Visual Studio 2019 is now generally available for Windows and Mac. Microsoft says that updates to the IDE improve on source control, starting up new projects, code navigation, debugging and AI-assisted code completion.

“These capabilities work with both your existing project and new projects – from cross-platform C++ applications, to .NET mobile apps for Android and iOS written using Xamarin, to cloud-native applications using Azure services,” John Montgomery, corporate vice president for Visual Studio, wrote in a blog post. “The goal with Visual Studio 2019 is to support these projects from development, through testing, debugging, and even deployment, all while minimizing the need for you to switch between different applications, portals, and websites.”

The list of updates highlighted by the company include:

  • Cloning a Git repo or opening an existing project or folder is simpler.
  • The template selection screen has be reconfigured to make starting new projects easier.
  • Code navigation is improved with new refactorings, a document health indicator and quick code-cleanup.
  • Data breakpoints have been added for .NET Core apps to make pinpointing value changes easier.
  • Visual Studio IntelliCode is included, which uses AI to assist in code autocompletion.

Also incorporated into Visual Studio 2019 is Visual Studio Live Share, a real-time collaboration environment. “You’re able to share your code, and collaboratively edit and debug, without needing to clone repos or set up environments,” Jon Chu, the program manager for Visual Studio Live Share, wrote in a blog post.

The tool’s feature set is based on community feedback and includes a read-only mode, support for C++ and Python and guest debugging sessions.

Live Share can also take on third-party extensions, such as OzCode, highlighted in the blog post, which provides visualizations for C# code debugging.

Updates that are new specifically to the MacOS version of the IDE include a new C# editor and a port of the Unity tools available on Windows previously.

Microsoft hosted a number of launch events around the world providing even more details about the updates, and a full video of the event is available on YouTube.