The Real Ultimate Guide to Fixing OmniSharp in VS Code
If OmniSharp/IntelliSense isn't working for your C#/Unity projects, this may be the tutorial for you.
Created on August 28, 2021. Updated on August 6, 2022.
Update: Believe it or not, in the year since this post was originally written, it's become even more difficult to get OmniSharp working in VS Code. Fortunately for you, I've updated the information here accordingly. Hopefully this minimizes or fully eliminates troubleshooting on your part.
Getting OmniSharp working on a fresh OS install can be frustrating. Worse, sometimes it just breaks. In this tutorial, I'll go over some common steps one can take to fix it. I also address some specific things Linux and Unity game engine users can do to get that sweet code completion working.
Everyone Needs the .NET SDK and C# Extension
No matter what operating system you use, for OmniSharp/IntelliSense to work, you must install the .NET SDK if you don't already have it.
To check that the .NET SDK works, open a terminal (PowerShell in the case of Windows) and enter the following:
dotnet --version
If that results in an error, you may need to restart the terminal or manually
update your PATH variable.
The other thing everyone needs is the OmniSharp C# extension. Don't forget to install this VS Code extension! It doesn't ship with VS Code by default.
Non-Windows Users Need Mono
If you're on Linux or macOS, you need to install Mono. After doing so, check that it installed correctly with:
mono --version
That should not result in an error, unless something still isn't quite right. If
that's the case, consider restarting the terminal or updating your PATH
variable.
Mono Path
Non-Windows users must also go to File » Preferences » Settings in VS Code.
Then type "mono path" into the search bar. Be sure to set OmniSharp: Mono Path
to the output of which mono, which should not be an empty string—otherwise,
there's a fun problem for you to investigate.
Additional Setup for Unity
For autocompletion in Unity projects, within VS Code you must ensure OmniSharp: Use Modern Net is disabled via File » Preferences » Settings. This is necessary. Uncheck that box.
On top of that, non-Windows users must install MSBuild, because it's no longer included with OmniSharp. How convenient.
Unity Editor Configuration
UPM
While in the Unity editor, go to Window » Package Manager. Ensure the Visual Studio Code Editor package is installed (it probably is).
In the past, versions of this package have ironically broken code completion, and needed to be patched as a result. Generally speaking, you want to try to use the latest version. If you try everything in this guide, and code completion is still broken, then downgrading this package may be worth a try.
Project Preferences
Still in the Unity editor, go to Edit » Preferences » External Tools. Note that these are preferences that aren't specific to any given Unity project. Then make sure VS Code is set in the External Script Editor. If you have multiple binaries of VS Code, select the one with the right permissions.
Furthermore, check the following:
- Embedded packages
- Local packages
- Registry packages
- Git packages
- Built-in packages
- Local tarball
For good measure, click on Regenerate project files, and save your project.
It's recommended that, after adding new packages, you simply open your Unity project by clicking on Assets » Open C# Project, which regenerates all checked types of project files and opens the project in VS Code.
Conclusion
If you're still having issues in spite of following this guide, I feel for you. Try restarting things, before trying anything else. Also, remember that you have to be patient with OmniSharp when it starts up. If it has a lot of project files to analyze, it could take minutes before IntelliSense starts working.
There are times when OmniSharp does not start up at all, in which case you can
run a command to restart it. In VS Code, you can use the Ctrl+Shift+P
keybinding to enter commands. After using that keybinding, type in "restart
omnisharp" and press enter.
I hope this saves you some time.