Windows Setup
Install and configure the required system dependencies for Tauri development on Windows, including C++ Build Tools, WebView2 Runtime, and VBSCRIPT for MSI installers
Tauri on Windows needs three system-level pieces before you can build a single project. Two are mandatory for any Tauri app — the Microsoft C++ Build Tools and the WebView2 Runtime. The third, VBSCRIPT, only matters if you plan to generate .msi installers, but you will want it enabled early to avoid confusing build failures later.
This page walks through each dependency, explains why it exists, and shows you exactly what to install and how to verify it. If you hit a build error later, the root cause is almost always one of these three pieces being incomplete.
Why Windows Needs These Dependencies
Tauri combines a Rust backend with a web-based frontend. The Rust compiler on Windows relies on the Microsoft C++ toolchain to link the final executable and to compile any native C code inside Rust crates. Without that toolchain, you will see link.exe not found errors that stop the build immediately.
The frontend runs inside a system-provided webview, not a bundled Chromium engine. On Windows, that webview is Microsoft Edge WebView2. During development, your app needs a local WebView2 Runtime installed to launch at all. Windows 11 ships with it, but Windows 10 may not, and it is better to install the latest version explicitly so your dev environment matches what users on older systems will experience.
The MSI installer path uses the WiX Toolset. One of WiX's internal tools, light.exe, relies on the VBSCRIPT Windows feature to process custom actions. When VBSCRIPT is absent, the MSI build fails with a cryptic failed to run light.exe message. You can avoid that entire class of errors by enabling the feature now.
Runtime versus build-time:
The C++ Build Tools are a build‑time dependency. WebView2 is a runtime dependency — you need it to launch your app during development. VBSCRIPT is a packaging‑time dependency. All three sit on the developer's machine, not the end user's, though a production MSI installer will handle WebView2 and the Visual C++ redistributable for your users automatically.
Step‑by‑Step Setup
Install the components in the order below. The first two are required; the third is strongly recommended even if you start with NSIS installers, because you might switch later.
Step 1: Install Microsoft C++ Build Tools
The Rust toolchain on Windows uses the MSVC (Microsoft Visual C++) linker by default. Tauri projects also pull in Rust crates that compile C code, which requires a C++ compiler, the Windows SDK, and the MSVC runtime libraries.
Download the installer from the official Microsoft page:
Microsoft C++ Build Tools
Run the installer. When the workload selection screen appears, check the box next to Desktop development with C++. No other workload is needed. The default optional components on the right are sufficient — make sure “MSVC” and “Windows 10 SDK” (or Windows 11 SDK) remain checked.
Don't install Visual Studio instead:
The full Visual Studio IDE is not required. The Build Tools package is smaller and installs only the compiler, linker, and SDK. If you already have Visual Studio with the “Desktop development with C++” workload, you do not need to install the Build Tools separately — the toolchain is already present.
After installation, open a new terminal and confirm the compiler is available by running:
where cl
If the command returns a path, the toolchain is properly configured. If it fails, restart your computer and try again. Still missing? Re‑run the installer and verify the workload is actually installed — sometimes a system reboot is needed for the environment variables to propagate.
Step 2: Install Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime
Tauri renders your app's web UI using the operating system's native webview. On Windows, that means Edge WebView2. Without it, cargo tauri dev will crash immediately with a “WebView2 not found” error.
Download the Evergreen Bootstrapper from Microsoft:
WebView2 Runtime download page
The Evergreen Bootstrapper is a tiny installer that downloads the latest matching WebView2 Runtime for your system. Run it and follow the prompts. No configuration is needed.
Already on Windows 11?:
Windows 11 includes WebView2 out of the box. However, the pre‑installed version might be older than what your users will receive through automatic updates. Installing the Evergreen Bootstrapper pulls the most recent stable release, giving you a development environment closer to what a freshly updated system would provide.
To verify the installation, open Settings → Apps → Installed apps and search for “Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime.” You should see an entry with a version number. You can also check the registry:
reg query HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\EdgeUpdate\Clients\{F3017226-FE2A-4295-8BDF-00C3A9A7E4C5} /v pv
If the command returns a version string, the runtime is ready.
Step 3: Enable VBSCRIPT (for MSI installers)
When you build an MSI installer with Tauri, the WiX tool's light.exe calls VBSCRIPT to process custom actions. If the VBSCRIPT optional feature is missing, the build exits with a message like failed to run light.exe — a message that gives no hint about what is actually wrong.
On most Windows installations, VBSCRIPT is enabled by default. But Microsoft is gradually deprecating it, and some systems may have it turned off. Enabling it now prevents a confusing dead end later.
Open Settings → Apps → Optional features → More Windows features (a link near the top of the page). In the “Windows Features” dialog, scroll to VBSCRIPT and make sure its checkbox is checked. Click OK. Windows will apply the change; a restart may be requested.
This affects only MSI builds:
If you plan to distribute your app only as an NSIS installer (-setup.exe), VBSCRIPT is not required. However, because the default Tauri build generates both MSI and NSIS, a missing VBSCRIPT feature can still break tauri build even if you never intend to ship the MSI. Enabling it avoids that entirely.
Confirm VBSCRIPT is active by running a one‑line test in a Command Prompt:
cscript //nologo //E:vbscript
Then type WScript.Echo "VBS works" and press Enter, followed by Ctrl+Z and Enter. If you see VBS works, the feature is functional.
Common Pitfalls
After following the steps above, you should be able to move on to installing Rust and Node.js. If you run into trouble later, these are the issues most developers hit.
“link.exe not found” during cargo build
This means the C++ Build Tools are missing or not in your PATH. The Rust compiler invokes link.exe from the MSVC toolchain. Re‑open the Visual Studio Installer, confirm “Desktop development with C++” is installed, and restart your machine. If that does not help, open a Developer Command Prompt for VS (it automatically sets the correct environment) and run cargo build from there — if that works, your regular terminal is missing the PATH entries, which a reinstall usually fixes.
WebView2 error on launch
If cargo tauri dev opens a window that stays blank or shows an error about WebView2, the runtime is either not installed or a version mismatch exists. Download the Evergreen Bootstrapper again and reinstall. Check Settings → Apps to confirm it appears. On Windows 10, the WebView2 Runtime might be installed but not taken into use; a system restart usually resolves it.
MSI build fails with light.exe error
When tauri build errors out during the MSI packaging step, the most frequent cause on Windows is VBSCRIPT being disabled. Go through the optional features steps above and confirm VBSCRIPT is checked. If it is already enabled, try running the build from an elevated (administrator) terminal — occasionally file permission issues inside WiX produce the same symptom.
Verifying the Full Environment
You can perform a quick sanity check without creating a Tauri project yet. Open a fresh terminal and run these checks:
# Compiler available
where cl
# WebView2 Runtime registered
reg query HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\EdgeUpdate\Clients\{F3017226-FE2A-4295-8BDF-00C3A9A7E4C5} /v pv
# VBSCRIPT ready (no error means it works)
cscript //nologo //E:vbscript
Next Steps
Once the C++ Build Tools and WebView2 Runtime are verified, proceed to Installing Rust via rustup and Installing Node.js. For a high-level summary of prerequisites on all operating systems, revisit the System Dependencies Overview.