Getting Started with C# in VS Code Visual Studio Code Features Agents Docs Documentation API FAQ Release Notes Blog Learn Events Resources Extensions MCP Download Search Download 📼 Rewatch VS Code Live at MS Build 2026 Dismiss this update All Docs Languages Overview Language Support JavaScript JSON HTML Emmet CSS, SCSS and Less TypeScript Markdown PowerShell C++ Java PHP Python Julia R Ruby Rust Go T-SQL C# .NET Swift Node.js / JavaScript Working with JavaScript Node.js Tutorial Node.js Debugging Deploy Node.js Apps Browser Debugging Angular Tutorial React Tutorial Vue Tutorial Debugging Recipes Performance Profiling Extensions TypeScript Tutorial Transpiling Editing Refactoring Debugging Python Quick Start Tutorial Run Python Code Editing Linting Formatting Debugging Environments Testing Python Interactive Django Tutorial FastAPI Tutorial Flask Tutorial Create Containers Deploy Python Apps Python in the Web Settings Reference Java Getting Started Navigate and Edit Refactoring Formatting and Linting Project Management Build Tools Run and Debug Testing Spring Boot Modernizing Java Apps Application Servers Deploy Java Apps GUI Applications Extensions FAQ C++ Intro Videos GCC on Linux GCC on Windows GCC on Windows Subsystem for Linux Clang on macOS Microsoft C++ on Windows Build with CMake CMake Tools on Linux CMake Quick Start C++ Dev Tools for Copilot Editing and Navigating Debugging Configure Debugging Refactoring Settings Reference Configure IntelliSense Configure IntelliSense for Cross-Compiling FAQ C# Intro Videos Get Started Navigate and Edit IntelliCode Refactoring Formatting and Linting Project Management Build Tools Package Management Run and Debug Testing FAQ Topics Overview JavaScript JSON HTML Emmet CSS, SCSS and Less TypeScript Markdown PowerShell C++ Java PHP Python Julia R Ruby Rust Go T-SQL C# .NET Swift Working with JavaScript Node.js Tutorial Node.js Debugging Deploy Node.js Apps Browser Debugging Angular Tutorial React Tutorial Vue Tutorial Debugging Recipes Performance Profiling Extensions Tutorial Transpiling Editing Refactoring Debugging Quick Start Tutorial Run Python Code Editing Linting Formatting Debugging Environments Testing Python Interactive Django Tutorial FastAPI Tutorial Flask Tutorial Create Containers Deploy Python Apps Python in the Web Settings Reference Getting Started Navigate and Edit Refactoring Formatting and Linting Project Management Build Tools Run and Debug Testing Spring Boot Modernizing Java Apps Application Servers Deploy Java Apps GUI Applications Extensions FAQ Intro Videos GCC on Linux GCC on Windows GCC on Windows Subsystem for Linux Clang on macOS Microsoft C++ on Windows Build with CMake CMake Tools on Linux CMake Quick Start C++ Dev Tools for Copilot Editing and Navigating Debugging Configure Debugging Refactoring Settings Reference Configure IntelliSense Configure IntelliSense for Cross-Compiling FAQ Intro Videos Get Started Navigate and Edit IntelliCode Refactoring Formatting and Linting Project Management Build Tools Package Management Run and Debug Testing FAQ Copy as Markdown Copy as Markdown View as Markdown On this page there are 5 sectionsOn this page Necessary tools Install Create a Hello World app Learn more Join the community Getting Started with C# in VS Code This getting started guide introduces you to C# and .NET for Visual Studio Code through the following tasks: Installing and setting up your VS Code environment for C#. Writing and running a simple "Hello World" application using C#. Introduce you to other learning resources for C# in VS Code. Keep in mind, that this guide won't teach you C#. Instead, it teaches you how to get set up for C# development in VS Code. If you're looking for resources to learn C#, check out the free C# Certificate from freeCodeCamp. Earn C# Certification Necessary tools Visual Studio Code C# Dev Kit extension For .NET Development, the .NET SDK Install Installing VS Code and extensions If you haven't already done so, install VS Code. Next, install C# Dev Kit from the Visual Studio Marketplace. For additional details on installing extensions, read Extension Marketplace. The C# extension is called C# Dev Kit and it's published by Microsoft. Note: C# Dev Kit supports cloud native development. To do cross-platform mobile and desktop development, you can use C# Dev Kit with the .NET MAUI extension. Learn how to get set up with .NET MAUI in VS Code. Upon installation, C# Dev Kit launches an extension walkthrough. You can follow the steps of this walkthrough to learn more about the features of the C# extension. You can also use this walkthrough to install the latest .NET SDK. Reopen the walkthrough at any time by opening the Command Palette (⇧⌘P (Windows, Linux Ctrl+Shift+P)) and selecting Welcome: Open Walkthrough. Here, select Get Started with C# Dev Kit. Note: You are required to sign in to a Visual Studio subscription to use C# Dev Kit. Check out the Signing in to C# Dev Kit documentation to learn more. In the walkthrough, select Set up your environment and select Install .NET SDK. This will open a window next to the walkthrough with a button to install the latest version of the .NET SDK. Select the Install button, which will trigger a download and an install of the .NET SDK. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete this process. Create a Hello World app To get started, go to the Explorer view and select Create .NET Project. Alternatively, you can bring up the Command Palette using ⇧⌘P (Windows, Linux Ctrl+Shift+P) and then type ".NET" and find and select the .NET: New Project command. After selecting the command, you'll need to choose the project template. Choose Console app. To run your app, select Run > Run without Debugging in the upper menu, or use the ⌃F5 (Windows, Linux Ctrl+F5) keyboard shortcut. To learn more about debugging your C# project, read the debugging documentation. Learn more Explore all the features the C# extension has to offer by looking for .NET in the Command Palette. For more information on these features, refer to the other documentation pages. For learning materials on C# and .NET, check out the following resources: Learn to program using C# Learn to build with .NET in VS Code Learn to build web applications Join the community Find community resources and connect with user groups. .NET developer community - Meet with like-minded developers 5/3/2024 Support Privacy Manage Cookies Terms of Use License Your Privacy Choices Consumer Health Privacy