What software development tools does Microsoft offer for C# and .NET Core platform? Do they include CLI or GUI options?

Last Updated: 02.07.2025 03:17

What software development tools does Microsoft offer for C# and .NET Core platform? Do they include CLI or GUI options?

Visual Studio (IDE)

VS Code (editor)

dotnet CLI

Liam Coen: I think Trevor Lawrence’s footwork has drastically improved - NBC Sports

There are virtually unlimited tools you can use, but if you want a fully integrated debugging environment (critical to C# development), you’re likely to have the best experience with a full IDE like VS (not Code, that’s an Editor) or Rider. The CLI is mostly only useful for creating, building, and running projects, so great for scripting and DevOps, or (like me), if you just want to run your app in an independent process from the IDE.

Official Tooling consists of:

Where the first two are GUI options, and the third is the CLI, which I personally prefer. There are also many other options out there, such as VSCodium (a privacy centric VS Code fork), Cursor (AI powered editor; mind your company policy when using AI tools), Rider, etc.

Apple updates design resources for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe 26 - 9to5Mac