Extension for Visual Studio Code - A set of extensions to work with Unity3D. Visual Studio extension development. Create add-ons and extensions for Visual Studio, including new commands, code analyzers, and tool windows. Add the SDKs and tools you need to create new commands, code analyzers, tool windows, and language services using C#. Then, share your extension with the community in the Visual Studio. How to fix IntelliSense Support for Unity 2019/2020/2021/2017/2018/2022 in Visual Studio 2017/2018/2019/2020/2021/2022. Easy to do and quick fix for Visual S.
IDE is one of the major tools of any Developer and we usually spend a lot of time choosing the best IDE which suits our workflow. When it comes to IDEs, Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is one of the best IDE out there and it also works pretty well for the Unity Developers as well. It also offers an extensive range of Unity VS Code extensions which will make a lot of processes easier for you. In this comprehensive guide, we will share the Best Unity VS Code extensions. Let’s take a look at them.
What is the VS Code and why use it with Unity?
VS Code is a very powerful IDE that is developed by Microsoft. It is also the most popular IDE out there and it boasts more than 24% of the market share. The default IDE for Unity is the MonoDevelop which is also a very capable IDE but still, it can’t match the VS code in terms of performance and resources. The best thing about VS Code is that it comes with tons of extensions which will make things much simpler for you. Also, the VS code requires very low resources for its functionality which makes it ideal to use on any type of laptop or PC.
What are the extensions in the VS Code?
Extensions are the defining feature of the VS Code because they allow you to add more functionality to it. The concept of extensions is not new and we have seen it in popular software such as Google Chrome. Extensions are basically the add-on features that you can add to the VS Code to make it more powerful. There are hundreds of extensions available for the VS Code which you can install directly from the IDE to add additional features. You can access the extension from the Activity baror you can simply use the (Ctrl+Shift+X) to access extensions.
What are the best Extensions to use with Unity & VS Code?
There are tons of Unity VS Code extensions available which can help you with writing scripts and other purposes. We have done our research and picked the best ones for you.
Debugger for Unity
Debugger for unity is one of the best extensions that you can use for your unity projects. This extension is not officially supported by Unity Technologies but it is a great extension and it is designed to be used for debugging your Unity C# projects. It is also pretty fast extension so if you need an effective debugging tool for your unity projects, then Debugger for Unity is a great extension for you.
Unity Tools
Unity Tools is another useful VS Code extension that can help you with your unity projects. It is developed by Tobiah Zarlez and the main goal of this extension is to allow you to add the miscellaneous functionalities to the VS Code for Unity Developers.
You can use this extension for various purposes such as Open documentation for selection, search Documentation and MSFT Documentation, Open VS Code Documentation, and Generate Organizational Folder. The great thing about this extension is that it is under active development and you can expect more great tools in the future.
Unity Code Snippets
As Developers, we all know the importance of code snippets and how they can make things a lot easier for us. Unity Code Snippets is one of the best snippets extensions which you can use for unity development. Also, the great thing about this snippet is that it is very quick and it quickly suggests the snippets for various functionalities which you can simply add with a single click.
Using the Unity Code Snippets, you can create the game classes such as MonoBehaviours, NetworkBehaviours, StateMachineBehaviours, etc. with ease. You can also use it to create the methods and log calls very easily. It also helps you create the editor classes and ScriptableObject by typing the initial letters.
Unity Snippets
Unity Snippets is another very capable snippet extension for Unity Developers. It is a simple snippet extension that you can use to create the MonoBehaviour classes. Also, the snippet also offers brief documentation on each snippet which is a great feature for those who have just started the Unity. The extension works when you type the class and it shows the suggestions within the IntelliSense popup. You can simply highlight the snippet of code you want to add and press enter.
Eppz!
Eppz! is one of the most popular VS Code themes, and it is designed specifically for the Unity C# Projects. The best thing about this theme is that it comes with the distinct colors of unity classes and types. The extension come offers the colored code regions, JSON coloring, and Markdown Coloring. If you use this extension then you will need some time to learn all colors but once the learning curve is over, you will be able to read code more efficiently.
ShaderlabVSCode
As the name suggests, ShaderlabVSCode is a VS Code extension that will help you with ShaderLab programming. The extension comes in two versions, the free version comes with syntax highlighting, basic code completion, and signature help. If you pick the paid version, it will come with IntelliSense, code snippets, format documents, hover information, and document symbols. If you are looking for an effective tool for ShaderLab programming then ShaderlabVSCode is a solid option for you.
![Unity Visual Studio Code Unity Visual Studio Code](/uploads/1/1/9/5/119595911/234926770.jpg)
Do I have to use Visual Studio with Unity?
You can use many IDEs with Unity but we recommend the Visual Studio Code for Unity because it is lightweight, powerful and it comes withtons 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 is the best option.
Conclusion
That’s all folks. These are the best Unity VS Code extensions that you can use for your unity projects. Let us know your favourite Unity VS Code extension in the comment section below. Also, visit our website for more useful guides like Best Unity 2d Plugins And More For Game Developers.
19 April 2020: We’ve updated this article with a contributed solution from one of our readers in the comments section.
One of the biggest perks of using Microsoft’s Visual Studio to write your Unity scripts is IntelliSense — a code completion aid in Visual Studio that offers suggestions as you write your code, and contextually presents you with information about classes, properties and methods that you are working with.
Given Unity’s enormous scripting API, IntelliSense is a tremendously helpful feature, especially for coders who are beginning their foray into developing games and software with Unity; and while we’d love to say that IntelliSense is automatically set up and linked to Unity’s API when you install it with the Unity Editor, sometimes that’s just not the case. So, if you’ve got both Unity and Visual Studio set up, but find that IntelliSense is still not offering Unity API suggestions, then this guide is for you.
There can be many reasons why IntelliSense is failing to work properly on your device, and we are assuming that you’ve already scoured the Internet a fair bit before stumbling on our article. Hence, we’ve put together a table of contents of sorts below, so if you’ve already tried some of the solutions we have, you can skip right through them.
- Getting IntelliSense working
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1. Is my IntelliSense not working?
For IntelliSense to detect and work with Unity’s API, Visual Studio needs to:
- Be linked to the Unity Editor, and;
- Have the appropriate extensions installed (read further to find out what they are)
If you’ve installed Visual Studio via Unity Hub, this can have been automatically set up, but not always. Due to the bevy of ways which you can install Unity and Visual Studio, misconfigurations can happen, and you might end up with Visual Studio not integrating itself into Unity, and an IntelliSense feature that is not properly linked to Unity’s API.
We’ve found that, when installing some versions of Unity 2019 and 2020, Visual Studio does not always integrate with Unity’s API by default. So if things are not working properly, it might not be caused by misconfiguration on your end.
Unity Visual Studio Code Or Community
To check if IntelliSense is properly set up, open any script from the Unity Editor, and look out for 2 things:
- Whether the top-left dropdown says Miscellaneous Files. If it does, then IntelliSense is not set up.
- Try declaring a Unity variable, like a
GameObject
. If IntelliSense is properly set up, Visual Studio should have an auto-complete suggestion for you before you finish typing.
2. Getting IntelliSense working
So if IntelliSense isn’t working for you, what should you do?
a. Open your scripts from Unity
Before you try anything else from here, first make sure that your scripts are opened from within Unity, i.e. whenever you want to edit your scripts, double-click on them in the Unity Editor so that Visual Studio is opened by Unity.
If IntelliSense still doesn’t work when you do this, then continue onto the steps below:
b. Setting Unity’s External Script Editor
From the Unity Editor, access the Preferences window from Edit > Preferences. Then, click on the External Tools tab.
Set the External Script Editor to the version of Visual Studio that you installed alongside Unity. Then, restart Visual Studio and see if IntelliSense now works. If it still doesn’t, then you might be missing…
If Visual Studio doesn’t appear on the dropdown, you will have to use the Browse… option (pictured above) to find it. It’s typically under
C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft Visual Studio2019CommunityCommon7IDEdevenv.exe
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c. Visual Studio Tools for Unity
To install this, open Visual Studio and go to Tools > Get Tools and Features.
Note: You’ll need administrator permissions to open this window, as it makes changes to the Visual Studio installation on your computer.
Once the installer is open, go to Workloads and find Game development with Unity. Check the box, and then click on the Modify button on the bottom-right corner to begin installation.
A popup may ask you to close certain processes before beginning installation. If this happens, close your Visual Studio project and the Unity Editor application.
When installation completes, restart both Unity and Visual Studio, then check to see if IntelliSense now works.
The Games development with Unity workload actually installs 2 additional Visual Studio components — Visual Studio Tools for Unity and C# and Visual Basic. You can install both modules individually by going to the Individual components tab, and checking both components in the list that is shown.
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d. Check your .NET API compatibility level
![Unity visual studio code editor package Unity visual studio code editor package](/uploads/1/1/9/5/119595911/463338454.png)
If IntelliSense still refuses to work, you can open the Unity Editor and head to Edit > Project Settings and access the Player (or Player Settings) tab. Scroll down to the Other Settings sub-tab, and find the Api Compatibility Level dropdown under the Configuration heading.
You want to set the Api Compatibility Level to a different option, and see which is the one that works for your device.
e. Regenerating your Unity project files
Visual Studio Unity Code Suggestions
If the above solutions we’ve proposed did not work for you, you can also try this solution from one of our comment contributions.
Note: Back up your Unity project before trying this, as we are deleting some essential project files and letting Unity regenerate them.
- Close both Visual Studio and Unity on your device.
- Remove all
.sln
and.csproj
files in your Unity project folder. - Remove the
.vs
andLibrary
folders in your Unity project folder. - Re-open the project in Unity, then go to Assets > Open C# Project to open Visual Studio.
Visual Studio Tools For Unity
3. Conclusion
As with the other articles on the blog, we’d love if you leave a comment below, especially if you:
- Find any errors in this article, or;
- Find an IntelliSense fix that is not listed in this article
Your comments will add on to the information that is already here, and help other future readers!
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