Cake Build: Escape YAML Chaos with C# Clarity

New episode: Mattias Karlsson on Cake Build—escaping YAML chaos for C# clarity 🎯 This conversation explored Cake (C# Make), a build orchestration framework offering an alternative to traditional YAML-based build pipelines. The key insight: using a strongly-typed language like C# for build definition provides greater clarity, debuggability, and consistency. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀: It doesn't replace MSBuild, the .NET CLI, or your CI/CD system. It orchestrates them, simplifying complex workflows and offering a more developer-friendly experience. You write workflows in C# instead of YAML, PowerShell, or Bash. Cross-platform, works identically on Mac, Windows, Linux, or in containers 💭 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴: Unlike YAML pipelines requiring push-to-runner cycles to identify issues, Cake allows loading scripts into Visual Studio or Code, setting breakpoints, and stepping through the build process locally. This dramatically speeds up development and troubleshooting. Test everything locally before pushing. 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘆: Cake handles file path differences between Windows and Linux. Forward slash versus backslash? Handled. Environment variable separators? Handled. Path construction that works everywhere? Handled. You write once, run anywhere. The heavy lifting for cross-platform compatibility is done for you. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗹𝘆-𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗿-𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱: Fully typed classes for tool arguments. You don't need to remember if parameters are integers or strings. You don't need to memorise which arguments can be combined. If it compiles, it runs. The compiler catches errors before you push. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗦𝗗𝗞 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲: Introduced in November 2025, Cake SDK enables single-file executables, smooth .NET ecosystem integration, and leverages .NET 10's file-based applications. Full Visual Studio Code support out of the box. Works with C# Dev Kit. Publish as containers, .NET tools, or platform-specific executables. Mattias on the learning curve: "Start with something really simple and then evolve. You don't need to replace everything at once." Available now: https://lnkd.in/eC9zzqR7 #DotNet #DevOps #BuildAutomation

Modernizing .NET applications isn’t as simple as just upgrading the framework. It usually involves understanding dependencies, planning carefully, and avoiding breaking changes. What I found interesting recently is how GitHub Copilot is evolving to support this process beyond Visual Studio. With the modernize-dotnet agent, you can now run a structured modernization workflow (assess → plan → execute) directly from different environments like VS Code, GitHub, or even the CLI. What stands out to me: • The process generates an assessment, a plan, and concrete upgrade tasks • Everything lives in the repository, so teams can review and collaborate before making changes • You can define custom “skills” to align upgrades with your architecture or standards It feels like a more controlled and collaborative way to approach .NET modernization, instead of doing everything as a one-shot upgrade. Curious if anyone here has already tried it in a real project. #dotnet #githubcopilot #softwaredevelopment #modernization

Continuing my experimentation with the Visual Studio Insiders GitHub Copilot integration, I tackled two things. 1. Automated NuGet releases. I have a Markdown file that describes every step involved: bumping the version, updating the Changelog and README, packaging, and publishing to NuGet. The only manual steps required are authenticating via the GitHub CLI (gh auth login) and providing the NuGet API key when prompted — which is never stored anywhere. 2. Set up a documentation site for #Opossum using DocFX and GitHub Pages. The site is live — link in the comments. From now on, building and deploying to GitHub Pages is part of the CI/CD pipeline on every push or merge to master. Please take the site content with a grain of salt for now, as I haven't reviewed it yet. The goal here was to explore what's possible and to get familiar with the workflows. Combined with my recent post, you can see I use VS Insiders for both my day job and my private side projects (two separate accounts, of course). So far I've used it as a: • Coding assistant • Bug analyser • Legacy code analyser • Implementation planner • NuGet release automator • Documentation site builder with automated GitHub Pages deployment As always — don't treat anything I post as a recommended practice. Treat it as a report from the trenches.

This is one of those small changes that's actually kind of a big deal. GitHub Copilot's .NET upgrade workflow used to be Visual Studio only. Now it works from the CLI, VS Code, and directly on GitHub. Same workflow, wherever your team works. What I think matters most here isn't the multi-environment support though - it's that the agent produces an assessment and upgrade plan before touching anything. You get to review it. That's a very different experience from running a migration script and hoping for the best. If you've got older .NET Framework projects gathering dust, worth keeping an eye on this one. https://lnkd.in/eUnXBXtT #dotnet #microsoft #github #copilot

Microsoft has released TypeScript 6.0, the final major version built on the original JavaScript codebase. The release adds a new --stableTypeOrdering migration flag, updates several compiler defaults, and introduces a broad set of deprecations ahead of the Go-based TypeScript 7.0. Microsoft says 7.0 is "extremely close to completion," making 6.0 a key transition point for teams planning ahead.

Modernizing .NET applications no longer has to start in a single IDE. My latest post on the .NET Blog walks through how GitHub Copilot modernization for .NET can now run upgrades across Visual Studio, VS Code, GitHub Copilot CLI, and GitHub. https://lnkd.in/gnE7f7bY

VS Code Extension. What is a VS Code Extension? A VS Code Extension is a small program that adds new features or enhances existing functionality in Visual Studio Code. Extensions allow developers to tailor the editor to their needs by adding support for new languages, tools, themes, debuggers, commands, and integrations. VS Code extensions can help you: Add language support (syntax highlighting, IntelliSense) Create custom commands in the Command Palette Automate repetitive development tasks Integrate external tools and services Improve productivity with formatting, linting, and debugging tools Extensions are published and distributed through the Visual Studio Marketplace, where users can easily install and update them directly from VS Code . At a high level, a VS Code extension: Runs on Node.js Is written in JavaScript or TypeScript Uses the VS Code Extension API to interact with the editor .   How to Create a VS Code... #techcommunity #azure #microsoft https://lnkd.in/e8dJu_sj

Modernization workflows can now run across Visual Studio, VS Code, GitHub Copilot CLI, and GitHub. This helps upgrade applications from older versions to newer versions more easily, and you can also build CI/CD pipelines easily using Copilot.

VS Code vs IntelliJ vs Notepad++ — Stop Calling Everything “Best” Every developer has a favourite editor. However, most people choose based on hype rather than on use case. VS Code: • Lightweight + insanely flexible • Huge extension ecosystem • Perfect for web dev, quick projects • But becomes messy with too many plugins IntelliJ IDEA: • Heavy but powerful • Built for serious backend & large projects • Smart debugging, deep code intelligence • Overkill for beginners or small tasks Notepad++: • Ultra-lightweight • Opens instantly, zero setup • Great for quick edits • But not built for real development workflows Here’s the truth most won’t say: 👉 VS Code = Convenience 👉 IntelliJ = Power 👉 Notepad++ = Speed There is no “best” editor. There’s only: Right tool for the right level of work. If you're still arguing which one is best… You're focusing on tools instead of skills. A good developer can build with anything. A bad one keeps switching editors. What do you actually use daily? #VSCode #IntelliJ #NotepadPlusPlus #CodeEditor #DeveloperTools #ProgrammingLife #DevelopersOfLinkedIn #CodingCommunity #WebDevelopment

🚀 Visual Studio’s March Update quietly dropped a developer superpower: build your own GitHub Copilot agents. You can now define .agent.md files right in your repo and spin up agents that actually understand your codebase — full workspace awareness, tool‑calling, your preferred model, and even MCP connections to internal knowledge sources. Skills get first‑class treatment too: reusable instruction sets auto‑load from .github/skills/ or your profile, so your agents inherit team‑specific behaviors without rewriting logic. And the tooling upgrades are wild: • find_symbol gives agents real language‑aware navigation (C#, C++, Razor, TS) — no more text‑pattern guessing • Profile Tests with Copilot directly from Test Explorer • Live perf tips while debugging, powered by runtime profiling • Fix NuGet vulnerabilities straight from Solution Explorer • HTML rich copy for clean, syntax‑highlighted pastes into docs or work items Full post: https://is.gd/0XwWBh