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Announcing C# Dev Kit and Linux Android Debugging Support for Uno Platform VS Code Extension

We’re updating the Uno Platform VS Code extension to support the C# Dev Kit, replacing the older C# extension OmniSharp. This change aims to improve your development experience by allowing you to leverage the powerful tools and utilities offered with the C# Dev Kit to write and debug more efficiently.

Let’s dive into what this means for your Uno Platform development process with VS Code.

C# Dev Kit Integration

Starting from the 0.12 version of our VS Code extension, C# Dev Kit is enabled by default.

Recently announced as generally available, C# Dev Kit provides:

C# language services (code completion, refactoring, formatting, etc.)
Intellicode for AI-based suggestions
A solution explorer to manage projects
A test explorer

Using the new Solution Explorer, support files and folders like csproj, bin/obj, and .user files are hidden by default, making the navigation more familiar to .NET developers. There is also the ability to view project and package references (with versions) to help understand your projects.

The Uno Platform VS Code extension is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, CodeSpaces and GitPod. It uses all the Dev Kit features and provides XAML Code Completion, WebAssembly Debugging, XAML /C# Markup/C# Hot Reload, and Mobile targets debugging to enhance your productivity.

With the new Dev Kit integration, the Test Explorer support allows you to run Uno.UITest for UI testing your app on WebAssembly, iOS, and Android:

If you’re already using the VS Code extension, the C# Dev Kit will be automatically enabled for you once the new Uno Platform extension is installed.

Install Uno Platform VS Code Extension

This extension is used with Uno Platform C#/XAML projects to develop and debug Uno Platform-built .NET Mobile, Web and Desktop Apps without leaving Visual Studio Code.

Android Linux Support

The C# Dev Kit and Uno Platform extensions support Linux, and the Uno Platform Extension supports Android debugging. We’ve updated uno-check to ensure the required tooling is installed in your environment.

More specifically, the .NET team is maintaining the Android workloads for Linux that uno-check is now installing. With Java, the Android SDK, and an Android Emulator installed, you will be able to develop and debug your Android app on Linux!

Next Steps

Get started by installing our VS Code extension from the visual studio marketplace.

Next head to our documentation, here, you’ll find an easy-to-follow guide that’s crafted to steer you through the setup process, ensuring a smooth sail whether you’re working on Windows, Linux, or macOS.