

Also, you can't have any white space after the ';' character. – Michael Fry May 26 '15 at 02:25
4

That is the old directory, MSBuild doesn't install with .NET framework, actually even at the time of question it was deprecated info. https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh162058.aspx – J. M. Becker Sep 23 '16 at 22:13
I found this pretty helpful if you don't know where the path to `MSBuild` is: http://stackoverflow.com/a/15446618/198348 – Ehtesh Choudhury Oct 20 '16 at 19:49
Base on the article above the correct path to add to environment variables for me was `%ProgramFiles(x86)%\msbuild\14.0\Bin` – Cheburek May 11 '17 at 08:06
9

The path has changed for MSBuild 15.0. It's now under the VisualStudio 2017 install directory. For example: `C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Enterprise\MSBuild\15.0\Bin`. See https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/msbuild/what-s-new-in-msbuild-15-0 – Assaf Israel May 04 '18 at 21:14
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It appears to have changed again in Visual Studio 2019. The path on my machine is: `C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Community\MSBuild\Current\Bin`. – TheGreatCabbage Jul 31 '19 at 07:21
`C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\14.0\Bin\MSBuild.exe %ProgramFiles(x86)%\MSBuild\14.0\Bin\MSBuild.exe`I tried the above and it didn't work for me I am using VS Express 2015 and VS Code 1.54.1 – Sharique Khan Mar 09 '21 at 12:55
2

If you are using the VS install of MSBuild make sure you match your edition in the PATH (Community, Professional, Enterprise) – David Lumpkin Apr 20 '21 at 18:01
@ShariqueKhan Currently facing the same problem with VS Express 2015. Did you manage to get this solved? – YouJin Dec 20 '22 at 02:35
@YouJin yes it was resolved by adding the correct path. – Sharique Khan Dec 21 '22 at 09:01

Abhinav Galodha · Answer 2 · 2021-06-29T10:12:59.137

From Visual Studio 2013 onwards, MSbuild comes as a part of Visual Studio. Earlier, MSBuild was installed as a part of. NET Framework.

MSBuild is installed directly under %ProgramFiles%. So, the path for MSBuild might be different depending on the version of Visual Studio.

For Visual Studio 2015, Path of MSBuild is "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\MSBuild\14.0\Bin\MSBuild.exe"

For Visual Studio 15 Preview, Path of MSBuild is "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\MSBuild\15.0\Bin\MSBuild.exe"

Also, Some new MSBuild properties has been added and some have been modified. For more information look here

Update 1: VS 2017

The location for the MSBuild has changed again with the release of Visual Studio 2017. Now the installation directory is under the %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\[VS Edition]\MSBuild\15.0\Bin\. Since, i have an Enterprise edition, the MSBuild location for my machine is "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Enterprise\MSBuild\15.0\Bin\MSbuild.exe"

Update 2: VS 2019

Path is C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Enterprise\MSBuild\Current\Bin\MsBuild.exe.

score 15 · Answer 3 · edited Jun 09 '23 at 09:23

15

Using the "Developer Command Prompt for Visual Studio 20XX" shortcut instead of "cmd" will set the path for msbuild automatically without having to add it to your environment variables.

edited Jun 09 '23 at 09:23

ivan_pozdeev

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answered Jan 14 '18 at 15:52

DavGarcia

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No, it doesn't (at least not in environment where only msbuild is installed, but not visual studio) – Ezh Mar 05 '19 at 17:15
@Ezh if Visual Studio 20XX is not installed, there won't be a "Developer Command Prompt for Visual Studio 20XX" shortcut. – ivan_pozdeev Jun 09 '23 at 09:20

score 6 · Answer 4 · edited Mar 16 '18 at 14:12

6

Your bat file could be like:

CD C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319

msbuild C:\Users\mmaratt\Desktop\BladeTortoise\build\ALL_BUILD.vcxproj

PAUSE

EXIT

edited Mar 16 '18 at 14:12

jpaugh

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answered Jun 22 '15 at 20:02

Mohith Maratt

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Giving the full path to msbuild means you can look for a project file in the current directory, instead of hard-coding it. Something like `C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\msbuild *.*proj` might do it, although do note that the path for newer versions of MSBuild (circa 2013) is different. – jpaugh Mar 16 '18 at 14:11
That path still exists in 2022 and always the same despite you VS version, but it cannot build .net core projects. sad. – ADM-IT May 09 '22 at 13:21

score 6 · Answer 5 · answered May 07 '19 at 17:24

6

For Visual Studio 2019 (Preview, at least) it is now in:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Preview\MSBuild\Current\Bin\MSBuild.exe

I imagine the process will be similar for the official 2019 release.

answered May 07 '19 at 17:24

kaifas

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Correct. In Visual Studio 2019 the path is `C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Professional\MSBuild\Current\Bin\MsBuild.exe`. – eddex Apr 15 '20 at 08:34

score 2 · Answer 6 · answered Sep 20 '17 at 09:47

2

To be able to build with C# 6 syntax use this in path:

C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\14.0\Bin

answered Sep 20 '17 at 09:47

Morten Holmgaard

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score 2 · Answer 7 · answered Oct 05 '21 at 11:20

2

For Visual Studio 2022 (Preview, at least) it is now in:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Preview\MSBuild\Current

I imagine the process will be similar for the official 2022 release.

answered Oct 05 '21 at 11:20

sboulema

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Yes, it is this path now. – Florian Jan 05 '23 at 10:24

score 1 · Answer 8 · answered Apr 16 '22 at 09:45

1

For visual studio 2022 you should add this to your "environment variables":

%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Community\MSBuild\Current\Bin

if you have not this path in your windows, find similar path by searching your %ProgramFiles% directory

answered Apr 16 '22 at 09:45

mohammad mirshojaee

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ivan_pozdeev · Answer 9 · 2023-06-09T09:37:38.487

The SetEnv.cmd script that the "SDK command prompt" shortcut installed with Windows SDK 7.1 erroneously runs checks for cl.exe in various places before adding any entries to PATH. So it fails to add anything if a native C compiler is not installed, even if .NET tools are.

A workaround is to run the Windows SDK 7.1 installer and install the SDK's native C++ toolchain, too.

A real fix is to apply the below patch to SetEnv.cmd

It resides under <SDK install dir>\Bin\SetEnv.cmd. This will also fix missing paths to other tools located in <SDK install dir>\Bin and subfolders.

--- SetEnv.Cmd_ 2010-04-27 19:52:00.000000000 +0400
+++ SetEnv.Cmd  2013-12-02 15:05:30.834400000 +0400
@@ -228,10 +228,10 @@
 
 IF "%CURRENT_CPU%" =="x64" (
   IF "%TARGET_CPU%" == "x64" (
+    SET "FxTools=%FrameworkDir64%\%FrameworkVersion%;%FrameworkDir32%%FrameworkVersion%;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v3.5;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5;"
+    SET "SdkTools=%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools\x64;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\x64;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin;"
     IF EXIST "%VCTools%\amd64\cl.exe" (
       SET "VCTools=%VCTools%\amd64;%VCTools%\VCPackages;"
-      SET "SdkTools=%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools\x64;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\x64;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin;"
-      SET "FxTools=%FrameworkDir64%\%FrameworkVersion%;%FrameworkDir32%%FrameworkVersion%;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v3.5;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5;"
     ) ELSE (
       SET VCTools=
       ECHO The x64 compilers are not currently installed.
@@ -239,10 +239,10 @@
       ECHO .
     )
   ) ELSE IF "%TARGET_CPU%" == "IA64" (
+    SET "FxTools=%FrameworkDir64%\%FrameworkVersion%;%FrameworkDir32%%FrameworkVersion%;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v3.5;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5;"
+    SET "SdkTools=%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools\x64;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\x64;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin;"
     IF EXIST "%VCTools%\x86_ia64\cl.exe" (
       SET "VCTools=%VCTools%\x86_ia64;%VCTools%\VCPackages;"
-      SET "SdkTools=%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools\x64;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\x64;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin;"
-      SET "FxTools=%FrameworkDir64%\%FrameworkVersion%;%FrameworkDir32%%FrameworkVersion%;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v3.5;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5;"
     ) ELSE (
       SET VCTools=
       ECHO The IA64 compilers are not currently installed.
@@ -250,10 +250,10 @@
       ECHO .
     )
   ) ELSE IF "%TARGET_CPU%" == "x86" (
+    SET "FxTools=%FrameworkDir32%%FrameworkVersion%;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5;"
+    SET "SdkTools=%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin;"
     IF EXIST "%VCTools%\cl.exe" (
       SET "VCTools=%VCTools%;%VCTools%\VCPackages;"
-      SET "SdkTools=%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin;"
-      SET "FxTools=%FrameworkDir32%%FrameworkVersion%;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5;"
     ) ELSE (
       SET VCTools=
       ECHO The x86 compilers are not currently installed.
@@ -263,10 +263,10 @@
   )
 ) ELSE IF "%CURRENT_CPU%" =="IA64" (
   IF "%TARGET_CPU%" == "IA64" (
+    SET "FxTools=%FrameworkDir64%\%FrameworkVersion%;%FrameworkDir32%%FrameworkVersion%;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v3.5;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5;"
+    SET "SdkTools=%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools\IA64;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\IA64;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin;"
     IF EXIST "%VCTools%\IA64\cl.exe" (
       SET "VCTools=%VCTools%\IA64;%VCTools%;%VCTools%\VCPackages;"
-      SET "SdkTools=%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools\IA64;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\IA64;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin;"
-      SET "FxTools=%FrameworkDir64%\%FrameworkVersion%;%FrameworkDir32%%FrameworkVersion%;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v3.5;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5;"
     ) ELSE (
       SET VCTools=
       ECHO The IA64 compilers are not currently installed.
@@ -274,10 +274,10 @@
       ECHO .
     )
   ) ELSE IF "%TARGET_CPU%" == "x64" (
+    SET "FxTools=%FrameworkDir64%\%FrameworkVersion%;%FrameworkDir32%%FrameworkVersion%;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v3.5;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5;"
+    SET "SdkTools=%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools\IA64;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\IA64;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin;"
     IF EXIST "%VCTools%\x86_amd64\cl.exe" (
       SET "VCTools=%VCTools%\x86_amd64;%VCTools%\VCPackages;"
-      SET "SdkTools=%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools\IA64;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\IA64;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin;"
-      SET "FxTools=%FrameworkDir64%\%FrameworkVersion%;%FrameworkDir32%%FrameworkVersion%;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v3.5;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5;"
     ) ELSE (
       SET VCTools=
       ECHO The VC compilers are not currently installed.
@@ -285,10 +285,10 @@
       ECHO .
     )
   ) ELSE IF "%TARGET_CPU%" == "x86" (
+    SET "FxTools=%FrameworkDir32%%FrameworkVersion%;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5;"
+    SET "SdkTools=%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin;"
     IF EXIST "%VCTools%\cl.exe" (
       SET "VCTools=%VCTools%;%VCTools%\VCPackages;"
-      SET "SdkTools=%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin;"
-      SET "FxTools=%FrameworkDir32%%FrameworkVersion%;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5;"
     ) ELSE (
       SET VCTools=
       ECHO The x86 compilers are not currently installed.
@@ -298,10 +298,10 @@
   )
 ) ELSE IF "%CURRENT_CPU%"=="x86" (
   IF "%TARGET_CPU%" == "x64" (
+    SET "FxTools=%FrameworkDir32%%FrameworkVersion%;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5;"
+    SET "SdkTools=%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin;"
     IF EXIST "%VCTools%\x86_amd64\cl.exe" (
       SET "VCTools=%VCTools%\x86_amd64;%VCTools%\VCPackages;"
-      SET "SdkTools=%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin;"
-      SET "FxTools=%FrameworkDir32%%FrameworkVersion%;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5;"
     ) ELSE (
       SET VCTools=
       ECHO The x64 cross compilers are not currently installed.
@@ -309,10 +309,10 @@
       ECHO .
     )
   ) ELSE IF "%TARGET_CPU%" == "IA64" (
+    SET "FxTools=%FrameworkDir32%%FrameworkVersion%;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5;"
+    SET "SdkTools=%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin;"
     IF EXIST "%VCTools%\x86_IA64\cl.exe" (
       SET "VCTools=%VCTools%\x86_IA64;%VCTools%;%VCTools%\VCPackages;"
-      SET "SdkTools=%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin;"
-      SET "FxTools=%FrameworkDir32%%FrameworkVersion%;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5;"
     ) ELSE (
       SET VCTools=
       ECHO The IA64 compilers are not currently installed.
@@ -320,10 +320,10 @@
       ECHO .
     )
   ) ELSE IF "%TARGET_CPU%" == "x86" (
+    SET "FxTools=%FrameworkDir32%%FrameworkVersion%;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5;"
+    SET "SdkTools=%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin;"
     IF EXIST "%VCTools%\cl.exe" (
       SET "VCTools=%VCTools%;%VCTools%\VCPackages;"
-      SET "SdkTools=%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin;"
-      SET "FxTools=%FrameworkDir32%%FrameworkVersion%;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5;"
     ) ELSE (
       SET VCTools=
       ECHO The x86 compilers are not currently installed. x86-x86
@@ -331,15 +331,17 @@
       ECHO .
     )
   )
-) ELSE IF EXIST "%VCTools%\cl.exe" (
-  SET "VCTools=%VCTools%;%VCTools%\VCPackages;"
-  SET "SdkTools=%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin;"
-  SET "FxTools=%FrameworkDir32%%FrameworkVersion%;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5;"
 ) ELSE (
-  SET VCTools=
-  ECHO The x86 compilers are not currently installed. default
-  ECHO Please go to Add/Remove Programs to update your installation.
-  ECHO .
+  SET "FxTools=%FrameworkDir32%%FrameworkVersion%;%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5;"
+  SET "SdkTools=%WindowsSdkDir%Bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools;%WindowsSdkDir%Bin;"
+  IF EXIST "%VCTools%\cl.exe" (
+    SET "VCTools=%VCTools%;%VCTools%\VCPackages;"
+  ) ELSE (
+    SET VCTools=
+    ECHO The x86 compilers are not currently installed. default
+    ECHO Please go to Add/Remove Programs to update your installation.
+    ECHO .
+  )
 )
 
 :: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The most creaziest and complicated solution I ever saw in my life :-))) — ADM-IT, May 09 '22 at 13:27
@ADM-IT Wecome to the wonderful world of downstream patching. — ivan_pozdeev, May 09 '22 at 16:25

How do I run msbuild from the command line using Windows SDK 7.1?

9 Answers9

Path Updates:

Linked