diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index bc3b1e63b..018b48018 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -2,6 +2,11 @@ cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.16 FATAL_ERROR)
 
 project(KokkosTools CXX)
 
+# Users cannot use Kokkos tools on windows, we want to test things on windows/msvc however
+if(WIN32 AND NOT DEFINED KOKKOS_TOOLS_TEST_WINDOWS)
+  message(FATAL_ERROR "Kokkos tools is not supported on Windows, please attempt to profile on expected hardware")
+endif()
+
 if(NOT DEFINED CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD)
   set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 17)
 endif()