ReSharper 2026.2 Brings Debugging to VS Code, Cursor, and Every Editor Microsoft Locked Out
ReSharper 2026.2 ships the most requested feature for its VS Code extension: a full debugger built on the Rider engine. With Microsoft's C# Dev Kit banned from Cursor and other editors, JetBrains now offers the only complete .NET development experience outside Visual Studio and Rider.
The MSBuild Binlog MCP Server Turns Your AI Assistant into a Build Detective
Microsoft's Binlog MCP Server exposes 38 tools that let AI assistants query MSBuild binary logs directly, turning cryptic build failures and performance bottlenecks into natural-language conversations.
dotnetup: The .NET SDK Version Manager That Should Have Existed Years Ago
Microsoft is building dotnetup, an official cross-platform .NET SDK and runtime version manager inspired by rustup. Here's what it does, how it works with global.json, and why it matters for teams and CI pipelines.
GitHub Copilot Testing for .NET: AI-Powered Unit Tests That Actually Build and Run
Visual Studio 2026 ships a purpose-built @Test agent that generates, builds, runs, and self-heals C# unit tests across your entire solution. Here is how the workflow operates, what it does well, and where you still need to think for yourself.
Visual Studio Goes Rolling: What the 2027 Announcement Means for .NET Teams
At VSLive! Las Vegas, Microsoft confirmed that Visual Studio 2027 will arrive as an in-place update to 2026 — not a side-by-side install. Here is how the new annual rolling release model, decoupled build tools, and LTSC channels change daily life for .NET developers.
#:include Lands in .NET 11: File-Based Apps Finally Go Multi-File
.NET 11 Preview 3 adds the #:include and #:exclude directives to file-based apps, letting you split scripts across multiple files without reaching for a .csproj. Here is how they work, what they don't do, and where the edges still need sanding.
dotnet watch Finally Works With Aspire: Per-Resource Hot Reload in .NET 11
The .NET 11 Preview 3 SDK ships a named-pipe coordination layer between dotnet watch and Aspire AppHosts, enabling per-resource hot reload, crash recovery with deferred relaunch, and proper Ctrl+C handling for Windows desktop apps.
The Visual Studio Debugger Agent: From Bug Report to Verified Fix Without Leaving the IDE
Visual Studio 18.5 ships a Debugger Agent that reads your bug report, sets breakpoints, watches runtime state as you reproduce the issue, and proposes a verified fix. Here is how the workflow operates and where it fits alongside the existing Profiler and custom agents.
.NET 11 SDK Preview 3: The CLI Improvements That Sharpen Your Inner Dev Loop
.NET 11 Preview 3 brings multi-file file-based apps via #:include, inline environment variables with dotnet run -e, CLI-editable solution filters, and a dotnet watch that recovers from crashes and integrates with Aspire.
Azure MCP Server 2.0: The Bridge Between Your AI Agents and Your Azure Infrastructure
Azure MCP Server 2.0 ships with self-hosted remote deployment, 276 tools across 57 Azure services, and enterprise-grade authentication. Here is what .NET developers need to know to wire AI agents into their cloud infrastructure.
The .slnx Solution Format: .NET 10's Quiet Revolution in Project Organisation
.NET 10 makes .slnx the default solution format, replacing the decades-old .sln with clean XML, zero GUIDs, and merge-friendly structure. Here is how to migrate and what to watch out for.
Kiota: Microsoft's OpenAPI Client Generator That Understands Your API's Shape
Kiota generates strongly typed API clients from OpenAPI specs using a hierarchical request builder pattern. Here's how to use it, wire it into DI, and avoid the pitfalls that trip up most teams.
Visual Studio 2026: The AI-Native IDE That Actually Earned the Title
Visual Studio 2026 shipped on March 31 with AI agents for profiling and debugging, Razor cohosting inside Roslyn, decoupled toolchains, and over 5,000 bug fixes. Here is what matters for .NET developers.
File-Based Apps in .NET 10: Scripts, Prototypes, and the End of Boilerplate
The dotnet run app.cs feature in .NET 10 lets you run C# from a single file with NuGet references, shebang support, and native AOT publishing -- no project file required. Here is how it works, where it shines, and where the edges still bite.
The Copilot Profiler Agent in Visual Studio 2026: AI-Driven Performance Tuning That Actually Works
Visual Studio 2026's Copilot Profiler Agent combines AI with the built-in performance profiler to find bottlenecks, generate BenchmarkDotNet benchmarks, and suggest verified fixes — all from a natural language prompt.
The GitHub Copilot SDK for .NET: Embedding Agentic AI Into Your Own Applications
The GitHub Copilot SDK hit public preview this week, giving .NET developers programmatic access to the same agent runtime behind Copilot CLI. Here's how to wire it up with custom tools, streaming, and BYOK support.
The modernize-dotnet Agent: AI-Powered .NET Upgrades Across Every IDE
Microsoft's modernize-dotnet Copilot agent brings structured, AI-driven .NET upgrades to Visual Studio, VS Code, the CLI, and GitHub.com -- turning what used to be a week-long migration into a reviewable, three-stage workflow.
JetBrains 2026.1: ReSharper Breaks Out of Visual Studio, Rider Gets an ASM Viewer
ReSharper 2026.1 ships as a VS Code extension, adds built-in performance monitoring, and fixes dozens of OOP-mode issues. Rider 2026.1 lands file-based C# programs, a native assembly viewer, and an open AI agent registry. Here is what matters for .NET developers.
Custom Copilot Agents in Visual Studio 2026: Building Team-Specific AI Workflows
Visual Studio 2026 v18.4 introduces custom agents defined as .agent.md files in your repository, letting teams build AI workflows with workspace awareness, MCP connections, and access to IDE tooling like the new find_symbol tool.
The MCP C# SDK Hits v1.0: Building AI Tool Servers in .NET
The official Model Context Protocol C# SDK has reached v1.0 with authorization, icon metadata, elicitation, and task support. Here is how to build production MCP servers that expose your .NET services to AI agents.
878 Pull Requests Later: What the .NET Team Learned from Copilot Coding Agent
The .NET team ran GitHub's Copilot Coding Agent against dotnet/runtime for ten months. The data tells a nuanced story about where AI excels, where it struggles, and what your team needs to get right before adopting it.
The NuGet MCP Server: AI-Powered Package Management in Your IDE
The NuGet MCP Server brings AI-driven package management to Visual Studio, VS Code, and GitHub Copilot agents — letting you fix vulnerabilities, update dependencies, and query package info through natural language.
.NET Agent Skills: Teaching Your Coding Agent to Think in C#
Microsoft's dotnet/skills repository gives AI coding agents specialised .NET knowledge through the open Agent Skills standard. Here's how the system works, what's available, and how to set it up in your editor.
Managing .NET SDK Versions with global.json
How to use global.json to pin SDK versions, manage roll-forward policies, and keep your team on the same toolchain.
dotnet-tools and Local Tool Manifests
Use local tool manifests to version and share .NET CLI tools across your team without global installs.