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Microsoft Developer

The New Stack

<h2>Overview</h2>
<p>Microsoft Build 2026 was heavy on developer tooling announcements — new Windows shell features, AI embedded deeper into Visual Studio, and a handful of hardware and partnership news. Here’s what was actually announced.</p>
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<h2>Windows developer experience</h2>
<h3>Dev environment setup</h3>
<p>The Windows Developer Config file, based on winget, is now generally available. It lets you configure a full dev environment with a single command — packages, settings, and all. Alongside this, Microsoft added over 165 Linux CLI utilities natively to Windows (CoreUtils), so common shell tools work without WSL.</p>
<p>WSL also got a notable upgrade: WSL Containers (the <code>wslc</code> binary) lets you run Linux containers natively on Windows without Docker Desktop or other third-party tools. There’s a new API for embedding containers directly in Windows apps, and GPU support is included.</p>
<p>For WSL users who want a more polished default setup, Microsoft now ships a preconfigured WSL profile with ZSH, Starship, and Homebrew out of the box.</p>
<h3>File Explorer and taskbar</h3>
<p>File Explorer is now git-aware — it shows branch names and file statuses inline. A vertical taskbar option is available in Windows Insider builds. Dev Drive, optimized for development workloads, was also highlighted.</p>
<h3>Performance tooling</h3>
<p>Sample-based Profile Guided Optimization (SPGO) was demonstrated with up to 33% performance gains in benchmarks. Adobe Photoshop saw roughly 20% real-world improvement in testing. PowerToys picked up a new Grab and Move utility, and the Command Palette architecture now powers the Windows Run dialog.</p>
<h3>WinUI and app packaging</h3>
<p>A new WinApp CLI lets you package and run Windows apps with identity directly from the terminal. WinUI agent skills for GitHub Copilot and Claude Code were announced, reportedly reducing token usage by 70% for WinUI3/WinApp SDK development tasks.</p>
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<h2>Intelligent Terminal</h2>
<p>The most visible shell announcement was Intelligent Terminal 0.1 — an open-source, MIT-licensed fork of Windows Terminal with native AI agent support.</p>
<p>The core idea: when a command fails, the terminal detects the error automatically and opens an agent pane with context already loaded. You get an explanation of what went wrong and suggested fixes, without manually copying error text into a separate chat window. You can configure it to auto-detect errors, auto-suggest fixes, or both.</p>
<p>It supports any Agent Communication Protocol (ACP) compatible agent — GitHub Copilot CLI is the default, but Claude Code, Codex, or local agents work too. The agent pane can appear as a side panel, bottom panel, or background tab, and can be disabled entirely if you don’t want it.</p>
<p>Other features include a persistent agent status bar, an agent management panel for tracking multiple sessions, and Command Palette integration for kicking off agent tasks quickly.</p>
<p>It installs alongside existing Windows Terminal (not as a replacement) and is available now via the Microsoft Store or <code>winget install Microsoft.IntelligentTerminal</code>. Microsoft says it will keep maintaining the original Windows Terminal for users who prefer no AI integration.</p>
<p>The concept is similar to what Warp has been doing for a while, but this is native to Windows 11.</p>
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<h2>Visual Studio updates</h2>
<p>Microsoft announced a set of Visual Studio updates focused on embedding AI into the debugger, profiler, and test runner — rather than keeping it as a separate chat sidebar.</p>
<p>The headline enterprise feature is bring-your-own-key (BYOK) support: teams can now use their own AI models and endpoints instead of being locked to Microsoft’s. This addresses compliance, cost, and data sovereignty concerns that have been blocking enterprise adoption.</p>
<p>Other updates:</p>
<ul>
<li>A GitHub Copilot modernization agent that can migrate legacy Web Forms apps to Blazor and add .NET Aspire for cloud observability</li>
<li>AI-assisted merge conflict resolution</li>
<li>Pre-build error checking</li>
<li>The underlying AI integration layer is shifting to the GitHub Copilot SDK</li>
</ul>
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<h2>GitHub Copilot platform</h2>
<p>Three Copilot announcements from day one were recapped on day two:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>GitHub Copilot desktop app</strong>: An agent-native experience for managing multiple coding agents and tracking outcomes rather than individual prompts</li>
<li><strong>GitHub Copilot SDK</strong>: Packages the core agent loop and runtime so developers can embed it in any application</li>
<li><strong>MAI-1 Code Fast</strong>: Microsoft’s first coding model built from scratch, optimized for speed and efficiency, now rolling out in VS Code’s model picker</li>
</ul>
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<h2>Surface RTX Spark DevBox</h2>
<p>Microsoft demonstrated the Surface RTX Spark, a developer-first machine with up to 1 petaflop of AI compute and 128GB unified memory. At the show, it was running three local AI models simultaneously — including a 120B parameter model — for local, unmetered AI-assisted coding via multi-agent orchestration with Fleet.</p>
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<h2>Intel and confidential computing</h2>
<p>Intel used its Build presence to highlight two things: over 100 million AI PCs now in market with software toolkits targeting CPU, GPU, and NPU workloads, and TDX (Trust Domain Extensions) — Intel’s confidential computing technology that enables sensitive workloads to run securely inside Azure.</p>
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<h2>Aptiv and Nvidia edge AI</h2>
<p>Somewhat adjacent to the Build announcements: Aptiv and Nvidia expanded their partnership around production-ready edge AI on the Nvidia Jetson ecosystem, including future Jetson Thor platforms. The focus is on long-term software support, security maintenance, and regulatory compliance (including Cyber Resilience Act readiness) for embedded Linux environments in industrial automation, robotics, automotive, and aerospace.</p>
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<h2>Microsoft’s open source history</h2>
<p>A Microsoft veteran gave a session recounting how the company’s open source culture evolved — from the months-long approval process required to open-source TypeScript, to the much faster sign-off for Chakra, to eventually open-sourcing .NET, VS Code, and the Copilot extension. The throughline: developer products built in the open tend to attract stronger communities and end up as better products. It’s a notable arc for a company that spent years treating open source as a threat.</p>


Collections

Microsoft Build 2026 delivered a broad set of developer tooling announcements. Key highlights include: the Windows Developer Config file (winget-based) going GA for one-command dev environment setup; 165+ Linux CLI utilities natively on Windows; WSL Containers (`wslc`) for running Linux containers without Docker Desktop; a git-aware File Explorer; Sample-based PGO with up to 33% performance gains; and a new WinApp CLI for packaging Windows apps. The most notable shell announcement is Intelligent Terminal 0.1 — an open-source, MIT-licensed Windows Terminal fork with native AI agent support that auto-detects command failures and suggests fixes via any ACP-compatible agent. Visual Studio updates embed AI into the debugger, profiler, and test runner, with bring-your-own-key (BYOK) support for enterprise compliance. GitHub Copilot gains a desktop app, an SDK for embedding agent loops in any app, and MAI-1 Code Fast — Microsoft's first from-scratch coding model. Hardware highlights include the Surface RTX Spark DevBox with 1 petaflop AI compute and 128GB unified memory capable of running a 120B parameter model locally.

Microsoft releases Intelligent Terminal 0.1, an AI-integrated fork of Windows Terminal

<p>no thanks loser. we have warp dev.</p>


<p>bit late to the game but carry on</p>


<p>Muchas gracias por el post esta excelente la información.</p>
