A free open-source package manager. This solution provides a simple way to. For software development, Linux is vastly better. Software development on MacOS X is tedious in comparison. The basic Unix layer hasn't been maintained properly for over a decade now. Seriously, it's FreeBSD from 2006-7 with no updates. The clang/llvm toolchain is non-standard with various bits not working as they should (it's a custom Apple.

-->

Stack Overflow Public questions and answers; Teams Private questions and answers for your team; Enterprise Private self-hosted questions and answers for your enterprise; Jobs Programming and related technical career opportunities; Talent Hire technical talent; Advertising Reach developers worldwide. Install Python and get your development environment setup on Windows or Windows Subsystem for Linux. Get started with Android Install Android Studio, or choose a cross-platform solution like Xamarin, React, or Cordova, and get your development environment setup on Windows. Get started with Windows Desktop. Apps and utilities The following tips and control equivalents should help you in your transition between a Mac and Windows (or WSL/Linux) development environment. For app development, the nearest equivalent to Xcode would be Visual Studio. There is also a version of Visual Studio for Mac, if you ever feel the need to go back.

This guide will help you get started with installing and setting up the languages and tools you need to develop on Windows or Windows Subsystem for Linux.

Development paths

Get started with NodeJS
Install NodeJS and get your development environment setup on Windows or Windows Subsystem for Linux.

Get started with Python
Install Python and get your development environment setup on Windows or Windows Subsystem for Linux.

Get started with Android
Install Android Studio, or choose a cross-platform solution like Xamarin, React, or Cordova, and get your development environment setup on Windows.

Get started with Windows Desktop
Get started building desktop apps for Windows 10 using UWP, Win32, WPF, Windows Forms, or updating and deploying existing desktop apps with MSIX and XAML Islands.

Get started with C++ and C
Get started with C++, C, and assembly to develop apps, services, and tools.

Get started with C#
Get started building apps using C# and .NET Core.

Get started with Docker Desktop for Windows
Create remote development containers with support from Visual Studio, VS Code, .NET, Windows Subsystem for Linux, or a variety of Azure services.

Get started with PowerShell
Get started with cross-platform task automation and configuration management using PowerShell, a command-line shell and scripting language.

Tools and platforms

Windows Subsystem for Linux
Use your favorite Linux distribution fully integrated with Windows (no more need for dual-boot).
Install WSL

Windows Terminal
Customize your terminal environment to work with multiple command line shells.
Install Terminal

Windows Package Manager
Use the winget.exe client, a comprehensive package manager, with your command line to install applications on Windows 10.
Install Windows Package Manager (public preview)

Windows PowerToys
Tune and streamline your Windows experience for greater productivity with this set of power user utilities.
Install PowerToys (public preview)

VS Code
A lightweight source code editor with built-in support for JavaScript, TypeScript, Node.js, a rich ecosystem of extensions (C++, C#, Java, Python, PHP, Go) and runtimes (such as .NET and Unity).
Install VS Code

Visual Studio
An integrated development environment that you can use to edit, debug, build code, and publish apps, including compilers, intellisense code completion, and many more features.
Install Visual Studio

Azure
A complete cloud platform to host your existing apps and streamline new development. Azure services integrate everything you need to develop, test, deploy, and manage your apps.
Set up an Azure account

.NET
An open source development platform with tools and libraries for building any type of app, including web, mobile, desktop, gaming, IoT, cloud, and microservices.
Install .NET

Run Windows and Linux

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) allows developers to run a Linux operating system right alongside Windows. Both share the same hard drive (and can access each other’s files), the clipboard supports copy-and-paste between the two naturally, there's no need for dual-booting. WSL enables you to use BASH and will provide the kind of environment most familiar to Mac users.

Learn more in the WSL docs or via WSL videos on Channel 9.

You can also use Windows Terminal to open all of your favorite command line tools in the same window with multiple tabs, or in multiple panes, whether that's PowerShell, Windows Command Prompt, Ubuntu, Debian, Azure CLI, Oh-my-Zsh, Git Bash, or all of the above.

Learn more in the Windows Terminal docs or via Windows Terminal videos on Channel 9.

Transitioning between Mac and Windows

Check out our guide to transitioning between between a Mac and Windows (or Windows Subsystem for Linux) development environment. It can help you map the difference between:

Additional resources

-->

The following tips and control equivalents should help you in your transition between a Mac and Windows (or WSL/Linux) development environment.

For app development, the nearest equivalent to Xcode would be Visual Studio. There is also a version of Visual Studio for Mac, if you ever feel the need to go back. For cross-platform source code editing (and a huge number of plug-ins) Visual Studio Code is the most popular choice.

Keyboard shortcuts

Operation	Mac	Windows
Copy	Command+C	Ctrl+C
Cut	Command+X	Ctrl+X
Paste	Command+V	Ctrl+V
Undo	Command+Z	Ctrl+Z
Save	Command+S	Ctrl+S
Open	Command+O	Ctrl+O
Lock computer	Command+Control+Q	WindowsKey+L
Show desktop	Command+F3	WindowsKey+D
Open file browser	Command+N	WindowsKey+E
Minimize windows	Command+M	WindowsKey+M
Search	Command+Space	WindowsKey
Close active window	Command+W	Control+W
Switch current task	Command+Tab	Alt+Tab
Maximize a window to full screen	Control+Command+F	WindowsKey+Up
Save screen (Screenshot)	Command+Shift+3	WindowsKey+Shift+S
Save window	Command+Shift+4	WindowsKey+Shift+S
View item information or properties	Command+I	Alt+Enter
Select all items	Command+A	Ctrl+A
Select more than one item in a list (noncontiguous)	Command, then click each item	Control, then click each item
Type special characters	Option+ character key	Alt+ character key

Trackpad shortcuts

Note: Some of these shortcuts require a “Precision Trackpad”, such as the trackpad on Surface devices and some other third party laptops.

Operation	Mac	Windows
Scroll	Two finger vertical swipe	Two finger vertical swipe
Zoom	Two finger pinch in and out	Two finger pinch in and out
Swipe back and forward between views	Two finger sideways swipe	Two finger sideways swipe
Switch virtual workspaces	Four fingers sideways swipe	Four fingers sideways swipe
Display currently open apps	Four fingers upward swipe	Three fingers upward swipe
Switch between apps	N/A

Mac Or Linux For Development