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Uninstall or remove Visual Studio

This article walks you through uninstalling Visual Studio, the integrated suite of productivity tools for developers.

Tip

If you're having trouble with your instance of Visual Studio, try the Repair Visual Studio tool.

To change the location for some of your Visual Studio files, you can do so without uninstalling your current instance. For more information, see Select the installation locations.

Uninstall by using Visual Studio Installer

You can use Visual Studio Installer to uninstall versions of Visual Studio.

  1. Find the Visual Studio Installer on your computer.

    On the Windows Start menu, you can search for installer.

    Screenshot that shows searching for the Visual Studio Installer on the Start menu.

    Note

    You can also find the Visual Studio Installer at C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Installer\setup.exe.

    You might have to update the installer before you continue. If you do, follow the prompts.

  2. In the installer, look for the edition of Visual Studio that you installed. Next, select More, and then select Uninstall.

    Screenshot that shows how to uninstall Visual Studio by using the Visual Studio Installer.

  3. Select OK to confirm your choice.

    Screenshot that shows the dialog to confirm that you want to uninstall Visual Studio 2019.

If you change your mind later and want to reinstall Visual Studio 2019, start the Visual Studio Installer again, select the Available tab, choose the edition of Visual Studio that you want to install, and then select Install.

  1. Find the Visual Studio Installer on your computer.

    On the Windows Start menu, you can search for installer.

    Screenshot that shows the Visual Studio Installer on the Start menu.

    Note

    You can also find the Visual Studio Installer in the following location:

    C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Installer\setup.exe

    You might have to update the installer before you continue. If you do, follow the prompts.

  2. In the installer, look for the edition of Visual Studio that you installed. Next, select More, and then select Uninstall.

    Screenshot that shows how to uninstall Visual Studio by using the Visual Studio Installer.

  3. Select OK to confirm your choice.

    Screenshot that shows the dialog to confirm that you want to uninstall Visual Studio 2022.

If you change your mind later and want to reinstall Visual Studio, start the Visual Studio Installer again, select the Available tab, choose the edition of Visual Studio that you want to install, and then select Install.

Uninstall Visual Studio

To remove all installations of Visual Studio 2019 and the Visual Studio Installer from your machine, uninstall Visual Studio from Installed apps.

  1. In Windows 10 or later, enter Add or remove programs in the Windows search box.
  2. Find Visual Studio 2019.
  3. In the ellipsis menu (...) next to Microsoft Visual Studio 2019, select Uninstall.
  4. Find Visual Studio Installer.
  5. In the ellipsis menu next to Microsoft Visual Studio Installer, select Uninstall.

To remove all installations of Visual Studio 2022 and the Visual Studio Installer from your machine, uninstall Visual Studio from Installed apps.

  1. In Windows 10 or later, enter Add or remove programs in the Windows search box.
  2. Find Visual Studio 2022.
  3. In the ellipsis menu (...) next to Microsoft Visual Studio 2022, select Uninstall.
  4. Find Visual Studio Installer.
  5. In the ellipsis menu next to Microsoft Visual Studio Installer, select Uninstall.

Remove all by using InstallCleanup.exe

If you experience an error and can't repair or uninstall Visual Studio, you can run the InstallCleanup.exe tool to remove installation files and product information for all installed instances of Visual Studio 2017, Visual Studio 2019, or Visual Studio 2022.

Warning

Use the InstallCleanup tool only as a last resort if repair or uninstallation fails. This tool might uninstall features from other Visual Studio installations or other products, which you then might need to repair or reinstall.

To run the InstallCleanup.exe tool:

  1. Close the Visual Studio Installer.

  2. Open an administrator command prompt. To open an administrator command prompt, follow these steps:

    1. Type cmd in the Windows search box.
    2. Right-click Command Prompt, and then select Run as administrator.

  3. Enter the full path of the InstallCleanup.exe tool and add the command-line parameters that you prefer. By default, the path of the tool is as shown in the following command. Double quotation marks are used to enclose a command that contains spaces.

    "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Installer\InstallCleanup.exe"

    Note

    The Visual Studio Installer directory is always located at %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio. If you can't find InstallCleanup.exe there, follow the instructions to install Visual Studio. Then, when the workload selection screen is displayed, close the window and follow the steps in this section again.

    These options are available:

    Parameter Behavior
    -i [version] If you don't specify a value, the tool uses the default version. Removes only the main installation directory and product information. Use this parameter if you intend to reinstall the same version of Visual Studio. If you specify a [version] value, the tool removes only products with a version that start with this string value. For example, use the value -i 17 to remove all version 17 products.
    -f Removes the main installation directory, product information, and most other features installed outside the installation directory, which might also be shared with other Visual Studio installations or other products. Use this parameter if you intend to remove Visual Studio without reinstalling it later.

Support or troubleshooting

Sometimes, things can go wrong. If your Visual Studio installation fails, see Troubleshoot Visual Studio installation and upgrade issues for step-by-step guidance.

Here are a few more support options:

  • Use the installation chat (English only) support option for installation-related issues.
  • Report product issues to us by using the Report a Problem tool that appears both in the Visual Studio Installer and in the Visual Studio IDE. If you're an IT Administrator and don't have Visual Studio installed, you can submit IT Admin feedback.
  • Suggest a feature, track product issues, and find answers in the Visual Studio Developer Community.

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