Best of Visual Studio — 2025

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    Article
    Avatar of vsVisual Studio Blog·28w

    Visual Studio 2026 is here: faster, smarter, and a hit with early adopters

    Visual Studio 2026 is now generally available with significant performance improvements, including 50% fewer UI hangs and faster startup times. The release introduces AI-native features through GitHub Copilot integration, including new C# and C++ agents for debugging, profiling, and app modernization. Over 5,000 bugs were fixed and 300 feature requests implemented based on community feedback. The IDE now decouples from build tools, allowing updates without affecting .NET or C++ compilers, and maintains full compatibility with Visual Studio 2022 projects and over 4,000 extensions.

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    Article
    Avatar of vsVisual Studio Blog·22w

    How AI fixed my procrastination

    A developer shares their experience using GitHub Copilot and AI agents in Visual Studio to complete three long-postponed projects during a holiday weekend: converting a book into a static website, building a TOON language parser and Visual Studio extension, and creating new color themes. The AI tools provided 5-10x speed improvements by generating code, handling isolated tasks in parallel, and jumpstarting complex work. While AI accelerated development significantly, manual refinement and traditional coding were still needed for certain tasks. The experience demonstrates how AI coding assistants can overcome procrastination by reducing the initial barrier to starting overwhelming projects.

  3. 3
    Article
    Avatar of ploehploeh blog·21w

    Git integration is ten years away

    Git integration in IDEs like Visual Studio has been under continuous development for over a decade, with "improved Git integration" appearing in release notes since 2013. Rather than waiting for perfect IDE integration, developers should invest a few hours learning Git fundamentals through the command line. This tactical approach provides immediate productivity without dependency on IDE features that may perpetually remain "in development."

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    Article
    Avatar of vsVisual Studio Blog·37w

    Visual Studio 2026 Insiders is here!

    Microsoft announces Visual Studio 2026 Insiders, featuring deeply integrated AI capabilities, significant performance improvements for enterprise-scale development, and a modern UI redesign using Fluent UI. The release introduces the new Insiders Channel replacing the Preview Channel, includes GitHub Copilot Free integration, and promises faster solution loading, building, and debugging across both x64 and Arm64 architectures. The IDE now offers enhanced code understanding, automated testing suggestions, performance profiling with AI-powered fixes, and 11 new color themes.

  5. 5
    Article
    Avatar of vsVisual Studio Blog·1y

    Introducing Visual Studio Hub

    Visual Studio Hub is a new resource designed to provide the latest updates, features, and resources related to the Visual Studio IDE. It offers easy access to information on new features, GitHub Copilot resources, key learning opportunities, developer blogs, and community engagement. The Hub is intended to simplify staying informed about everything in the Visual Studio ecosystem.

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    Article
    Avatar of aspnetASP.NET Blog·24w

    Microsoft Learn MCP Server Elevates Development

    Microsoft introduces the Learn Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, which provides GitHub Copilot with up-to-date Microsoft documentation, code samples, and learning resources. This integration addresses the problem of AI models lacking knowledge about recent technologies by connecting Copilot to current Microsoft Learn content. The server offers improved code suggestions, context-aware documentation, and faster problem-solving directly within development environments. It's available as a built-in feature in Visual Studio 2022/2026 and can be installed as an extension in VS Code, Copilot CLI, and Copilot Coding Agent through straightforward configuration steps.

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    Video
    Avatar of communityCommunity Picks·1y

    .NET Project Setup From Scratch Using These 6 Best Practices

    Learn six essential best practices for setting up a .NET project from scratch using Visual Studio. This guide covers adding an ASP.NET Core web API project, setting up code style enforcement, build configuration, centralized package management, code quality checks, containerization with Docker, and continuous integration using GitHub Actions.

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    Article
    Avatar of collectionsCollections·28w

    Introducing Visual Studio 2026 and .NET 10 LTS: A Leap Forward in Development

    .NET 10 brings major performance and productivity improvements, with Blazor achieving 76% faster loading times through optimized script delivery and 20% faster component rendering. Visual Studio 2026 introduces AI-native capabilities with GitHub Copilot integration, 50% faster solution loading, and adaptive debugging tools. The release includes built-in passkey authentication, declarative state persistence, 10x faster hot reload for large apps, and full C# 14 support with over 5,000 bug fixes implemented from community feedback.

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    Article
    Avatar of devblogsDevBlogs·29w

    Roadmap for AI in Visual Studio (November)

    Microsoft shares Visual Studio's November AI roadmap, focusing on new AI agents, enhanced Agent Mode and Chat capabilities, Model Context Protocol (MCP) integration with full spec support and governance controls, and expanded model options including GPT-5 Codex and auto-model selection. The updates aim to integrate Copilot throughout the development workflow, from code writing to testing and version control.

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    Article
    Avatar of devblogsDevBlogs·34w

    TypeScript 7 native preview in Visual Studio 2026

    TypeScript 7 native preview is now available in Visual Studio 2026 Insiders, offering significant performance improvements including 10x faster compile times and 8x faster project loading for large codebases. The native port reduces memory usage and improves IDE responsiveness. To use it, replace the typescript package with @typescript/native-preview in package.json. The preview has known issues including package conflicts, limited editor integration, and HTML component file problems.

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    Article
    Avatar of devclassDEVCLASS·27w

    Copilot .Net modernization tool a 'huge downgrade,' devs say – and no longer free • DEVCLASS

    Microsoft replaced the free .NET Framework upgrade assistant with GitHub Copilot app modernization, requiring a paid subscription. Developers report the new AI-powered tool is inferior to its predecessor, with issues including incomplete migrations, hundreds of hours of manual fixes, and less deterministic results. The old upgrade assistant remains accessible through Visual Studio settings, while Microsoft also introduced Managed Instance on Azure App Service for applications that cannot easily migrate to modern .NET.

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    Article
    Avatar of vsVisual Studio Blog·31w

    Introducing Planning in Visual Studio (Public Preview)

    Visual Studio 2022 17.14 introduces Planning in Chat, a public preview feature that enables GitHub Copilot to handle complex, multi-step coding tasks through structured plans. Instead of simple prompts, Copilot now creates markdown-based plans that break down large tasks, research codebases, and execute steps iteratively while adapting to new context. The feature uses transparent tool calls and hierarchical planning techniques, showing 15% higher success rates in SWE-bench testing. Plans are stored as temporary files with progress tracking, allowing developers to monitor and control each step of the AI-assisted workflow.

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    Article
    Avatar of collectionsCollections·29w

    .NET Conf: Explore the Future with .NET 10 and Visual Studio 2026

    .NET Conf 2025 is a free virtual conference from November 11-13 featuring the launch of .NET 10 and Visual Studio 2026. The event covers Visual Studio 2026's enhanced profiler and debugger tools, .NET 10 migration capabilities with Azure integration, C# 14 features, Blazor and .NET MAUI improvements, and AI integrations including Copilot advancements and Microsoft Agent Framework. Sessions include Microsoft experts and global community speakers sharing real-world applications and advanced techniques, with an additional Student Zone day on November 14 for beginners.

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    Article
    Avatar of sdtimesSD Times·36w

    Microsoft shares Insiders preview of Visual Studio 2026

    Microsoft launched the Insiders preview for Visual Studio 2026, featuring deeper AI integration that suggests tests and maintains code consistency, significant performance improvements across all IDE operations, a refreshed UI with better iconography and themes, and backward compatibility with Visual Studio 2022 extensions. The new Insiders Channel will receive monthly updates replacing the previous Preview Channel.

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    Article
    Avatar of vsVisual Studio Blog·31w

    Modernizing Visual Studio Extension Compatibility: Effortless Migration for Extension Developers and Users

    Visual Studio 2026 introduces a new extension compatibility model that eliminates the need for developers to update version ranges with each major release. Extensions built for Visual Studio 2022 will automatically work in 2026 without modifications. The new model shifts from version-based to API-based compatibility, with Visual Studio committing to minimize breaking changes to stable APIs while introducing new features through preview APIs first. Extension developers no longer need to publish updates for compatibility, and users will have their extensions automatically installed when upgrading.

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    Article
    Avatar of aspnetASP.NET Blog·50w

    Improve Your Productivity with New GitHub Copilot Features for .NET!

    Microsoft has released new GitHub Copilot features for .NET development in Visual Studio 17.14 and VS Code with C# Dev Kit. Key improvements include enhanced context awareness that scans codebases for better suggestions, Microsoft Learn integration for up-to-date responses, automated method implementation through refactoring, on-demand code documentation via hover tooltips, and automatic generation of documentation comments. These features aim to make .NET development more efficient by providing more relevant AI assistance.

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    Article
    Avatar of vsVisual Studio Blog·48w

    Better Models, Smarter Defaults: Claude Sonnet 4, GPT-4.1, and More Control in Visual Studio

    Visual Studio Copilot now defaults to GPT-4.1 for improved performance and offers expanded model choices including Claude Sonnet 4, Claude Opus 4, OpenAI o3 mini, and Gemini variants. The update introduces sticky model selection, simplified model switching, and a new Copilot Consumptions panel for tracking usage under GitHub's consumptive billing model. Users can monitor premium requests and automatically fall back to standard models when quotas are exceeded.

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    Article
    Avatar of jetbrainsJetBrains·51w

    The .NET Tools Blog

    ReSharper, JetBrains' popular .NET productivity tool that has served Visual Studio developers for 20 years, is now expanding to a new development environment as an extension, bringing its code exploration, writing, and improvement capabilities to more developers.

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    Article
    Avatar of jetbrainsJetBrains·1y

    Visual Studio Plugin

    JetBrains has released the Qodana code quality plugin for Visual Studio, extending its suite of tools. This plugin helps identify code issues, bugs, and vulnerabilities, run code analysis in your CI pipeline, and see issues directly within Visual Studio. Download it via the Resharper Installer, join the Qodana community for support, and stay updated on code quality advancements.

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    Article
    Avatar of milanjovanovicMilan Jovanović·24w

    The New .slnx Solution Format (migration guide)

    Microsoft introduced .slnx, a new XML-based solution file format for .NET that replaces the verbose, GUID-heavy .sln format. The new format is human-readable, easier to merge in version control, and aligns with the simplified .csproj format. You can migrate existing solutions using either the .NET CLI command 'dotnet sln migrate' or Visual Studio's 'Save As' feature. The format is supported in Visual Studio 2022 (v17.13+), Visual Studio 2026, Rider, and .NET 9 SDK (9.0.200+). While technically in preview, it's stable and safe for production use, with the primary benefit being dramatically fewer merge conflicts.

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    Article
    Avatar of sdtimesSD Times·30w

    Microsoft announces public preview for planning to improve how Copilot in Visual Studio handles complex tasks

    Microsoft released a public preview of planning capabilities for Copilot in Visual Studio's Agent Mode. The feature breaks down complex coding tasks into smaller, manageable steps by researching the codebase and creating structured execution plans. Initial testing shows 15% higher success rates and 20% more resolved tasks with GPT-5 and Claude Sonnet 4. The planning feature automatically activates for multi-step prompts while simple queries receive direct responses. Available in Visual Studio 2022 17.14 and Visual Studio 2026 Insiders.

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    Article
    Avatar of vsVisual Studio Blog·38w

    Boost Your Copilot Collaboration with Reusable Prompt Files

    Visual Studio 2022 introduces reusable prompt files that allow developers to save, share, and quickly access custom prompts for GitHub Copilot. These .prompt.md files are stored in the repository's .github/prompts/ directory, enabling teams to collaborate on effective AI prompts and maintain consistency across projects. The feature includes context menu integration, file referencing syntax, and encourages building shared prompt libraries for improved developer productivity.

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    Article
    Avatar of communityCommunity Picks·1y

    .NET Digest #7

    The .NET Digest #7 provides updates on .NET 10 Previews 2 and 3, the latest Mono release, and several AI-enhancements in Visual Studio. It also covers articles about rewriting NuGet Restore for improved performance, new caching management in ASP.NET Core, and MSTest 3.8 features. Additionally, there are announcements about conferences and new versions, such as Rider 2025.1 and PVS-Studio 7.36.

  24. 24
    Article
    Avatar of jetbrainsJetBrains·1y

    The .NET Tools Blog

    A jumpstart guide that helps Visual Studio and ReSharper users transition to JetBrains Rider, highlighting the advantages and process of moving to the new development environment.

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    Article
    Avatar of vsVisual Studio Blog·1y

    Great new productivity features in Visual Studio

    The latest version of Visual Studio introduces several new features aimed at enhancing developer productivity. Highlights include the ability to set default file encoding for saved files, control indentation of word wraps, retain font preferences across different themes, and reposition the horizontal scrollbar for optimal usability. These enhancements provide increased customization and ease of use, driven by user feedback.

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