Setup: Install Visual Studio 2026
Install Visual Studio 2026 Community with the two workloads this course uses, and open it for the first time.
Novice · Operating System · C# · Updated
After this lesson you can
- Install Visual Studio with the workloads a C# web developer needs
Key takeaways
- Visual Studio is Microsoft's IDE for C#: you write, build, run and debug your code in one program, and its Community edition is free.
- A workload is a bundle of tools and templates. This course needs ASP.NET and web development and .NET desktop development.
- No Console App template means the .NET desktop development workload is missing.
- You can add a workload at any time with Modify in the Visual Studio Installer.
Windows only. Visual Studio is Microsoft's IDE for C#: one program where you write code, build it, run it, and find your mistakes with the debugger. The Community edition is free for students and individual developers.
Visual Studio can build many kinds of software, so its installer asks what you want to build. Each kind is a workload: a bundle of tools and templates. You will choose two:
| Workload | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| ASP.NET and web development | Templates and tools for web apps and web APIs, which you build from Module 1 on |
| .NET desktop development | Templates for console apps (programs that run in the terminal), which you write first |
You can add more workloads later, at any time, from the Visual Studio Installer app.
Install Visual Studio
In Git Bash, run:
winget install -e --id Microsoft.VisualStudio.Community --interactive
--interactive opens the installer's own windows, so you can choose the workloads. Click Yes if Windows asks whether the app may make changes.
- The Visual Studio Installer prepares itself, then shows the Workloads tab.
- Check ASP.NET and web development.
- Check .NET desktop development.
- Leave everything else as it is, and click Install at the bottom right.
The download is several gigabytes, so this can take 20 minutes or more. You can carry on with the next exercise's reading while it runs.
Open it for the first time
When the install finishes, open Visual Studio 2026 from the Start menu.
- It asks you to sign in. Signing in with a Microsoft account keeps your settings on every computer, but you can choose Skip and add accounts later.
- Choose a color theme you like. You can change it later in Tools > Options.
- Click Start Visual Studio.
The start window opens, with Create a new project on the right. You will create your first project there in the C# Basics chapter.
Check your work
In the start window, click Continue without code. Then open Help > About Microsoft Visual Studio. The window should name Microsoft Visual Studio Community 2026 and a version that starts with 18.
Close the window. Then open the Visual Studio Installer from the Start menu: your installation should show ASP.NET and web development and .NET desktop development when you click Modify. Click the X to close it without changing anything.
Common problems
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| The installer never showed the Workloads tab | Open Visual Studio Installer from the Start menu, click Modify beside Visual Studio Community 2026, check the two workloads, and click Modify. |
There is not enough space on the disk |
Visual Studio needs about 20 GB with these workloads. Free some space, then open the Visual Studio Installer and click Resume. |
| The install stopped part way | Open Visual Studio Installer. It offers Resume or Repair. |
| No Console App template when you create a project | The .NET desktop development workload is missing. Add it with Modify, as above. |
Check yourself
2 questions to try on the lesson page.
So what
Visual Studio is where you will spend most of this course. Choosing the right workloads now means every project template you need is there when you need it.