diff --git a/src/StaticPHP/Util/System/WindowsUtil.php b/src/StaticPHP/Util/System/WindowsUtil.php
index 9ed7a7b5..b6d943be 100644
--- a/src/StaticPHP/Util/System/WindowsUtil.php
+++ b/src/StaticPHP/Util/System/WindowsUtil.php
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ declare(strict_types=1);
 
 namespace StaticPHP\Util\System;
 
+use StaticPHP\Exception\EnvironmentException;
 use StaticPHP\Util\FileSystem;
 
 class WindowsUtil
@@ -47,6 +48,10 @@ class WindowsUtil
 
         // call vswhere (need VS and C++ tools installed), output is json
         $vswhere_exec = PKG_ROOT_PATH . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . 'bin' . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . 'vswhere.exe';
+        // detect vswhere exists, if not throw error
+        if (!file_exists($vswhere_exec)) {
+            throw new EnvironmentException('vswhere.exe not found, please run `doctor` command first');
+        }
         $args = [
             '-latest',
             '-format', 'json',