OutputSmith — a readable Output window

OutputSmith colors the Visual Studio Output window by what each line really is. Errors and warnings stand out, build and test results show at a glance, and the noise — module loads, compile steps, restore lines, test adapter chatter — steps back.

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📖 Documentation · Visual Studio 2022 and 2026 · x64 and ARM64 · UI in 14 languages

Same output, read in a second

Build

Project names in "Build started" lines are bold and the rest is gray, so a parallel build is easy to follow. Errors get a light red line and a red mark left of the text, warnings a yellow one; file paths, web addresses and diagnostic codes are highlighted. NuGet vulnerability warnings (NU1901–NU1904) are recognized too.

Debug

The debugger's own messages are gray, so what your application writes — Debug.WriteLine, Trace, loggers — stands out, with a blue mark. Log levels of ILogger (ASP.NET Core), Serilog, NLog and log4net are colored. Unhandled exceptions are red, first-chance ones yellow; stack frames in your code stay bright, framework frames are dimmed.

Tests

xUnit, NUnit and MSTest progress and "No test is available in …" are gray. A failed test, a discovery failure and the run result stand out.

CMake and C++

CMake checks are gray with only the result word colored — "not found" on Windows is often expected, so it is yellow, not red. CMake errors link to their file and line. C++ compile steps ("Generating Code…", file names) are dimmed.

Precise, not noisy

Lines are recognized by the formats of MSBuild, compilers, NuGet, test runners, loggers, the debugger and CMake. A line that merely contains the word "error" is not guessed. Only visible lines are colored, so even a huge build stays fast.

Settings

Tools → Options → OutputSmith. Every highlight can be turned off, each option has a description, and a live preview shows the result. Works in Build, Debug and every other pane; each can be turned off.

Questions or ideas? Use the Q & A tab on this page — unrecognized lines are welcome. Full documentation: lazowskianton.github.io/VSExtensions/outputsmith.