Visual Studio extension development. Create add-ons and extensions for Visual Studio, including new commands, code analyzers, and tool windows. Add the SDKs and tools you need to create new commands, code analyzers, tool windows, and language services using C#. Then, share your extension with the community in the Visual Studio.
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Install and learn about the Visual Studio for Mac Integrated Development Environment (IDE).
What apps can I build?
With Visual Studio for Mac you can build websites with ASP.NET Core and apps using .NET Core, games with Unity, and mobile apps for Android and iOS using Xamarin. Azure can be incorporated into all your apps.
What languages can I use?
With Visual Studio for Mac you can write in C#, F#, Razor, HTML5, CSS, Javascript and Typescript, XAML, and XML.
Write code with Visual Studio for Mac
Learn more about using Visual Studio to write, compile, debug, and store your code.
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Get the Preview
Important
Get the Preview of Visual Studio 2019 for Mac by updating to the Preview channel.
This release is not 'go-live' and not intended for use on production computers or for creating production code.
To learn more about Visual Studio for Mac, see Mac System Requirementsand Mac Platform Targeting and Compatibility.
To learn more about other related downloads, see the Downloads page.
What's New in 8.4 Preview
Visual Studio 2019 for Mac version 8.4 Preview Releases
- November 4, 2019 – Visual Studio 2019 for Mac version 8.4 Preview 2
- October 17, 2019 – Visual Studio 2019 for Mac version 8.4 Preview 1
Release Highlights
- This release focuses on improving the overall accessibility in Visual Studio for Mac.
- This release adds support for .NET Core 3.1 SDK Preview 2.
Known Issues
Refer to the Known Issues section.
Feedback
We would love to hear from you! You can report a problem through the Report a Problem option in Visual Studio for Mac IDE.You can track your feedback, including suggestions, in the Developer Community portal.
Visual Studio 2019 for Mac version 8.4 Preview 2 (8.4.0.2350)
released November 4, 2019
Accessibility
- We made improvements to focus order in a number of areas.
- We continued to make improvements in VoiceOver and keyboard navigation.
- We improved contrast ratios in tooltips and in other UI areas.
- We reduced the number of steps needed to move between certain elements on the Start Page while using VoiceOver.
- The 'Pin button' on the Start Page can now be accessed with VoiceOver.
- We made changes to improve VoiceOver feedback in the following areas:
- Recently used templates page
- Font picker
- Document view tabs
- Global Search Results
- Code editor
- Code snippets
- Updater
- Version control
- Project options
- We mitigated keyboard traps in Xamarin designer property panels and made previously inaccessible areas in those property panels accessible.
Debugger
- We have continued improving the new native tooltips, locals, and watch pads. There are still issues on Catalina that we are looking in to.
Web and Azure
- We added support for editing .razor files.
- We added support for provisioning Azure SignalR Service for Blazor Server projects during publish to Azure App Service.
- We added support to Pack .NET Standard library projects.
Bug Fixes
Debugger
- We fixed an issue where pinning properties in debug doesn't work.
Editor
- We improved support for .csx files.
- We fixed an issue where commenting commands did not work in .js/.ts files.
- We fixed an issue where code formatting in .js/.ts files could delete user code unexpectedly.
- The insert line command (shift+enter) should now work again.
- The 'Show quick info' and 'Focus Document' commands should now work again.
- We removed some obsolete refactorings.
- We fixed an issue where font weight was being ignored.
- More msbuild files (such as .props) are now syntax-highlighted.
Xamarin
- We improved an unhelpful error message when signing archive for distribution.
- We fixed an issue where document outlines in storyboards are empty.
Shell
- We fixed an issue where extension manager cannot be closed once opened.
Project System
- We fixed an issue where Define constants would not be defined correctly when defined in imported projects.
Visual Studio 2019 for Mac version 8.4 Preview 1 (8.4.0.1935)
released October 17, 2019
Accessibility
We made a number of changes to address accessibility in this release including:
- Increasing contrast in a number of areas with low contrast.
- Issues with VoiceOver in the debugging experience.
- Improving keyboard navigation and shortcuts.
- Improving VoiceOver throughout the IDE.
We will continue to improve accessibility throughout this series of previews.
Editor
- All files should open in the new editor unless legacy editor is explicitly needed.
- Fixed some performance leaks in the editor.
- Update to latest FSharp.CompilerService.
Xamarin
- You can now use the Properties panel to change your control's attributes when editing Xamarin.Forms XAML. To open it, go to View > Pads > Properties.
Shell
- We have added a native and fully accessible (keyboard and VoiceOver) property pad control from the Android designer to the shelland enabled it by default for all solution items. In upcoming previews we will successively enable it in other areas (preferences, project options, etc.).
Debugger
- We have implemented native controls for the debugger tooltips, locals pad and watch pads, and the exception caught dialog.These new controls allow us to re-enable pinned watches in the editor. There are a few known issues, with pinned watches in particular that we intend to fix in the preview.
For more details on the known issues please refer to the known issues at the bottom of this document.
Bug Fixes
Web and Azure
We fixed the following issues with .NET Core support:
- The Blazor template has been added to the New Project dialog.
- Razor component and Worker Service templates added to New Item dialog.
- Launch settings generated with https but project doesn't support https.
- When creating a new ASP.NET Core project the port number should be unique.
We fixed the following issues with Azure Functions support:
- Azure Functions Template is Missing AzureFunctionsVersion, v2.
Xamarin
We fixed the following issues with the Xamarin support:
- Visual Studio for Mac reporting iOS specific classes, methods and enums unavailable in iOS.
Visual Studio For Mac Older Versions
Shell and Tools
We fixed the following issues with the IDE:
- We added notarization support for macOS Catalina.
- Dialog locations are inconsistent.
- The accounts Window is always on top, even when leaving Visual Studio for Mac.
- The IDE opens in the wrong Desktop if the Start Window is dragged to a new desktop.
- Startup dialog 'New' text is cut off at the bottom in some languages.
- If you choose not to sign in on first run, you'll continually get prompted through the first run experience.
- Hitting return in a search field doesn't search.
- Tab key to change between views seems to be broken.
- Visual Studio Community lacks UTF-8 (no signature) format.
- Preferences menu item does not open.
Source Code Editing
We fixed the following issues with editing source code:
- When creating a Breakpoint it should auto-fill the line I selected.
- When copy/pasting a 'word wrapped' line, it only copies the first line.
- Unable to pull up the emoji selector.
Version Control
We fixed the following issues with Version Control:
- Cancelling an SVN checkout can accidentally delete user files.
Project System
We fixed the following issues with Projects:
- Manually adding DefaultTargets to csproj gets overridden when VS modifies the project.
- Inconsistent naming for removal on files and projects.
- Project context menu is missing 'Add Reference'.
- Renaming a file in the solution pad does not re-apply nesting rules.
- Change title of window from 'Edit References' to 'References'.
- Project model reports wrong references for certain projects.
Debugging
We fixed the following issues with Debugging:
- We added a missing 'Debug All Tests' command.
- Hovering over an expression may change the value of variables in .net core debugger.
- Opening the Exception Caught dialog makes the IDE hang.
- Debugger does not remember watch expressions between debugging sessions.
- Debug tooltips are not shown.
- Columns in watch and locals pad should fill all available space.
- The spinner shown when evaluating an expression is not animated.
Testing
We fixed the following issues with Testing:
- 'Show Test Source Code' does nothing if you right click a test class name.
- 'Run Test' does not run the test if a compile is required.
- 'Show Test Source Code' menu option should be disabled when the
sourceCodeLocation
is null.
Updater
We fixed the following issues with the updater:
- Progress indicator empty after unsuccessful download.
- Updater does not wait for IDE to exit before installing updates.
Known Issues
- After adding a new file using the Razor Component file template, the project may fail to build. The issue is caused by some unneeded elements in the project file (.csproj file), remove elements referencing the new file from the project file, and the project should build successfully.
- When developing ASP.NET Core projects, if .NET Core SDK 3.1 Preview is installed, https connections may be refused. The browser may not launch, or when using docker, certificate errors are shown. To workaround this, run the following commands in the terminal;
dotnet dev-certs https —clean
and thendotnet dev-certs https —trust
. - Pinned watches are not scrollable. A pinned watch whose contents needs to be scrolled won't scroll as the scrolling is taken over by the editor window.
- Pressing backspace does not delete a watch from the Watches pad.
- There is no auto completion for the Watches pad.