diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 85b371b926..cf0a11804d 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 # Tools
 .ropeproject/
+# Visual Studio
+/.vs/
 
 # Build/deps dir
 /build/
diff --git a/makedeps.bat b/makedeps.bat
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a614885568
--- /dev/null
+++ b/makedeps.bat
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+echo off
+
+if not defined VS150COMNTOOLS (
+  echo error: missing VS150COMNTOOLS environment variable.
+  echo        Run this script from the 'Developer Command Prompt'.
+  exit /b 1
+)
+
+echo on
+
+set CMAKE=%VS150COMNTOOLS%\..\IDE\CommonExtensions\Microsoft\CMake\CMake\bin\cmake.exe
+
+mkdir .deps
+cd .deps
+"%CMAKE%" -G "Visual Studio 15 2017" "-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo" ..\third-party\
+"%CMAKE%" --build . --config RelWithDebInfo -- "/verbosity:normal"
+cd ..
+