Visual Assist

How is Visual Assist different from IntelliSense?

Visual Assist and the built in Intellisense tooling share a few common features. Both give you IntelliSense and code navigation — the difference shows up in large or complex codebases. Visual Assist uses its own parser, which means it stays fast and accurate in projects where built-in IntelliSense struggles: Unreal Engine, macro-heavy code, partial builds, and anything past a few hundred thousand lines. Also, the Visual Studio UI can arguably complicate some dialog boxes for simple tasks. An example is the Visual Studio unified search, which operates like the search bar in the operating system

What does Visual Assist do?

Visual Assist (VA) is a coding productivity plugin for C++ and C# developers who work in Visual Studio. Visual Assist has its own code parser, separate from the built in Intellisense parser. This provides all of the features one would expect from a modern IDE and many more. These features include tools for Navigation, Refactoring, Debugging Assistance and Automatic Code Modernization with Code Inspections. VA also offer special support and tooling for Unreal Engine, Unity, Graphics Card “Shaders” and CUDA.

Is there a free version of Visual Assist?

Yes! We have special licenses for students and teachers. Visit this page to learn more .

Is Visual Assist worth the cost?

As with any tool, how useful it is depends on how much you intend to use it. VA enhances productivity by improving Visual Studio’s default features or by adding new ones absent from the IDE. Some users focus on a few features, while some take the time to try out all the features. There are many options available to you with all of them aimed at making you code faster, easier, and making the experience less frustrating. Read this blog to learn more about the value VA provides

Who should use Visual Assist?

Developers using Microsoft’s Visual Studio to develop and code using C, C# and C++ will benefit from using VA. There has been a focus on C++ game development (Unreal Engine) wherein the added support and tooling is most needed. Recent updates have also added support and tooling for Unity Engine, Graphics Card “Shaders” and CUDA development.

Is Visual Assist better than ReSharper for C++?

Visual Assist and ReSharper C++ address similar problems, but they differ in weight. Visual Assist is lighter — it doesn't slow down Visual Studio on large projects, which is a known complaint about ReSharper. VA focuses on navigation and refactoring precision; ReSharper adds additional code analysis but at a cost to IDE performance. Developers on large C++ codebases typically prefer Visual Assist for speed and lower overhead. You can also use both plugins if you wish.

Does Visual Assist work with Unreal Engine?

Yes. Visual Assist has dedicated support for Unreal Engine codebases. This includes adding extra syntax support for UE macros, generated code structures, and Blueprint class inheritance in its Find References dialog. It's commonly used in Unreal projects where IntelliSense struggles with macro-heavy code.

Does Visual Assist work alongside GitHub Copilot or other AI tools?

Yes. Visual Assist is designed to complement AI coding tools. VA Intelligence — Visual Assist's built-in AI integration — uses local models and is optional and privacy-respecting. Both can run simultaneously in Visual Studio without conflict.