Tutorial: Open a project from a repo

Clone a GitHub repo and then open a project

1. Open Visual Studio 2019.

2. On the start window, select Clone a repository.

   

3. Enter or type the repository location, and then select Clone.

   

4. You might be asked for your user sign-in information in the Git User Information dialog box. You can either add your information or edit the default information it provides.

   

   Select Save to add the info to your global .gitconfig file. (Or, you can choose to do this later by selecting Cancel.)

   Next, Visual Studio automatically loads and opens the solution from the repository.

   

5. If your repository contains multiple solutions, you will see them in Solution Explorer. You can view the list of solutions by selecting the Switch Views button in Solution Explorer.

   

   Solution Explorer then gives you the option to open the root folder in Folder View or to select a solution file to open.

   

   To toggle the view, select the Switch Views button again.

   Tip

   You can also use the Git menu in the Visual Studio IDE to clone a repo and open a project.

   

Open a project locally from a previously cloned GitHub repo

1. Open Visual Studio 2019.

2. On the start window, select Open a project or solution.

   Visual Studio opens an instance of File Explorer, where you can browse to your solution or project, and then select it to open it.

   

   If you've opened the project or solution recently, select it from the Open recent section to quickly open it again.

   Tip

   You can also use the Git menu in the Visual Studio IDE to open local folders and files from a repo that you've previously cloned.

   

   Start coding!

Clone a GitHub repo and then open a project

1. Open Visual Studio 2019.

2. On the start window, select Clone or check out code.

   

3. Enter or type the repository location, and then select Clone.

   

   Visual Studio opens the project from the repo.

4. If you have a solution file available, it will appear in the "Solutions and Folders" fly-out menu. Select it, and Visual Studio opens your solution.

   

   If you do not have a solution file (specifically, an .sln file) in your repo, the fly-out menu says "No Solutions Found." However, you can double-click any file from the folder menu to open it in the Visual Studio code editor.

   Start coding!

1. Open Visual Studio 2019.

2. On the start window, select Clone a repository.

   

3. In the Browse a repository section, select Azure DevOps.

   

4. If you see a sign-in window, sign in to your account.

5. In the Connect to a Project dialog box, choose the repo that you want to connect to, and then select Clone.

   

   Tip

   If you don't see a pre-populated list of repos to connect to, select Add Azure DevOps Server to enter a server URL. (Alternatively, you might see a "No servers found" prompt that includes links to add an existing Azure DevOps Server or to create an Azure DevOps account.)

   Next, Visual Studio opens Solution Explorer that shows the folders and files.

6. Select the Team Explorer tab to view the Azure DevOps actions.

   

1. Open Visual Studio 2019.

2. On the start window, select Clone or check out code.

   

3. In the Browse a repository section, select Azure DevOps.

   

   If you see a sign-in window, sign in to your account.

4. In the Connect to a Project dialog box, choose the repo that you want to connect to, and then select Clone.

   

   Note

   What you see in the list box depends on the Azure DevOps repositories that you have access to.

   Visual Studio opens Team Explorer and a notification appears when the clone is complete.

   

5. To view your folders and files, select the Show Folder View link.

   

   Visual Studio opens Solution Explorer.

6. Choose the Solutions and Folders link to search for a solution file (specifically, an .sln file) to open.

   

   If you do not have a solution file in your repo, a 'No Solutions Found' message appears. However, you can double-click any file from the folder menu to open it in the Visual Studio code editor.