[[TOC(inline, depth=1)]]

= Introduction =

MSVC buildsystem is a part of [https://github.com/OpenVPN/openvpn-build openvpn-build subproject] in [https://github.com/ GitHub]. It allows building OpenVPN and all it's dependencies on a Windows box with minimal dependencies.

= Setting up the build computer =

MSVC build was written with least dependencies in mind. You'll need only [http://www.activestate.com/activeperl Perl] and Visual Studio 2017 (Community or Professional). Once dependencies have been installed, launch Git Bash and follow [wiki:BuildingUsingGenericBuildsystem#Checkingoutopenvpn-buildrepository these instructions] to checkout [https://github.com/OpenVPN/openvpn-build openvpn-build] repository, which contains the MSVC buildsystem.

To customize the build options, refer to ''build-env.bat'', it contains the defaults for building, most settings can be customized by setting environment variable before executing the build script. You can also configure the build to use a Git repository or tarball of your liking, for example:

{{{
set GITHUB_USER=johndoe&& set OPENVPN_VERSION=vs2017&& build.bat
}}}


= Building using MSVC buildsystem =

Descend to the ''openvpn-build/msvc'' directory and build:

{{{
> cd openvpn-build/msvc
> build.bat
}}}

This fetches all the dependencies, builds them and builds OpenVPN.

To build only dependencies:

{{{
> set MODE=DEPS&& build.bat
}}}

To build only openvpn (assuming dependencies are already built):

{{{
> set MODE=OPENVPN&& build.bat
}}}

= Using Visual Studio IDE =

After command-line build you can use Visual Studio IDE - just open

{{{
> openvpn-build\msvc\build.tmp\openvpn-<branch>\openvpn.sln
}}}

Note that by default build.bat builds dependencies for x64 architecture, so don't
forget to set "Solution Platforms" to "x64".

When running openvpn from IDE, you either need to copy dependencies (libeay32.dll etc) from
{{{
> openvpn-build\msvc\image\bin
}}}
to
{{{
> openvpn-build\msvc\build.tmp\openvpn-vs2017\x64-Output\Debug
}}}
or change "Working Directory" to openvpn-build\msvc\image\bin.