To install Visual Studio 2015, you can use the installation media from a boxed product, or you can download the installation files from visualstudio.com.
For information about each edition of Visual Studio 2015, including system requirements, see Compare Visual Studio Offerings.
This document provides the following installation information:
Typical vs. Custom Setup
The installation experience for Visual Studio 2015 enables you to include or exclude components that you would use on a daily basis. This can result in a smaller and faster installation for a Typical installation. It also means that in previous versions, many components that were installed by default now are considered Custom components that you must explicitly select in this version. Custom components include Visual C++, Visual F#, SQL Server Data Tools, Cross-platform mobile tools and SDKs, and 3rd party SDKs and extensions. You can install any of the custom components at a later time if you don't select them during initial setup. The complete list of custom components is as follows:
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Programming Languages
Visual C++ compilers, libraries and Tools
Visual F#
Python Tools for Visual Studio
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Windows and Web Development
ClickOnce Publishing Tools
Microsoft SQL Server Data Tools
Microsoft Web Developer Tools
PowerShell Tools for Visual Studio
Silverlight Development Kit
Universal Windows App Development Tools
Windows 10 Tools and SDKs
Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.0/8.1 Tools
Windows 8.1 Tools and SDKs
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Cross Platform Mobile Development
Xamarin (C#/.NET)
Apache Cordova (HTML/JavaScript)
Visual C++ Mobile Development for iOS / Android
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Common Tools and SDKs
Android Native Development Kit (R10E, 32 bits)
Android SDK
Android SDK Setup (API Level 19 and 21)
Android SDK Setup (API Level 22)
Apache Ant (1.9.3)
Java SE Development Kit (7.0.550.13)
Joyent Node.js
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Common Tools
Git for Windows
GitHub Extensions for Visual Studio
Visual Studio Extensibility Tools
Installing Visual Studio
You need administrator credentials to install Visual Studio. However, you don't need them to use Visual Studio after you install it.
Your local administrator account must have the following privileges enabled to install everything in Visual Studio.
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Local Policy Object Display Name |
User Right |
|---|---|
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Backup Files and directories |
SeBackupPrivilege |
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Debug programs |
SeDebugPrivilege |
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Manage auditing and security log |
SeSecurityPrivilege |
For more information on this local administrator account requirement, see the Knowledge Base article, SQL Server installation fails if the Setup account does not have certain user rights.
Installing by using installation media
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To install Visual Studio, in the root directory on the Visual Studio installation media, run the installation file for the edition you want:
Edition
Installation File
Visual Studio Enterprise
vs_enterprise.exe
Visual Studio Professional
vs_professional.exe
Visual Studio Community
vs_community.exe
Installing by downloading from the product website
Visit Visual Studio Downloads on the MSDN website.
Downloading Visual Studio for an offline installation
In most cases, you can install Visual Studio from the download site with no problems. However, in some cases, you may want to download all the update packages before you install them (for example, to install on multiple machines or on an offline machine). The following steps explain how to download all the update packages that you need for an offline installation.
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After you download the update executable from the MSDN website to a location on your file system, run the following command at a command prompt: <executable name> /layout.
This command downloads all the packages for the installation.
By using the /layout switch, you can download all the core installation packages, not just the ones that apply to the download machine. This approach gives you all the files that you need to run this update anywhere and may be useful if you want to install components that weren't installed originally.
After you run the command, you should be prompted for the download location. Enter the location, and then choose Download.
When the package download is successful, you should see a Visual Studio screen that says Setup Successful! All specified components have been acquired successfully.
In the file location that you specified, find the executable file and the package folder. This is everything you need to copy to a shared location or install media.
You can now run the installation from the file location or the install media.
Installing Visual Studio in virtualized environments
Video Issues with Hyper-V
If you run Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V enabled and an accelerated graphics adapter, you may experience system slowdowns.
For more information, see the following page on the Microsoft website: Video performance may decrease when a Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 based computer has the Hyper-V role enabled and an accelerated display adapter installed.
Emulating Devices with Hyper-V
When you install Visual Studio 2015 on real hardware without virtualization, you can choose features that enable emulation of Windows and Android devices using Hyper-V. When you install into Hyper-V, you will not be able to emulate the Windows or Android devices. This is because the emulators are themselves virtual machines, and you cannot currently host a VM inside another VM. The workaround is to have real Windows or Android devices to which you can directly deploy and debug your application.
Using command-line parameters
When you run the installation application, you can use the following command-line parameters, which are case-insensitive.
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Parameter |
Description |
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|---|---|---|---|
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/? /help /h |
Displays command-line parameters. |
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/AddRemoveFeatures |
Specifies which features to add or remove from the installed product. |
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/AdminFile AdminDeployment.xml |
Installs Visual Studio using the data file that you specified for administrative installation. |
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/CEIPConsent |
Consents to the collection of information to improve the customer experience in accordance with the product privacy policy. |
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/ChainingPackage BundleName |
Specifies which bundle is chaining this bundle. Also can be used to specify a Customer Improvement Experience cohort. |
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/CreateAdminFile <filename> |
Specifies the location to create a control file that can be used with /AdminFile |
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/CustomInstallPath InstallationDirectory |
Installs all re-targetable packages in the directory that you specify. |
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/ForceRestart |
Always restarts the computer after installation. |
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/full |
Installs all product features. |
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/InstallSelectableItems <item name 1>[;<item name 2>] |
List of selection tree items to check on the selection screen of the installer wizard. |
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/l /Log Filename |
Specifies a location for the log file. |
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/layout Directory |
Copies the files on the installation media to the directory that you specify. |
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/NoCacheOnlyMode |
Prevents pre-population of the package cache. |
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/NoRefresh |
Prevents the check for newer versions of this product for either required or recommended updated versions. |
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/norestart |
Prevents the installation application from restarting the computer during or after installation. See the Return Codes section of the Visual Studio Administrator Guide for the return codes to look for. |
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/noweb |
Prevents installation from the Internet. |
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/OverrideFeedUri <path to feed file> |
Path to a local, external feed that describes software items |
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/ProductKey ProductKey |
Sets a custom product key that contains no dashes and no more than 25 characters. |
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/PromptRestart |
Prompts the user before restarting the computer. |
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/q /quiet /s /silent |
Suppresses the user interface (UI) for the installation application. If Visual Studio is already installed and you specify no parameters except this one, the installation application runs in Maintenance mode. |
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/qb /passive |
Shows progress but doesn't wait for user input. |
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/RefreshFile <path to update file> |
Path to a local administrator controlled newer versions data file that indicates required or recommended updated versions are available. |
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/repair |
Repairs Visual Studio. |
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/SuppressRefreshPrompt |
Prevents displaying the update available dialog in the installation wizard, thus, the installation wizard will auto-accept any required or recommended updated versions. |
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/u /Uninstall |
Uninstalls Visual Studio. |
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/Uninstall /Force /u /force |
Uninstalls Visual Studio and all features that are shared with other products.
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When running setup from the command line, you will want to capture and process the return code for a better command-line experience. See the Visual Studio Administrator Guide for more information.
Troubleshooting installation
Use these resources to get help for setup and installation issues:
Visual Studio Setup and Installation forum. Review questions and answers from others in the Visual Studio community. If you don't find what you need, ask your own questions.
Microsoft Support for Visual Studio website. Read knowledge base (KB) articles and learn how to contact Microsoft Support for information about issues with Visual Studio installation.
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For releases of Visual Studio 2015, you can report your issue by using the Connect site at https://connect.microsoft.com/visualstudio.
It’s best if your issue includes the installation logs. You can prepare your logs for the issue report by using the Microsoft Visual Studio and .NET Framework Log Collection Tool, as described in the following steps.
Download the installation diagnostic tool from http://aka.ms/vscollect
From an elevated command prompt, run the collect.exe program.
After the collect.exe program completes, fetch the vslogs.cab file from your Temp directory and upload that into the issue report.
Enterprise network deployment
For information about how to deploy Visual Studio over a network, see Visual Studio Administrator Guide.
After Visual Studio is installed
After you have installed Visual Studio, we recommend that you register your copy of the product.
Registering Visual Studio
To register Visual Studio
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On the menu bar, choose Help, About.
The About dialog box shows the product identification number (PID). You'll need the PID and Windows Account credentials (such as a Hotmail or Outlook.com email address and password) to register the product.
On the menu bar, choose Help, Register Product.
Installing offline Help content
After you install Visual Studio, you can download additional Help content so that it will be available offline.
To install or uninstall Help content
On the Visual Studio menu bar, choose Help, Add and Remove Help Content.
On the Manage Content tab of the Microsoft Help Viewer, select the installation source for your Help content.
If you're looking for a specific Help collection, enter the name or a keyword in the Search text box and then press Enter.
Next to the name of the Help collection you want, choose the Add or Remove link.
Choose the Update button.
For more information about offline Help, see Microsoft Help Viewer 2.2 Help
Repairing Visual Studio
To repair Visual Studio
In Control Panel, on the Programs and Features page, choose the product edition that you want to repair, and then choose Change.
In the Setup wizard, choose Repair, choose Next, and then follow the remaining instructions.
To repair Visual Studio in silent or passive modes (that is, repair from source)
On the computer where Visual Studio is installed, open the Windows command prompt.
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Enter the following parameters:
DVDRoot \<Installation File> </quiet|/passive> [/norestart]/Repair
Installing selectable items
To install selectable items
In Control Panel, on the Programs and Features page, choose the product edition to which you want to add one or more components, and then choose Change.
In the Setup wizard, choose Modify, and then choose the components that you want to install.
Choose Next, and then follow the remaining instructions.
Checking for Service Releases and Product Updates
Visual Studio doesn't automatically upgrade extensions when you upgrade from previous versions because not all extensions are compatible. You must reinstall the extensions from the Visual Studio Gallery or the software publisher.
To automatically check for service releases
On the menu bar, choose Tools, Options.
In the Options dialog box, expand Environment, and then select Extensions and Updates. Make sure the Automatically check for updates check box is selected, and then choose OK.
Uninstalling Visual Studio
To uninstall Visual Studio
In Control Panel, on the Programs and Features page, choose the product edition that you want to uninstall, and then choose Change.
In the Setup wizard, choose Uninstall, choose Yes, and then follow the remaining instructions in the wizard.
To uninstall Visual Studio in silent or passive modes (that is, uninstall from source)
On the computer where Visual Studio is installed, open the Windows command prompt.
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Enter the following parameters:
DVDRoot \<Installation File> </quiet|/passive> [/norestart]/uninstall
If you can't uninstall Visual Studio by using the uninstallation utility, you can perform a manual uninstallation by removing Visual Studio and then removing related components. For more information, see the How to uninstall Visual Studio article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB).
Related Topics
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Title |
Description |
|---|---|
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Provides information about how to install multiple versions of Visual Studio on the same computer. |
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Provides information about how to install graphics that you can use in Visual Studio applications. |
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Provides information about deployment options for Visual Studio. |
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Provides information about how to install different language versions of Visual Studio. |
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Provides information about how to locate the product key for your installation of Visual Studio. |
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Links to documents that can help you use Visual Studio effectively. |