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| Original author(s) | Rob Mensching,Microsoft |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | .NET Foundation |
| Initial release | 5 April 2004; 20 years ago (2004-04-05) |
| Stable release | 5.0.0 / 5 April 2024; 11 months ago (2024-04-05) |
| Repository | github |
| Written in | C++,C# |
| Operating system | Windows |
| Type | Software development tools |
| License | Microsoft Reciprocal License |
| Website | wixtoolset |
Windows Installer XML Toolset (WiX, pronounced "wicks") is afree software toolset that buildsWindows Installer packages fromXML. It consists of a command-line environment that developers may integrate into their build processes to buildMSI and MSM packages. WiX was the firstMicrosoft project to be released under anopen-source license, theCommon Public License.[1][2] It was also the first Microsoft project to be hosted on an external website.[1]
After its release in 2004, Microsoft has used WiX to packageOffice 2007,SQL Server 2005,Visual Studio 2005/2008, and other products.[3][2]
WiX includes Votive, aVisual Studio add-in that allows creating and building WiX setup projects using the Visual StudioIDE. Votive supportssyntax highlighting andIntelliSense for.wxs source files and adds a WiX setup project type.wixproj to Visual Studio.[4]
WiX was the firstMicrosoft project to be released under anopen-source license, theCommon Public License.[1][2] Initially hosted onSourceForge, it was also the first Microsoft project to be hosted externally.[1]
On June 6, 2010, WiX moved from SourceForge toCodePlex. On August 14, 2012, Microsoft transferred the WiX copyright to the Microsoft-sponsoredOutercurve Foundation.[5] At the same time, the license was changed from theCommon Public License to theMicrosoft 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.[6]
WiX is a toolset designed to build Windows Installer (.msi) packages using the command line.[4] It comes with the following tools:[5][4][7]
