The Visual Studio 2010 Build Tools (v100) are no longer available as a standalone, officially supported installer. To obtain this toolset today, you must use one of the following official Microsoft methods: 1. Download via Visual Studio Subscriptions
The most reliable official source for Visual Studio 2010 components is the Older Downloads page.
Step 1: Log in to My.VisualStudio.com with a free Dev Essentials or paid subscription.
Step 2: Search for "Visual Studio 2010" to find the full IDE installer or the Visual Studio 2010 Service Pack 1. Visual Studio 2010 Build Tools V100 Download
Step 3: Installing the base VS2010 IDE automatically includes the v100 toolset. 2. Windows SDK for Windows 7 (Alternate Method)
If you do not want to install the full IDE, the v100 compiler tools are included in the Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 4.
Requirement: After installing the SDK, you must apply the Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 SP1 Compiler Update to restore compilers that may be removed during the SDK installation process. 3. Essential Runtime Components The Visual Studio 2010 Build Tools (v100) are
If you only need the environment to run applications (not build them), download these redistributables:
msbuild MySolution.sln /p:Configuration=Release /p:Platform=Win32 /p:PlatformToolset=v100
If you have installed a modern version of Visual Studio (e.g., VS 2019 or 2022), it defaults to the latest toolsets (v142 or v143). While Visual Studio allows you to "retarget" a project to a newer toolset, this can sometimes introduce breaking changes or require significant code refactoring.
To avoid this, developers often prefer to install the older build tools directly. However, Visual Studio 2010 is no longer officially supported by Microsoft, meaning it does not appear in the standard Visual Studio Installer's "Individual Components" list for modern IDEs. The Challenge: Modern Compatibility If you have installed
The Windows SDK 7.1 contains the exact same v100 compiler (cl.exe version 16.00) without the Visual Studio IDE. This is the closest historical equivalent to "Build Tools."
Historical Warning: The original SDK 7.1 installer has a known bug where it fails if the VC++ 2010 Redistributable is already installed (a chicken-and-egg problem). You must uninstall any existing VC++ 2010 Redists before installing.