Summary
Starting with release 2.12.1, we will stop publishing the prebuilt Windows libtorch debug binaries from download.pytorch.org:
- libtorch-win-shared-with-deps-debug-.zip
- libtorch-win-shared-with-deps-debug-latest.zip
Everything else is unaffected: Windows libtorch release zips (libtorch-win-shared-with-deps-.zip), all Linux/macOS libtorch binaries, and all Python torch wheels continue to ship as before.
Why
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Very low download counts. The Windows debug libtorch zips are among the least-downloaded artifacts we publish, while they are one of the largest C++ artifacts in the matrix.
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Disproportionately high maintenance cost. Debug Windows builds link against the debug CRT and require debug-built third-party dependencies (e.g. a separate debug MAGMA), which roughly doubles the Windows libtorch build and packaging surface and breaks in Windows-specific ways that the release builds do not.
Retiring the prebuilt debug zips lets us focus CI and release-engineering effort on the artifacts the community actually uses.
Who is affected
Only consumers of the prebuilt Windows libtorch debug zips. If you use the release libtorch zips, Python wheels, or any non-Windows artifact, no action is needed.
If you need a Windows debug libtorch: build it from source
Follow the “Building from source” instructions in the PyTorch README.md (pytorch/README.md at main · pytorch/pytorch · GitHub) to set up the toolchain (Visual Studio 2022 / MSVC, CMake, Python, and CUDA if needed).
Prior to commencing the build process, define the build configuration using environment variables and initiate the compilation of the C++ components:
set DEBUG=1 :: full debug build (debug CRT)
:: set REL_WITH_DEB_INFO=1 :: OR: release build with PDBs (lighter, usually enough)
python tools\\build_libtorch.py
The DEBUG=1 flag corresponds to CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug, while REL_WITH_DEB_INFO=1 maps to RelWithDebInfo. All remaining procedures, including environment prerequisites and CUDA configuration, are maintained in the main README as the authoritative reference.
Timeline & feedback
The prebuilt Windows debug zips will be removed from the build matrix starting with release 2.12.1. If you have a hard dependency on these prebuilt artifacts that the from-source instructions above do not cover, please reply on this thread so we can understand the use case.