# Install xwin with Homebrew, Nix Microsoft CRT and Windows SDK headers and libraries loader. Version 0.9.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#xwin. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:xwin ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install xwin ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#xwin ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/xw/xwin/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:xwin - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 0.9.0 - **Source summary:** Microsoft CRT and Windows SDK headers and libraries loader - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - xwin (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 0.9.0 ## Project history and usage xwin is a Rust utility for downloading, unpacking, pruning, and laying out Microsoft CRT and Windows SDK headers and libraries so Windows MSVC-targeted builds can run from non-Windows hosts with LLVM/clang tooling. ### Project history Jake Shadle created the GitHub repository in August 2021 alongside a detailed post on cross-compiling Windows binaries from Linux. The blog explains the practical CI problem: producing `x86_64-pc-windows-msvc` outputs without running the whole Windows toolchain on Windows, while still using clang-cl and lld-link against Microsoft CRT and SDK files. The README defines xwin's core job as creating CRT and SDK root directories with the includes and libraries needed by native cross-compiling toolchains, including symlinks to repair Windows SDK casing problems on case-sensitive filesystems. The CLI grew commands such as `download`, `unpack`, `splat`, and `minimize`. Recent releases track changes in Microsoft's installer and manifest ecosystem: channel-name changes, MSI packages without cabinet references, TLS/certificate handling, HTTP retry behavior, and debug-runtime inclusion. ### Adoption history xwin sits in the Rust cross-compilation niche: developers targeting `*-pc-windows-msvc` from Linux or macOS need Windows headers and libraries but often prefer cargo, clang-cl, lld-link, containers, and Linux CI. Packaging xwin in Homebrew, Nix, crates.io, and GitHub releases makes that workflow scriptable. ### How it is used The common flow is `xwin --accept-license splat --output /path/to/sysroot`, then pointing clang-cl, lld-link, Cargo, or build scripts at the produced CRT and SDK include/library directories. `download` and `unpack` expose intermediate steps, while `minimize` can trace a Cargo build and produce a reduced map of files actually used. ### Why package nerds care xwin is significant because it turns proprietary-platform SDK acquisition into a reproducible package-style operation without redistributing Microsoft's files. It collapses a painful cross-compilation prerequisite into one auditable CLI. It also captures a modern packaging pattern: acquiring upstream binary installer payloads, normalizing layout, fixing filesystem case mismatches, caching aggressively, and producing a sysroot other tools can consume. ### Timeline - 2021-08-04: GitHub repository created. - 2021-08-22: Shadle publishes the cross-compiling Windows binaries from Linux walkthrough describing the new utility and its CI motivation. - 2021: README-era workflow centers on downloading CRT/SDK payloads and `splat` output for clang/LLVM Windows cross builds. - 2024-2025: Releases focus on Microsoft installer churn, HTTP/TLS behavior, debug-runtime support, and SDK package layout changes. - 2026-04-20: 0.9.0 release fixes channel-name handling for newer Microsoft manifest versions. ### Related projects - clang-cl, lld-link, and LLVM: the non-Windows toolchain xwin is designed to feed. - Rust target `x86_64-pc-windows-msvc`: a primary driver for xwin's documented workflow. - cargo and cc-rs: common Rust build tooling that consumes compiler/linker configuration pointing at xwin output. - winsysroot: a layout style xwin can generate for clang-cl-oriented SDK discovery. ### Sources - - - - - - ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Other Package-Manager Records - Nix - xwin: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/xw/xwin/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Related links - [xwin](https://pkg.so/pkg/cargo/xwin/) - Same normalized package name exists in another local package ecosystem. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/xwin.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/xwin.yml) ## Sources - pkg.so package database - Geiger risk classifier - curated package history - pkgdb category and tag curation - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph