jetbrains-rider-intro-10-minutes

The Visual Studio Limitation and Why JetBrains Rider Emerged

Tim opens the video by explaining that for years, C# development was restricted to Windows-only environments, making Visual Studio the default option. However, Visual Studio is tightly coupled with Windows libraries, making it incompatible with macOS and Linux.

This paved the way for alternatives, and Rider by JetBrains quickly became a cross platform IDE of choice. It not only supports C#, but also offers tooling for other languages and frameworks, making it a quality platform for teams working in diverse environments.

Downloading Rider and Understanding Licensing

Tim visits the jetbrains.com/rider page, where you can select for comparison Rider’s features with other JetBrains IDEs. He explains that while Rider is a paid product, it’s free for non-commercial use. This model supports students, hobbyists, and early-stage learners—eliminating the barrier of entry for new developers.

This approach aligns with JetBrains’ commitment to collaborative development and pair programming, ensuring you can use their toolset before investing. If you’re learning or prototyping, there’s a JetBrains IDE you can start with at no cost.

What You Can Build with JetBrains Rider

As Tim shows, Rider enables you to create a wide range of projects: console applications, class libraries, web services, unit tests, and more. It’s a platform IDE for C# that parallels the capabilities of Visual Studio—just within a different interface.

Notably, it also serves as a net unit test runner, supporting all major test frameworks used in .NET. Whether you’re building backend APIs, web apps, or doing professional development in Java, Rider covers many bases across language and platform boundaries.

Consistency Across Platforms – From Windows to Mac

Tim transitions to his Mac setup, demonstrating that Rider looks and behaves the same on macOS as it does on Windows. This is a key benefit of using a smart cross platform IDE—you’re not tied to a specific operating system. Whether you’re a full-time developer or engaged in collaborative data science platform work, consistency matters.

However, not all features translate directly. Tim points out that Windows desktop apps like WinForms and WPF don’t work on macOS due to their reliance on Windows-specific DLLs. Still, the IDE adjusts well and provides support for .NET Core, making it fully functional for most modern use cases.

Exploring .NET Framework and Mono Compatibility

When Tim dives into .NET Framework 4.8.1 on macOS, Rider automatically uses Mono, allowing you to run certain types of applications. Though this won’t match Windows performance exactly, it extends compatibility, helping developers who want to target multiple platforms without changing IDEs.

The ability to handle this complexity reflects Rider’s power as a decompiler and assembly browser, especially for .NET technologies. The built-in .NET decompiler and assembly tools help inspect, debug, and understand even compiled code, making Rider more than just a code editor—it’s a full developer workstation.

Hands-On Experience with Rider’s Editor and Features

Tim continues by showing how Rider’s editor behaves similarly to Visual Studio. From nullable types to IntelliSense and tabbing through suggestions, Rider feels familiar yet modern.

The editor supports multiple file types, advanced editing features, and includes runner and code coverage tools for testing. For developers working in collaborative development and pair programming, this smooth experience across files and teams boosts productivity and code quality.

Why Rider Is a JetBrains Tool to Match Visual Studio

What makes Rider compelling is its built-in JetBrains ecosystem. Tools like ReSharper, which was originally a Visual Studio extension, are integrated directly into Rider. For fans of JetBrains productivity enhancements, Rider removes the need for third-party plugins—everything is already there.

And if you're into other stacks, JetBrains has you covered. For example, WebStorm is their JavaScript and TypeScript IDE, and CLion is an IDE for Rust developers—often called a powerhouse IDE for Rust. JetBrains provides an extension for C developers too, showing their deep commitment to various languages beyond C#.

Upcoming Features – SQL Projects Support

Tim gets especially excited about the upcoming 2025.2 release of Rider, which introduces SQL project support via bundled plugin. This has long been a missing piece for .NET developers working with database integration inside Rider.

This update strengthens Rider’s role as a collaborative data science platform as well, supporting database modeling, versioning, and integration—all essential in professional enterprise environments.

Final Thoughts – Should You Use JetBrains Rider?

Tim concludes that while Visual Studio remains his primary IDE (especially since he works mainly on Windows), Rider has strong appeal thanks to its cross-platform support, built-in tooling, and feature-rich environment. It’s an ideal tool for developers who want to find the right tool that works across multiple OSes without sacrificing capability.

If you're exclusively on Windows, Visual Studio may still be your best fit. But for developers exploring Mac, Linux, or needing more integrated tooling, JetBrains Rider is a powerful option. Plus, you get access to other tools like YouTrack and TeamCity connector, making it a great choice for quality platform for teams.

Conclusion

JetBrains Rider isn’t just an alternative to Visual Studio—it’s a modern, flexible, and developer-centric IDE built for the future of .NET development. As Tim Corey thoroughly demonstrates in his video, it works across platforms, integrates essential tools like ReSharper, supports a variety of project types, and continues to evolve with features like SQL project support.

Whether you're in C#, exploring Rust, managing SQL, or doing collaborative development, Rider is a JetBrains tool to match your needs—and it's available with a non-commercial license to help you get started risk-free.

So go ahead—select for comparison, try it yourself, and see if JetBrains Rider becomes your next IDE for professional development.