Required runtimes — Visual C++ and .NET
Nimbus needs the VC++ 2015-2022 x64 runtime. .NET is not required. Here's the one-time install.
The Nimbus loader is a native C++ binary that links against the Visual C++ 2015-2022 x64 runtime. If that runtime isn't installed, the loader fails to start with VCRUNTIME140.dll was not found or exits silently before the window appears. Modern Windows 10 / 11 installs usually have the runtime preloaded by other apps (Steam, Discord, NVIDIA drivers all bundle it), so most people never hit this — but a fresh Windows install, a stripped LTSC build, or a debloated tiny11 image can be missing it.
What you need. Microsoft's Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2022 (x64). That single redistributable covers every VS-version Nimbus has ever been built against. The x86 variant is not needed.
Direct download (Microsoft). Open aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x64.exe in your browser. The download is ~14 MB. Run it as administrator and click Install. Reboot if it asks (most builds don't).
Verify it's installed. Open *Settings → Apps → Installed apps* and search for Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable (x64). If you see a version entry there, you're set.
.NET is NOT required. Some help articles for other overlays mention .NET Framework 4.8 or .NET 6/7/8 Desktop Runtime. Nimbus does not use .NET — the loader is pure native code. You can ignore any prompt that recommends installing .NET; it won't fix a loader launch issue.
Common gotcha — partial runtime install. If you've installed only Visual C++ 2013 or Visual C++ 2012, that's not enough — those are separate redistributables and Nimbus links against the 2015+ ABI. Install the 2015-2022 redistributable as above; the older ones can stay in place without conflict.
Still doesn't launch after installing the runtime. Capture the loader boot log via Settings → Export boot log to Desktop (run any Nimbus build that does open, even an older one) and attach it to a support ticket. The log lists every DLL the loader tried to load and which one failed — that points us at the exact missing dependency.
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