Projects and solutions

As a .NET IDE, Rider organizes your code in the Project/Solution structure, which is fully compatible with Visual Studio. Similarly to Visual Studio, Rider can handle multiple projects simultaneously as long as they belong to the same solution, but you cannot have more than one solution in a single session. If necessary, you can simultaneously work with multiple solutions in different windows.

However, in contrast to Visual Studio, Rider lets you extend your working environment beyond the solution. For example, you can have your test data, logs, or any other files and folders right next to your solution. These additional items in the solution are not saved in project or solution configs, but rather in Rider's own settings.

Once a solution is created and opened, most of the project/solution management tasks in Rider, such as browsing files and opening them in the editor, creating new items (directories, files, classes, and so on), are performed in the Explorer tool window. If you close this window, you can always bring it to view by pressing Alt+1 or choosing View | Tool Windows | Explorer in the main menu.

JetBrains Rider supports the following project types:

• .NET class libraries, console applications (C#, F#, VB.NET)

• WPF applications

• ASP.NET MVC applications

• .NET shared projects

• Windows Forms projects (Windows-only)

• xUnit and NUnit unit test projects

• .NET Core class libraries, console applications (C#, F#, VB.NET)

• Unity projects

• Xamarin Android/iOS/Mac projects

• WiX projects (in v. 2024.3, there is no project template for creating WiX projects, you can create a WiX project manually as described here and then open it in Rider).

In this section:

• Create projects and solutions
• Open projects and solutions
• Trusted and untrusted solutions
• Create and install custom project templates
• Extend and organize your solution
• Work with solution filters
• Configure project properties
• Configure file and folder properties
• Explorer tool window
• Consume NuGet packages
• NuGet window
• Build projects
• Project-level refactorings
• Share solution settings

You can use the following shortcuts for running and debugging programs: