Visual Studio Blog
The official source of product insight from the Visual Studio Engineering Team
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Model Context Protocol (MCP) is Now Generally Available in Visual Studio 🎉
We’re excited to announce that MCP support is now GA in Visual Studio—unlocking richer, real-time context from your entire development stack and expanding the p...
Latest posts
Make Sense of Your Output Window with Copilot
Ever found yourself staring at the Output Window, overwhelmed by endless lines of logs and cryptic messages? You're not alone! For years, developers have relied on the Output Window for critical build and debug information. But making sense of it—and translating it into action—has been a challenge. What if you could instantly ask questions about your logs and take action without leaving your workflow? Now you can, thanks to Copilot’s new Output Window context! Say hello to smarter output window assistance In Visual Studio 17.14, Copilot can now read your Output Window, making it possible to interact with you...
Boost Your Copilot Collaboration with Reusable Prompt Files
Writing effective prompts for AI tools can be time-consuming and challenging. Cement those efforts by leveraging reusable prompt files. These custom prompts allow for quick access at the prompt box, and they’re automatically stored and shared with your teammates to make it easy to multiply your Copilot successes.  Reusable prompt files solve the prompt-writing challenge Reusable prompt files let you write, save, and run prompts right inside Visual Studio. Simply craft your prompt in a .github/prompts/[title].prompt.md file, save it, and reference it whenever you need to engage Copilot. This means your bes...
Roadmap for AI in Visual Studio (September)
Today, we’re excited to share our public roadmap, which outlines the next steps in evolving Visual Studio with AI-powered agentic experiences. With every month, we aim to deliver smarter, faster, and more intuitive tools that enhance your coding experience. Disclaimer: The items outlined here represent ongoing work for the month. They are not commitments or guarantees for delivery within the current month. With that said, here is what we are working on! New Modes for Debugging and Profiling: We’re streamlining how you find and switch between modes and making sure both built-in and extension-provided mode...
The Visual Studio August Update is here – smarter AI, better debugging, and more control
The August 2025 update for Visual Studio 2022 (v17.14) is now available, and it’s all about helping developers stay focused, productive, and in control. Whether you're building games, tuning performance, or exploring AI, this release brings meaningful improvements that make everyday development smoother and smarter. GPT-5 support now available We're excited to announce that GPT-5 is now available in Visual Studio, bringing the latest advancements in AI directly to your development environment. With GPT-5 integration, you can leverage more powerful, accurate, and context-aware code suggestions and chat exper...
GitHub Copilot for Azure (Preview) Launches in Visual Studio 2022 with Azure MCP Support
The GitHub Copilot for Azure extension is now in Public Preview for Visual Studio 2022 (17.14+). It brings a curated set of Azure developer tools—exposed through the Azure MCP server—directly into GitHub Copilot Agent Mode in Visual Studio. The extension automatically installs and manages the Azure MCP server, so you can query resources, diagnose issues, deploy with azd, and run Azure CLI commands—all from the Copilot Chat. Ship Azure features without leaving Visual Studio. Agent-powered, MCP-enabled, no extra setup. What’s in the Public Preview? ...
Better Control over Your Copilot Code Suggestions
Copilot code completions and suggestions in the editor speed you up in your daily programming and coding activities, at every keystroke. They help you finish the line you're typing or anticipate your next edit, making your workflow smoother and faster. At the same time, editor is where you focus and put in the deep work. Based on your feedback, we understand how important it is to strike the right balance between helpful suggestions and maintaining control over your attention and workspace. We're excited to share features that give you enhanced control over your Copilot experience, so you can decide when sugge...
Bring Your Own Model to Chat in Visual Studio
We’re excited to announce that you can now bring your own language model into Visual Studio Chat. You can connect API keys from providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google) to access a wider range of models. This makes it easy to test the latest releases, customize workflows, or run on infrastructure you control. What it unlocks Getting started If you already have an API key from OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google, setup takes just a minute: A few important considerations: This is just the beginning. We’re expanding support for additional mo...
Improving Codebase Awareness in Visual Studio Chat
Smarter Code Search in Visual Studio: From BM25 to Semantic Search In our latest 17.14.11 release, we’ve made a significant leap forward in how we explore your code to retrieve meaningful context. Our new Remote Semantic Search integration helps you find exactly what you need faster and with greater precision than ever before. By embedding Remote Semantic Search directly into the Visual Studio Copilot code search experience, we’ve combined the power of traditional keyword search (BM25) with the deep contextual understanding of cutting-edge AI models. This means your searches go beyond just matching words, t...
From Redmond to San Diego: VS Live! Highlights, Session Examples, and What’s Next
There’s something special about hosting developers at Microsoft HQ — and this year’s Visual Studio Live! Redmond reminded me why I love these events. The energy in every room was electric. From the moment the first session kicked off, developers leaned in, asked smart, challenging questions, and took every opportunity to connect with the Product Managers and engineers from Visual Studio, Azure, and GitHub Copilot. Between sessions, the hallways were buzzing. Right after the Experts Meet & Greet, one speaker shared a story that stuck with me: “A customer came up to me and said: All those paper cuts that Ma...