Blog
Mert Özen's blog posts on software development, backend, frontend, and DevOps.
Visual Studio 2026, Rider and VS Code: Which IDE Should a .NET + Angular Developer Choose
Platform and licensing decide it: Visual Studio 2026 runs only on Windows 11, Rider and VS Code are cross-platform; Visual Studio Community and C# Dev Kit reach their free limit at 5 people in a commercial team, and Rider is free only for non-commercial work. Current versions and update cadences, a decision table by scenario, and .editorconfig, dotnet format and global.json as common ground across IDEs, with real output.
A Tour of Visual Studio 2026: Workloads, .slnx, Solution Explorer and Code Search
In .NET 10, dotnet new sln produces .slnx by default; dotnet sln migrate turns a 71-line .sln into 14 lines, but the .NET 8 SDK can't read .slnx and a leftover .sln stops the build with MSB1011. Visual Studio 2026 workloads and .vsconfig, side-by-side installs and the monthly update model, solution filters (.slnf), Code Search prefixes and what 18.11 added, with real CLI output.
Being Fast in the IDE: Navigation and Shortcuts Compared Across VS 2026, Rider and VS Code
The answer to "who uses this" is Find All References, not Find in Files: in the Bookstore sample grep found eight lines while Roslyn's SymbolFinder API returned only four real references. The queries behind Go to Definition, Implementation, References and Call Hierarchy, a Windows and macOS shortcut table for Visual Studio 2026, Rider and VS Code, multi-caret, column selection, bookmarks and switching keymaps.
Refactoring Tools and Code Style: Quick Actions, Alt+Enter, .editorconfig and Code Cleanup
Enforcing code style in the build needs severities by rule ID in .editorconfig and EnforceCodeStyleInBuild; in a real run the build reported IDE0028 set with a :warning suffix while dotnet format missed it. Safe refactoring shortcuts in three IDEs, Ctrl+. and Alt+Enter, dotnet format and Code Cleanup, Rider inspections, rename in Angular templates, and what rename misses in JSON, reflection and strings.
Debug Configurations in the IDE: launchSettings.json, launch.json and Debugging a .NET API and Angular Together
To debug the API and Angular from one F5 you use launch.json compounds in VS Code, a compound run configuration in Rider and a multi-project launch profile in Visual Studio; in a real run, dotnet run without a profile started the app on port 5000 in Production. launchSettings.json profiles, a background task that waits for ng serve, proxy.conf.json, source maps, HMR, attaching to processes and debugging tests.
Full-Stack .NET and Angular in VS Code: C# Dev Kit, Angular Language Service, Profiles and Dev Containers
For .NET and Angular in VS Code, C# Dev Kit on top of the C# extension, the Angular Language Service and .vscode settings in the repo are enough; put the environment in a Dev Container and a new developer only needs Docker and VS Code. In a real run the container brought .NET SDK 10.0.403 and Node 26.13.0, but since forwardPorts is VS Code's job, the API in a CLI-started container wasn't reachable from the host. Settings layers, profiles, Remote SSH, WSL and agent windows.
.NET Development with JetBrains Rider: Inspections, Decompiler, Database Tools and Angular
Rider combines the ReSharper engine, DataGrip's database tools and WebStorm's Angular support in one IDE; but the tool isn't magic: the SQL EF Core generated for SQLite didn't run in the database console because of the ef_compare function. Settings layers and .editorconfig precedence, the decompiler and Source Link, Explain Plan, the Endpoints window, dotUltimate, what Rider 2026.2 added and .NET 10 file-based apps, with real output.
IDE Extensions: The Ones That Actually Help, Settings Sync and Extension Security
An extension runs with your permissions and Workspace Trust can't stop it; Restricted Mode only stops a repo you don't trust from running code on its own. We read VS Code's built-in extension manifests with a .NET 10 file-based app and show why Git and TypeScript shut down in an untrusted workspace; a short, justified extension list, .vscode/extensions.json, Settings Sync, extensions.allowed and lessons from Marketplace incidents.
AI Assistants in the IDE: Copilot Agent Mode, Rider AI and Safe Use
The compiler catches an invented API, but only a test that knows the business rule catches wrong behavior that compiles: MidpointRounding.HalfUp in an agent-written test gave CS0117, and an xUnit test with the boundary value 1.025 found banker's rounding in the implementation. Completion, NES, chat and agent; the AI features of Visual Studio 2026 18.x, VS Code 1.145 and Rider 2026.2; copilot-instructions.md, MCP trust and safe-use rules.
What Changed in IDEs: From Visual Studio 2022 to 2026, and Rider and VS Code in 2025–2026
Keep a global.json in the repo so an IDE update can't silently move your build to a new SDK; in a real run latestPatch picked 10.0.402, and an uninstalled 11.0.100 stopped with exit code 155. Visual Studio 2026 GA and monthly updates from 18.0 to 18.11, Rider from 2025.3 to the 2026.3 EAP, VS Code's move to weekly releases and agent windows, IDE support status with .NET 11 RC3, and a migration checklist.