Microsoft recently announced they are killing off Visual Studio for Mac and the replacement is clearly the C# Dev Kit and updated Unity extension for Visual Studio Code. The C# Dev Kit is actually a collection of tools, the C# Dev Kit, Intellicode for C#, the C# services and the .NET Runtime Install Tool. Additionally the Unity developer extensions for Visual Studio Code were also released. Combined, on the Mac platforms, this is a natural replacement for Visual Studio for Mac.
The C# Dev Kit is described as:
C# Dev Kit helps you manage your code with a solution explorer and test your code with integrated unit test discovery and execution, elevating your C# development experience wherever you like to develop (Windows, macOS, Linux, and even in a Codespace).
This extension builds on top of the great C# language capabilities provided by the C# extension and enhances your C# environment by adding a set of powerful tools and utilities that integrate natively with VS Code to help C# developers write, debug, and maintain their code faster and with fewer errors. Some of this new tooling includes but is not limited to:
- C# project and solution management via an integrated solution explorer
- Native testing environment to run and debug tests using the Test Explorer
- Roslyn powered language service for best in-class C# language features such as code navigation, refactoring, semantic awareness, and more
- AI-Assisted development
Key features of the Unity extension include:
- A Unity debugger to debug your Unity editor and your Unity players.
- Unity specific C# analyzers and refactorings.
- Code coloration for Unity file formats (.asmdef, .shader, .uss, .uxml).
Be aware, the C# Dev Toolkit is under the existing Visual Studio license and the Unity extension requires the C# Dev Toolkit! License details of the C# Dev Toolkit:
C# Dev Kit builds on the same foundations as Visual Studio for some of its functionality, it uses the same license model as Visual Studio. This means it’s free for individuals, as well as academia and open-source development, the same terms that apply to Visual Studio Community. For organizations, the C# Dev Kit is included with Visual Studio Professional and Enterprise subscriptions, as well as GitHub Codespaces. For full terms and details see the license terms.
You can learn more about the C# Dev Kit and Unity extension for Visual Studio Code in the video below.