HOOKSHOT
GITHUB An old builder error
Windows SDK not found
If Builder still says Windows SDK not found, the copy you launched is from before the compiler was bundled. Updating is the fix the maintainer wrote down.
What the message used to mean
The exact string is Windows sdk not found. Early Builder required a local Visual Studio install and a Windows SDK. Issue 348 has three people hitting it, including an RX 6600 on Windows 10 and a Windows 11 26H2 machine. One comment suggested installing Visual Studio Community. That was reasonable for the build they had.
On 7 Nov 2026 the maintainer replied that the next release would not need Visual Studio or the Windows SDK, because Builder would carry llvm-mingw, the same approach as the TotK recompilation. The issue was closed as completed. Releases after that date, including stable v2.1.0 on 11 Nov 2026, are the ones that match that reply.
What to do now
Download the current HookshotBuilder.exe from the stable release and start that file, not an older copy saved in Downloads. If the new builder still cannot find its compiler, the readme's other failure is a security tool deleting files under the tools directory. Restore them from Protection history or exclude the folder, then press Repair. Installing a full Visual Studio is the path only if you are compiling Builder itself, which wants VS 2022 and .NET 8. Playing does not.
A source build can still opt into the old MSVC route with HOOKSHOT_MSVC=1. That is a choice on the source page, not the error this page is about. I keep the string in the title because people search for it, and the first paragraph says the current release moved past it.
Questions
Should I install the Windows SDK anyway?
Not for the current builder. The maintainer closed issue 348 by bundling llvm-mingw.
The message is back after an update. Then what?
Repair the tools directory. A scanner often removes the unsigned compiler the new builder just downloaded.