If you don’t set up your IDE (like Visual Studio or JetBrains Rider) correctly for s&box development, you might run into issues like missing IntelliSense and missing references. Here’s how to set it up properly.

Visual Studio

  1. Make sure you have the latest version of Visual Studio installed, at the time of writing, Visual Studio 2026 is required.
  2. Install the .NET desktop development and ASP.Net and web development workload during installation, via the Visual Studio Installer, or go to Tools -> Get Tools and Features in Visual Studio.
  3. Just to be sure, install the latest .NET SDK as well. At the time of writing, s&box uses .NET 10. You may need to download both the SDK and the Runtime.

Common Issues

  • Missing IntelliSense/References: Open the solution file (.slnx) located in your project folder. You can do this from the Project -> Open Solution menu in the s&box editor.
  • slnx file opens as text: Your Visual Studio installation is too old. Update to 2026 or later.

JetBrains Rider

  1. Make sure you have the latest version of JetBrains Rider installed.
  2. Install the latest .NET SDK as well. At the time of writing, s&box uses .NET 10. You may need to download both the SDK and the Runtime.
  3. Open the solution file (.slnx) located in your project folder. You can do this from the Project -> Open Solution menu in the s&box editor.

Visual Studio Code

Even if you follow the steps below, Visual Studio Code might still not work perfectly with s&box development. For the best experience, consider using Visual Studio or JetBrains Rider.

  1. Make sure you have the latest version of Visual Studio Code installed.
  2. Install the latest .NET SDK as well. At the time of writing, s&box uses .NET 10. You may need to download both the SDK and the Runtime.
  3. Install the C# and C# Dev Kit extensions from the extensions tab.
  4. Open your s&box project folder in Visual Studio Code using File -> Open Folder.... Do not open the code folder, you want to open the root project folder.
  5. If the solution file (.slnx) does not open automatically, open it manually from the dropdown in the bottom left corner of the window.

Common Issues

  • Missing IntelliSense/References: Make sure you have the C# and C# Dev Kit extensions installed. Make sure you have the latest .NET SDK installed. Open the solution properly as described above.