What’s New in Rider

.NET 6.0 SDK introduced a new API for null checking - ArgumentNullException.ThrowIfNull. Our code analysis engine has recognized this checking approach since that time, but there was no option to use this API as a default style of null checks produced by Rider.

In the 2023.1 release we added an ArgumentNullException.ThrowIfNull pattern to Settings/Preferences | Editor | Code Style | C# | Null checking for Rider.

If you use property pattern matching heavily, try our new inspection with a quick-fix to extract common elements from several property patterns when they come together in the code flow. The code generated by the Extract common property pattern quick-fix helps you reduce code repetition by moving common property patterns to a higher-level pattern.

C# developers often rely on the #region directive and code folding in the IDE to structure their code. Refactoring may leave some #region’s empty, which can make the code look misleading when collapsed. With this new code inspection, you'll be able to identify empty #region’s in their collapsed state and clean up the code with a corresponding quick-fix.

Code analysis now has a code inspection that will suggest replacing span.SequenceEqual("stringLiteral") with span is "stringLiteral" – a cleaner and more convenient C# syntax solution than calling a function.

Lambda expressions in C# can have implicitly-typed parameters and inferred return types. However, explicit types can be added to clarify code in complex overload resolution scenarios. Starting from C# 11, it’s also possible to add a return type specification for lambda expressions.

To accomplish this, we’re introducing an Insert return type specification context action in version 2023.1. The action can be applied to all scopes, including method, class, file, project, or to the entire solution, to accomplish this.

C# or/and/not patterns are useful for compact value checks, but can be less recognizable than traditional expressions, such as ||/&&/!. They may also create hard-to-find bugs if parentheses are missed. To help with this we introduced a new code analysis that warns you about "dead" checks inside complex patterns.

We are continuing to improve our support of C# 11 list patterns. With the new Convert to list pattern context action you can turn collection length checks into a list pattern syntax. It works in any context where a check of a collection length can be done.

DOTS support

Data-Oriented Tech Stack (DOTS) is a major architectural change for Unity. It stores component data in contiguous vectors, which systems can access and modify in a more CPU-efficient manner. This leads to improved performance, especially with larger, more ambitious projects.

With this release, we’re introducing support for Unity DOTS to bolster Rider’s reputation as the most innovative IDE for game development.

With Rider 2023.1, you can take advantage of the following new features:

• New file templates.
• Code Vision for DOTS types.
• Auto-generation of authoring components to “baker” mapping code.
• Inspections and quick fixes to help you write and update codebases to work in the new DOTS style.

Find out everything you need to know about DOTS in Rider from this blog post and demo.

Debugging on Android devices via USB

While it’s been possible to debug Android games via WiFi, sometimes it’s better just to use a cable. Rider 2023.1 now supports debugging Android games via USB.

Use the Attach to Unity Process dialog to see which projects are running on connected devices, and start debugging.

Temporary run configurations for attached players

Rider 2023.1 will automatically create a temporary run configuration when debugging a player via the Attach to Unity Process dialog. This makes it easier to start another debugging session. You can save the run configuration to make it permanent, and share it with your team. This works with all supported players, including desktop, mobile devices, consoles, and USB devices (iOS or Android).

UI Toolkit friendly file templates

Starting with Unity 2022.2, the UI Toolkit is the recommended way to write UI extensions for the Unity Editor. To get you started, we’ve added 3 new customizable file templates based on the UI Toolkit: creating editor windows, property drawers, or custom Inspector editors. They are only available in Unity 2022.2 or later, and the IMGUI versions are still available.

There’s always more!

As always, there are plenty of other changes and updates, such as more accurately detecting serialized fields in your code, including complex scenarios using derived types and the [SerializeReference] attribute. We’ve also improved support for finding usages of C# code in Unity animations, and highlighting your methods as event handlers. A frequently requested update to the formatting engine to place [Header] attributes on a separate line has also been implemented.

Support for Unreal Engine 5.2

Epic Games has merged UnrealHeaderTool (UHT) into UnrealBuildTool (UBT) in Unreal Engine 5.1 and 5.2. Rider 2023.1 is ready for these changes, and the UHT integration in Rider will work for the new Unreal Engine versions. Rider now also supports recent updates to the Blueprints file format, which will be included in Unreal Engine 5.2.

New UE class context action

We’ve reworked the Unreal Class… context action which now offers a range of parent classes to choose from, as well as the option to specify whether the class is public or private. Overall, the dialog now looks and functions more in line with its Unreal Engine counterpart.

Blueprint Error Parsing

If a Blueprint file fails to be parsed by Rider, Rider will now display the parsing errors in a separate Blueprints tab in the Problems View window. This allows you to locate the problematic file in the native file system explorer. Each problem contains a short description of the kind of error that was detected.

Parsing Clang compilation messages

Rider 2023.1 can now parse messages generated by the Clang compiler when building Unreal Engine games on macOS and Linux. All Clang warnings and errors in the Build Output tool window are parsed correctly, including links to files. Double-clicking on the link navigates you to the exact place in the code where the warning or error stems from.

Macro substitution previews

When hovering over a macro, you can now see its expansion preview in the tooltip, with full syntax highlighting and proper code formatting. You can still use the Substitute macro call context action to expand it right in the editor, but the instant preview makes working with macros easier.

UInterface live template

Rider now offers a built-in UInterface live template for Unreal Engine solutions. Similar to the existing UCLASS, USTRUCT, and UENUM live templates, UInterface lets you quickly add a new interface class that follows the Unreal Engine conventions, saving you the time and effort of creating it manually.

Shader mapping

You can now specify mappings for virtual and physical shader directories. If you have RiderLink installed in the game or engine project, you can also load shader mappings information from Unreal Engine.

The latest version of the Godot plugin for Rider comes with the following updates and fixes:

• res:// completion was improved to increase its usability and visibility. For certain known API calls, i.e. GD.LoadPackedScene, completion for string literals will be immediately available, even before the res:// prefix is typed.
• Godot 4 relies on the .NET6 runtime instead of Mono, so several fixes were required to accommodate the shift. When you’re debugging a Godot application and a breakpoint is hit, a Current Scene will automatically be created inside the Immediate Window. Furthermore, any Godot.Node inside the Immediate Window now has an additional Children group, which can be used to reveal its children and their children, recursively.

There’s a new Selection checkbox in Settings/Preferences | Editor | General | Appearance | Show Whitespaces that allows you to configure this setting so that Rider shows whitespaces as small dots only when you select code.

The code editor inside Rider will now render color and brush previews for the values and references inside Avalonia XAML (.axaml) and C# files, just like it does for WPF applications.

In Rider 2023.1, when you’re working with global and exported symbols in the Angular template, the IDE will automatically add an import for them into your component on code completion or when you use a quick-fix.

Rider 2023.1 includes support for TypeScript in Vue template expressions. The Vue template expressions now sync with lang=”ts” when added to script tags. As a result, Rider can better evaluate TypeScript, providing preferences and relevant refactorings matching what’s inside the script tag. You may have noticed before that there were differences between settings and refactorings for pure .js and .ts files. Now the lang attributes will match.

Rider will now transform your single- or double-quoted strings into template literals automatically whenever you type ${. This works for raw strings as well as for JSX properties.

Learn more: What's New in WebStorm 2023.1

It’s now possible to zoom into and out of Rider, increasing or decreasing the size of all UI elements at once. From the main menu, select View | Appearance and adjust the IDE’s scaling.

In Rider 2023.1, we’ve introduced a new layout option that allows you to unify the width of the side tool windows or retain the ability to freely adjust their sizes as you customize your layout. The new Remember size for each tool window checkbox is available in Settings/Preferences | Appearance & Behavior | Tool Windows.

To provide you with more relevant and accurate search results, we continue our efforts to integrate machine-learning ranking into the Search Everywhere (Double Shift) functionality. The sorting algorithm in the Classes tab is now also powered by machine learning by default, along with the results in the Actions and Files tabs.

Vertical split for tool windows

For the new UI, we’ve introduced the option to split the tool window area so that you can conveniently arrange these windows.

To add a tool window to this area and place it in the lower part, drag its icon along the sidebar and drop it under the separator. Alternatively, you can right-click on an icon to call the context menu and assign the new placement for a tool window using the Move to action.

Compact Mode

To improve the user experience with Rider’s new UI on smaller screens, we’ve introduced Compact Mode, which provides a more consolidated look and feel due to the reduced heights for toolbars and tool window headers, scaled-down spacings and paddings, and smaller icons and buttons.

To turn on Compact Mode, go to the View menu and select Appearance | Compact Mode.

Project tabs on macOS

We’ve implemented one of the most popular feature requests for the IDE’s new UI – project tabs for macOS users. When you have several projects open, you can now easily switch between them using project tabs displayed under the main toolbar.

Show Hidden Tabs

We’ve added the Show Hidden Tabs feature to the new UI. Next to the open tabs, you now have a drop-down showing the complete list of open tabs. Previously, they may have been hidden.

Redesigned Run widget

We’ve redesigned the Run widget in the main window header using calmer colors, so that its appearance is subtler and easier on the eyes.

For Rider 2023.1 we’ve fine-tuned the process of reviewing code inside the IDE. Our research shows that users typically switch between GitHub and their IDE for cases when they require code browsing. We’ve improved on this workflow by reworking the Pull Request tool window.

The window now has a dedicated tab for each pull request, displaying only essential information to help users focus on the task at hand. We also added a button for easy execution of the most important action for the pull request's current state.

Schema Compare is an essential tool for database development and maintenance. It lets users compare two databases to quickly identify the differences between them, ensure there are no discrepancies, and keep the data up to date.

Rider 2023.1 introduces Schema Compare for connected databases, SQL Server database projects, and .dacpac files. To initiate the comparison, right-click on the database project file in the Solution Explorer and choose Schema Compare....

Now you can add Docker Compose to your project to easily handle multiple containers at once. To do so, call up the context menu for a project and select Add | Docker Compose File to generate:

• A Dockerfile for the project, if it’s missing.
• A docker-compose.yml file in the Solution Items solution folder above all of the projects in the tree.
• A couple of run configurations to run either Dockerfile or docker-compose.yml.

Sometimes you may want to run your application on a runtime that is installed in a custom folder. For this case, we’ve introduced an Add Custom Runtime option for the Runtime setting on the Run/Debug Configurations page.

We’ve also added paths to the default runtime versions in the Runtime dropdown list.

Rider 2023.1 also provides support for the DebugRoslynComponent command from the launchSettings.json file to help you debug Roslyn components with ease.

You can now easily reattach Rider’s debugger to the last process it was attached to by simply going to Run | Reattach to Process... in the main menu or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F5. This new action becomes active after the first debugging session.

We’ve added support for regular expressions in string literals for F# (with significant help from Saul Rennison). When passing string parameters annotated with [RegexPatternAttribute] or [StringSyntax(StringSyntaxAttribute.Regex)], or if there is a comment //language=regex next to a string literal, Rider will process strings as regular expressions, highlight the syntax and errors, and offer auto-completion.

• There's a new quick fix that generates missing pattern branches in a match expression.

You can find the full list of F# updates and fixes here.

We’ve introduced a Trigger Continuous Testing action, as well as the option to set up a shortcut for it. The action makes it possible to trigger continuous testing directly, whereas previously, you could only do this indirectly by building or saving your project.

To assign a shortcut to this action, go to Settings/Preferences | Build, Execution, Deployment | Unit Testing | Continuous Testing, select Trigger Continuous Testing on..., and set up a shortcut of your choice.

Initial Astro support has landed, with a new plugin available to use in Rider. You can download the Astro plugin from JetBrains Marketplace, or install it directly from the IDE by going to Settings/Preferences | Plugins and searching for “Astro”.

The plugin provides basic functionality such as syntax highlighting, code completion with automatic imports, refactorings, navigation, intentions, code folding, Emmet support, and correct formatting.

Reformat inactive preprocessor branches in file is a new task type for code cleanup we’re introducing in Rider 2023.1. The task enables you to reformat inactive preprocessor branches. It can only be applied to the entire file at once and works only with C# sources.

This task cannot reformat code hidden behind a preprocessor directive #if that is always false. The two most obvious examples of this limitation are #if false ... #endif and #define A #if !A ... #endif constructs.

Text search filters applied to unit test trees inside the Unit Tests and Unit Test Coverage tool windows, are now taken into account when running tests using the toolbar’s Run buttons. Only the tests that satisfy the search criteria will remain listed and run.