WiX (Windows Installer XML) is an open-source toolset for building Windows Installer (.msi) packages. It provides a structured approach to application deployment using XML-based configuration files.

• Windows 10 or later
• .NET SDK 6.0+
• Optional: Visual Studio 2022+ (for project integration)

Install the WiX command-line interface as a global .NET tool:

dotnet tool install --global wix

This provides access to the unified wix.exe command for authoring, building, and packaging MSI installers.

wix --version

Expected output: the installed WiX version (e.g., 5.0.0)

• The legacy candle.exe and light.exe tools are replaced by unified wix CLI commands.
• Project extensions and functionality are delivered via NuGet.
• Use MSBuild or dotnet as the build engine—both are supported.

WiX Toolset is released under the Microsoft Reciprocal License (MS-RL), an open-source license that permits modification and redistribution with the requirement that modifications are shared under the same license.

Key licensing details:

• Open-source usage: Free for both personal and commercial use.
• Redistribution rights: Modified versions must be open-source if distributed.
• No warranty: Provided "as-is" without any guarantees or liabilities.

For full licensing details, refer to the WiX Toolset License.

WiX Toolset is an open-source project primarily supported by the community. Support is available through:

• Official Documentation: WiX Documentation
• GitHub Issues & Discussions: WiX GitHub Repository
• Stack Overflow: Developers actively discuss and troubleshoot WiX-related issues under the wix tag.
• Mailing Lists & Community Forums: Available for discussions and issue resolution.

For enterprise support, organizations may need to rely on in-house expertise or third-party consultants specializing in WiX deployments.

In a .wixproj file:

<Project Sdk="WixToolset.Sdk/5.0.0">
</Project>

Create .wxs files defining package metadata and file structure:

<Wix xmlns="http://wixtoolset.org/schemas/v4/wxs">
  <Package Id="Contoso.MyProduct" Name="MyProduct" Version="1.0.0" Manufacturer="Contoso">
    <Files Include="bin\Release\net8.0\*.dll" />
  </Package>
</Wix>

dotnet build

The output .msi will appear under bin\Release.