Is it ok to distribute api-ms-win-core-xxx.dll with my app?

Question

I compile a C++ exe with vs2022 on win11, and run it on a win7 device, but the system prompts that a bunch of api-ms-win-core-xxx.dll is missing.

So, I check the documentation, it says these DLLs are introduced after win7, so can I just distribute them with my app?

Answer 1

I suggest you don't try to get these dlls, distributing these files is a violation of the Windows End User Agreement.

According to this issue:

Those DLLs are Windows's implementation detail and are subject to change at anytime. Those files you get from a higher version of Windows won't work if your Windows version is too low. If you are a developer, just use the APIs documented in the Windows SDK (unless absolute necessary like writing antivirus) and do not take any dependency on those dlls, as they may only exist in one Windows version.