Debug with Chat Visual Studio 2026

Question

Debug with Chat Visual Studio 2026

Pip 265

Hi,

I see that in version of Visual Studio 2026, there is Debug with Chat.

Where I can use it in all projects types?

Only on C# languages?

In unit tests it works?

Can you give how does it works behind the scene to understand how to work with it?

What is the best practice how to use it.

My experience:

When I tried to used it, Visual Studio ask me for confirmation to continue with the process when he hit a breakpoint, can you explain this?

Thanks in advance,

Pip 265 Reputation points

2026-02-23T09:58:52.3633333+00:00
Your answer with AI was , can you also explains this best practices.

Best Practices

Utilize Breakpoints: Set breakpoints strategically to pause execution at critical points in your code. This allows you to inspect variables and the flow of execution.

Ask for Help: When you hit a breakpoint, you can use the Copilot Chat to ask for explanations or suggestions on how to proceed, which can help clarify issues or suggest fixes.

Iterate Quickly: Use the insights provided by Copilot Chat to make quick adjustments and test changes in real-time, enhancing your debugging efficiency.

1 answer

Your answer

Pip 265 Reputation points

2026-02-23T09:58:52.3633333+00:00

Your answer with AI was , can you also explains this best practices.

Best Practices

Utilize Breakpoints: Set breakpoints strategically to pause execution at critical points in your code. This allows you to inspect variables and the flow of execution.

Ask for Help: When you hit a breakpoint, you can use the Copilot Chat to ask for explanations or suggestions on how to proceed, which can help clarify issues or suggest fixes.

Iterate Quickly: Use the insights provided by Copilot Chat to make quick adjustments and test changes in real-time, enhancing your debugging efficiency.

Answer 1

Varsha Dundigalla(INFOSYS LIMITED) 4,780 Microsoft External Staff

Thank you for reaching out.

Debug with Chat in Visual Studio 2026 works during a normal debugging session. It can be used in project types that support debugging in Visual Studio and is commonly used with .NET projects. It also works when debugging unit tests, where it can help explain test failures and debugging results.

When the debugger hits a breakpoint, Visual Studio may ask for confirmation before continuing. This happens because it needs permission to read additional debugging information such as variable values, call stack details, and runtime output. This confirmation is expected behavior and is meant to ensure you are aware of what debug data is being accessed.

The message shown with the response simply indicates that the explanation is based on the current debugging context. No code changes are applied automatically, and you remain in control of how to proceed.

In short, this feature helps you understand what is happening during debugging, asks for confirmation when extra debug context is needed, and does not make any changes unless you choose to do so.

Please let us know if you require any further assistance, we’re happy to help. If you found this information useful, kindly mark this as "Accept Answer". So that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

Pip 265 Reputation points

2026-02-24T14:28:41.83+00:00

Hi Varsha,

Thank you very much for your answer.

Does during the debugging, let say when I set breakpoint , can I chat with him?

Moreover, if I do not put a breakpoint at all what should be the flow?

Thanks in advance,
Varsha Dundigalla(INFOSYS LIMITED) 4,780 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2026-02-25T08:10:04.8033333+00:00
Thank you for reaching out.

Yes, during debugging, when your code hits a breakpoint, you can chat at that point. The debugger is paused, so you can ask questions based on the current state of the code, such as variable values, execution flow, or why the code reached that line.

If you do not set any breakpoint, the program will run normally without stopping. In that case, there is no paused state to interact with. The usual flow then is:

let the program run until it finishes, or

rely on an exception to stop execution, or

manually pause the debugger while the program is running.

So, chatting during debugging works best when execution is paused (for example, at a breakpoint or an exception). Without a pause, there is no debugging context to work with.

Please let us know if you require any further assistance, we’re happy to help. If you found this information useful, kindly mark this as "Accept Answer". So that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.
Pip 265 Reputation points

2026-02-25T18:09:36.7266667+00:00

@Varsha Dundigalla(INFOSYS LIMITED)

So, the best practice is to set breakpoints and use debug with ChatGpt and chat when it reach breakpoint or an exception.

Can you please give screenshots, how you fire debug with Visual Studio 2026 in Console App + Unit Tests.

Thanks in advance,
Varsha Dundigalla(INFOSYS LIMITED) 4,780 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2026-02-27T08:06:50.49+00:00
Thank you for reaching out.

You can interact while debugging only when the program is stopped. This usually happens when it reaches a breakpoint or stops because of an error. At that moment, the program is paused, so details like current values and the path taken by the code are available.

If no breakpoint is set, the program keeps running from start to end without stopping. In that situation, there is nothing to interact with unless the program stops due to an error or you manually pause it yourself.

For a better understanding, the following official documents include screenshots of the debugger, showing breakpoints, paused execution, and the debugger windows. You can refer to these pages to visually see how the debugging flow works in console apps and unit tests.

References:

Debugger Feature Tour (shows breakpoints, paused state, debugger UI): https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/debugger/debugger-feature-tour?view=visualstudio

Debug with Copilot in Visual Studio (shows debugger interaction and UI context): https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/debugger/debug-with-copilot?view=visualstudio

These pages should help you visually follow the flow and understand when and how debugging interaction is available.

Please let us know if you require any further assistance, we’re happy to help. If you found this information useful, kindly mark this as "Accept Answer". So that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.
Varsha Dundigalla(INFOSYS LIMITED) 4,780 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2026-03-04T10:25:14.4266667+00:00

Hope you're doing well. Could you please let us know if the issue still persists or if it has been resolved? If everything is working fine now, we’d appreciate it if you could mark the response as answered. We will proceed with the thread closure by 6th March, so we are hoping for your reply before that.
Varsha Dundigalla(INFOSYS LIMITED) 4,780 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2026-03-06T11:54:32.0866667+00:00

We are closing this thread at this moment since we are unable to investigate this issue further without the requested information. If the issue still occurs, please collect the requested information and share it with us. Upon receipt of the additional information, we will reopen this thread and continue to investigate this issue. Thank you.

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Debug with Chat Visual Studio 2026

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