Install Visual Studio
Applies to: 
Visual Studio 
Visual Studio for Mac
Note
This article applies to Visual Studio 2017. If you're looking for the latest Visual Studio documentation, see Visual Studio documentation. We recommend upgrading to the latest version of Visual Studio. Download it here
Welcome to a new way to install Visual Studio! In this version, we've made it easier for you to choose and install just the features you need. We've also reduced the minimum footprint of Visual Studio so that it installs more quickly and with less system impact than ever before.
Note
This topic applies to Visual Studio on Windows. For Visual Studio for Mac, see Install Visual Studio for Mac.
Want to know more about what else is new in this version? See our release notes.
Ready to install? We'll walk you through it, step-by-step.
Step 1 - Make sure your computer is ready for Visual Studio
Before you begin installing Visual Studio:
Check the system requirements. These requirements help you know whether your computer supports Visual Studio 2017.
Apply the latest Windows updates. These updates ensure that your computer has both the latest security updates and the required system components for Visual Studio.
Reboot. The reboot ensures that any pending installs or updates don't hinder your Visual Studio install.
Free up space. Remove unneeded files and applications from your system drive by, for example, running the Disk Cleanup app.
For questions about running previous versions of Visual Studio side by side with Visual Studio 2017, see the Visual Studio compatibility details.
Step 2 - Download Visual Studio
Next, download the Visual Studio bootstrapper file.
To get a bootstrapper for Visual Studio 2017, see the Visual Studio previous versions download page for details on how to do so.
Step 3 - Install the Visual Studio Installer
Run the bootstrapper file to install the Visual Studio Installer. This new lightweight installer includes everything you need to both install and customize Visual Studio.
From your Downloads folder, double-click the bootstrapper that matches or is similar to one of the following files:
- vs_community.exe for Visual Studio Community
- vs_professional.exe for Visual Studio Professional
- vs_enterprise.exe for Visual Studio Enterprise
If you receive a User Account Control notice, choose Yes.
We'll ask you to acknowledge the Microsoft License Terms and the Microsoft Privacy Statement. Choose Continue.
Step 4 - Choose workloads
After the installer is installed, you can use it to customize your installation by selecting the feature sets—or workloads—that you want. Here's how.
Find the workload you want in the Visual Studio Installer.
For example, choose the ".NET desktop development" workload. It comes with the default core editor, which includes basic code editing support for over 20 languages, the ability to open and edit code from any folder without requiring a project, and integrated source code control.
After you choose the workload(s) you want, choose Install.
Next, status screens appear that show the progress of your Visual Studio installation.
Tip
At any time after installation, you can install workloads or components that you didn't install initially. If you have Visual Studio open, go to Tools > Get Tools and Features... which opens the Visual Studio Installer. Or, open the Visual Studio Installer from the Start menu. From there, you can choose the workloads or components that you wish to install. Then, choose Modify.
Step 5 - Choose individual components (optional)
If you don't want to use the Workloads feature to customize your Visual Studio installation, or you want to add more components than a workload installs, you can do so by installing or adding individual components from the Individual components tab. Choose what you want, and then follow the prompts.
Step 6 - Install language packs (optional)
By default, the installer program tries to match the language of the operating system when it runs for the first time. To install Visual Studio in a language of your choosing, choose the Language packs tab from the Visual Studio Installer, and then follow the prompts.
Change the installer language from the command line
Step 7 - Select the installation location (optional)
New in 15.7: You can now reduce the installation footprint of Visual Studio on your system drive. You can choose to move the download cache, shared components, SDKs, and tools to different drives, and keep Visual Studio on the drive that runs it the fastest.
Important
You can select a different drive for Visual Studio IDE or download cache only when you first install Visual Studio. If you've already installed it and want to change drives, you must uninstall Visual Studio and then reinstall it.
If you've installed Visual Studio on your computer before, you won't be able to change the Shared components, tools, and SDKs path and it will appear greyed out. This location is shared by all installations of Visual Studio.
Step 8 - Start developing
After Visual Studio installation is complete, choose the Launch button to get started developing with Visual Studio.
Choose File, and then choose New Project.
Select a project type.
For example, to build a C++ app, choose Installed, expand Visual C++, and then choose the C++ project type that you want to build.
To build a C# app, choose Installed, expand Visual C#, and then choose the C# project type that you want to build.
Support or troubleshooting
Sometimes, things can go wrong. If your Visual Studio installation fails, see Troubleshoot Visual Studio installation and upgrade issues for step-by-step guidance.
Here are a few more support options:
- We also offer an installation chat (English only) support option for installation-related issues.
- Report product issues to us via the Report a Problem tool that appears both in the Visual Studio Installer and in the Visual Studio IDE. If you're an IT Administrator and don't have Visual Studio installed, you can submit IT Admin feedback here.
- Suggest a feature, track product issues, and find answers in the Visual Studio Developer Community.