Can I download the Visual C++ Command Line Compiler without Visual Studio?

As per the title. I don't want to download the entire Visual C++ installer, only "cl.exe" and the other programs required for compiling and linking C++ programs on Windows.

As said, there is no way to do that. You need to download the entire 4-6GB+ bundle. MS deployment is a botch.

There is no need, however, to actually install everything. If you're up to some manual installation, you can extract individual components from the bundle and put them all in a more organized directory tree.

For example, I've found the following set to be the bare minimum needed for using the current MSVC2013 compilers in a x86 environment:

vc_compilerCore86.msi: MSVC toolchain;
vc_compilerCore86res.msi: MSVC toolchain MUI resources;
vc_librarycore86.msi: MSVC library stuff;
vc_LibraryDesktopX86.msi: More MSVC library stuff;
Windows Software Development Kit for Windows Store Apps-x86_en-us.msi: Windows SDK files and related tools (rc.exe, mt.exe, etc.);
Windows Software Development Kit-x86_en-us.msi: More Windows SDK files (specifically, WinSock2.h, WS2_32.lib, maybe others).

Remember that you can extract the contents of a MSI file by running msiexec /a <msifile> TARGETDIR="<path>" (jot a /quiet parameter if you're batching). Of course, you can also put more into your package by investigating the MSI files inside the bundle. In particular, the above set is missing the latest MSBuild tools, since I don't care for them. Stuff is often scattered around between multiple MSIs cluelessly, so good luck.

I've got a 50MB (!!!) 7z-file containing this set for local deployment, though I cannot share this publicly due to Microsoft licensing restrictions.

UPDATE:

This is the list of MSI files for MSVC2015 tools, headers and libraries:

packages\VisualC_D14\VC_Tools.Core\VC_Tools.Core.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_Tools.Core.Res\VC_Tools.Core.Res.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_Tools.X86.Base\VC_Tools.X86.Base.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_Tools.X86.Base.Res\VC_Tools.X86.Base.Res.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_Tools.X86.Nat\VC_Tools.X86.Nat.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_Tools.X86.Nat.Res\VC_Tools.X86.Nat.Res.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_Tools.X86.X64\VC_Tools.X86.X64.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_Tools.X86.X64.Res\VC_Tools.X86.X64.Res.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_PremTools.X86.Base\VC_PremTools.X86.Base.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_PremTools.X86.Base.Res\VC_PremTools.X86.Base.Res.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_PremTools.X86.Nat\VC_PremTools.X86.Nat.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_PremTools.X86.Nat.Res\VC_PremTools.X86.Nat.Res.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_PremTools.X86.X64\VC_PremTools.X86.X64.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_PremTools.X86.X64.Res\VC_PremTools.X86.X64.Res.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_CRT.Headers\VC_CRT.Headers.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_CRT.X86.Desktop\VC_CRT.X86.Desktop.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_CRT.X86.Store\VC_CRT.X86.Store.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_CRT.X64.Desktop\VC_CRT.X64.Desktop.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_CRT.X64.Store\VC_CRT.X64.Store.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_CRT.Redist.Res\VC_CRT.Redist.Res.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_CRT.Redist.X86\VC_CRT.Redist.X86.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_CRT.Redist.X64\VC_CRT.Redist.X64.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_ATL.Headers\VC_ATL.Headers.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_ATL.X86\VC_ATL.X86.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_ATL.X64\VC_ATL.X64.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_MFC.Headers\VC_MFC.Headers.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_MFC.X86\VC_MFC.X86.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_MFC.X64\VC_MFC.X64.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_PGO.Headers\VC_PGO.Headers.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_PGO.X86\VC_PGO.X86.msi
packages\VisualC_D14\VC_PGO.X64\VC_PGO.X64.msi
packages\Win10_UniversalCRTSDK\Universal CRT Headers Libraries and Sources-x86_en-us.msi

And this is the list of MSI files for WinSDK10 tools, headers and libraries (downloaded separately):

Installers\Windows SDK Desktop Headers Libs Metadata-x86_en-us.msi
Installers\Windows SDK Desktop Tools-x86_en-us.msi
Installers\Windows SDK for Windows Store Apps Headers Libs-x86_en-us.msi
Installers\Windows SDK for Windows Store Apps Tools-x86_en-us.msi

All of this include stuff for both x86 and x64 (I haven't considered ARM or IA64). Both bundles compressed with LZMA will yield a 185MB file.

In 2014 you could not download the Visual C++ compiler alone from Microsoft.

It used to be that you could. Then it used to be that you could get it in the Platform SDK. Then you could only get it by installing Visual Studio.

Happily, at that time, the compiler that was bundled with Visual Studio Express for Desktop (the free version of Visual Studio at the time) was, and is, the very same that you get with Professional or Universal editions.

In November 2015 Microsoft again started providing the compiler tools in a free-standing package called the Visual C++ Build Tools.

Microsoft writes:

” the C++ Build Tools installer will not run on a machine with Visual Studio 2015 already installed on it. The reverse (i.e. upgrade to Visual Studio) is supported.

The long term situation is, as always, unclear. And, disclaimer: I have not used the build tools myself – I would have to uninstall Visual Studio first.

As of 2019 Microsoft offers Visual Studio Build Tools which only includes the compiler, build tools and SDK. It's hidden in the all downloads list.

I ended up using Chocolatey, which has a package for Visual C++ Build Tools.

This command:

choco install visualcpp-build-tools

will install the latest 2017 version, but you can select one of the older versions, which include the 2015 release.

After the installation Visual Studio 2017 folder is added to the Programs menu. It includes shortcuts to various developer command prompts with cl.exe and other tools in the path.

Can I download the Visual C++ Command Line Compiler without Visual Studio?

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