Discover, browse, and organize C# unit tests by category — with MSTest, NUnit, and xUnit support — grouped by test category, right from the VS Code sidebar.
Installation
Launch VS Code Quick Open (Ctrl+P), paste the following command, and press enter.
Discover, browse, and organize C# unit tests by category — with MSTest, NUnit, and xUnit support — grouped by test category, right from the VS Code sidebar.
Features
Test Explorer
Automatically discovers all C# test files in your workspace
Parses test classes and test methods (supports [TestMethod], [Test], [Fact], [Theory])
Supports data-driven tests ([DataRow], [TestCase], [InlineData]) — all rows are aggregated and the worst-case status (failed > skipped > passed) is shown per test method
Run all tests, test classes, or individual tests with a single click
View test results with pass/fail/skip status and duration
Tests by Category
Automatically reads categories from test attributes:
MSTest: [TestCategory("CategoryName")]
NUnit: [Category("CategoryName")]
xUnit: [Trait("Category", "CategoryName")]
Groups tests by their categories in a dedicated sidebar view
Run all tests in a specific category
See uncategorized tests in a separate group
Dashboard
Visual progress bar showing test health
Pass/fail/skip counts with percentages
Per-category breakdown with mini progress indicators
Watch Mode
Automatically re-runs tests when .cs files change
Toggle on/off from the status bar or toolbar
GitHub Copilot Integration
Language model tools that Copilot can invoke automatically in Agent Mode
Get test summaries, list failing tests, run all tests, run tests by category, run a specific test class, and list available categories
Requirements
.NET SDK installed and dotnet available in PATH
A C# project with unit tests (MSTest, NUnit, or xUnit)
Extension Settings
Setting
Default
Description
csharpTestExplorer.include
**/*.cs
Glob pattern for C# test files to include
csharpTestExplorer.exclude
**/obj/**
Glob pattern for files to exclude
csharpTestExplorer.dotnetTestArgs
""
Additional arguments to pass to dotnet test
csharpTestExplorer.noBuild
false
Skip rebuilding the project before each test run. Leave false (the default) so source changes (e.g. adding or removing [Ignore]) are always picked up. Set to true only when you want faster runs on a project you know is already up-to-date.
GitHub Copilot Integration
If you have GitHub Copilot installed, this extension provides language model tools that Copilot can use automatically in Agent Mode.
Available Tools
Tool
What it does
Example prompt
#csharpTestSummary
Returns pass/fail/skip counts
"How are my backend C# tests doing?"
#csharpFailedTests
Lists all failing tests with error details
"What .NET tests are failing?"
#csharpRunAllTests
Runs all tests via dotnet test
"Run all the backend tests"
#csharpRunTestsByCategory
Runs tests by category name
"Run backend tests with category Smoke"
#csharpRunClassTests
Runs all tests in a specific test class
"Run backend tests for UserServiceTests"
#csharpListCategories
Lists all categories with test counts
"What categories do my C# tests have?"
How to Use
Open Copilot Chat in VS Code.
Switch to Agent Mode.
Ask about your C# tests (e.g. "Run the smoke tests", "What tests are failing?", "Run tests for UserServiceTests").
Copilot identifies the right tool, shows a confirmation, and executes it.
Test results update in the C# Test Explorer · Copilot Ready sidebar in real time.
Note: GitHub Copilot is not required to use this extension. All sidebar features work independently.
Usage
Open a workspace containing a C# test project
Click the beaker icon in the Activity Bar to open C# Test Explorer · Copilot Ready
Browse tests in the Test Explorer or Tests by Category view
