layout: post title: “C# Toolchains: VS Code and Visual Studio Starter Guide” date: 2025-11-08 tags: [csharp, dotnet, vscode, visual-studio, windows, macos, linux, setup, gui] —

A practical, copy‑pasteable guide to set up C#/.NET on VS Code and Visual Studio for console, web, and GUI apps (WinForms/WPF/MAUI/Avalonia). Written to be cross‑platform where possible, with Windows‑specific notes called out.

Table of Contents

What you’ll install

Common to both stacks

  • .NET SDK (includes csc, Base Class Libraries, and dotnet CLI)
  • MSBuild (ships with .NET/VS; used via dotnet build or Visual Studio)
  • NuGet (package manager, used via dotnet add package or VS GUI)
  • Roslyn compiler & analyzers
  • Git (version control)

VS Code stack (modular)

  • Visual Studio Code
  • C# Dev Kit extension (Microsoft)
  • (Optional) GitLens, .NET Install Tool, REST Client, Docker, Azure Tools
  • (Optional for GUI) Avalonia for VS Code (designer & templates)

Visual Studio stack (batteries included)

  • Visual Studio Community/Pro/Enterprise with selected workloads
  • Built‑in: designers (WinForms/WPF/MAUI), Test Explorer, Profiler, Hot Reload, NuGet UI

Install the .NET SDK (all setups)

Verify if you already have it:

dotnet --info
dotnet --version

If not installed, download the latest .NET SDK for your OS (Windows/macOS/Linux). After installation, reopen your terminal and verify again.

Tip (multiple SDKs):

dotnet --list-sdks
dotnet --list-runtimes
  • Install Git for your OS. During setup on Windows, allow it to add Git to your PATH.
  • Configure your identity: 
    git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email you@example.com

Option A — VS Code stack

1) Install VS Code (Windows/macOS/Linux).
2) Install extensions (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+X → search & install):

  • C# Dev Kit (Microsoft)
  • GitLens — Git supercharged (optional but great)
  • .NET Install Tool (optional; helps find SDKs)
  • Avalonia for VS Code (optional if you want cross‑platform GUI)

3) Check OmniSharp/Language Server
The C# Dev Kit includes the C# language server. Open a C# project and confirm IntelliSense works (peek definition, rename, etc.).

4) Create a project (examples)

# Console app
dotnet new console -n HelloCSharp
cd HelloCSharp

# Web API
dotnet new webapi -n DemoApi

# xUnit tests
dotnet new xunit -n HelloCSharp.Tests

5) Debugging
Open the folder in VS Code → press F5. The C# Dev Kit will scaffold launch.json/tasks.json as needed.

6) Run & test

dotnet build
dotnet run
dotnet test

7) Recommended settings (.editorconfig at your repo root):

root = true

[*.cs]
charset = utf-8
end_of_line = lf
insert_final_newline = true
indent_style = space
indent_size = 4
dotnet_diagnostic.IDE0055.severity = warning   # formatting
dotnet_diagnostic.CA* .severity = warning      # code analysis

Option B — Visual Studio stack

1) Install Visual Studio (Windows)
During setup, select workloads you need:

  • .NET desktop development (WinForms/WPF)
  • ASP.NET and web development
  • .NET Multi‑platform App UI development (.NET MAUI)
  • (Optional) Azure development, Data storage and processing, etc.

2) Create a project

  • File → New → Project → choose Console App, Class Library, WinForms App, WPF App, ASP.NET Core Web API, or .NET MAUI App.
  • Pick target framework (e.g., .NET 8/9) and location.

3) Run, debug, and test

  • F5 to run with debugger, Ctrl+F5 without.
  • Test Explorer to run xUnit/NUnit/MSTest.
  • Hot Reload for supported app types (WPF/WinForms/MAUI/Web).

4) Package management

  • Project → Manage NuGet Packages… to search/install/update packages.

5) Designers & Live Visual Tree

  • WinForms/WPF drag‑and‑drop designers.
  • XAML Live Preview and Live Visual Tree for runtime UI inspection.

Create and run your first app

# 1) Create
dotnet new console -n HelloWorld
cd HelloWorld

# 2) Edit Program.cs (example)
# Console.WriteLine("Hello from .NET!");

# 3) Build & run
dotnet build
dotnet run

VS Code: open the folder and press F5.
Visual Studio: open the .sln, set project as Startup Project, press F5.

Add tests (xUnit)

# From the solution root
dotnet new xunit -n HelloWorld.Tests
dotnet sln add HelloWorld.Tests/HelloWorld.Tests.csproj
dotnet add HelloWorld.Tests reference HelloWorld/HelloWorld.csproj
dotnet test

Add a sample test to HelloWorld.Tests/UnitTest1.cs:

using Xunit;

public class UnitTest1
{
    [Fact]
    public void True_is_true() => Assert.True(true);
}

GUI options: WinForms, WPF, MAUI, Avalonia

Windows‑only desktop

  • WinForms (fast to build, classic controls) — Visual Studio has the best designer.
  • WPF (XAML, MVVM, powerful styling/data binding) — Visual Studio with XAML Designer & Hot Reload.

Cross‑platform desktop & mobile

  • .NET MAUI (Windows, Android, iOS, macOS) — best supported in Visual Studio.
  • Avalonia UI (Windows/macOS/Linux, experimental mobile) — great in VS Code and Visual Studio.
    • VS Code: install Avalonia for VS Code → dotnet new avalonia.app -n MyApp
    • Run/debug like any .NET app. Designer supports XAML previews.

Tip: If you need Linux GUI, Avalonia is the simplest path today.

Packaging & publishing

# Framework‑dependent (requires target runtime on machine)
dotnet publish -c Release

# Self‑contained (ships the runtime)
dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true

# Single‑file executable (Windows example)
dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 -p:PublishSingleFile=true

Visual Studio: Right‑click project → Publish… then choose Folder, ClickOnce, MSIX, or Azure.

Formatting & analyzers

  • Create .editorconfig (see above) for consistent code style.
  • Add Roslyn analyzers package for stricter rules: 
    dotnet add package Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.NetAnalyzers
  • In Visual Studio: Analyze → Configure Code Analysis.

Troubleshooting

  • dotnet not found: reopen terminal or log out/in; ensure SDK is installed and PATH updated.
  • VS Code IntelliSense not working: ensure C# Dev Kit is installed; open the project folder, not a parent directory; check language server logs.
  • Restore errors: run dotnet restore; check network/proxy; clear NuGet cache dotnet nuget locals all --clear.
  • Multiple SDKs: set global version with global.json: 
    sdk
}}
  • Designer missing in VS: verify workload is installed via Visual Studio Installer.
  • MAUI build issues: ensure .NET MAUI workload installed and required platforms enabled.

Cheat sheet

# New projects
dotnet new list
dotnet new console -n App
dotnet new webapi -n Api
dotnet new wpf -n DesktopWpf
dotnet new winforms -n DesktopWinForms
dotnet new avalonia.app -n CrossDesktop

# Build / Run / Test
dotnet build
dotnet run
dotnet test

# Packages
dotnet add package Newtonsoft.Json
dotnet list package

# Solutions
dotnet new sln -n Demo
dotnet sln add **/*.csproj

# Publish (self-contained single file for Windows x64)
dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true -p:PublishSingleFile=true

📦 Starter Repository Download

A minimal working C#/.NET Hello World + xUnit test solution compatible with both VS Code and Visual Studio.

Download: CSharp-HelloWorld-Starter.zip

To open in VS Code or Visual Studio: ```bash unzip CSharp-HelloWorld-Starter.zip cd CSharp-HelloWorld-Starter dotnet restore dotnet build dotnet run dotnet test