NovaSharp

A modern, cross-platform IDE for C#, Razor, Blazor, HTML, and CSS.

NovaSharp is an open-source development environment focused on modern .NET application development. It aims to provide a fast, clean, and focused alternative for developers building C# desktop, web, Razor, and Blazor projects.

Important

NovaSharp is currently an early prototype and is under active development. Features may be incomplete, unstable, or subject to significant change.

Features

NovaSharp is being designed around the tools needed for productive .NET development:

• C# code editing
• Razor and Blazor support
• HTML and CSS editing
• Solution and project management
• Code completion and IntelliSense-style suggestions
• Syntax highlighting
• Code navigation
• Error and diagnostic reporting
• Integrated building and project execution
• Debugging support
• Breakpoints and stepping
• Local variable inspection
• Call stack inspection
• Extensible editor and tooling architecture
• Cross-platform support

Some features listed above are still in development and may not yet be fully available.

Goals

NovaSharp aims to be:

• Focused — built specifically around C# and modern .NET workflows
• Fast — responsive during editing, navigation, building, and debugging
• Cross-platform — designed to run across major desktop operating systems
• Extensible — structured to support additional languages, tools, and integrations
• Open source — developed openly with community contributions welcomed

Supported Technologies

NovaSharp is intended to support development with:

• C#
• .NET
• Razor
• Blazor
• HTML
• CSS

Support for additional languages and project types may be introduced as the project develops.

Project Status

NovaSharp is currently in the early prototype stage.

The core architecture and initial IDE functionality are being implemented. It is not yet recommended for production development or as a replacement for an established IDE.

Expect:

• Missing features
• Incomplete language support
• Debugging issues
• Breaking changes
• Limited documentation
• Frequent architectural changes

Building NovaSharp

Clone and run NovaSharp:

git clone https://github.com/XDX-Org/NovaSharp.git
cd NovaSharp
dotnet build NovaSharp.slnx
dotnet run --project src/NovaSharp/NovaSharp.csproj

See the phase documentation for the current scope and verification steps.

Roadmap

Development follows the detailed phase roadmap and delivery gates. The preview roadmap covers:

• Improving the code editor
• Expanding C# language services
• Implementing reliable project and solution loading
• Adding project-aware Razor, Blazor, HTML, and CSS support after the C# workbench
• Integrating build and run workflows
• Expanding debugger functionality
• Correctly resolving source locations and symbols
• Improving local variable and call stack information
• Building a versioned, permission-aware extension architecture
• Improving performance and reliability
• Producing signed, tested, recoverable preview packages for supported platforms

The roadmap will evolve as the foundations of the IDE mature.

Contributing

Contributions, testing, bug reports, and technical feedback are welcome.

Because NovaSharp is still at an early stage, it is recommended that contributors open an issue before beginning a large change. This helps avoid duplicated work and ensures that proposed changes fit the current architecture.

When reporting a bug, include:

• Your operating system
• Your installed .NET SDK version
• Steps to reproduce the issue
• Expected behaviour
• Actual behaviour
• Relevant logs or screenshots

Feedback

NovaSharp is being shaped around real-world .NET development workflows. Suggestions regarding editor behaviour, debugging, Razor support, project management, performance, and usability are encouraged.

Please use GitHub Issues for bug reports and feature requests.

License

See the repository's LICENSE file for licensing information.