Microsoft Build 2025 Is Almost Here — Here’s How to Make the Most of It Virtually

It’s that time again—Microsoft Build is just around the corner! Microsoft Build 2025 kicks off next week (May 19–22)—and now’s the perfect time to get your plan in place. The best part? You don’t have to be in Seattle to experience it.

This year, Build is more accessible than ever. Every keynote, breakout session, demo theater, and even our hands-on labs are available to stream—live or on-demand—completely free. No travel. No ticket. Just you, your browser, and some of the best developer content of the year.

I’ve had the privilege of working alongside our Product Managers and Engineering teams to help bring these new experiences to life. And I can confidently say—this year’s lineup is comprehensive, with something for every Visual Studio user. From deep dives into .NET and GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio, to lightning-fast demo theaters and hands-on labs powered by the Microsoft Skillable platform, there’s truly something for everyone.

Step 1: Customize Your Schedule

If you do just one thing today, head over to build.microsoft.com and use the free Schedule Builder. It’s the easiest way to:

• Add Must Watch sessions from Satya Nadella, Kevin Scott, Amanda Silver, and Scott Guthrie and friends.
• Pick breakouts tailored to your interests—Visual Studio, AI agents, .NET 9, GitHub Copilot, Azure, and more.
• Queue up on-demand sessions you can catch later, even after the event ends.

And this year, keep an eye out for “AI Agents” and “Agentic” —a new way to think about how AI works with you, not just for you. Visual Studio is evolving, and the sessions hinting at this shift are worth flagging.

Step 2: Prioritize Live Viewing (and Must-Watch Sessions)

Many sessions—especially keynotes—feature live Q&A and real-time demos you won’t want to miss. And with 133 sessions focused on Developer Tools and .NET, there’s truly something for everyone.

I encourage you to use the schedule builder and find the topics you’re interested in. Here are just a few I’ll be attending in person to help get you started:

Must Watch!

• Opening Keynote with Satya Nadella – Big-picture announcements across AI, Copilot, and developer platforms.
• Unpacking the tech with Kevin Scott, Charles Lamanna, and Scott Guthrie – A deeper look at what’s next for developers using Microsoft tools.
• Reimagining Software Development and DevOps with Agentic AI – Amanda Silver and Mario Rodriguez show how Agentic AI is being infused across the entire development lifecycle—from brainstorming to release. See how GitHub Copilot is evolving to help teams plan smarter, code faster, and stay in flow across Visual Studio and GitHub.
• Epic Closing Demo with Mark Russinovich and Scott Hanselman -A high-energy, code-first finale weaving together Build’s boldest tech—from Copilot PCs to frontier models, Visual Studio, and vibe coding—all live with Mark and Scott.

More to add to your watch list:

• Top GitHub Copilot Features You Missed in Visual Studio 2022 – Visual Studio now delivers its most AI-powered experience yet—with GitHub Copilot deeply integrated into your daily workflow. In this session, we’ll walk through the latest Copilot features lighting up in Visual Studio, including Agent Mode (Preview), which brings goal-driven, multi-step assistance right into the IDE.
• The Future of .NET App Modernization Streamlined with AI – GitHub Copilot and Agents are transforming how developers modernize their applications and get them cloud ready. Come see how GitHub Copilot Upgrade for .NET helps you upgrade your .NET applications directly from Visual Studio. From project and dependency analysis, plan execution, automatic self-healing, detailed reporting, and more. Hear from industry experts who are transforming their .NET app modernization with GitHub Copilot.
• Yet “Another Highly Technical Talk” with Hanselman and Toub – Following from their “Highly Technical Talk” at Build 2024, join Scott Hanselman and partner software engineer Stephen Toub for another talk that is 100% LIVE demo. Zero slides, just code. In this “highly technical talk” on the internals of .NET, they’ll look for performance issues and fix them live on stage. In this talk, you’ll learn debugging, performance, and optimization skills. If you are super advanced, level up, and let’s see how deep you can go!
• Unleash Developer Potential with AI and Dev Box – Microsoft Dev Box is reimagining the developer environment. See how this customizable, project-focused platform supports AI development with flexible compute, seamless integration with Visual Studio and VS Code, and team-specific setups that go beyond traditional VDI. Learn how Dev Box is enabling the next generation of productivity.

Demo Theaters and Labs:

Demo Theaters and Labs give you two great ways to explore what’s new. Demos are quick, 15-minute lightning sessions—perfect for discovering new features and getting inspired fast. Labs go deeper with guided, hands-on experiences you can follow step-by-step, right in your browser. Whether you join live or watch later, both formats are available online and designed to fit your pace.

• Lab: Hands-on with GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio – Want to go from curious to confident with Copilot in Visual Studio? This lab walks you through real scenarios that show just how integrated and helpful Copilot has become.
  Get guided, interactive practice using AI inside the IDE.
• Demo: Build, Deploy & Use Your First Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server – Curious about what MCP really is? This lightning-fast session will walk you through building your very first Model Context Protocol server from scratch. You’ll create it in VS Code, test it live, and deploy it—learning why this matters for agent-based development along the way.

Can’t catch them all live? No worries—everything is available on-demand after Build so you can watch at your own pace.

Step 3: Stay Connected

Follow the conversation on #MSBuild, #VisualStudio and #dotNET on X. Ask questions, share what you’re learning, and connect with other developers from around the world. You’ll find inspiration in the comments—and maybe even a new collaborator.

Use the Schedule Builder today.
Start building your watchlist now at build.microsoft.com, and I’ll see you—virtually—next week.

Let’s code the future together.

….Jim

Check out the new Visual Studio Hub

Stay connected with everything Visual Studio in one place! Visit the Visual Studio Hub for the latest release notes, YouTube videos, social updates, and community discussions.

Appreciation for your feedback

Your feedback helps us improve Visual Studio, making it an even more powerful tool for developers. We are immensely grateful for your contributions and look forward to your continued support. By sharing your thoughts, ideas, and any issues you encounter through Developer Community, you help us improve and shape the future of Visual Studio.