Microsoft Visual Studio Community Mac

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The Visual Studio for Mac debugger lets you step inside your code by setting Breakpoints, Step Over statements, Step Into and Out of functions, and inspect the current state of the code stack through powerful visualizations.

  • Feature-centered meaning that there are different versions (Visual Studio Web Developer, Visual Studio C#, etc.) depending on your goal. Visual Studio (free Community edition - since 2015) is a simplified version of the full version and replaces the separated express editions used before 2015.
  • Mar 19, 2020  Hi I am a computer science student and I would like to find out if there will be a release for visual studio for mac? Hi Sashen, Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Community. You can inquire with the Program developer. Check this link, and see at the bottom right of the page if that's what you are referring to. Keep us posted. Kind regards.
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This section explains how to get started using Visual Studio for Mac Tools for Unity.

Install Visual Studio for Mac

Unity Bundled Installation

Starting with Unity 2018.1, Visual Studio for Mac is the default C# integrated development environment (IDE) for Unity, and is included in the Unity Download Assistant as well as the Unity Hub installation tool. Download Unity from store.unity.com.

During installation, ensure that Visual Studio for Mac is checked in the list of components to install with Unity:

Unity Hub

Unity Download Assistant

Check for Updates to Visual Studio for Mac

The version of Visual Studio for Mac included with the Unity installation may not be the latest. It is recommended to check for updates to ensure you have access to the latest tools and features.

Manual installation

If you already have Unity 5.6.1 or above, but don't have Visual Studio for Mac, you can install Visual Studio for Mac manually. All editions of Visual Studio for Mac are bundled with Visual Studio for Mac Tools for Unity, including the free Community edition:

  • Download Visual Studio for Mac from visualstudio.microsoft.com.
  • Visual Studio for Mac Tools for Unity are installed automatically during the installation process.
  • Follow the steps in the installation guide for additional installation help.

Note

Visual Studio for Mac Tools for Unity requires Unity version 5.6.1 or above. To verify that Visual Studio Tools for Unity are enabled in your version of Unity, select About Unity from the Unity menu and look for the text 'Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for Unity enabled' in the bottom-left of the dialog.

Confirm that the Visual Studio for Mac Tools for Unity extension is enabled

While the Visual Studio for Mac Tools for Unity extension should be enabled by default, you can confirm this and check the installed version number:

  1. From the Visual Studio menu, select Extensions...

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  2. Expand the Game Development section and confirm the Visual Studio for Mac Tools for Unity entry.

Configure Unity for use with Visual Studio for Mac

Starting with Unity 2018.1, Visual Studio should be the default external script editor in Unity. You can confirm this or change the external script editor to Visual Studio:

  1. Select Preferences.. from the Unity menu.

  2. In the Preferences dialog, select the External Tools tab.

  3. From the External Script Editor dropdown list, choose Visual Studio if it is listed, otherwise select Browse...

  4. If Browse.. was selected, navigate to the Applications directory and select Visual Studio and then click Open.

  5. Once Visual Studio is selected in the External Script Editor list, close the Preferences dialog to complete the configuration process.

Installation

  1. Download Visual Studio Code for macOS.
  2. Double-click on the downloaded archive to expand the contents.
  3. Drag Visual Studio Code.app to the Applications folder, making it available in the Launchpad.
  4. Add VS Code to your Dock by right-clicking on the icon to bring up the context menu and choosing Options, Keep in Dock.

Launching from the command line

You can also run VS Code from the terminal by typing 'code' after adding it to the path:

  • Launch VS Code.
  • Open the Command Palette (F1) and type 'shell command' to find the Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH command.
  • Restart the terminal for the new $PATH value to take effect. You'll be able to type 'code .' in any folder to start editing files in that folder.

Note: If you still have the old code alias in your .bash_profile (or equivalent) from an early VS Code version, remove it and replace it by executing the Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH command.

To manually add VS Code to your path, you can run the following commands:

Start a new terminal to pick up your .bash_profile changes.

Note: The leading slash is required to prevent $PATH from expanding during the concatenation. Remove the leading slash if you want to run the export command directly in a terminal.

Visual Studio Download Mac

Touch Bar support

Out of the box VS Code adds actions to navigate in editor history as well as the full Debug tool bar to control the debugger on your Touch Bar:

Mojave privacy protections

Microsoft Visual Studio Community Mac

After upgrading to macOS Mojave version, you may see dialogs saying 'Visual Studio Code would like to access your {calendar/contacts/photos}.' This is due to the new privacy protections in Mojave and is not specific to VS Code. The same dialogs may be displayed when running other applications as well. The dialog is shown once for each type of personal data and it is fine to choose Don't Allow since VS Code does not need access to those folders. You can read a more detailed explanation in this blog post.

Updates

VS Code ships monthly releases and supports auto-update when a new release is available. If you're prompted by VS Code, accept the newest update and it will get installed (you won't need to do anything else to get the latest bits).

Note: You can disable auto-update if you prefer to update VS Code on your own schedule.

Preferences menu

You can configure VS Code through settings, color themes, and custom keybindings and you will often see mention of the File > Preferences menu group. On a macOS, the Preferences menu group is under Code, not File.

Next steps

Once you have installed VS Code, these topics will help you learn more about VS Code:

  • Additional Components - Learn how to install Git, Node.js, TypeScript, and tools like Yeoman.
  • User Interface - A quick orientation around VS Code.
  • User/Workspace Settings - Learn how to configure VS Code to your preferences settings.

Common questions

Unable to open on macOS Catalina

Microsoft Visual Studio Community For Mac

After downloading, when you try to open VS Code on macOS Catalina, you may see a message 'Visual Studio Code' can't be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software'. This is because VS Code is not currently notarized but VS Code will run successfully on macOS Catalina.

To workaround the notarization check, follow the instructions to Open a Mac app from an unidentified developer or from the Apple menu, go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General and choose Open Anyway.

Why do I see 'Visual Studio Code would like access to your calendar.'

If you are running macOS Mojave version, you may see dialogs saying 'Visual Studio Code would like to access your {calendar/contacts/photos}.' This is due to the new privacy protections in Mojave discussed above. It is fine to choose Don't Allow since VS Code does not need access to those folders.

VS Code fails to update

Microsoft Visual Studio

If VS Code doesn't update once it restarts, it might be set under quarantine by macOS. Follow the steps in this issue for resolution.