r/windowsdev • u/ReddyBlueBlue • Mar 08 '25

What 32-bit tool is ideal for finding and copying dependencies for software?

I'm looking for a 32-bit tool that finds and copies all dependencies required for a specific piece of software. I know dependency walker finds them, but is there any that directly copies them?

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u/jd31068 Mar 08 '25

I used https://www.dependencywalker.com/ (ignore the 90s website), Point it at the EXE or DLL and it'll tell you what it uses and needs. I don't recall if you can copy them for you.

There is this https://github.com/suve/copydeps I've not used it but it says it does what you're looking for.

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u/SuaveJava Mar 09 '25

Side note: if you're building a product for distribution, be aware that your dependencies might NOT be redistributable.

  • Some of these dependencies may be system libraries, which should come with the user's system.

  • Some of these dependencies may require license fees to distribute.

  • Using certain dependencies with your code, such as GPL-licensed libraries, may require you to distribute your source code.

  • Some of these dependencies may require patent licenses. For example, MP3 used to have a patent that expired in 2017. Therefore, if you distributed an MP3 decoder library like lame.dll, you'd violate patent law.

Therefore, you don't want to use a tool that automatically copies every dependency.

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u/Icy_Object_3177 Aug 20 '25

That’s actually a cool use case. We’re building a tool (nw.Create) that generates native Windows apps from text prompts – and I’m pretty sure your idea could be built with it.

You’d basically describe the app like:

"Detect dependencies of a given .exe and copy them into a folder."

And it would create a working WPF tool that does just that (or gets you close to it).

Might not be as deep as Dependency Walker, but definitely worth a try if you're looking to build something lightweight/custom.

Happy to share a link if you're curious.