VisualSVN 8.5 released with full support for Visual Studio 2026

We are happy to announce the release of VisualSVN 8.5, which brings full compatibility with Visual Studio 2026.

Visual Studio 2026 is generally compatible with extensions developed for Visual Studio 2022. However, VisualSVN 8.5 is explicitly built for both Visual Studio 2022 and Visual Studio 2026, adding specific fixes for full compatibility with Visual Studio 2026.

VisualSVN 8.5 can be installed and updated directly in Visual Studio 2026 via the Extensions | Manage Extensions menu. Alternatively, you can download the latest VisualSVN 8.5 build from the official download page.

For the list of changes, see the VisualSVN 8.5.0 changelog.

Automatic migration from Visual Studio 2022

Optionally, you can automatically migrate the VisualSVN extension from your existing Visual Studio 2022 installation to Visual Studio 2026, by selecting the Include installed extensions from the Visual Studio Marketplace option in the installer of Visual Studio 2026.

Please note that Visual Studio 2026 supports the automatic migration of extensions only from Visual Studio 2022. If you are upgrading from Visual Studio 2019 or earlier, you should install VisualSVN manually.

Free upgrade for all VisualSVN 8.x users

All VisualSVN 8.x licenses are eligible for a free upgrade to VisualSVN 8.5. All VisualSVN licenses issued on or after June 17th, 2021 are eligible for a free upgrade, too.

The upgrade to VisualSVN 8.5 is also free if you use VisualSVN under the Community license.

Users of VisualSVN 7.x or older who would like to use the VisualSVN extension with Visual Studio 2026 need to upgrade to VisualSVN 8.5. If you don't qualify for a free upgrade, you can purchase a license upgrade to VisualSVN 8.5 using the online purchase form. There are significant discounts provided for upgrading existing commercial licenses.

Visual Studio switches to Modern Lifecycle Policy

Starting from Visual Studio 2026, Visual Studio follows a Modern Lifecycle Policy. This policy accelerates the release cadence of new Visual Studio versions and also changes Microsoft's long-term support period for Visual Studio.

The licensing model of the VisualSVN plug-in was tied to the Fixed Lifecycle Policy that is used by Visual Studio 2022 and older versions. Following the change in Visual Studio's lifecycle policy, the licensing model may change for future versions of VisualSVN for Visual Studio. However, all VisualSVN licenses purchased on or after September 9th, 2025 will be eligible for a free upgrade to the upcoming VisualSVN 9.0.