Installing --global windows-build-tools never completes

Question

I am trying to install --global windows-build-tools by running below command

npm install --global windows-build-tools -verbose

No matter if I try through PowerShell or CMD (both as Administrator), the installation gets stuck in the same step.

npm info run [email protected] postinstall node_modules/windows-build-tools node ./dist/index.js [##################] | reify:resolve: info run [email protected] postinstall node_modules/windows-build-tools node ./dist/index.js

Is there a reason why this might not complete?

Answer 1

According to the windows-build-tools repo

Please note that the official Node.js for Windows installer can now automatically install the required tools. That's likely a much better option than the module listed here (windows-build-tools).

recommended approach:

1. Go to node-download-page
2. Download LTS version for windows
3. Follow the installation instructions
4. When you got to this window, check the checkbox
5. After the installation it will prompt you to this window, it will automatically download the necessary dependencies

If you want to use this package(not recommended):

You should try to roll back to version 4.0.0

Run the command-line as administrator and try this:

npm install --global [email protected]

related question

Answer 2

If you're having trouble installing windows-build-tools (which I had a problem with recently), you should roll back to version 4.0.0.

Run PowerShell as Administrator, and then type in the following command (assuming you have node and npm installed).

npm install --global [email protected]

This process can take some time, so please be patient.

Built-in Node.js Build Tools

There are built-in Node.js build tools, so it is recommended to use this. In fact, if you go on the npm or GitHub page of the windows-build-tools package, it will say that you should use the Node.js build tools.

To do this, go to the official Node.js download website, and download the LTS version. Then, run the installer. At a point in the installation, it will have a checkbox that says Automatically install the recommended tools. Make sure to check that!

When you install it, it will also install Chocolatey, and install the build tools like the windows-build-tools package.

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Even though both of these work, it is recommended to use the Node.js built tools!

Answer 3

Following this thread for a while now.

Disclaimer: Please note that I know this is not directly answering your question about why the process gets stuck but I want to share my solution anyway.

The installation via chocolatey did not work for me, as mentioned in:

• https://github.com/felixrieseberg/windows-build-tools/issues/245
• https://github.com/felixrieseberg/windows-build-tools/issues/152

Then, I found this microsoft page. On this page, the person asked this question:

I tried to install the Microsoft Visual C++ Build tools. The installer (filename is visualcppbuildtools_full.exe) stops right after the start of the installation it says a setup package is missing or damaged("Ein Setuppaket fehlt oder ist beschädigt"). The option to download it again doesnt work. Downloading the installer again doesnt help. Trying to do an offline installation doesnt work either and I get the same error. How can I find out what exactly the problem is and how can I solve it?

The solution mentions the page https://my.visualstudio.com/Download that provides different build tool versions:

I was able to download and install "Build Tools for Visual Studio 2017 (version 15.9)".