Windows¶

ZecVault builds a native Windows application using Tauri. Installers are distributed as .msi (Windows Installer) and .exe (NSIS). WebView2 is bundled automatically on Windows 10 installations.

Install from release¶

Download the latest installer from GitHub Releases:

File	Format	Use when
`ZecVault_0.1.4_x64_en-US.msi`	Windows Installer	Default — most users
`ZecVault_0.1.4_x64-setup.exe`	NSIS	Custom install path, older systems

Run the installer and follow the prompts. ZecVault appears in the Start menu after installation.

Windows Defender SmartScreen¶

On first launch you may see:

"Windows protected your PC — Microsoft Defender SmartScreen prevented an unrecognized app from starting."

Click More info → Run anyway. This warning appears for apps without an EV code signing certificate. A signed release is planned for future versions.

Build from source¶

Prerequisites¶

Visual Studio Build Tools 2022:

Download from visualstudio.microsoft.com and install with: - ✅ Desktop development with C++ workload - ✅ MSVC v143 compiler - ✅ Windows 10/11 SDK

Rust (1.87+):

Download and run rustup-init.exe. The installer automatically detects Visual Studio and configures the MSVC target.

WebView2:

Windows 11: Pre-installed
Windows 10: Bundled with the installer (bootstrapped automatically)
For build machines: Install WebView2 Evergreen Runtime

Node.js and pnpm:

Download Node.js 20+ from nodejs.org, then:

npm install -g pnpm

Clone and build¶

git clone https://github.com/gorusys/zecvault
cd zecvault
pnpm install

Development:

pnpm dev:windows

Production installer:

pnpm build:win

Output in apps\windows\src-tauri\target\release\bundle\: - msi\ZecVault_x.x.x_x64_en-US.msi - nsis\ZecVault_x.x.x_x64-setup.exe

Code signing¶

Unsigned Windows installers trigger SmartScreen. For a trusted release, sign with an Authenticode code signing certificate:

# Sign the MSI (requires signtool.exe from Windows SDK):
signtool sign /tr http://timestamp.sectigo.com /td sha256 /fd sha256 /a ZecVault_0.1.4_x64_en-US.msi

For WinGet submission, the MSI must be signed. For Microsoft Store (MSIX), additional packaging is required via msixpackagingtool or WiX.

Troubleshooting¶

Build fails: `LINK : fatal error LNK1181: cannot open input file`¶

Ensure Visual Studio Build Tools are installed with the MSVC toolchain:

rustup target add x86_64-pc-windows-msvc

Cargo clean¶

cd apps\windows\src-tauri
cargo clean
cd ..\..\..
pnpm build:win

WebView2 not found¶

On older Windows 10 systems without WebView2: 1. Install WebView2 Evergreen Bootstrapper 2. Run the installer as Administrator 3. Retry launching ZecVault

antivirus false positives¶

Some antivirus software flags newly compiled Rust binaries. If your AV quarantines the build output, add an exclusion for apps\windows\src-tauri\target\ during development.