For years we’ve had requests for an easier way to install the Team Foundation Server object model. Since 2005, the only way to install it was to install VS or Team Explorer, both of which included a VS shell, Office extensions and a bunch of stuff that you really didn’t need to do basic programmability against a TFS server. In TFS 2012, we set out to address the long standing request and create a stand-alone installer that would just install the programmability components – making for a faster, smaller and less impactful install.
We actually released it along with VS Update 1 back in November and I forgot to mention it. You can download the installer here: http://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/f30e5cc7-036e-449c-a541-d522299445aa
Brian