C++ Team Blog

Visual Studio 2026 versions 18.1 through 18.6 deliver a wave of improvements for C++ developers. For MSVC Build Tools, the v14.51 release is now generally available with runtime performance gains and improved C++23 conformance. We also introduced Sample Profile Guided Optimization to help you improve the runtime performance of your C/C++ programs. In the IDE, The post What’s New for C++ Developers in Visual Studio 2026 (18.1 – 18.6) appeared first on C++ Team Blog.

Profile Guided Optimization (PGO) has long been one of the most powerful tools in the MSVC compiler’s arsenal for improving the runtime performance of C and C++ applications. By using execution profile data collected from representative workloads, PGO enables the compiler to make smarter decisions about inlining, code layout, and hot/cold code separation – decisions The post Introducing Sample Profile Guided Optimization in MSVC appeared first on C++ Team Blog.

Native C++ projects (.vcxproj) now support NuGet PackageReference, the same modern package management experience .NET developers have used for years. Available as an experimental feature in Visual Studio 2026 version 18.7. The post NuGet PackageReference for C++ Projects in Visual Studio appeared first on C++ Team Blog.

Learn how Visual Studio enables Segment Heap by default for new C++ projects and how to adopt and verify it in existing builds. The post Segment Heap support for C++ projects in Visual Studio appeared first on C++ Team Blog.

Try the latest updates to MSVC Build Tools Preview The post MSVC Build Tools Preview updates – May 2026 appeared first on C++ Team Blog.

MSVC Build Tools v14.51 GA available in Visual Studio 2026 18.6 The post MSVC Build Tools version 14.51 (GA) now available appeared first on C++ Team Blog.

We are excited to announce that GitHub Copilot build performance for Windows now supports project-specific builds! Available in the latest Visual Studio Insiders, you can target a single MSBuild project or CMake target instead of analyzing your entire solution. For game developers and teams working with large codebases, this eliminates the need to wait for The post Project-Specific Build Optimizations with GitHub Copilot appeared first on C++ Team Blog.

These updates include improved locking for parallel builds, cross-platform PE dependency analysis, manifest support for the depend-info command, and other improvements and bug fixes. The post What’s New in vcpkg (Apr 2026) appeared first on C++ Team Blog.

In February, we announced how GitHub Copilot can now use C++ symbol context and CMake build configuration awareness to deliver smarter suggestions in Visual Studio Code. Today, we’re excited to share new ways to further enhance your C++ development experience with Copilot and get the most out of the language-driven suggestions, by leveraging custom instructions The post Giving Copilot more C++ context using custom instructions in VS Code appeared first on C++ Team Blog.

The 2026 ISO C++ developer survey is now open: 2026 Annual C++ Developer Survey “Lite” : Standard C++ It takes about 10 minutes and directly informs the standardization committee and tooling vendors so the C++ ecosystem can continue evolving the right way. Please share your feedback and share with your colleagues! The post Take the 2026 ISO C++ Developer Survey! appeared first on C++ Team Blog.