Installing Visual Studio (Community Edition)
Visual Studio is the go-to IDE for .NET development. Let's install the free Community Edition and set it up for your first project.
What is Visual Studio?
Visual Studio is a full-featured Integrated Development Environment (IDE) from Microsoft. It includes a code editor, debugger, designer tools, NuGet manager, Git integration, and more.
The Community Edition is free for students, open-source contributors, and small teams.
Step 1: Download Visual Studio
Visit the official website and download the Community Edition:
Download Visual Studio CommunityStep 2: Run the Installer
Once downloaded, run the installer. You’ll be prompted to choose workloads. For .NET development:
- ASP.NET and web development
- .NET Desktop Development
- (Optional) Mobile development with .NET MAUI
Then click Install. The process may take a few minutes depending on your internet speed.
// Sample install from CLI (Advanced)
vs_installer.exe --add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.NetWebStep 3: Launch Visual Studio
After installation, launch Visual Studio and sign in (optional but helpful). You’ll be greeted with a “Start” screen to create a new project or open an existing one.
That’s it! You’re ready to start building with .NET 🚀
Visual Studio Community provides everything you need to start developing with .NET. With just a few clicks, you’ll be writing, building, and debugging your first applications like a pro.