Visual Studio Code For Unity



Open up Unity Preferences, External Tools, then browse for the Visual Studio Code executable as External Script Editor. The Visual Studio Code executable can be found at /Applications/Visual Studio Code.app on OSX, C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft VS CodeCode.exe on Windows by default. Unity has built-in support for opening scripts in Visual Studio Code as an external script editor on Windows and OSX. Build your next game or real-time 3D Unity application with Visual Studio for Mac’s best-in-class debugger, C# support, and productivity tools. Download the Visual Studio for Mac IDE for Unity today.

Visual Studio Code is a great code editor and fully compatible with Unity. If you don't know it and you want to start working with it; this little tutorial is for you πŸ™‚

Unity Tutorial Level: Beginner.

You can use many IDEs with Unity but we recommend the Visual Studio Code for Unity because it is lightweight, powerful and it comes with tons of extensions which allow you to add great functionality to the IDE. So, if you are looking for a powerful IDE for Unity then. Visual Studio Enterprise 2019 16.9.3 (latest) Unity 2020.3.1f1. I've only installed the 'Game development with Unity' workload in the Visual Studio Installer. I've also set Visual Studio as the external script editor in Unity and i can successfully run the unity project from vs.

2.1 Why Visual Studio Code?

Due to the Unity's announcement in which talks about 'MonoDevelop' will no longer be the default code editor for the next releases of Unity game engine (see https://blogs.unity3d.com/en/2018/01/ 05 / discontinuing-support-for-monodevelop-unity-starting-in-unity-2018-1 /); those who still use this editor need to move to another software. In this way, Unity gives the users the opportunity to choose among code editors such as Visual Studio (in its Community or Code versions) or JetBrains.

We prefer Visual Studio Code, which is a free, powerful and easy to use code editor developed by Microsoft.

2.2 Installing Visual Studio Code.

Installing Visual Studio Code is a very simple task, you just have to do:

Visual Studio Code Unity Debugger Not Working

  1. Visit the Visual Studio Code website ( https://code.visualstudio.com/Download ).
  2. Choose your Operative System and download the Installer.

3. Open the Installer and follow its instructions (is not necessary to modify something, the default settings are suitable to have a functional Visual Studio Code in our computers).

Β‘Visual Studio Code is Now Installed!

2.3 Installing C# in VS Code.

To start coding in C# (C Sharp) language and be able to work with Unity, we need to:

  1. Install β€œMicrosoft .Net Core SDK” in our computers; visit the following link to obtain the installer: https://www.microsoft.com/net/learn/get-started/windows.
  2. Open the β€œMicrosoft .Net Core SDK” installer and follow its steps to complete the installation (is a very simple process).

3. Restart your computer, then Microsoft .Net Core SDK will be ready.

With β€œVisual Studio Code” and β€œMicrosoft .Net Core SDK” installed in your computer, the next step is getting the β€œC#” extension for Visual Studio Code. There are two methods to do this:

  • The first way is through the Visual Studio's β€œMarketplace” website (https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-vscode.csharp). By clicking on the β€œInstall” button the system will start 'Visual Studio Code' in our computers in order to continue with the installation.
  • The second way is by opening 'Visual Studio Code' in our computers, then click on the β€œExtensions” icon (or from the Menu bar: View β†’ Extensions). Once the 'Extensions' window is shown, type in the search bar β€œC#” and then choose: β€œC#C# for Visual Studio Code (powered by OmniSharp)”.
Visual studio code intellisense for unity

Visual Studio Code Unity Autocomplete Not Working

On both ways Visual Studio Code must be open and we have to see something similar to the above picture (Visual Studio Code showing the 'C#' Extension), now just click on the β€œInstall” button.

Β‘We can Start Coding in C#!, we just need to enable Visual Studio Code within Unity.

2.4 Enabling Visual Studio Code in Unity.

Enabling Visual Studio Code as the default Code Editor inside Unity is very easy, just follow the next steps:

  1. Open a Unity Project (new or existing).
  2. From the Menu bar go to Edit β†’ Preferences, this opens the β€œUnity Preferences” window.

3. In β€œUnity Preferences”, at the leftcolumn click on β€œExternal Tools”, this window now will show the β€œExternal Tools” information and here we have to select β€œBrowse” from the β€œExternal Script Editor” drop-down list .

4. We have to search for the code editor β€œ.exe” (for Windows) or β€œ.app” (for macOS) file. For Visual Studio Code on Windows, the required file is β€œCode.exe” and can be found at β€œC:Program FilesMicrosoft VS Code” (or C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft VS Code). On macOS, the file is β€œCode.app” and can be found at β€œ/Applications”. Finally, this β€œUnity Preferences” section will be shown like this:

Β‘Now We Can Use Unity with Visual Studio Code!

This Tutorial about how to install Visual Studio Code and how to enable it inside Unity ends here. Follow us in the next tutorials to learn more about the amazing Game Development World.

If you want to know more about Visual Studio Code for Unity, visit https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/other/unity or, do not hesitate to contact us for any questions or advice by clicking 'Here'

1. First Steps with Unity

2. Installing Visual Studio Code for Unity

More Tutorials
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Visual Studio Code Download

Overview

Visual Studio Tools for Unity is a free Visual Studio extension that turns Visual Studio into a powerful tool for developing cross-platform games and apps with Unity.

While the Unity editor is great for putting your game world together, you can't write your code in it. With Visual Studio Tools for Unity, you can use the familiar code editing, debugging and productivity features of Visual Studio to create editor and game scripts for your Unity project using C#, and you can debug them using Visual Studio's powerful debugging capabilities.

But Visual Studio Tools for Unity is more than that; it also has deep integration with Unity editor so that you'll spend less time switching back and forth to do simple tasks, provides Unity-specific productivity enhancements, and puts the Unity documentation at your fingertips.

Compatible with Visual Studio Community on Windows and macOS and bundled with Unity

Visual Studio and Visual Studio for Mac Community is available for free, and is bundled with Unity installs. Visit the Visual Studio Tools for Unity getting started documentation for more information about installation and setup.

IntelliSense for Unity messages

IntelliSense code-completion makes it fast and easy to implement Unity API messages like OnCollisionEnter, including their parameters.

Superior debugging

Visual Studio Tools for Unity supports the robust debugging features that you expect from Visual Studio:

  • Set breakpoints, including conditional breakpoints.
  • Evaluate complex expressions in the Watch window.
  • Inspect and modify the value of variables and arguments.
  • Drill down into complex objects and data structures.

Integrated suggestions for best practices and performance insights

Write better code that captures the best practices with Visual Studio's deep understanding of Unity projects.

CodeLens support for Unity scripts and messages

Unity scripts and message functions are decorated with hints to make it easier to recognize what's provided by Unity and what's your code.

Note

CodeLens support is available in Visual Studio 2019.

Optimized view of all your scripts to match Unity

The Unity Project Explorer (UPE) is an alternative way to view you project files over the standard Solution Explorer. The UPE filters the files shown and presents them in a hierarchy that matches Unity (View > Unity Project Explorer in Visual Studio 2019).

Note

The Unity Project Explorer is available in Visual Studio 2019. In Visual Studio for Mac, the Solution Pad has similar behaviour by default for Unity projects - no additional views are required.