Microsoft is officially stopping support for their IntelliCode AI-powered code completion extensions in Visual Studio Code. They are now recommending that C# developers switch to using GitHub Copilot Chat, a conversational AI assistant, for more advanced coding help. This change affects several extensions, including IntelliCode, IntelliCode Completions, IntelliCode for C# Dev Kit, and IntelliCode API Usage Examples.

What Developers Need to Know About the Deprecation

The company has advised users to uninstall the IntelliCode for C# Dev Kit extension. Instead, they should rely on the built-in language support from the Roslyn .NET compiler platform or consider installing GitHub Copilot Chat for better suggestions and inline code completions. With this move, Microsoft aims to streamline its AI tools and focus on more comprehensive solutions.

As a result of the deprecation, developers will no longer see starred completions in their code completion lists, which are part of IntelliSense. Inline suggestions, such as gray text prompts, will also be removed. The extensions will be marked as deprecated immediately, and no new features or bug fixes will be provided for them from now on.

Impact on Features and Future Support

Existing features powered by the IntelliCode extensions will be replaced with the default language server support from Roslyn. This means features like signature help, hover information, and syntax highlighting will continue to work as usual in Visual Studio Code, ensuring that developers still have access to essential coding tools.

Microsoft’s decision to end support for these extensions emphasizes a shift towards more advanced, conversational AI tools like GitHub Copilot Chat. Developers who relied on IntelliCode will need to adapt to these changes and explore new options to enhance their coding workflows.

This move reflects Microsoft’s broader strategy to focus on integrated AI solutions that provide richer, more interactive assistance during development. While it may require some adjustments, the goal is to offer developers more powerful and flexible tools for writing code efficiently.

Inspired by

• https://www.infoworld.com/article/4107421/microsoft-deprecates-intellicode-for-visual-studio-code.html

Sources

• github.com