Windows Developer Tools

Code editors, IDEs, version control, languages, API and database tools, containers and terminals for Windows.

Windows supports a full development workflow, and WSL lets you use Linux tools alongside Windows ones.

Part of the Web Developer and Software Developer toolkits, which explain when you would use each tool.

Code editors

Lightweight and extensible editors.

Visual Studio Code
Lightweight, extensible code editor for almost any language.
FreeWin / Mac / Linux
Notepad++
Fast text and code editor with syntax highlighting.
Open SourceWin
Vim
A powerful, keyboard-driven text editor.
Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux
Neovim
A modern, extensible fork of Vim.
Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux

Full integrated development environments.

Visual Studio Community
Microsoft's full IDE, free for individuals and small teams.
FreeWin

Git and graphical Git clients.

Languages and runtimes.

Python
Popular programming language for scripting, data and automation.
Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux
Node.js
A JavaScript runtime for servers and tools.
Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux

Send and inspect API requests.

Browse and query databases.

Container platforms for Windows.

Docker Desktop
Build and run containers locally with a desktop dashboard.
FreemiumWin / Mac / Linux
Podman
A daemonless container engine.
Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux

Modern terminal and shell tools.

Windows Terminal
Modern terminal with tabs for PowerShell, Command Prompt and WSL.
Open SourceWin
PowerShell 7
Microsoft's cross-platform shell and scripting language.
Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux

Run Linux tools through WSL.

WSL (wsl command)Built into Windows
Run Linux command-line tools and distributions alongside Windows.
Command Prompt or PowerShell:wsl --install
Windows 10 and 11Microsoft documentation