Installing and setting up the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio

The following topics describe how to download, install, set up, and uninstall the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio.

Prerequisites

The following are prerequisites for setting up supported versions of the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio.

• Visual Studio 17 or a later release

• Windows 10 or a later Windows release

• Administrator access to Windows and Visual Studio

• Active AWS IAM Credentials

Note

Unsupported versions of the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio are available for Visual Studio 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2015. To download an unsupported version, navigate to the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio landing page and choose the version you want from the list of download links.

To learn more about IAM credentials or sign up for an account, visit the AWS Console gateway.

Installing the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio

To install the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio, find your version of Visual Studio from the following procedures and complete the necessary steps. Download links for all versions of the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio can be found at the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio landing page.

Note

If you encounter issues while installing the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio, see the Troubleshooting installation issues topic in this guide.

Installing the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio for Visual Studio 2022

To install AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio 2022 from Visual Studio, complete the following steps:

1. From the Main menu, navigate to Extensions and choose Manage Extensions.

2. From the search box, search for AWS.

3. Choose the Download button for the relevant version of Visual Studio 2022 and follow the installation prompts.

   Note

   You may need to manually close and restart Visual Studio to complete the installation process.

4. When the download and installation are complete, you can open the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio by choosing AWS Explorer from the View menu.

Installing the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio for Visual Studio 2019

To install AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio 2019 from Visual Studio, complete the following steps:

1. From the Main menu, navigate to Extensions and choose Manage Extensions.

2. From the search box, search for AWS.

3. Choose the Download button for Visual Studio 2017 and 2019 and follow the prompts.

   Note

   You may need to manually close and restart Visual Studio to complete the installation process.

4. When the download and installation are complete, you can open the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio by choosing AWS Explorer from the View menu.

Installing the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio for Visual Studio 2017

To install AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio 2017 in Visual Studio, complete the following steps:

1. From the Main menu, navigate to Tools and choose Extensions and Updates.

2. From the search box, search for AWS.

3. Choose the Download button for Visual Studio 2017 and 2019 and follow the prompts.

   Note

   You may need to manually close and restart Visual Studio to complete the installation process.

4. When the download and installation are complete, you can open the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio by choosing AWS Explorer from the View heading of the Main menu.

Installing the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio for Visual Studio 2013 or 2015

To install AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio 2013 or 2015, complete the following steps:

1. Navigate to the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio landing page.

2. Choose the version you want from the list of download links.

3. To start your installation, run the downloaded installer and follow the instructions.

   Note

   By default, the Toolkit for Visual Studio is installed in the Program Files directory, which requires you to have administrator privileges.

Uninstalling the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio

To uninstall the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio, find your version of Visual Studio from the following procedures and complete the necessary steps.

Uninstalling the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio for Visual Studio 2022

To Uninstall AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio 2022 from Visual Studio, complete the following steps:

1. From the Main menu, navigate to Extensions and choose Manage Extensions.

2. From the Manage Extensions navigation menu, expand the Installed heading.

3. Locate the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio 2022 extension and choose the Uninstall button.

   Note

   If the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio isn't visible from the Installed section of the navigation menu, you may need to restart Visual Studio.

4. Follow the onscreen prompts to complete the uninstall process.

Uninstalling the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio for Visual Studio 2019

To uninstall AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio 2019 from Visual Studio, complete the following steps:

1. From the Main menu, navigate to Tools and choose Manage Extensions.

2. From the Manage Extensions navigation menu, expand the Installed heading.

3. Locate the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio 2019 extension and choose the Uninstall button.

4. Follow the onscreen prompts to complete the uninstall process.

Uninstalling the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio for Visual Studio 2017

To uninstall AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio 2017 in Visual Studio, complete the following steps:

1. From the Main menu, navigate to Tools and choose Extensions and Updates.

2. From the Extensions and Updates navigation menu, expand the Installed heading.

3. Locate the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio 2017 extension and choose the Uninstall button.

4. Follow the onscreen prompts to complete the uninstall process.

Uninstalling the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio for Visual Studio 2013 or 2015

To uninstall AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio 2013 or 2015, complete the following steps:

1. From your Windows Control Panel, open Programs and Features.

   Note

   You can open Programs and Features immediately by running appwiz.cpl from a Windows command prompt or the Windows Run dialog.

2. From the list of installed programs, open the context menu for (right-click) AWS Tools for Windows.

3. Choose Uninstall and follow the prompts to complete the uninstall process.

   Note

   Your Samples directory isn't deleted during the uninstall process. This directory is preserved in case you have modified samples. This directory must be manually removed.