Why VS Code is Not Providing Snippets for Unity Code? Here’s How to Fix It!

If you’re facing issues with VS Code not giving you snippets for Unity code, here’s our detailed guide to resolve the problem and enhance your game development experience!
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/63327112/ asked by the user 'New Programmer' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/14075652/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/63339997/ provided by the user 'Ahmet Dara VEFA' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/7316639/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Why VS Code is Not Providing Snippets for Unity Code?

As a beginner in game development, using Unity Engine alongside Visual Studio Code (VS Code) should ideally be a seamless experience. However, many new developers encounter a frustrating issue: VS Code does not provide snippets for Unity code. Snippets can save you significant time and effort by offering pre-written pieces of code that you can easily insert into your project.

If you find yourself in this predicament, don’t worry! This guide walks you through why this issue might be happening and provides a straightforward solution.

Understanding the Problem

Snippets are an essential feature in code editors, helping developers code more efficiently. If you have installed the necessary extensions, such as C# and Unity Snippets, but you still don’t see these handy tools, there could be a few underlying reasons:

Incorrect IDE Selection: Sometimes, the external script editor is not set to your desired integrated development environment.

Extensions Configuration: Extensions might not be configured correctly or may have compatibility issues.

IDE Limitations: While VS Code is powerful, it might not provide the same level of support for Unity as dedicated IDEs like Visual Studio.

Step-by-Step Solution

1. Use Visual Studio instead of VS Code

Although VS Code is a popular lightweight editor, using Visual Studio 2017 or 2019 might be conducive to game development with Unity. The Community editions are free and come with excellent support for Unity-integrated development. Here’s how to get started:

Download Visual Studio 2019: Visit the official Visual Studio website and download the free Community edition.

Select Game Development Package: During installation, ensure that you choose the "Game Development with Unity" package. This package provides the necessary tools and snippets for Unity development.

2. Set Visual Studio as Your External Script Editor

Once you have Visual Studio set up, follow these steps to make it your external script editor in Unity:

Open Unity: Launch your Unity project.

Access Preferences: Click on Edit in the main menu.

Navigate to External Tools: Find the Preferences option, then go to External Tools.

Select External Script Editor: From the dropdown menu, select Visual Studio 2019.

After completing these steps, try creating a new script in Unity and check if the snippets are now available.

Conclusion

If you were struggling with VS Code not providing snippets for your Unity projects, switching to Visual Studio could be your best bet. By following the steps outlined in this post, you should be equipped with the necessary tools for a smoother game development experience!

If you find that Visual Studio does not show snippets either, feel free to reach out for further assistance. Happy game developing!