A Dozen Utilities Every .NET Programmer Needs

Lists are always subjective, but it is helpful, I think, to exchange favorites now and again. Feel free to add yours to the comments. Here’s my list in no particular order

1. Visual Studio 2022 – goes without saying that this is the world’s best IDE for .NET developers. I’m on the preview day in and day out, and loving it.
2. ReSharper – I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled this a dozen times, but I think they really have nailed it now, and it is an indispensable tool for C# developers
3. Tweaks by Mads Kristensen — small but very valuable addition to VS
4. Viasfora – I can not believe how useful this is. I’d explain what it does but you have to see it.
5. Microsoft One Note – I use it to keep a log of everything I do, every fix for recurring issues, etc.
6. LastPass – my password manager. I’d be lost without it.
7. XAML Styler – if you are working in XAML this is a must-have. Does something simple, and does it right.
8. Github Copilot – Get an idea of how AI is going to put us all out of work
9. Solution Colors – Do you work on more than one project at a time? Another brilliant extension from Mads.
10. Git Diff Margin – if you use Git you’ll want to Git this
11. Beyond Compare – compare and merge files
12. DB Browser for SQLite – If you are using SQLite, this is a must-have.

Note that nearly all of these are free (not Resharper, LastPass, Github Copilot, Beyond Compare, One Note). I do remember the days when a program like Lotus 123 cost something in the hundreds of dollars. Makes me laugh when I see people look at an app and say “$4.00, naah too expensive.”

As I say, grab these, and if there are others that you use, please note them in the comments.

Thanks