Windows prebuilt binaries for PG16 (AGE 1.5.0) — community builds gone, request for an official or tracked build
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Description
# Issue draft for apache/age — "Prebuilt Windows binaries for PG16 (AGE 1.5.0) are unavailable; community builds have vanished"
## Body draft
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### Title: Windows prebuilt binaries for PG16 (AGE 1.5.0) — community builds gone, request for an official or tracked build
**TL;DR:** AGE on Windows for PostgreSQL 16 has no maintained prebuilt binary anywhere. Two community builds existed in 2024 and have since disappeared. Could Apache track/offer a Windows x64 build for PG16, or bless a canonical community build?
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**Context**
I run PostgreSQL 16.14 on Windows (x64). My application depends on AGE 1.5.0, and the extension is registered in my shared database — but the Windows side cannot `LOAD 'age'` because there is no `age.dll` compiled for PG16 on Windows.
**What I've checked (thoroughly):**
1. **Apache official releases** — source-only (`*-src.tar.gz`). No Windows binaries, ever. The README's Windows section requires building from source with Visual Studio C++ support.
2. **Community builds that existed:**
- `ShanGor/apache-age-windows` — publishes a **PG17.2 + AGE 1.5.0 + pgvector 0.8.0** Windows bundle. Its repo has a `PG16/v1.5.0-rc0` **tag**, but the PG16 release **assets were never published** (only the PG17 release has files). The PG17 `age.dll` is ABI-locked and will not load into PG16.
- `MironAtHome/agewin` — a PG16/1.5.0 Windows MSVC port existed (referenced in apache/age issue #1542, 2024-02-09), but the fork has since been **deleted** (HTTP 404, no Wayback snapshot).
3. **Extension ecosystem packages** — Pigsty and others publish Linux RPMs only; nothing for Windows x64.
**What I need**
A `age.dll` (plus `age.control` and `age--1.5.0*.sql`) compiled for **PostgreSQL 16, Windows x64**, at version **1.5.0** to match my shared database's registered extension version. The SQL/control files are portable; the DLL is the only missing piece.
**What would help**
- An official (or tracked) Windows x64 build for PG16 — even if unofficial, a canonical link in the README so the community stops re-discovering this each year.
- Or: a way to build it without requiring full Visual Studio (the current README requirement).
- Or: blessing a community build (e.g., ShanGor's pipeline, which demonstrably builds PG12–PG17) to publish the PG16 artifact.
**Why it matters**
Every month, Windows users hit this wall (issues #94, #138, #287, #516, #1542 all closed with no durable solution). The builds that existed were lost to deleted forks. A single tracked Windows build would end this loop permanently.
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*Thank you for maintaining AGE — it's the best graph extension for PostgreSQL, and the only thing missing is a Windows door.*
Contributor guide
Research direction
Start with the README's Windows build section and the prior AGE issue #1542, then review the referenced ShanGor PG16 tag and its available release assets. Determine whether the project can track or publish a PostgreSQL 16 Windows x64 build. Done means a reproducible or canonical build path is documented and the required AGE 1.5.0 artifacts are available or explicitly tracked.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- c, postgresql
- Domain
- build-system, databases, operating-systems, release
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 43/100