 
Bring Visual Studio's powerful development experience to VS Code! This extension provides a Visual Studio-style toolbar, launch profiles, code coverage, comprehensive navigation, and seamless run/debug functionality for all .NET projects.
Features
- Status Bar Toolbar with Build Configuration, Platform, Project, and Launch Profile selectors
- One-click Run and Debug buttons
- Run Without Debugging option
- Real-time project and configuration display
Run and Debug
- One-click run and debug buttons in the status bar
- Launch Profile Support - Use
launchSettings.json profiles with environment variables, URLs, and working directories
- Automatic project detection for all .NET project types
- Support for console, web, library, Blazor, MAUI, and Xamarin projects
- Customizable run arguments and debug configurations
- Build configuration selector (Debug/Release)
- Platform selector (Any CPU, x64, x86, ARM, etc.)
Unit Testing
- Support for xUnit, NUnit, MSTest, and custom test frameworks
- Automatic test discovery across all test projects
- Run all tests or individual test projects
- Test results display with pass/fail status
- Works with any .NET framework version
Code Coverage
- Integrated code coverage collection using Coverlet
- Visual coverage highlighting in the editor (green for covered, red for uncovered)
- Coverage percentage display in status bar
- Support for multiple coverage report formats: Cobertura, LCOV, JSON, OpenCover
- Automatic coverage collection when running tests
Visual Studio-Like Navigation
- Ctrl+Click navigation to definitions, implementations, and references
- Go to Definition (F12 / Ctrl+F12)
- Go to Implementation (Ctrl+Shift+F12)
- Find All References
- Peek Definition and Peek Implementation
- Right-click context menu with navigation options
- Works for all symbol types: classes, methods, properties, variables, interfaces, enums, namespaces
Universal .NET Framework Support
This extension works seamlessly with all .NET frameworks:
- .NET Framework (4.x, 4.5+, 4.6+, 4.7+, 4.8+)
- .NET Core (1.0, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 3.0, 3.1)
- .NET 5+ (.NET 5, .NET 6, .NET 7, .NET 8, .NET 9+)
- .NET Standard (1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1)
- ASP.NET Core (all versions)
- Blazor (Server, WebAssembly)
- Xamarin projects
- MAUI (.NET Multi-platform App UI)
- Any custom .NET project type
Supported .NET Project Types
- Console Applications - All .NET frameworks
- Web Applications - ASP.NET Core, ASP.NET MVC, Web API
- Class Libraries - .NET Framework, .NET Core, .NET Standard, .NET 5+
- Test Projects - xUnit, NUnit, MSTest
- Blazor Applications - Server and WebAssembly
- MAUI Applications - .NET Multi-platform App UI
- Xamarin Projects - iOS, Android, Forms
- WPF Applications - Windows Presentation Foundation
- WinForms Applications - Windows Forms
- Worker Services - Background services
- Any custom .NET project type
Requirements
- Visual Studio Code 1.74.0 or higher
- .NET SDK installed and available in PATH
- Supports .NET SDK 5.0+ (recommended: .NET SDK 6.0 or higher)
- Works with any .NET SDK version that supports your target framework
- C# extension (ms-dotnettools.csharp) or C# Dev Kit (ms-dotnettools.csdevkit) for debugging support
- The extension will prompt you to install it if missing when you try to debug
Quick Start
- Running a Project: Click the Run button (▶️) in the status bar
- Debugging: Click the Debug button (🐛) in the status bar
- Running Tests: Use Command Palette → ".NET: Run All Tests"
- Code Coverage: Use Command Palette → ".NET: Run Tests with Coverage"
The extension provides a Visual Studio-style toolbar in the status bar with:
- Build Configuration selector
- Platform selector
- Project selector
- Launch Profile selector
- Run, Debug, and Run Without Debug buttons
For detailed usage instructions, see the USAGE.md guide.
Configuration
The extension can be configured through VS Code settings:
dotnet.path: Custom path to the .NET CLI executabledotnet.testFramework: Preferred test framework (auto, xunit, nunit, mstest)dotnet.autoDetectProjects: Enable/disable automatic project detectiondotnet.coverage.enabled: Enable code coverage collectiondotnet.coverage.format: Coverage report format (cobertura, lcov, json, opencover)dotnet.runArguments: Additional arguments for dotnet rundotnet.debugConfig: Custom debug configuration overridesdotnet.enableCtrlClickNavigation: Enable Visual Studio-like Ctrl+Click navigationdotnet.ctrlClickBehavior: Ctrl+Click behavior (gotoOrPeek, gotoDefinition, peekDefinition)
Troubleshooting
Debug Not Working
Problem: "configured debug type coreclr is not supported"
Solutions:
Install C# Extension:
- Open Extensions (
Ctrl+Shift+X)
- Search for "C#" by Microsoft
- Install
ms-dotnettools.csharp
- Reload VS Code
Check Extension Status:
- Ensure C# extension is enabled
- Check Output panel for diagnostic messages
Reload Window:
- Press
Ctrl+Shift+P
- Type "Reload Window"
- Select "Developer: Reload Window"
Projects Not Detected
Problem: Projects not showing in status bar
Solutions:
- Check File Types: Ensure
.csproj, .fsproj, or .sln files exist
- Refresh Projects: Use Command Palette →
.NET: Refresh Projects
- Check Settings: Verify
dotnet.autoDetectProjects is enabled
- Check Output: View Output panel for error messages
Build Errors
Problem: Build fails when running/debugging
Solutions:
- Check Build Output: Click "Show Output" in error notification
- Build Manually: Run
dotnet build in terminal to see errors
- Check .NET SDK: Verify .NET SDK is installed and in PATH
- Check Project File: Ensure project file is valid
Tests Not Running
Problem: Tests don't execute or aren't found
Solutions:
- Check Test Framework: Ensure test framework (xUnit, NUnit, MSTest) is installed
- Build Project: Ensure test project builds successfully
- Check Output: View Output panel for test discovery errors
- Manual Test: Run
dotnet test in terminal to verify tests work
Coverage Not Showing
Problem: Code coverage not displayed
Solutions:
- Install Coverlet: Add
coverlet.msbuild package to test projects
- Enable Coverage: Check
dotnet.coverage.enabled setting
- Check Format: Verify coverage format is supported
- Run with Coverage: Use "Run Tests with Coverage" command
Ctrl+Click Navigation Not Working
Problem: Ctrl+Click doesn't navigate to definitions
Solutions:
- Check C# Extension: Ensure C# extension is installed and active
- Enable Navigation: Check
dotnet.enableCtrlClickNavigation setting
- Check Language Server: Ensure C# language server is running
- Reload Window: Reload VS Code window
Known Limitations
- Solution file parsing is limited - individual project files are preferred
- Coverage visualization requires Coverlet to be installed in test projects
- Debug configuration auto-detection may need manual adjustment for some project types
- .NET Framework projects require .NET SDK 5.0+ for full feature support
Contributing
Contributions are always welcome! Please see our contributing guidelines for more details.
Development
Building
npm run compile
Watching for Changes
npm run watch
Linting
npm run lint
License
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
Copyright (c) 2024 Samhith Gardas
Questions and Feedback
Provide feedback
File questions, issues, or feature requests for the extension.
This extension works best with:
Release Notes
0.1.2
- Enhanced framework detection for multi-targeting projects
- Improved support for .NET Framework and .NET Standard projects
- Updated marketplace description and keywords
0.1.1
- Added Visual Studio-like navigation (Ctrl+Click, Go to Implementation)
- Enhanced framework support documentation
- Added comprehensive keywords for marketplace discoverability
0.1.0
Initial release with:
- Run and debug functionality
- Test discovery and execution
- Code coverage integration
- Status bar toolbar integration
- Launch profile support
| |
