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Install the Lightrun plugin in your Visual Studio IDE

Version Support

The Lightrun extension for Visual Studio is compatible with Visual Studio 2019 (16.10 and later) & 2022 (up to 17.14) on Microsoft Windows.

Lightrun provides the following methods for installing the Lightrun plugin in Visual Studio:

  • Download from the Visual Studio Extension Marketplace - For SaaS deployments.
  • Directly in the IDE via the Visual Studio Extension Marketplace - For SaaS deployments.
  • Manual installation - For downloading a VSIX file from the Lightrun Management Portal - For On-prem and Single-tenant customers.

How can I detect my deployment environment?

Install the Lightrun plugin from the Visual Studio Extensions Marketplace

  1. In the Visual Studio menu bar, go to Extensions > Manage Extensions.
    The Extension Manager pane opens.
  2. In the Extension Manager search box, type Lightrun.
  3. Select the Lightrun extension compatible with your Visual Studio version (2019 or 2022) and click Install.

  4. After installation, go to the View tab on the menubar, scroll down and select Other Windows > Lightrun.

    The Lightrun extension pane opens.

Install the Lightrun plugin from a VSIX file

Lightrun provides a .vsix file that automatically installs the latest version of the Lightrun Visual extension in your IDE.

  1. Log in to the Lightrun Managment Portal.

  2. Download the Lightrun VSIX file from the Install the Lightrun plugin in your IDE page located in the Getting Started wizard in the Lightrun Management Portal.

    Install plugin from website --half

  3. Close your Visual Studio instance.

  4. Locate the downloaded VSIX file on your local computer and double-click to begin installation.

  5. Open Visual Studio, then go to the View tab in the menubar, scroll down and select Other Windows > Lightrun.

    The Lightrun extension pane opens.

Next steps

After installing, authenticate the Lightrun plugin to start using it.

Last update: July 10, 2025