Do I Need the Complete NI-DAQmx Package to Run My Application?

Updated Dec 28, 2023

Reported In

Driver

  • NI-DAQmx
  • NI-DAQmx Runtime

Issue Details

  • Does NI-DAQmx Runtime come with NI-MAX? 
  • Is there a way to run my application on a machine other than the development machine, without installing the complete ~2 GB NI DAQmx package? Furthermore, is NI-MAX required to run DAQmx Applications?

Solution

If you have an executable built from your LabVIEW or Visual Studio project, and it is needed to run on another computer that doesn't have the NI-DAQmx driver installed, you can install the ~200 MB NI-DAQmx Runtime and save some space on your disk. The DAQmx Runtime needs to match the version of the DAQmx driver of the Machine that the executable was developed. 

As of 2019, NI driver runtimes are bundled and selectable within the full driver installer. If you only want to install the runtime, refer to this KB: Install NI Driver Runtimes 19.0 and Later

Note: NI-DAQmx Runtime does not come with NI-MAX.

Additional Information

  • There is a DAQmx Runtime with Configuration Support, which is bigger in size. The difference is that the bigger one installs NI MAX, the smaller Runtime has fewer capabilities and does not install MAX, it can be used if you are sure all you need are the drivers and if you have an executable.
  • If the application was built from a LabVIEW project, you also need to install the corresponding LabVIEW Runtime Engine version.
  • This package used to be called DAQmx core for previous versions of LabVIEW.
  • If you are using the system configuration API in your code, you will need to install the full LabVIEW Runtime engine for your application.

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