Modify Visual Studio workloads, components, and language packs

It's easy to modify Visual Studio so that it includes only what you want, when you want it. To do so, open the Visual Studio Installer, and then add or remove workloads, components, and language packs.

Prerequisites

Launch the installer to modify your installation

To modify your Visual Studio installation, you first need to launch the Visual Studio Installer, and then select a Visual Studio installation to modify.

  1. Find the Visual Studio Installer on your computer.

    In the Windows Start menu, you can search for "installer".

    Screenshot showing the result of a Start menu search for the Visual Studio Installer.

    Note

    You can also find the Visual Studio Installer in the following location:

    C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Installer\setup.exe

    You might have to update the installer before continuing. If so, follow the prompts.

  2. In the installer, look for the edition of Visual Studio that you installed, and then choose Modify.

    Screenshot showing a list of Visual Studio installations in the Visual Studio Installer.

    Important

    If you have an update pending, the Modify button is in a different place. This way, you can modify Visual Studio without updating it, should you want to. Choose More, and then choose Modify.

    Screenshot showing the Modify button in the Visual Studio Installer, which is located in the More dropdown menu when an update is pending.

  1. There are many ways to open the Visual Studio Installer:

    • In the Windows Start menu, you can search for "installer", and then select Visual Studio Installer from the results.

      Screenshot showing the result of a Start menu search for the Visual Studio Installer.

    • Run the Visual Studio Installer executable, which is located at this path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Installer\setup.exe

    • If you have Visual Studio open, select Tools > Get Tools and Features..., which opens the Visual Studio Installer.

      Screenshot showing the Visual Studio 2022 tools menu.

    You might be prompted to update the Visual Studio Installer before continuing. If so, follow the prompts.

  2. In the Visual Studio Installer, look for the installation of Visual Studio that you want to modify, and then choose the Modify button.

    Screenshot showing a list of Visual Studio installations in the Visual Studio Installer.

Change workloads or individual components

Workloads contain the features you need for the programming language or platform that you're using. Use workloads to modify Visual Studio so that it supports the work you want to do, when you want to do it.

Tip

For more information about which tool and component bundles you need for development, see Visual Studio workloads.

  1. In the Visual Studio Installer, choose the Workloads tab, and then select or deselect the workloads that you want.

    Screenshot showing the Workloads tab of the Visual Studio Installer.

  2. Choose whether you want to accept the default Install while downloading option or the Download all, then install option.

    Screenshot showing the download and install options in the Visual Studio Installer.

    The "Download all, then install" option is handy if you want to download first and then install later.

  3. Choose Modify.

  4. After the new workloads are installed, choose Launch from the Visual Studio Installer to open Visual Studio.

Workloads contain the components you need for the programming language or platform that you're using. Use workloads to modify Visual Studio so that it supports the work you want to do, when you want to do it.

Tip

For more about which tools and component bundles you need for development, see Visual Studio workloads.

  1. In the Visual Studio Installer, choose the Workloads tab, and then select or deselect the workloads that you want.

    Screenshot showing the Workloads tab of the Visual Studio Installer.

  2. To add more components than a workload installs, choose the Individual components tab, and then select or deselect the individual components that you want.

    Screenshot showing the Individual components tab of the Visual Studio Installer.

  3. Choose whether you want to Install while downloading or Download all, then install. The default option, Install while downloading, saves overall time by starting the install earlier.

    Screenshot showing the download and install options in the Visual Studio Installer.

  4. Choose Modify.

  5. After the modified workloads or components are installed, choose Launch from the Visual Studio Installer to open Visual Studio 2022.

You can also use a configuration file to modify an existing installation to add or remove components. Learn more about using installation configuration files to configure Visual Studio.

Tip

For information about the SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) component, see Download and install SSDT for Visual Studio.

Modify language packs

The Visual Studio Installer selects a default language pack for Visual Studio that matches the language of the operating system. However, you can change the default language whenever you want.

To do so:

  1. Choose the Language packs tab in the Visual Studio Installer.
  2. Select the language you prefer.
  3. Follow the prompts.

Support or troubleshooting

Sometimes, things can go wrong. If your Visual Studio installation fails, see Troubleshoot Visual Studio installation and upgrade issues for step-by-step guidance.

Here are a few more support options:

  • We offer an installation chat (English only) support option for installation-related issues.
  • Report product issues to us via the Report a Problem tool that appears both in the Visual Studio Installer and in the Visual Studio IDE. If you're an IT Administrator and don't have Visual Studio installed, you can submit IT Admin feedback here.
  • Suggest a feature, track product issues, and find answers in the Visual Studio Developer Community.