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Visual Studio for Mac is a .NET integrated development environment on the Mac that can be used to edit, debug, and build code and then publish an app. In addition to expected features, such as a standard editor and debugger, Visual Studio for Mac includes compilers, code completion tools, graphical designers, and source control to ease the software development process.

Visual Studio for Mac supports many of the same file types as its Windows counterpart, such as .csproj, .fsproj, or .sln files, and supports features such as EditorConfig, meaning that you can use the IDE that works best for you.Creating, opening, and developing an app will be a familiar experience for anyone who has previously used Visual Studio on Windows. In addition, Visual Studio for Mac employs many of the powerful tools that make its Windows counterpart such a powerful IDE. The Roslyn Compiler Platform is used for refactoring and IntelliSense. Its project system and build engine use MSBuild, and its source editor uses the same foundation as Visual Studio on Windows. It uses the same debugger engines for Xamarin and .NET Core apps, and the same designers for Xamarin.iOS and Xamarin.Android.

What can I do in Visual Studio for Mac

Visual Studio for Mac supports the following types of development:

  • ASP.NET Core web applications with C#, F#, and support for Razor pages, JavaScript, and TypeScript
  • .NET Core console applications with C# or F#
  • Cross-platform Unity games and applications with C#
  • Android, iOS, tvOS, and watchOS applications in Xamarin with C# or F# and XAML
  • Cocoa desktop apps in C# or F#

This article explores various sections of Visual Studio for Mac, providing a look at some of the features that make it a powerful tool for creating these applications.

IDE tour

Visual Studio for Mac is organized into several sections for managing application files and settings, creating application code, and debugging.

Getting started

When you start Visual Studio 2019 for Mac, new users will see a sign-in window. Sign-in with your Microsoft account to activate a paid license (if you have one) or link to Azure subscriptions. You can press I'll do this later and sign in later via the Visual Studio > Sign in menu item:

You'll then be given the option to customize the IDE by selecting your preferred keyboard shortcuts: Visual Studio for Mac, Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, or Xcode:

Signed-in users will see the new start window, which shows a list of recent projects, and buttons to open an existing project or create a new one:

Solutions and projects

The following image shows Visual Studio for Mac with an application loaded:

The following sections provide an overview of the major areas in Visual Studio for Mac.

Solution pad

The Solution Pad organizes the project(s) in a solution:

This is where files for the source code, resources, user interface, and dependencies are organized into platform-specific Projects.

For more information on using Projects and Solutions in Visual Studio for Mac, see the Projects and Solutions article.

Assembly references

Assembly references for each project are available under the References folder:

Additional references are added using the Edit References dialog, which is displayed by double-clicking on the References folder, or by selecting Edit References on its context menu actions:

For more information on using References in Visual Studio for Mac, see the Managing References in a Project article.

Dependencies / packages

All external dependencies used in your app are stored in the Dependencies or Packages folder, depending on whether you are in a .Net Core or Xamarin.iOS/Xamarin.Android project. These are usually provided in the form of a NuGet.

NuGet is the most popular package manager for .NET development. With Visual Studio's NuGet support, you can easily search for and add packages to your project to application.

To add a dependency to your application, right-click on the Dependencies / Packages folder, and select Add Packages:

Information on using a NuGet package in an application can be found in the Including a NuGet project in your project article.

Source Editor

Regardless of if you're writing in C#, XAML, or Javascript, the code editor the shares the same core components with Visual Studio Windows, with an entirely native user interface.

This brings some of the following features:

  • Native macOS (Cocoa-based) user interface (tooltips, editor surface, margin adornments, text rendering, IntelliSense)
  • IntelliSense type filtering and 'show import items'
  • Support for native text inputs
  • RTL/BiDi language support
  • Roslyn 3
  • Multi-caret support
  • Word wrap
  • Updated IntelliSense UI
  • Improved find/replace
  • Snippet support
  • Format selection
  • Inline lightbulbs

For more information on using the Source Editor in Visual Studio for Mac, see the Source Editor documentation.

To keep tabs visible at all times, you can take advantage of pinning them. This ensures that every time you launch a project, the tab you need will always appear. To pin a tab, hover over the tab and click the pin icon:

Refactoring

Visual Studio for Mac provides two useful ways to refactor your code: Context Actions, and Source Analysis. You can read more about them in the Refactoring article.

Debugging

Visual Studio for Mac has debuggers that support .NET Core, .NET Framework, Unity, and Xamarin projects. Visual Studio for Mac uses the .NET Core debugger and the Mono Soft Debugger, allowing the IDE to debug managed code across all platforms. For additional information on debugging, visit the Debugging article.

The debugger contains rich visualizers for special types such as strings, colors, URLs, as well as sizes, coordinates, and bézier curves.

For more information on the debugger's data visualizations, visit the Data Visualizations article.

Version control

Visual Studio for Mac integrates with Git and Subversion source control systems. Projects under source control are denoted with the branch listed next to the Solution name:

Files with uncommitted changes have an annotation on their icons in the Solution Pane, as illustrated in the following image:

For more information on using version control in Visual Studio, see the Version Control article.

Next steps

Related Video

See also

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Developer Community System Requirements Compatibility Distributable Code Xamarin Blogs Servicing

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Visual Studio for Mac follows the Microsoft Modern Lifecycle Policy, starting with the date the major product version is released to the world (RTW).

Servicing is performed through 'Updates' which are packages of new features and cumulative fixes for existing features in the product.

You are in a 'supported state' as long as:

  • You are using the latest release of the product distributed via the Stable channel.
  • You remain licensed to use the product.
  • Microsoft continues to offer support for this product.

Channels

Visual Studio for Mac offers the option to subscribe to Stable, Beta, and Alpha channels. The Stable channel is the only supported channel.

Beta and Alpha are considered preview channels for customers to provide feedback for and receive early previews of pre-release features that are still under development. Beta and Alpha channels are not supported.

How to Get Updates

You can get updates by following in-product prompts or by downloading the latest from VisualStudio.microsoft.com or My.VisualStudio.com.

If you choose to switch channels to either the pre-release Beta or Alpha channel, then no support is provided on that installation of Visual Studio for Mac.

Support for the Mono Framework

Visual Studio for Mac is created using Mono, an open source development platform based on the .NET Framework sponsored by Microsoft. Our support of Mono extends only to the Visual Studio for Mac product, but not to any projects you might create within Visual Studio for Mac using the Mono Framework.

Example 1: If there is a bug in Visual Studio for Mac resulting from use of the Mono Framework, we may support you with a fix or workaround to get Visual Studio for Mac working again.

Example 2: You are developing an application utilizing the Mono Framework and encounter an issue in Mono which is causing your application to behave in an unexpected fashion. Microsoft will not provide any fixes or workarounds to you or make any fixes to the Mono Framework as a result.

For more assistance with Mono, please visit the Mono Project community landing page.

Visual Studio For Mac Free

Components not Covered by Visual Studio Servicing

Visual Studio for Mac includes a collection of compilers, languages, runtimes, environments, and other resources or tools that enable development for many platforms. These components may be installed with Visual Studio for Mac but are subject to their own license and support and lifecycles policies.

In addition to components, Visual Studio for Mac also uses several projects and project item templates. The support for these templates is governed by the component that provides those templates.

Microsoft Visual Studio For Mac

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