C++ Team Blog

The latest in C++, Visual Studio, VS Code, and vcpkg from the MSFT C++ team

Latest posts

Jun 12, 2026
Post comments count 0
Post likes count 1

GitHub Copilot modernization for C++ is out of preview

Michael Price

GitHub Copilot modernization for C++ is out of preview as of Visual Studio 2026, helping you upgrade your MSVC Build Tools with an AI-guided workflow.

Jun 11, 2026
Post comments count 0
Post likes count 3

MSVC Build Tools Preview updates – June 2026

Eric Brumer

Try the latest updates to MSVC Build Tools Preview

Jun 4, 2026
Post comments count 0
Post likes count 0

What’s New in vcpkg (May 2026)

Augustin Popa

This release includes major library updates for Boost 1.91, Qt 6.11, and OpenCASCADE 8.0, along with 27 new ports and over 500 port updates.

May 27, 2026
Post comments count 2
Post likes count 1

What’s New for C++ Developers in Visual Studio 2026 (18.1 – 18.6)

Augustin Popa

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, we made significant investments in AI-powered experiences to optimize your builds, modernize your code, debug and profile, and more. We enhanced Copilot Chat to make it easy to incorporate skills, custom agents, and MCP servers into your workflow. We also ad...

May 19, 2026
Post comments count 6
Post likes count 2

Introducing Sample Profile Guided Optimization in MSVC

David Gillies

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 that are impossible to make from static analysis alone. In practice, PGO can deliver large performance improvements for C/C++ code. Today, we're introducing Sample Profile Guided Optimization (SPGO), a new approach to profile-guided optimization th...

May 19, 2026
Post comments count 10
Post likes count 3

NuGet PackageReference for C++ Projects in Visual Studio

Augustin Popa

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.

May 14, 2026
Post comments count 2
Post likes count 2

Segment Heap support for C++ projects in Visual Studio

MacGyver Codilla

Learn how Visual Studio enables Segment Heap by default for new C++ projects and how to adopt and verify it in existing builds.

May 13, 2026
Post comments count 2
Post likes count 5

MSVC Build Tools Preview updates – May 2026

Eric Brumer

Try the latest updates to MSVC Build Tools Preview

May 12, 2026
Post comments count 0
Post likes count 5

MSVC Build Tools version 14.51 (GA) now available

Michael Price

MSVC Build Tools v14.51 GA available in Visual Studio 2026 18.6

Load more posts