Microsoft has released a preview version of the C# Dev Kit, a Visual Studio Code extension that will improve the C# developer experience in the code editor on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

“The C# Dev Kit is designed to enhance your C# productivity when you’re working in VS Code,” Microsoft’s Tim Heuer writes. “It works together with the C# extension, which has been updated to be powered by a new fully open-source Language Server Protocol (LSP) host, creating a performant, extensible, and flexible tooling environment that easily integrates new experiences into C# for VS Code.”

The C# Dev Kit is part of a set of three extensions that makes C# development in VS Code a more full-featured experience. The first is the open-source C# extension, which provides base C# language support and remains separate. The second is the C# Dev Kit, which provides features from the full Visual Studio product, including a Solution Explorer and a Native Test Explorer. And the third, optional, extension is IntelliCode for C# Dev Kit, which adds AI-powered starred and whole-line completion.

The C# Dev Kit and IntelliCode for C# Dev Kit extensions use the same licensing model as full Visual Studio, so they’re free for individual, educational, and open-source development under the same terms as Visual Studio Community. Organizations that license Visual Studio Professional or Enterprise, or GitHub Codespaces, are also licensed to use the C# Dev Kit.

The C# Dev Kit is designed for developers writing C# code for web and cloud-native projects, Microsoft notes, and it can be helpful for those learning C#. You can learn more at the Visual Studio Marketplace.