Windows

Windows builds use Visual Studio 2026 (MSVC toolset v145). CI builds and tests the static debug and release configurations on x64.

1. Prerequisites#

• Visual Studio 2026 with the Desktop development with C++ workload. The Community edition is sufficient.
• Git.
• nuget.exe, from nuget.org, on the PATH.

Build from a Developer Command Prompt for VS 2026, which puts msbuild on the PATH.

2. Build with the script#

Clone the five repositories side by side:

$ mkdir libbitcoin
$ cd libbitcoin
$ git clone https://github.com/libbitcoin/libbitcoin-system
$ git clone https://github.com/libbitcoin/libbitcoin-database
$ git clone https://github.com/libbitcoin/libbitcoin-network
$ git clone https://github.com/libbitcoin/libbitcoin-node
$ git clone https://github.com/libbitcoin/libbitcoin-server

Then build all five:

$ cd libbitcoin-server
$ builds\msvc\build-msvc.cmd --build-src-dir .. --build-config StaticRelease --build-platform x64 --build-use-local-src

The script restores the NuGet packages and builds libbitcoin-system, libbitcoin-database, libbitcoin-network, libbitcoin-node and libbitcoin-server in order, then runs the tests. The result is bin\x64\Release\v145\static\bs.exe.

bx needs only libbitcoin-system and libbitcoin-network beside libbitcoin-explorer:

$ git clone https://github.com/libbitcoin/libbitcoin-system
$ git clone https://github.com/libbitcoin/libbitcoin-network
$ git clone https://github.com/libbitcoin/libbitcoin-explorer
$ cd libbitcoin-explorer
$ builds\msvc\build-msvc.cmd --build-src-dir .. --build-config StaticRelease --build-platform x64 --build-use-local-src

The result is bin\x64\Release\v145\static\bx.exe, and the options below apply to both.

Other arguments are passed to msbuild. Build options are set as properties, for example /p:Option-cuda=false (see Build options).

3. Build in Visual Studio#

Open builds\msvc\vs2026\libbitcoin-server.sln. It contains libbitcoin-server, its tests and bs, and references the other four libraries in their sibling directories. For bx, open builds\msvc\vs2026\libbitcoin-explorer.sln, which references libbitcoin-system and libbitcoin-network. Select StaticRelease or StaticDebug and build. NuGet packages are restored on the first build.

Build options are on each project's property pages, under Configuration Properties.

4. Instruction set#

Windows x64 and Win32 builds target AVX2 by default, so such a bs.exe requires a CPU with AVX2 (Intel Haswell, AMD Excavator or later). This is only a default, set by Option-arch, and can be lowered for an older CPU, for example to AVX or SSE2:

$ builds\msvc\build-msvc.cmd --build-src-dir .. --build-config StaticRelease --build-use-local-src /p:Option-arch=StreamingSIMDExtensions2

An extension option raises it as needed: Option-sse41 to at least AVX, Option-avx2, Option-avxifma, Option-vaes or Option-sha512 to AVX2, and Option-avx512 to AVX-512.

5. Machine options#

Options given on the command line apply to one build, and options set on the property pages are saved in the project files. To set options for every build on a machine, put them in a Directory.Build.props file in the directory that holds the cloned repositories (libbitcoin above). MSBuild imports this file into every project below its directory, so the options apply to all five libraries, whether built by build-msvc.cmd or in Visual Studio. The file is outside the repositories and is never checked in.

For example, an AVX-512 machine with IFMA, AES-NI, VAES and the SHA extensions:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
  <PropertyGroup>
    <Option-arch>AdvancedVectorExtensions512</Option-arch>
    <Option-avx512ifma>true</Option-avx512ifma>
    <Option-avxifma>false</Option-avxifma>
    <Option-aesni>true</Option-aesni>
    <Option-vaes>true</Option-vaes>
    <Option-shani>true</Option-shani>
    <Option-cuda>true</Option-cuda>
  </PropertyGroup>
</Project>

A property not set in the file keeps its default, and a /p: property on the command line overrides the file. The build prints the resulting options at the start of each library's build.