Visual Studio

Make Sense of Your Output Window with Copilot

Ever found yourself staring at the Output Window, overwhelmed by endless lines of logs and cryptic messages? You’re not alone! For years, developers have relied on the Output Window for critical build and debug information. But making sense of it—and translating it into action—has been a challenge. What if you could instantly ask questions about your […]
The post Make Sense of Your Output Window with Copilot appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Boost Your Copilot Collaboration with Reusable Prompt Files

Writing effective prompts for AI tools can be time-consuming and challenging. Cement those efforts by leveraging reusable prompt files. These custom prompts allow for quick access at the prompt box, and they’re automatically stored and shared with your teammates to make it easy to multiply your Copilot successes.   Reusable prompt files solve the prompt-writing challenge  Reusable prompt files let you write, save, and run prompts right […]
The post Boost Your Copilot Collaboration with Reusable Prompt Files appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Roadmap for AI in Visual Studio (September)

Today, we’re excited to share our public roadmap, which outlines the next steps in evolving Visual Studio with AI-powered agentic experiences. With every month, we aim to deliver smarter, faster, and more intuitive tools that enhance your coding experience. Disclaimer: The items outlined here represent ongoing work for the month. They are not commitments or […]
The post Roadmap for AI in Visual Studio (September) appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Artificial Intelligence

The Visual Studio August Update is here – smarter AI, better debugging, and more control

The August 2025 update for Visual Studio 2022 (v17.14) is now available, and it’s all about helping developers stay focused, productive, and in control. Whether you’re building games, tuning performance, or exploring AI, this release brings meaningful improvements that make everyday development smoother and smarter. GPT-5 support now available We’re excited to announce that GPT-5 […]
The post The Visual Studio August Update is here – smarter AI, better debugging, and more control appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

GitHub Copilot for Azure (Preview) Launches in Visual Studio 2022 with Azure MCP Support

The GitHub Copilot for Azure extension is now in Public Preview for Visual Studio 2022 (17.14+). It brings a curated set of Azure developer tools—exposed through the Azure MCP server—directly into GitHub Copilot Agent Mode in Visual Studio. The extension automatically installs and manages the Azure MCP server, so you can query resources, diagnose issues, […]
The post GitHub Copilot for Azure (Preview) Launches in Visual Studio 2022 with Azure MCP Support appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Better Control over Your Copilot Code Suggestions

Copilot code completions and suggestions in the editor speed you up in your daily programming and coding activities, at every keystroke. They help you finish the line you’re typing or anticipate your next edit, making your workflow smoother and faster. At the same time, editor is where you focus and put in the deep work. […]
The post Better Control over Your Copilot Code Suggestions appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Bring Your Own Model to Chat in Visual Studio

We’re excited to announce that you can now bring your own language model into Visual Studio Chat. You can connect API keys from providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google) to access a wider range of models. This makes it easy to test the latest releases, customize workflows, or run on infrastructure you control. What it unlocks […]
The post Bring Your Own Model to Chat in Visual Studio appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Artificial Intelligence

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is Now Generally Available in Visual Studio 🎉

We’re excited to announce that MCP support is now GA in Visual Studio—unlocking richer, real-time context from your entire development stack and expanding the power of Agent Mode like never before. Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that makes it easy for AI agents to connect with external tools and services—think of it […]
The post Model Context Protocol (MCP) is Now Generally Available in Visual Studio 🎉 appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Artificial Intelligence

Improving Codebase Awareness in Visual Studio Chat

Smarter Code Search in Visual Studio: From BM25 to Semantic Search  In our latest 17.14.11 release, we’ve made a significant leap forward in how we explore your code to retrieve meaningful context. Our new Remote Semantic Search integration helps you find exactly what you need faster and with greater precision than ever before.  By embedding […]
The post Improving Codebase Awareness in Visual Studio Chat appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

From Redmond to San Diego: VS Live! Highlights, Session Examples, and What’s Next

There’s something special about hosting developers at Microsoft HQ — and this year’s Visual Studio Live! Redmond reminded me why I love these events. The energy in every room was electric. From the moment the first session kicked off, developers leaned in, asked smart, challenging questions, and took every opportunity to connect with the Product […]
The post From Redmond to San Diego: VS Live! Highlights, Session Examples, and What’s Next appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

GPT-5 Now Available in Visual Studio

We’re excited to share that GPT-5, OpenAI’s latest frontier model, is now rolling out in GitHub Copilot for Visual Studio. GPT-5 offers faster responses and even better performance for writing and understanding code. This release brings a new level of capability to your development workflow, making it easier to move from idea to implementation. Try […]
The post GPT-5 Now Available in Visual Studio appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Visual Studio 2015 Retirement: Support reminder for older versions of Visual Studio

Support for Visual Studio 2015 will end on October 14, 2025. If you’re using an older version of Visual Studio, we want to keep you productive and secure when using Visual Studio, and strongly recommend you upgrade to Visual Studio 2022, which brings the power of Copilot to your development workflow. It also contains key […]
The post Visual Studio 2015 Retirement: Support reminder for older versions of Visual Studio appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Fresh Learning Paths Now Available on Pluralsight for VS Subscribers

We’ve been thrilled to see so many of you jump back into your Pluralsight benefit after our April 3rd announcement about extended access. Your enthusiasm for learning and leveling up with Visual Studio inspires us every day. If you haven’t had a chance to dive in yet—or want to explore what’s new since then—I wanted […]
The post Fresh Learning Paths Now Available on Pluralsight for VS Subscribers appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

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

We’re excited to share some major improvements to the Copilot experience in Visual Studio, including smarter default models, more choices, and easier ways to manage your usage. Smarter default model Copilot in Visual Studio now uses GPT-4.1 as the default model (previously 4o). In our testing, it delivers significantly better performance—faster responses, higher quality suggestions, […]
The post Better Models, Smarter Defaults: Claude Sonnet 4, GPT-4.1, and More Control in Visual Studio appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Inside Access: Join Us at VS Live! Redmond for a Week of Deep Developer Learning

A long time ago, I stood in a packed room at VS Live! and watched developers erupt in applause after a debugging demo shaved hours off a real-world problem. That was the moment I realized this wasn’t just a conference—it was a place where developers and toolmakers come together to push the craft forward. I’m […]
The post Inside Access: Join Us at VS Live! Redmond for a Week of Deep Developer Learning appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Agent mode is now generally available with MCP support

Copilot agent mode is the next evolution in AI-assisted development—and it’s now generally available in the Visual Studio June update. Agent mode turns GitHub Copilot into an autonomous pair programmer capable of handling multi-step development tasks from end to end. It builds a plan, executes it, adapts along the way, and loops through tasks until […]
The post Agent mode is now generally available with MCP support appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Next edit suggestions available in Visual Studio

GitHub Copilot code completions, or gray text, are specialized in autocompleting unfinished code or providing helpful template code. In reality, coding activities are more diverse than writing new code. What if Copilot could better assist your coding not only with code generation, but your code editing activities as well? We are excited to announce next […]
The post Next edit suggestions available in Visual Studio appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

How to filter C++ Build Insights by project

Visual Studio 2022 version 17.14 comes with quality-of-life improvements to its C++ Build Insights integration that will make it easier for you to navigate large multi-project traces and handle long file names for your build inputs and artifacts. What is C++ Build Insights? C++ Build Insights is a powerful tool that lets you visualize and […]
The post How to filter C++ Build Insights by project appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Cloud Academy: Unlock Your Azure Skills and Accelerate Your Career

When we launched the Cloud Academy benefit for Visual Studio Professional and Enterprise subscribers back in March 2025, our goal was simple: give you the hands-on, practical learning experience you need to confidently master Azure and cloud technologies — without spending a dime beyond your subscription. Why? Because in today’s fast-changing tech world, knowing theory […]
The post Cloud Academy: Unlock Your Azure Skills and Accelerate Your Career appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Extension Manager updates in Visual Studio

The latest updates in Visual Studio 2022 introduced features specifically designed to improve how you manage extensions. These updates offer tools that help you automate processes, provide detailed controls for configuration, and enhance the user interface to streamline your development workflows. Seamless auto updates Visual Studio now automatically triggers updates whenever you open the Extension […]
The post Extension Manager updates in Visual Studio appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Improve the commands in your extensions

As Visual Studio extension authors, our goal is to create tools that empower developers across diverse environments. A key part of this mission involves ensuring that your extension commands remain accessible and consistent across all Visual Studio locales. In your VSSDK extensions, by adding the CanonicalName property to your commands in the .vsct file, you […]
The post Improve the commands in your extensions appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

VisualStudio.Extensibility: Editor classification and updates to user prompt

We continue to invest in the VisualStudio.Extensibility SDK to allow users like you to create extensions that run faster and smoother than ever before! VisualStudio.Extensibility helps you build extensions that run outside the main Visual Studio IDE process for improved performance, reliability, and installation without restarting Visual Studio. Additional benefits include a sleek and intuitive […]
The post VisualStudio.Extensibility: Editor classification and updates to user prompt appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Connecting to Private NuGet Feeds Just Got Easier

The Visual Studio 2022 17.14 update is here, and it brings great quality-of-life improvements—especially around NuGet authentication. From context about the authentication needs of private NuGet feeds to a simplified account selection workflow, this update helps you stay focused on your code! If you haven’t already, download the latest Visual Studio update to take advantage […]
The post Connecting to Private NuGet Feeds Just Got Easier appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Our Favorite NEW Visual Studio Features of 2024

Last year, the Visual Studio team delivered many new developer-focused improvements and AI integrations, many of which came directly from your feedback on Developer Community. In this post, we highlight the team’s favorite features from 2024 that boost productivity, streamline workflows, and enhance your coding experience. Let’s dive in! Image Hover Preview: See your images […]
The post Our Favorite NEW Visual Studio Features of 2024 appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Join us at VS Live! 2025 Las Vegas

Join Your Favorite Speakers at VS Live! Las Vegas With the new year here, many developers are looking for the best ways to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving tech landscape. That’s why Visual Studio Live! Las Vegas, March 10-14, 2025, is a must-attend event! Stay ahead of the curve with the latest enhancements in […]
The post Join us at VS Live! 2025 Las Vegas appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Enhanced Change Signature in C++

Change Signature allows you to modify a function’s parameters, including reordering, adding, removing, or altering them across various locations. Previously, the Change Signature feature in Visual Studio involved multiple clicks and nested pop-up windows. In Visual Studio 2022 version 17.12, we’ve reduced the number of clicks and eliminated these nested steps to streamline the process. […]
The post Enhanced Change Signature in C++ appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Benchmarking with Visual Studio Profiler

In Visual Studio 17.13 Preview we have released our updated BenchmarkDotNet diagnosers, allowing you to use more of the tools in the performance profiler to analyze benchmarks. With this change it is super quick to dig into CPU usage and allocations of benchmarks making the measure, change, measure cycle quick and efficient. Benchmarking a real […]
The post Benchmarking with Visual Studio Profiler appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Unlocking insights with Meter Histogram in the profiler

Are you struggling with performance bottlenecks in your applications? Look no further! Visual Studio 2022 introduces the Meter Histogram feature in its performance profiling suite, providing you with the tools to analyze and visualize histogram data like never before. The Meter Histogram is a key enhancement to Visual Studio’s performance profiling suite. This feature enables […]
The post Unlocking insights with Meter Histogram in the profiler appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Dock the Code Search window in Visual Studio 2022

Ever felt frustrated with the search window cluttering your workspace? The latest feature in Visual Studio 2022 gives you more control over the behavior of the Code and Feature Search window, making your search experience smoother and more efficient. Some users have shared that the search window feels intrusive, interrupting your work by appearing mid-screen […]
The post Dock the Code Search window in Visual Studio 2022 appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Go to line anywhere with Code Search for Visual Studio 2022

Finding the exact line of code where an issue is occurring can be like searching for a needle in a haystack. Whether you are debugging an error on line 43 of a file or diving into a specific section of code, you can efficiently jump to the right places with this newest addition to Code […]
The post Go to line anywhere with Code Search for Visual Studio 2022 appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Connect securely to your Azure resources

Visual Studio 2022’s Connected Services features are being updated to help you start secure. In the past, for example with Azure Storage, we’d inject the entire connection string into your configuration. With this update, we’ve removed the secrets from the UX – and from what we save to configuration – altogether. This means your code […]
The post Connect securely to your Azure resources appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Security updates to Azure publishing from Visual Studio

Visual Studio 2022 introduces a new feature to improve the security of publishing applications to Azure App Service. This feature is designed to disable Basic Authentication and enable integrated security for a more secure publishing process. Basic Authentication has been identified as a less secure method for managing app deployments. Visual Studio 2022 addresses this […]
The post Security updates to Azure publishing from Visual Studio appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

GitHub Copilot Free is here in Visual Studio

If you haven’t already heard, GitHub just announced Copilot Free! And great news: you can already start using Copilot Free right now in Visual Studio. It’s available now, and we’re putting the finishing touches on a more streamlined experience in January. We’re excited to bring these benefits to the entire Visual Studio family. With Copilot […]
The post GitHub Copilot Free is here in Visual Studio appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Refresh your Find results

Are you tired of having to repeatedly launch the Find window in Visual Studio to update your search results? Whether you’ve just refactored some code or pulled recent changes, having to redo a search to get updated results is no longer necessary. With the new refresh option, you can now update your Find results without […]
The post Refresh your Find results appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Create internal GitHub repos for your team

Visual Studio 2022 now includes support for creating internal repositories for GitHub organizations. This feature allows developers to work within their GitHub organization’s guidelines within the Visual Studio environment more effectively. Managing repositories involves configuring varying levels of visibility and permissions. Visual Studio 2022’s new feature aims to smooth this process by providing support for […]
The post Create internal GitHub repos for your team appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Boost your Git confidence with the new file rename notification

Have you ever renamed a file in Solution Explorer and wondered if Git is tracking your changes correctly? You’re not alone. Many developers have found this process confusing and worry whether their changes are being properly staged in Git. But worry no more – there’s a solution! When you rename files in Solution Explorer, Visual […]
The post Boost your Git confidence with the new file rename notification appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed

Effortless publishing with Azure Functions Flex Consumption

Struggling with complex deployment processes for your serverless applications? Visual Studio 2022 introduces a seamless solution with the new Azure Functions Flex Consumption hosting plan, now generally available. Imagine a world where deploying your serverless applications to a hosting plan that supports fast scaling and VNet is as simple as a right-click. With the Azure […]
The post Effortless publishing with Azure Functions Flex Consumption appeared first on Visual Studio Blog.
Feed