M

msvs

by dbosoft

Microsoft Visual Studio

This geneset contains fodder for installing Microsoft Visual Studio 2022.

OverviewAll Tags

Microsoft Visual Studio

This geneset contains fodder for installing Microsoft Visual Studio 2022 in Windows catlets.

Usage

FodderInstallsDefault install path
vs2026Visual Studio 2026 (version 18)C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\18\<edition>
vs2022Visual Studio 2022 (version 17)C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\<edition>
fodder:
 - source: gene:dbosoft/msvs:vs2026

Configuration

Both fodders support the following variables:

Edition and Location

  • vs_edition
    default value: Community

    The Visual Studio edition to install. Valid values: Community, Professional, Enterprise.

  • vs_install_path
    default value: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Community

    Installation directory. Automatically adjusts based on edition if using default path.

Installation Source

  • vs_iso_path
    default value: empty

    Optional path to a Visual Studio ISO file for offline installation. The gene will:

    1. Try the provided ISO path
    2. Auto-detect an ISO attached as optical drive
    3. Fall back to downloading from the internet

Workloads and Components

  • vs_workloads
    default value: Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.ManagedDesktop;Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.NetWeb

    Semicolon-separated list of workload IDs to install. Common workloads:

    • Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.ManagedDesktop - .NET Desktop Development
    • Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.NetWeb - ASP.NET and Web Development
    • Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.Azure - Azure Development
    • Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.NativeDesktop - Desktop Development with C++
    • Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.Data - Data Storage and Processing

  • vs_components
    default value: empty

    Semicolon-separated list of individual component IDs for fine-tuned control.

  • include_recommended
    default value: true

    Include recommended components for selected workloads.

  • include_optional
    default value: false

    Include optional components for selected workloads.

Localization

  • vs_languages
    default value: en-US

    Semicolon-separated list of language codes to install. Common codes:

    • en-US - English (United States)
    • de-DE - German
    • fr-FR - French
    • ja-JP - Japanese
    • zh-CN - Chinese (Simplified)

Dev Drive Integration

  • dev_drive_letter
    default value: empty

    Optional drive letter for Dev Drive. When provided, Visual Studio will configure its project directories to use this drive. If not provided, the gene will auto-detect Dev Drive on Windows 11 or ReFS drives labeled as "Dev*".

Package Cache

  • vs_cache_path
    default value: empty (the installer's cache on C:)

    Folder for the installer's package cache, e.g. E:\VSCache on a dev drive. Can only be set on the first installation.

Verification

The installation counts as successful only when devenv.exe exists afterwards. Otherwise the fodder fails (exit code 1) and prints the last lines of the installer logs (dd_*.log in the temp folder of the installing account, C:\Windows\Temp for Local System). Visual Studio with several workloads needs 20-40 GB on C:; the 39 GB system disk of the dbosoft base catlets is too small for more than a minimal installation, so enlarge sda.

Examples

Basic Installation

Install Community edition with default .NET workloads:

fodder:
 - source: gene:dbosoft/msvs:vs2022

Professional Edition with Azure Development

fodder:
 - source: gene:dbosoft/msvs:vs2022
   variables:
     - name: vs_edition
       value: Professional
     - name: vs_workloads
       value: "Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.Azure;Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.Data"

Enterprise Edition with Multiple Languages

fodder:
 - source: gene:dbosoft/msvs:vs2022
   variables:
     - name: vs_edition
       value: Enterprise
     - name: vs_languages
       value: "en-US;de-DE;fr-FR"
     - name: vs_workloads
       value: "Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.ManagedDesktop;Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.NativeDesktop"

Offline Installation with ISO

Add the Visual Studio ISO as a disk to your catlet with recommended resource allocation:

cpu: 8
memory: 16384

drives:
 - name: sda
   size: 100
 - name: sdb
   source: \\server\share\vs_enterprise_2022.iso
   type: dvd

fodder:
 - source: gene:dbosoft/msvs:vs2022

The gene detects an ISO attached as optical drive and uses it for offline installation.

Dev Drive Integration

Create a high-performance development environment with Dev Drive and Visual Studio:

name: vs-dev-environment
parent: dbosoft/win11-24h2-enterprise/starter

cpu: 8
memory: 16384

drives:
 - name: sda
   size: 60
 - name: sdb
   size: 100  # Dev Drive

fodder:
 # Configure Dev Drive first
 - source: gene:dbosoft/windevdrive:configure
   variables:
     - name: devdrive_disk
       value: sdb
     - name: devdrive_letter
       value: E
     - name: devdrive_label
       value: DevDrive
 
 # Install Visual Studio with Dev Drive auto-detection
 - source: gene:dbosoft/msvs:vs2022
   variables:
     - name: vs_edition
       value: Community
     # VS will auto-detect the Dev Drive at E:

When Visual Studio detects a Dev Drive, it automatically creates the following directory structure:

E:\
├── source\
│   ├── repos\         # VS project location
│   ├── projects\      # Additional projects
│   └── templates\     # User templates
│       ├── ProjectTemplates\
│       └── ItemTemplates\
├── SymbolCache\       # Debug symbols
├── .nuget\            # NuGet packages
├── npm-cache\         # NPM cache
├── pip-cache\         # Python packages
└── [other caches...]  # Various development caches

Configuring Visual Studio for Dev Drive

When a Dev Drive is detected during Visual Studio installation, the gene automatically creates the appropriate directory structure on the Dev Drive. However, Visual Studio project settings are per-user and must be configured manually.

Manual Configuration in Visual Studio:

  • Open Visual Studio
  • Go to Tools → Options → Projects and Solutions → Locations
    • Projects location: E:\source\repos
    • User project templates: E:\source\templates\ProjectTemplates
    • User item templates: E:\source\templates\ItemTemplates
  • Go to Tools → Options → Debugging → Symbols
    • Symbol cache directory: E:\SymbolCache

Performance Benefits

Dev Drive provides approximately 25% better performance for:

  • Build operations
  • File I/O operations
  • Package restore
  • Git operations
  • IntelliSense indexing

Explicit Dev Drive Configuration

If you need to specify a particular drive letter (e.g., for Windows Server 2022 with ReFS):

fodder:
 - source: gene:dbosoft/msvs:vs2022
   variables:
     - name: dev_drive_letter
       value: D  # Explicitly use D: drive

Requirements

  • Base Image: Windows 10/11 or Windows Server 2019/2022
  • CPU: Minimum 4 cores, 8 recommended
  • Memory: Minimum 4 GB, 16 GB recommended
  • Disk: 20-50 GB depending on workloads

Recommended Catlet Configuration

cpu: 8
memory: 16384

drives:
 - name: sda
   size: 100

Licensing

  • Community: Free for individuals, open source, academic research, and small teams (up to 5 users)
  • Professional/Enterprise: Requires valid license or subscription

After installation, you'll need to activate the license by signing in with your Microsoft account or entering a product key.

References

Versioning

This geneset contains only fodder genes and is versioned with a major-minor version scheme.

There is no patch version - when a bug is fixed, a new minor version will be released.
A new major version is released when a gene is removed from the geneset.

The tag latest is updated with each released version. If you want to have a stable reference, don't use the latest tag, use a specific version tag.

Contributing

This geneset is maintained by dbosoft and is open for contributions.

You can find the repository for this geneset on github.com/dbosoft/eryph-genes.

License

All public dbosoft genesets are licensed under the MIT License.