Rider 2023.2 EAP 2: Hot Reload for MAUI, Reworked Build Tool Window, Improvements for Source Generators, and More

Sasha Ivanova

Hello everyone, 

A new EAP build for Rider 2023.2 has just landed and it’s incredibly feature-rich! Let’s take a look at the most notable updates. 

C# updates

Rider 2023.2 comes with new inspections and quick-fixes for common Entity Framework issues, such as the “N+1” problem and queries returning incomplete data. For the full details, check out this blog post for Resharper 2023.2 EAP 2.

Reworked Build tool window

Building solutions containing multiple projects has historically been one of the most CPU- and memory-intensive tasks for Rider. Not only did it take more time and memory than it had to, but the IDE would occasionally freeze once the job was complete, making it impossible to investigate the technical insights of the build. 

For Rider 2023.2, we’re reworking the Build tool window, both in terms of performance and UX/UI. Build output results will now be presented as an event tree on the left-hand side and a log on the right. The output will be loaded in a “lazy” manner, meaning only the build details you choose to look into from the event tree will be loaded and displayed, making it far more CPU-friendly and easier to navigate. 

Other UX/UI improvements are also on the way and will be available in future EAP builds. We hope you’ll try them and share your feedback with us!

XAML Hot Reload for MAUI

Hot Reload is finally available for solutions targeting .NET MAUI! 

Having XAML Hot Reload in Rider allows mobile developers to make changes to the UI and code of their MAUI apps while they’re running, without requiring a full rebuild and redeployment. The updated changes are applied immediately, providing a faster and more iterative development experience. 

Colorized instances [New UI]

With Rider 2023.2 you can navigate between all of your open projects by color! 

Working on multiple solutions simultaneously can be disorienting when all of your IDE windows look the same. Now, with the new UI enabled, Rider will colorize the header of each of its open windows to help you instantly find the one you need. 

This setting is switched on by default in the new UI. You can disable it by going to Settings / Preferences | Appearance. 

Improvements for Source Generators 

Developers relying on custom source generators often encounter freezes due to conflicts between Roslyn, Rider, and the Source Generators themselves, which forces users to restart Rider. To mitigate this issue, we’ve added a Reboot Source Generators button so you don’t have to restart the entire IDE if a freeze occurs.

Rider 2023.2 will now also display source generator exceptions in Problems view, enabling you to zero in on the issues that would have previously gone undetected or unexplained. 

Feature Trainer for Rider

Rider 2023.2 introduces the Feature Trainer, a new interactive tool designed to familiarize both new and existing users with the extensive features and workflows offered by the IDE. The Feature Trainer employs a hands-on learning approach, providing step-by-step instructions and sample code to practice on. Give it a try by going to Help | Learn IDE Features. The Feature Trainer is only available in the new UI. 

As of Rider 2023.2 EAP 2, the IDE offers tutorials on code editing, navigation, refactoring, and the basics of working with Git. We’ll be expanding the list of workflows covered, so please feel free to leave your request here.

Settings Sync plugin

For quite some time, there were two plugins that existed in parallel and featured intersecting functionality: the IDE Settings Sync and Settings Repository plugins. 

To avoid the confusion caused by having two similar bundled plugins, we’ve merged their feature sets into a single solution: the new Settings Sync plugin. 

To enable setting synchronization or maintain it after the merge, go to Settings / Preferences | Tools | Settings Sync and click on Enable Settings Sync. 

Starting with this EAP 2 build, the Settings Repository plugin will no longer be bundled with Rider, but it can still be installed from JetBrains Marketplace. If the plugin was enabled in previous versions, a notification will appear the first time you start Rider after an update, recommending that you either install the Settings Repository plugin or enable the Settings Sync plugin.

We’re aware of the following issues with new UI synchronization: IDEA-303622 and IDEA-320082.

Other changes included in this build:

• Rider 2023.2 supports language injections for F#. You can learn more about  language injections from this blog post.
• We’ve resolved the issue of the missing device selection option for Xamarin plugins in the new UI (RIDER-85303).
• Support for pattern variables inside the debugger has been improved. Rider can now unwrap patterns, evaluate, and show the value of the member you hover over.
• Rider will now include Unreal Engine plugins and module scopes in the Project filter when you execute the Find in Files command.
• The IDE now properly recognizes the properties and variables from Unity’s UI Toolkit (USS).
• We resolved the issue where Find asset usage from Rider could not focus on the searched object inside the Unity Editor (RIDER-91090).

For the full list of features and fixes that made it into Rider 2023.2 EAP 2, please refer to our issue tracker.

Just a reminder: there are a few ways you can download and install the latest preview build for Rider:

• Download and install the EAP build from our website.
• Use the Toolbox App.
• Install this snap package from the SnapCraft store if you use a compatible Linux distribution.

As always, we can’t wait to hear your feedback! Tell us what you think about the new features in the comments below or on Twitter. 

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