Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)¶

Table of Contents¶

General Questions
Installation & Setup
Building Examples
Troubleshooting
Version Compatibility
License & Legal

General Questions¶

What is Cpp-gRPC-Windows-PreBuilts?¶

Cpp-gRPC-Windows-PreBuilts provides precompiled gRPC libraries and required header files for Windows development using Visual Studio. It simplifies the setup process by providing ready-to-use archives that can be extracted and used immediately.

Who should use this project?¶

This project is ideal for:

Developers who want to quickly start working with gRPC on Windows
Teams that need consistent build environments across multiple developers
Projects requiring support for older Visual Studio versions (2015, 2017)
Developers who prefer not to compile gRPC from source

What compilers are supported?¶

The following Microsoft Visual C++ compiler toolsets are supported:

Visual Studio 2022 - MSVC 143
Visual Studio 2019 - MSVC 142
Visual Studio 2017 - MSVC 141 (up to gRPC v1.45.2)
Visual Studio 2015 - MSVC 140 (up to gRPC v1.45.2)

Both 32-bit and 64-bit architectures are supported for all compiler versions.

What build configurations are available?¶

Three build configurations are provided:

Debug - For development with full debugging support
RelWithDebInfo - Release builds with debug information (recommended for production)
Release - Optimized builds without debug symbols

Installation & Setup¶

How do I download the prebuilt libraries?¶

You have two options:

Direct from GitHub Releases: Navigate to the repository releases page and select your desired gRPC version.
Release Version Table: Check the available versions in the release version table.

What files should I download?¶

For each gRPC version, you need to download:

Library archives (e.g., MSVC143_64.zip, MSVC142_32.zip) - Contains precompiled .lib files and header directories
Examples archive (Examples.zip) - Contains Visual Studio project files for all supported compiler versions

How do I organize the downloaded files?¶

Extract all archives into a single project directory with the following structure:

your-project/
├─ vs2015/                    # Visual Studio 2015 projects (from Examples.zip)
├─ vs2017/                    # Visual Studio 2017 projects (from Examples.zip)
├─ vs2019/                    # Visual Studio 2019 projects (from Examples.zip)
├─ vs2022/                    # Visual Studio 2022 projects (from Examples.zip)
├─ MSVC140_32/                # VS2015 32-bit headers/libs
├─ MSVC140_64/                # VS2015 64-bit headers/libs
├─ MSVC141_32/                # VS2017 32-bit headers/libs
├─ MSVC141_64/                # VS2017 64-bit headers/libs
├─ MSVC142_32/                # VS2019 32-bit headers/libs
├─ MSVC142_64/                # VS2019 64-bit headers/libs
├─ MSVC143_32/                # VS2022 32-bit headers/libs
└─ MSVC143_64/                # VS2022 64-bit headers/libs

Do I need to install gRPC from source?¶

No! The prebuilt libraries include all necessary components:

Precompiled .lib files for linking
Required header files (grpc/, protobuf/ directories)
Visual Studio project examples (pre-configured and debuggable)

Building Examples¶

How do I build the examples in Visual Studio?¶

Open the appropriate solution file:
- vs2015/HelloWorld.sln for Visual Studio 2015
- vs2017/HelloWorld.sln for Visual Studio 2017
- vs2019/HelloWorld.sln for Visual Studio 2019
- vs2022/HelloWorld.sln for Visual Studio 2022
Ensure the correct compiler toolset is selected in Visual Studio options
Build the solution:
- Menu: Build → Build Solution
- Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+B

The output will be organized as:

_out_/
└─ <architecture>/          # x64 or x86
   └─ <build configuration>/ # Debug, Release, or RelWithDebInfo
      └─ <example binaries>  # executables and resources

What examples are available?¶

Starting from gRPC v1.43.0, the following examples are included:

Example	Description
HelloWorld	Basic client/server communication
Client Callback / Server Callback	Asynchronous callback patterns
Async Client/Server	Modern async implementations
Compression	gRPC compression support
Load Balancing	Client-side load balancing
Meta	Metadata handling examples
KeyValueStore	Key-value store service
Route Guide	Complex routing scenarios

How do I debug the examples?¶

The Debug and RelWithDebInfo configurations include symbol files (.pdb) for debugging. Simply:

Set breakpoints in your code
Run the example with F5 or use the Debug toolbar
Inspect variables, call stacks, and execution flow

Troubleshooting¶

Common Issues¶

"Cannot find module 'grpc'" error¶

Cause: Visual Studio cannot locate the gRPC header files.

Solution:

Verify that the grpc/ directory exists in your project root
Check that the include paths in your .vcxproj file point to the correct locations
Ensure you downloaded both library archives and examples archive

"MSB8028: No target specified" error¶

Cause: The solution file was opened with an incompatible Visual Studio version.

Solution:

Close Visual Studio
Open the solution with the matching Visual Studio version (e.g., vs2019/*.sln with VS 2019)
Rebuild the solution

"LNK1181: cannot open input file" error¶

Cause: The precompiled library files are missing or in the wrong location.

Solution:

Verify that all required .lib files exist in their respective architecture folders
Check that the library path is correctly specified in the project properties
Ensure you downloaded archives for both 32-bit and 64-bit if needed

"Configuration 'Release' is not available" error¶

Cause: Attempting to build with a configuration that doesn't exist.

Solution: Use one of the three supported configurations: Debug, RelWithDebInfo, or Release.

Where can I find more help?¶

Check the setup instructions for detailed installation steps
Create a GitHub issue for specific problems

Version Compatibility¶

Which gRPC versions are available?¶

Version	Status	C++ Standard	Examples
1.83.0	Latest	C++17/20	✅
1.46.7	Legacy (last C++11)	C++11	✅
1.82.1 - 1.50.0	Available	C++17/20	✅
1.49.1 - 1.20.0	Older versions	C++11/14/17	✅

What changed in v1.78.1?¶

Starting with gRPC v1.78.1, the deployment layout for CMake files changed:

The cmake directory was moved from the project root to the lib directory
This change simplifies integration using find_package

Do older Visual Studio versions still work?¶

Yes! Up to gRPC v1.45.2, support is provided for:

Visual Studio 2017 (MSVC 141)
Visual Studio 2015 (MSVC 140)

Note: For the latest gRPC versions (v1.78+), only Visual Studio 2019 and 2022 are supported.

License & Legal¶

What license is this project under?¶

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

What about the gRPC libraries?¶

The original gRPC libraries are distributed under the Apache License 2.0. Both licenses are compatible, but please ensure you comply with the terms of both when using this software.

Where can I find complete license information?¶

Review the following files: - LICENSE - This project's MIT license - THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.txt - Complete attribution and license information for all third-party components included in gRPC

Can I use this in commercial projects?¶

Yes! Both the MIT License (for this packaging project) and Apache 2.0 (for gRPC) are permissive licenses that allow commercial use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions.

Additional Resources¶

Last updated: August 2026