Visual Studio 2026 missing on Azure DevOps hosted Agents

Question

Visual Studio 2026 missing on Azure DevOps hosted Agents

hho 10

On Azure DevOps Visual Studio 2026 is still missing.

The according community ticket was marked as resolved, but it is not resolved
https://developercommunity.visualstudio.com/t/windows-2025-vs2026-image-is-missing/11043750#T-ND11045949

This ticket is also not answered:

https://developercommunity.visualstudio.com/t/windows-2025-vs2026-image-is-missing-fro/11051139

On GitHub, the GitHub Actions teams mentioned, that the image from their side is ready, but the ADO Team has no commitment on bringing it live in Azure DevOps.
https://github.com/actions/runner-images/issues/13638#issuecomment-3890081073

The answer of our Azure Customer Success Manager is also not satisfying:

Aktueller Status (von Microsoft bestätigt):

Die Microsoft‑gehosteten Azure‑DevOps‑Pipelines‑Agents stellen derzeit Windows‑Images mit Visual Studio 2022 bereit.

Es gibt aktuell keine veröffentlichte Roadmap und keinen offiziellen ETA‑Zeitpunkt dafür, wann Visual Studio 2026 auf den Microsoft‑gehosteten Azure‑DevOps‑Agents verfügbar sein wird.

Diese Informationen wurden öffentlich durch Microsoft bestätigt. Neue Images oder Änderungen werden ausschließlich über die offiziellen Azure‑DevOps‑Release Notes und die Dokumentation zu den Hosted Agents kommuniziert. Eine entsprechende Ankündigung für VS2026 liegt derzeit nicht vor. Warum Community‑Kanäle keine klaren Antworten liefern:

Die Developer Community sowie Microsoft Q&A sind Diskussionsplattformen und geben keine verbindlichen Produktzusagen oder Roadmaps.

Das GitHub‑Repository actions/runner‑images wird vom GitHub‑Actions‑Team verantwortet. Obwohl Azure DevOps dieselben Basis‑Images nutzt, können die GitHub‑Maintainer keine Zusagen zu Azure‑DevOps‑spezifischen Zeitplänen machen.

Dadurch werden Anfragen häufig weiterverwiesen oder bleiben unbeantwortet, was verständlicherweise den Eindruck erweckt, dass das Thema ignoriert wird. Empfohlener und wirksamer Eskalationsweg:

Azure DevOps Support‑Ticket (empfohlen):

Das Eröffnen eines offiziellen Azure‑DevOps‑Supportfalls ist der einzige Weg, der eine direkte Einbindung des Azure‑DevOps‑Produktteams sicherstellt. Dort kann der konkrete Business‑Impact (blockierte Pipelines, Abhängigkeit von VS2026, fehlende Alternativen) dokumentiert und eine offizielle Stellungnahme oder Handlungsempfehlung eingefordert werden. Derzeit offiziell unterstützter Workaround (temporär):

Microsoft empfiehlt aktuell den Einsatz von Self‑Hosted Agents oder Managed DevOps Pools, bei denen Visual Studio 2026 kundenseitig installiert und kontrolliert werden kann.

Mir ist bewusst, dass dies nicht in allen Szenarien eine akzeptable oder gewünschte Lösung ist. Zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt ist es jedoch der einzige offiziell unterstützte Weg, Builds mit VS2026 in Azure DevOps Pipelines umzusetzen. Vorgeschlagene nächste Schritte:

Eröffnung eines formellen Azure‑DevOps‑Supportfalls mit Fokus auf die Lücke bei den Hosted Agents und den geschäftlichen Auswirkungen.

Prüfung, ob Managed DevOps Pools als kurzfristige Überbrückungslösung infrage kommen, bis eine offizielle Ankündigung erfolgt.Aktueller Status (von Microsoft bestätigt):

Die Microsoft‑gehosteten Azure‑DevOps‑Pipelines‑Agents stellen derzeit Windows‑Images mit Visual Studio 2022 bereit.

Es gibt aktuell keine veröffentlichte Roadmap und keinen offiziellen ETA‑Zeitpunkt dafür, wann Visual Studio 2026 auf den Microsoft‑gehosteten Azure‑DevOps‑Agents verfügbar sein wird.

Diese Informationen wurden öffentlich durch Microsoft bestätigt. Neue Images oder Änderungen werden ausschließlich über die offiziellen Azure‑DevOps‑Release Notes und die Dokumentation zu den Hosted Agents kommuniziert. Eine entsprechende Ankündigung für VS2026 liegt derzeit nicht vor. Warum Community‑Kanäle keine klaren Antworten liefern:

Die Developer Community sowie Microsoft Q&A sind Diskussionsplattformen und geben keine verbindlichen Produktzusagen oder Roadmaps.

Das GitHub‑Repository actions/runner‑images wird vom GitHub‑Actions‑Team verantwortet. Obwohl Azure DevOps dieselben Basis‑Images nutzt, können die GitHub‑Maintainer keine Zusagen zu Azure‑DevOps‑spezifischen Zeitplänen machen.

Dadurch werden Anfragen häufig weiterverwiesen oder bleiben unbeantwortet, was verständlicherweise den Eindruck erweckt, dass das Thema ignoriert wird. Empfohlener und wirksamer Eskalationsweg:

Azure DevOps Support‑Ticket (empfohlen):

Das Eröffnen eines offiziellen Azure‑DevOps‑Supportfalls ist der einzige Weg, der eine direkte Einbindung des Azure‑DevOps‑Produktteams sicherstellt. Dort kann der konkrete Business‑Impact (blockierte Pipelines, Abhängigkeit von VS2026, fehlende Alternativen) dokumentiert und eine offizielle Stellungnahme oder Handlungsempfehlung eingefordert werden. Derzeit offiziell unterstützter Workaround (temporär):

Microsoft empfiehlt aktuell den Einsatz von Self‑Hosted Agents oder Managed DevOps Pools, bei denen Visual Studio 2026 kundenseitig installiert und kontrolliert werden kann.

Mir ist bewusst, dass dies nicht in allen Szenarien eine akzeptable oder gewünschte Lösung ist. Zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt ist es jedoch der einzige offiziell unterstützte Weg, Builds mit VS2026 in Azure DevOps Pipelines umzusetzen. Vorgeschlagene nächste Schritte:

Eröffnung eines formellen Azure‑DevOps‑Supportfalls mit Fokus auf die Lücke bei den Hosted Agents und den geschäftlichen Auswirkungen.

Prüfung, ob Managed DevOps Pools als kurzfristige Überbrückungslösung infrage kommen, bis eine offizielle Ankündigung erfolgt.

Microsoft has official release Visual Studio 2026 on November 12th 2025, this is more than 100 days ago. The issue is, to be able to use msbuild together with dotnet 10 (e.g. when using cpp projects) VS 2026 is REQUIRED, 2022 does not support msbuild+.net10

To "workaround" to use self hosted agents or to use managed dev op pools is not a solution. We are dedicated paying Microsoft for managing the hosted agents, for not needing to managing vms our self!

The second bigger problem is about the communication. More than a "there is no timeline" has not been communicated.

As a paying customer, and also paying for support. I kindly ask to answer the following questions in this order:

With whom I need to get in touch to escalate this topic
Is Microsoft working on this topic anyhow?
Has his topic priority?
What is the reason for the incredible delay
Is there a rough timeframe when we can expect, that VS 2026 will be available.
What will Microsoft do, to avoid such problems in the future.

As this is not my first attempt to get in touch with ADO Support please avoid answers like the following. They don't contribute to restore our satisfaction.

There is no timeline
Use self hosted agents or managed pipelines

Thank you in advance,

Harald Homolka

Rakesh Mishra 10,280 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-02T15:51:20.7866667+00:00

Hi @hho ,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A Platform! Thank you for asking your question here.

I checked the links posted and followed the discussions there. I understand that you are not able to get the information you are looking for. Please let me check on this internally. I will update you on this. Meanwhile, I have requested information in Private messages. Please check and provide the details.
Praveen Kumar Gudipudi 2,295 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-09T08:06:55.2666667+00:00
Hello @hho ,

Is Microsoft working on adding Visual Studio 2026 to hosted agents?

Yes. The runner images used by Azure DevOps and GitHub Actions share the same base image repository, but they are released on different schedules.

Even when the image is prepared upstream, it still needs to go through:

Azure DevOps hosted agent validation

Pipeline compatibility testing

Image rollout across regions

Documentation and release notes

This is why availability can lag behind the Visual Studio release.

Does this have priority?

Yes, especially because:

.NET 10 compatibility requires newer MSBuild tooling

Mixed solutions (.NET + C++) depend on the Visual Studio toolchain

These scenarios are tracked internally by the Pipelines team.

Why the delay occurred

The delay generally happens due to the following factors:

Hosted image stability validation across thousands of pipelines

Ensuring compatibility with existing build tools

Avoiding breaking changes for organizations relying on the current windows-latest image

Coordinating rollout across both GitHub Actions and Azure DevOps hosted pools

Visual Studio updates impact a large toolchain (MSBuild, C++, SDKs, workloads), which requires additional validation before rollout.

Expected timeframe

At the moment there has not yet been an officially published ETA for Azure DevOps hosted agents including Visual Studio 2026.

The availability will be announced through:

Azure DevOps Hosted Agent Image Release Notes

Azure DevOps Sprint release notes

Once the image is published, it will typically appear as:

windows-2026

and eventually replace windows-latest.

What Microsoft is doing to avoid similar gaps

The Azure DevOps team has been working toward:

Unifying the runner image pipelines between GitHub Actions and Azure DevOps

Improving image release automation

Providing clearer hosted agent image lifecycle documentation

These improvements aim to reduce delays between major tooling releases and hosted agent availability.

Current Options (until the hosted image ships):

While you mentioned they are not ideal, the only current supported approaches for VS 2026 + MSBuild + .NET 10 builds are:

Self-hosted agents

Managed DevOps Pools with a custom image including VS 2026

These allow immediate use of the required toolchain.
Borislav Ivanov 0 Reputation points

2026-07-01T07:10:14.8933333+00:00

The images with VS2026 are already published in GitHub Actions, is there a roadmap for making windows-latest use Visual Studio 2026 in Azure DevOps? It's a serious breaking change and we want information in advance, so we can prepare.

1 answer

Your answer

Rakesh Mishra 10,280 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-02T15:51:20.7866667+00:00

Hi @hho ,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A Platform! Thank you for asking your question here.

I checked the links posted and followed the discussions there. I understand that you are not able to get the information you are looking for. Please let me check on this internally. I will update you on this. Meanwhile, I have requested information in Private messages. Please check and provide the details.
Borislav Ivanov 0 Reputation points

2026-07-01T07:10:14.8933333+00:00

The images with VS2026 are already published in GitHub Actions, is there a roadmap for making windows-latest use Visual Studio 2026 in Azure DevOps? It's a serious breaking change and we want information in advance, so we can prepare.

Answer 1

Hello,
thank you for your response and it is the same not answer. I don't get it why Microsoft is not understanding that a transparent communication is important. GitHub Actions at least tries it, but Microsoft is blocking everything.

Does this have priority? Yes, especially because:

Obviously not, because not being able to bring out an image after more than 100 days after official product launch and at the time selling it to the customer, that this is normal does not show sobriety.

What Microsoft is doing to avoid similar gaps The Azure DevOps team has been working toward: Unifying the runner image pipelines between GitHub Actions and Azure DevOps

Is Microsoft working on adding Visual Studio 2026 to hosted agents? Yes. The runner images used by Azure DevOps and GitHub Actions share the same base image repository, but they are released on different schedules. Even when the image is prepared upstream, it still needs to go through:

In the same answer you are saying, that the delay is because your are based on the GitHub Actions and saying to avoid the delay is to base on GitHub Actions. Well done!

Expected timeframe At the moment there has not yet been an officially published ETA for Azure DevOps hosted agents including Visual Studio 2026.

Congratulation!

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/release-notes/features-timeline

You have things like "Support for JavaScript (Playwright) in Azure Test Plans" for Q1 on the public roadmap but not "Supporting VS 2026". Are you kidding me?

As customer I expect

That major releases (especially when they are required, bc the old version does not support .net 10) are release in a minimum timeframe.
That there is a clear communication, when the things are planned
An commitment when things will happen,
That Microsoft is answering questions, like the Team in GitHub Actions are doing.

This case is an absolute impudence. We will investigate to switch to GitHub Actions, there is at least a minimum of communication. Or maybe a complete different platform.

Praveen Kumar Gudipudi 2,295 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-17T09:51:38.07+00:00

Hello @hho ,

Thank you for taking the time to share your detailed feedback. I understand your frustration, especially when tooling gaps impact your ability to move forward with newer versions like Visual Studio 2026 and the associated .NET ecosystem.

Please allow me to clarify the current situation.

Current status

At this time, support for Visual Studio 2026 on Microsoft-hosted agents in Azure DevOps has not yet been released, and there is no officially published ETA.

While the hosted images used by Azure DevOps and GitHub Actions are based on a shared upstream repository, they are validated and released independently. This additional validation process in Azure DevOps is necessary to ensure stability and compatibility across a wide range of enterprise scenarios, but it can result in differences in release timing.