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Get the tools you need to build applications for Microsoft HoloLens and Windows Mixed Reality immersive (VR) headsets. There is no separate SDK for Windows Mixed Reality development; you'll use Visual Studio with the Windows 10 SDK.

You can use the Windows SDK, along with your chosen development environment, to write Windows Store apps and desktop apps for Windows 8.1 as well as Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Server 2008. The Windows 10 SDK (10.0.19041.0) for Windows 10, version 2004 provides the latest headers, libraries, metadata, and tools for building Windows 10 apps. Use this SDK to build Universal Windows Platform (UWP) and Win32 applications for Windows 10, version 20H2 and previous Windows releases. This SDK supports Windows 7 SP1 and later, so unless you have a specific need for the 8.1 SDK, you should probably just stick with what you have. – mwfearnley May 11 at 19:39. This article introduces an update for Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) for Windows 8 that is dated November 2012.

Don't have a mixed reality device? You can install the HoloLens emulator to test some functionality of mixed reality apps without a HoloLens. You can also use the Windows Mixed Reality simulator to test your mixed reality apps for immersive headsets. If you're using Unity, you can use Mixed Reality Toolkit (MRTK)'s input simulation to test various types of input interactions such as hand-tracking and eye-tracking input.

We recommend installing the Unity game engine as the easiest way to get started creating mixed reality apps. However, you can also build against DirectX if you'd like to use a custom engine.

Tip

Creating apps for Windows 8.1 is impossible if you don’t have the Software Development Kit for that, so use the link at the end of the article, if you are the TL;DR type, to download the Windows 8.1 SDK. Made available at the middle of previous month, it contains headers, libraries, and tools to make apps for Windows 8.1, but also Windows RT.
FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS 1) Download: Wp8 SDK 8.1 Lite (65 MB) 2) Extract the zip file and run InstallWP8SDKToolsLite.bat to start the installation!. 3) After a few minutes WP8 Lite SDK should be installed on Windows 7 and Windows 8.

Bookmark this page and check it regularly to keep up-to-date on the most recent version of each tool recommended for mixed reality development.

Installation checklist

Tool	Notes
Windows 10 (Manual install link) Install the most recent version of Windows 10 so your PC's operating system matches the platform for which you're building mixed reality applications.	Installing Windows 10 You can install the most recent version of Windows 10 via Windows Update in Settings or by creating installation media, using the link in the left column. See current release notes for information about the newest mixed reality features available with each release of Windows 10. Enable developer mode on your PC at Settings > Update & Security > For developers. Note for enterprise and corporate-managed PCs If your PC is managed by an your organization's IT department, you might need to contact them in order to update. 'N' versions of Windows Windows Mixed Reality immersive (VR) headsets are not supported on 'N' versions of Windows.
Visual Studio 2019 (16.8 or higher) (Install link) Fully-featured integrated development environment (IDE) for Windows and more. You'll use Visual Studio to write code, debug, test, and deploy.	Installing Visual Studio 2019 Be sure you install the following workloads: ● Desktop development with C++ ● Universal Windows Platform (UWP) development Within the UWP workload, be sure to check the following optional component if you'll be developing for HoloLens: ● USB Device Connectivity Note about Unity Unless you're intentionally trying to install a newer (non-LTS) version of Unity for a specific purpose, we recommend not installing the Unity workload as part of Visual Studio installation, and instead install the Unity 2019 LTS stream as noted below. Known issues There are some known issues with debugging mixed reality apps in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.0. Please ensure that you update to Visual Studio 2019 version 16.8 or higher.
Windows 10 SDK (10.0.18362.0) (Manual install link) Provides the latest headers, libraries, metadata, and tools for building Windows 10 apps on HoloLens 2.	To build HoloLens 2 apps, you must install the Windows SDK, build 18362 or later. If you are only developing applications for desktop Windows Mixed Reality headsets or HoloLens (1st gen), you can use the Windows SDK installed by Visual Studio 2017.
HoloLens 2 Emulator (Windows Holographic, version 20H2 December 2020 Update) (Install link: 10.0.19041.1131) HoloLens (1st gen) Emulator (Install link: 10.0.17763.134) The emulator lets you run applications on a HoloLens virtual machine image without a physical HoloLens.	See Using the HoloLens emulator for more information on getting started with the emulator. Your system must support Hyper-V for the emulator installation to succeed. Reference the System Requirements section below for details. Note on HoloLens (1st gen) Emulator Visual Studio 2017 is required to successfully complete the installation. If you're installing the HoloLens (1st gen) emulator with Visual Studio 2019 you need to deselect the VS templates and install them from the Visual Studio Marketplace.

Choose your engine

Now that you have your Windows 10, Visual Studio, and Windows 10 SDK ready to go, let's choose an engine to build on.

1. Download the latest version

We recommend the Unity LTS (Long Term Support) stream as the best version to use when starting new projects, updating to its latest revision to pick up the latest stable fixes.

The current recommendation is to use Unity 2019, which is the LTS build required for MRTK v2 below.
If you need to use a different version of Unity for specific reasons, Unity supports side-by-side installs of different versions.

Windows 8.1 Sdk Offline

2. Import Mixed Reality Toolkit (MRTK)

Mixed Reality Toolkit (MRTK) is an open-source, cross-platform development kit for mixed reality applications. MRTK provides a cross-platform input system, foundational components, and common building blocks for spatial interactions. The toolkit is intended to accelerate the development of applications targeting Microsoft HoloLens, Windows Mixed Reality immersive (VR) headsets, and the OpenVR platform.

For installation, we recommend completing the Getting Started section of our curated Unity development journey. If you're already following the Unity development journey, finish up the rest of the setup steps listed below and continue on to the HoloLens 2 Getting Started tutorials.

Important

Note that installation instructions are targeted for the latest stable combination of MRTK and Unity releases, which are MRTK 2.4.0 and Unity 2019.3.15.

Note

If you don't want to use MRTK for Unity, you'll need to script all interactions and behaviors yourself.

Other tools [optional]

Mixed Reality Companion Kit (GitHub) - code bits and components that might not run directly on HoloLens or immersive (VR) headsets, but instead pair with them to build experiences targeting Windows Mixed Reality.
Mixed Reality Toolkit - Common (GitHub) - a collection of shared scripts and components.

3. Set up your PC for Mixed Reality development

The Windows 10 SDK works best on the Windows 10 operating system. This SDK is also supported on Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2. Note that not all tools are supported on older operating systems.

Note

You can develop and deploy your apps for HoloLens, VR immer

Windows Sdk 8.1 Download