Visual Studio previews agent mode for multi-step coding tasks

Microsoft has announced the general release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.14, an update of the company’s flagship integrated development environment (IDE) that adds support for agent mode and other AI-assisted development features from GitHub Copilot.

Released May 13, Visual Studio 2022 version 17.14 can be downloaded from visualstudio.microsoft.com. The 17.14 release previews GitHub Copilot agent mode to “supercharge” the AI-assisted development experience, Microsoft said. With agent mode, developers chat with Visual Studio using natural language to instruct it to complete multi-step, complex coding tasks autonomously. The agent understands the code base and can fix errors, suggest and execute terminal commands, and analyze runtime errors until a task is complete, Microsoft said. Agent mode is available in public preview for all users of Visual Studio 17.14.

Visual Studio 17.14 also adds Next Edit Suggestions (NES), whereby GitHub Copilot predicts the next edit in the current file based on previous edits, and AI-powered doc comment generation for C++ and C# functions. The release also adds support for Model Context Protocol (MCP), also preview. An open-source protocol created by Anthropic, MCP provides the GitHub Copilot agent with structured access to data, tools, and resources.

Visual Studio 17.14 brings numerous other new features. Debugging and diagnostics have been enhanced with a Live Preview at design time, allowing users to see changes in an app in real time. Developers also can use Hot Reload and other live UI tools in this manner. A Mono debug engine for.NET MAUI (Multi-platform App UI) has been integrated into the Visual Studio Core debugger. A preview of C++ dynamic debugging offers full debuggability for optimized C++ code with no compromise on performance, according to Microsoft. C++ 23 improvements include support for new lambda attributes, if consteval, and static operators, enhancing both code efficiency and safety. And productivity for C++ development has been improved with features like automatic template argument population and improved IntelliSense for CMake modules, Microsoft said.

Git tools in Visual Studio 17.14 have been enhanced with a new setting to keep a repository open between starts. A default branch setting for Git, meanwhile, lets users customize the initial default branch when a new repository is created. The Git Repository window now provides a filter to show only outgoing and incoming commits.

 Other improvements in Visual Studio 2022 version 17.14 include the following:

The NuGet authentication process has been improved. If any potential authentication issues are detected, developers now see a new authentication dialog that provides context about the feed and the specific account needs.

The installer now supports Extension Packs. These are bundles of multiple extensions referenced from a single extension.

The WinForms out-of-process Designer for.NET Framework projects now automatically discovers and displays controls present in standalone assembly references. This feature is known as Explicit Assembly References.