Version Control in Visual Studio

Overview

Visual Studio provides first‑class support for both Git and Team Foundation Version Control (TFVC). You can manage repositories, stage changes, resolve conflicts, and view history directly from the IDE.

Key Features

• Integrated source control explorer.
• Real‑time diff and merge tools.
• GitHub, Azure Repos, and Bitbucket remote connections.
• Branch visualization in the Team Explorer window.

Setup & Configuration

Follow these steps to connect Visual Studio to your Git repository:

1. Open Team Explorer → Connect → Clone.
2. Enter the repository URL (e.g., https://github.com/your-org/your-repo.git) and click Clone.
3. After cloning, Visual Studio will automatically detect the solution and open it.

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "you@example.com"

Configure your default branch and file ignore rules using .gitignore and .gitattributes files.

Best Practices

• Commit early and often; keep commits small and focused.
• Write clear commit messages with a short summary line.
• Use feature branches for new work and merge via pull requests.
• Enable code analysis and continuous integration to enforce quality gates.
• Resolve conflicts using Visual Studio's Merge Tool before pushing.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I switch the default source control provider?

Go to Tools → Options → Source Control → Plug-in Selection and choose Git or Team Foundation Server.

Can I use both Git and TFVC in the same solution?

Yes, but each project must be bound to a single provider. Mixing within a solution is not recommended.

What if I need to revert a large set of changes?

Use git revert for public commits or git reset --hard for local work, then push the corrected history.