Skip to main content

​
Prerequisites

Before setting up NVDA development, ensure you have:
  • Windows 10 (Version 22H2) or Windows 11
  • Administrator access for installing development tools
  • At least 10 GB of free disk space
  • Internet connection for downloading dependencies

​
Getting the Source Code

The NVDA project uses Git for version control. The repository is hosted on GitHub.

​
Fork and Clone

If you plan to contribute to NVDA, start by forking the repository:
1

Fork the repository

Visit https://github.com/nvaccess/nvda and click the Fork button to create a copy in your GitHub account
2

Clone with submodules

Clone your fork with the --recursive flag to fetch all required submodules:
git clone --recursive https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/nvda.git
The --recursive flag is essential. Without it, you’ll be missing critical dependencies contained in Git submodules.
3

Navigate to the directory

cd nvda

​
Keeping Your Fork in Sync

When you fork the repository, GitHub creates a copy of the master branch. However, this branch won’t automatically update when the NV Access master branch is updated. To keep your work based on the latest commits: 
# Add a remote for the NV Access repository
git remote add nvaccess https://github.com/nvaccess/nvda.git

# Fetch the NV Access branches
git fetch nvaccess

# Switch to the local master branch
git checkout master

# Set the local master to use the NV Access master as its upstream
git branch -u nvaccess/master

# Update the local master
git pull
This configuration ensures your master branch stays synchronized with the official NVDA repository.

​
Managing Git Submodules

If you didn’t use --recursive when cloning, initialize submodules manually: 
git submodule update --init
After any git pull, merge, or checkout, update submodules: 
git submodule update
Run git submodule update after every pull to ensure submodules are current.

​
Installing Required Dependencies

​
Python 3.13.12

NVDA requires a specific version of Python:
1

Check the required version

The exact version is specified in .python-versions in the repository root. As of now, it’s Python 3.13.12, 64-bit.
2

Download Python

Download Python 3.13.12 from python.org
3

Install Python

Run the installer and ensure you:
  • Select the 64-bit version
  • Add Python to PATH
  • Install for all users (recommended)
4

Verify installation

python --version
Should output: Python 3.13.12
You must use Python 3.13.12 specifically. NVDA requires Python >= 3.13 and < 3.14.

​
uv Package Manager

NVDA uses uv as its package and project manager. 
# Install uv
pip install uv

​
Microsoft Visual Studio

Visual Studio is required for compiling C++ components.

​
Choose Your Edition

Build Tools

Minimal installation for command-line buildsDownload Build Tools

Community Edition

Full IDE with debugging capabilitiesDownload Community
To replicate the production build environment, use the version of Visual Studio 2022 that GitHub Actions is using.

​
Required Components

During installation, you must include specific components:
If installing manually, select these components:Workloads Tab:
  • Desktop development with C++
    • Ensure “C++ Clang tools for Windows” is included in optional components
Individual Components Tab:
  • Windows 11 SDK (10.0.26100.x)
  • MSVC v143 - VS 2022 C++ ARM64/ARM64EC build tools
  • MSVC v143 - VS 2022 C++ x64/x86 build tools
  • C++ ATL for v143 build tools (x86 & x64)
  • C++ ATL for v143 build tools (ARM64/ARM64EC)
Preview or Insiders versions of Visual Studio are not supported. Use stable releases only.

​
Git Submodule Dependencies

NVDA includes several dependencies as Git submodules:

​
Runtime Dependencies

  • eSpeak NG (commit b0b605c8a80f76c4c19e18033c6780c3cc4afc5b) - Speech synthesis
  • Sonic (commit d2cdb40fbdc82b464be364a50b34e8dd82b6c80a) - Audio speed adjustment
  • IAccessible2 (commit c9ae003d9c85eb707716928de97e055f5b77189c) - Accessibility API
  • liblouis (version 3.36.0) - Braille translation
  • Unicode CLDR (version 48.0) - Locale data
  • Microsoft Detours (commit 9764cebcb1a75940e68fa83d6730ffaf0f669401) - API hooking
  • Windows Implementation Library (WIL) (commit 7cf41936c5b4ab79daf0d9437211380dc69fa958)
  • Java Access Bridge 64-bit (Zulu 17.0.16+8)
  • Adobe Acrobat accessibility interface (version XI)
  • brlapi (version 0.8.7+) - Braille device communication
  • Nullsoft Install System (version 3.11) - Installer creation

​
Build Time Dependencies

Included in the miscDeps submodule:
  • xgettext and msgfmt from GNU gettext - Translation tools

​
Python Dependencies

NVDA depends on numerous Python packages specified in pyproject.toml. The build system automatically manages these dependencies using uv.

​
Key Python Packages

Runtime:
  • comtypes 1.4.13
  • wxPython 4.2.4
  • pywin32 311
  • cryptography 46.0.5
  • pyserial 3.5
  • requests 2.32.5
Build:
  • SCons 4.10.1
  • py2exe 0.14.0.0
  • setuptools ~80.10.2
Development:
  • ruff 0.14.5 (linter and formatter)
  • pyright 1.1.407 (type checker)
  • pre-commit 4.2.0 (git hooks)
All Python dependencies are installed into an isolated virtual environment within the repository. They won’t affect your system-wide Python installation.

​
Visual Studio Code (Optional)

If you use VS Code, NVDA provides a preconfigured workspace: The .vscode submodule contains prepopulated workspace configuration.

​
Disable VS Code Configuration

If you prefer not to use the preconfigured workspace: 
git submodule deinit .vscode

​
Re-enable Later

git submodule init .vscode

​
Optional Dependencies

​
Doxygen (Developer Documentation)

Only needed if you want to generate nvdaHelper C++ documentation:

​
Verifying Your Setup

After installing all dependencies, verify your setup: 
# Check Python version
python --version

# Check if uv is installed
uv --version

# Verify Git submodules are initialized
git submodule status

# Check Visual Studio installation
where cl.exe
All commands should complete without errors.

​
Next Steps

Building NVDA

Learn how to build NVDA from source

Running from Source

Run NVDA directly without building installers

​
Troubleshooting

If you see empty directories in include/ or miscDeps/:
git submodule update --init --recursive
Ensure you’re using Python 3.13.12 exactly:
python --version
If incorrect, uninstall other Python versions or use virtual environments.
Re-run the Visual Studio Installer and import the .vsconfig file from the NVDA repository root.
Ensure Visual Studio’s build tools are in your PATH:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Community\VC\Auxiliary\Build\vcvarsall.bat" x64

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us