WiX
Windows Installer creation toolset
title: "WiX" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["free-installation-software", "free-software-programmed-in-c++", "free-software-programmed-in-c-sharp", "free-software-projects", "microsoft-development-tools", "microsoft-free-software", "windows-only-free-software", "xml-based-standards", "2004-software"] description: "Windows Installer creation toolset" topic_path: "technology/operating-systems" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiX" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Windows Installer creation toolset ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox software"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | WiX Toolset |
| logo | WiX logo (2016, black).svg |
| logo size | x64px |
| screenshot | |
| author | Rob Mensching, Microsoft |
| developer | .NET Foundation |
| released | |
| latest release version | 6.0.0 |
| latest release date | |
| repo | |
| programming language | C++, C# |
| operating system | Windows |
| language count | |
| genre | Software development tools |
| license | Microsoft Reciprocal License |
| website | |
| :: |
::callout[type=note] a software installation tool ::
| name = WiX Toolset | logo = WiX logo (2016, black).svg | logo size = x64px | logo alt = | screenshot = | caption = | screenshot alt = | collapsible = | author = Rob Mensching, Microsoft | developer = .NET Foundation | released = | discontinued = | latest release version = 6.0.0 | latest release date = | latest preview version = | latest preview date = | repo = | programming language = C++, C# | operating system = Windows | platform = | size = | language = | language count = | language footnote = | genre = Software development tools | license = Microsoft Reciprocal License | alexa = | website = | standard = | AsOf = Windows Installer XML Toolset (WiX, pronounced "wicks") is a free software toolset that builds Windows Installer packages from XML. It consists of a command-line environment that developers may integrate into their build processes to build MSI and MSM packages. WiX was the first Microsoft project to be released under an open-source license, the Common Public License. It was also the first Microsoft project to be hosted on an external website.
After its release in 2004, Microsoft has used WiX to package Office 2007, SQL Server 2005, Visual Studio 2005/2008, and other products.
WiX includes Votive, a Visual Studio add-in that allows creating and building WiX setup projects using the Visual Studio IDE. Votive supports syntax highlighting and IntelliSense for source files and adds a WiX setup project type to Visual Studio.
History
WiX was the first Microsoft project to be released under an open-source license, the Common Public License. Initially hosted on SourceForge, it was also the first Microsoft project to be hosted externally.
On June 6, 2010, WiX moved from SourceForge to CodePlex. On August 14, 2012, Microsoft transferred the WiX copyright to the Microsoft-sponsored Outercurve Foundation. At the same time, the license was changed from the Common Public License to the Microsoft Reciprocal License. On May 4, 2016, WiX was transferred to the .NET Foundation.
Since Visual Studio 2012, the traditional setup project type has been removed from Visual Studio (available only as an extension since Visual Studio 2013). WiX is a recommended alternative.
Functions
WiX is a toolset designed to build Windows Installer (.msi) packages using the command line. It comes with the following tools:
- Candle: compiles source files into object files
- Light: combines object files into a .msi file
- Lit: creates libraries that can be linked by Light.exe
- Dark: decompiles a .msi file into WiX code
- Heat: creates a WiX source file
- Pyro: creates Patch files (.msp) without needing the Windows Installer SDK
- Burn: coordinates dependency installer
References
References
- Lawson, Stephen. (6 April 2004). "Microsoft goes open source with WiX tool".
- Bisson, Simon. (2021-12-01). "Using WiX to build Windows installers".
- Robbins, John. (18 October 2007). "WiX: Hints for New Users (Part 1 of 3)". Wintellect.
- Ramirez, Nick. (2010-10-18). "WiX: A Developer's Guide to Windows Installer XML : Create a Hassle-free Installer for Your Windows Software Using WiX". Packt Publishing Ltd.
- Ramirez, Nick. (2012-01-01). "WiX 3.6 - A Developer's Guide to Windows Installer XML". Packt Publishing Ltd.
- Hodges, Buck. (17 March 2011). "Visual Studio setup projects (vdproj) will not ship with future versions of VS".
- Johnson, Bruce. (2014-03-05). "Professional Visual Studio 2013". John Wiley & Sons.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::