What's New in Visual Assist

General Release Build 2026.1 (2597)

Requires active software maintenance through general release date: 2026.01.16

NEW Deep analyze macro by expanding with Clang on hover.
UPDATE Updated remaining UI dialogs that were not refreshed in the previous release.
NEW Local AI responses now stream progressively instead of waiting for the full response to complete.
NEW Local AI response splitter now recalls its position between queries.
Visual Assist 2026.1 released!

Summary:

Visual Assist Build 2026.1 brings smarter insights and smoother experience.

We're starting 2026 with improvements largely based on user feedback from our previous releases. These changes are designed to give you more speed and power while keeping Visual Assist fast and unobtrusive.

Deeper macro understanding: Ever wondered what's actually hiding inside a complex macro? Originally a feature requested by a user in Unreal, we’ve now improved it further so you can hover over any macro to see its full Clang expansion. No more guessing at preprocessor magic.

Modernized dialogs across the board: We've refreshed the remaining UI dialogs that were not included in the previous update. This completes a polished, more consistent experience and visual interface when accessing VA features.

Realtime responsive AI: Visual Assist’s Local AI responses now stream progressively, so you see answers forming in real-time rather than waiting for the full response. The response splitter also remembers its position between queries, making back-and-forth conversations feel more natural.

More reliable, more consistent: This release also addresses key stability and accuracy issues across navigation, search, and code completion—including full compatibility with Visual Studio 2026 and improved parsing reliability.

Head on to our complete release post for more information about what these new additions do and how to access them.

As always, we appreciate everyone reporting issues and sharing feedback. The input helps us prioritize big ticket items to include in subsequent releases. If you have any comments, suggestions, or encounter any errors, please send us a message or start a thread on our Discord.

Bug fixes:

  • Fixed crash when opening a project in Visual Studio 2026.
  • Fixed an issue where Open File in Solution results could change after closing and reopening the dialog.
  • Fixed issue where functions defined after certain string operations could be missing from Find Symbol in Solution (and more).
  • Fixed issue where accepting Smart Suggestions would not include generic parameters in C#.

General Release Build 2025.5 (2588)

Requires active software maintenance through general release date: 2025.11.12

NEW Compatibility for Visual Studio 2026
NEW Explain with AI now streams responses in real-time
Visual Assist 2025.5 released!

Summary:

Visual Assist 2025.5 is here with Visual Studio 2026 support!

The headline of this release is full compatibility with the recently published Visual Studio 2026. VS 2026 marks a significant evolution of the IDE with deep AI platform integration, enhanced performance, and stronger fundamentals to help users “stay in the flow”.

Visual Assist 2025.5 ensures that all of VA's productivity features work seamlessly alongside these improvements, giving you the best of both worlds as you make the transition.

We also have improvements for those enjoying VA’s own A feature, VA Intelligence, introduced in 2025.4. Explain with AI now streams responses in real-time, so you can start reading explanations immediately rather than waiting for the complete response to generate. This makes the feature feel more responsive and natural, especially when facing more complex code and prompts.

While this is a more compact release compared to our typical feature updates, it delivers exactly what matters most right now: ensuring Visual Assist works flawlessly with Visual Studio 2026 from day one.

As always, we appreciate everyone who takes the time to report issues and share feedback. Your input helps us prioritize fixes and improvements for each release. If you have any comments, suggestions, or encounter any errors, please send us a message or start a thread on our Discord.

Bug fixes:

  • Fix for the misc-include-cleaner code inspection to prevent suggestions for unnecessary includes
  • Fix for the Welcome Page appearing more frequently than intended

General Release Build 2025.4 (2583)

Requires active software maintenance through general release date: 2025.10.21

NEW Added extensive set of C++ safety checkers and code inspections
NEW Swap between predefined checkers sets for code inspection: VA Default, C++ Safety, or Custom
NEW Context-aware AI-powered Symbol Explanation to find and explain code symbols using local AI
NEW Redesigned UI for core navigation and refactoring features. (Full list in release post)
NEW New welcome page featuring latest updates, integrated feedback submission, and learn section
NEW Simplified sharing via email or link for colleagues or coworkers
Visual Assist 2025.3 released!

Summary:

Visual Assist 2025.4 introduces over 60 new code inspection checkers focused on C++ safety. We’ve also overhauled the UI for key features, added a new Welcome experience for first-time installs, and—most notably—launched our AI integration: VA Intelligence.

The most noticeable change is the redesigned interface for Visual Assist’s core navigation and refactoring tools. We’ve modernized dialogs such as Open File in Solution, Rename, Find Symbol, and Change Signature to deliver a cleaner, more intuitive experience with more consistent and predictable workflows.

The biggest update in this release, however, is the extensive set of code inspections for C++ safety—a consideration that’s becoming increasingly important as global standards bodies and major organizations push for verifiable, memory-safe C++ practices.

These 60+ new checkers continuously scan your projects to identify potential safety issues. You can also customize which checkers are active using the new preset options.

We’re also introducing our AI integration, VA Intelligence, debuting with its first feature: symbol explanation. This context-aware tool helps you understand unfamiliar code by analyzing symbols across your entire project. What makes it special? It’s an opt-in, fully local feature that runs on your GPU—no data ever leaves your machine, ensuring your code stays private and secure.

To round out the release, we’ve added a new Welcome Page and made it easier to share Visual Assist with your team. These improvements make it simpler to discover what’s new, explore tutorials, learn useful shortcuts, and share feedback instantly through the in-app feedback widget. For further assistance, you can always reach out to support, or start a new discussion on our forums or Discord

Download the release now by visiting our website downloads page, or continue reading our announcement blog post for the complete story.

Bug fixes and improvements:

  • Quality improvements pertaining to Visual Studio 2022 support.