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Agent Mode in Visual Studio: A Game Changer for Developers

Introduction

With the release of Visual Studio 17.14, Microsoft has introduced a groundbreaking feature in public preview: Agent Mode for GitHub Copilot. This feature takes the AI-assisted development experience to the next level: far beyond autocomplete suggestions or quick edits. Now, Copilot acts more like a real teammate that can understand high-level goals, make decisions, and carry out complex coding tasks for you.

What Is Agent Mode?

Agent Mode is designed to transform how developers interact with AI in their coding workflow. Unlike the standard Copilot Chat, which responds with suggestions or single edits, Agent Mode works more autonomously. You can give it a broad task, like “add logging to all service methods,” and it will plan out how to complete that task across your codebase such as editing multiple files, checking for errors, and even running tests to confirm its changes.

It’s like having a junior developer working beside you one that can search, edit, build, and iterate on your code until the job is done.

What Can Agent Do?

Here’s what makes Agent Mode special.

  • Understands Context Automatically: It figures out which files and parts of your code are relevant without you having to specify them.
  • Works Iteratively: It plans, edits, tests, and improves its own changes until the task is complete.
  • Suggests Terminal Commands: If a task requires something like a database migration or running a CLI tool, Agent Mode will suggest the command for your approval.
  • Integrates with Tools: It can work with test runners, lintels, and other dev tools using something called the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to extend its capabilities.

How to Enable and Use Agent Mode?

If you’re ready to try it out, here’s how to enable Agent Mode in Visual Studio 17.14.

  1. Make sure you’re running Visual Studio 17.14 or newer. You can update your Visual Studio.
  2. Then, go to Tools > Options > GitHub > Copilot > Copilot Chat.
  3. Check the option to enable Agent Mode as depicted below.
    Enable Agent
  4. To use it Open the Copilot Chat window, and from the dropdown, select Agent as shown below.
    Open Agent

Once that’s done, you can type in high-level tasks and let Agent Mode handle the rest.

What Are MCP Servers?

MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers let Agent Mode interact with your tools and services in a more structured and powerful way. For example, Agent Mode can use MCP to:

  • Run specific test suites
  • Interact with cloud services
  • Work with your version control system
  • Fetch metadata or perform searches across large codebases

These capabilities allow Agent Mode to take on more complex, real-world development tasks than ever before.

When Should You Use Agent Mode?

Agent Mode is especially useful when,

  • You’re doing large-scale refactoring
  • You need to implement a new feature across multiple files
  • Do you want to debug or write tests for existing code
  • You’re setting up environment configurations or tools

For example, instead of manually editing dozens of files to implement structured logging, you can just tell Agent Mode what you want, and it will do the heavy lifting for you.

The Future of Copilot and Agent Mode

Microsoft has made it clear that Agent Mode is just the beginning. Eventually, this will become the default way Copilot applies changes in Visual Studio. With monthly updates already rolling out, you can expect the feature to get smarter and more capable over time.

Here is the video on agent mode.

Conclusion

Agent Mode in Visual Studio 17.14 is a big step forward in AI-assisted development. It’s not just about getting smarter code suggestions, it’s about having an intelligent assistant that can understand what you’re trying to build, and actually help get it done. Whether you’re refactoring legacy code, adding new features, or just looking to speed up repetitive tasks, Agent Mode can save you serious time and effort.

Of course, it’s still in preview, and not every task will be perfect out of the box. But the direction is clear: tools like this are changing the way we write software. If you’re already using GitHub Copilot, enabling Agent Mode is a no-brainer, you’ll likely find yourself wondering how you ever coded without it.

Give it a try, see what it can do, and let it take some of the heavy lifting off your plate. The future of development just got a little smarter.

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