In previous article, I mentioned SonarQube Free Alternatives but now in this article, I have mentioned free and open-source ReSharper alternatives, which can be helpful for you to debug code errors and fix them.
ReSharper is a Visual Studio extension that helps software developers write code better. If you are a .NET developer, ReSharper helps you analyze code quality, identify code errors, and fix them.
Few Visual Studio extensions boast of ReSharper's features, but not everyone can afford to pay for this tool. In the quest to get ReSharper's features without paying, you may explore other tools, but the question is, how do you know which tool to trust?
Well, you have come to the right place to find answers to the question, as this post will review the best free alternatives to ReSharper.
Here are some free ReSharper alternatives for Visual Studio coding:
CodeRush
CodeRush is a Visual Studio plugin that helps simplify complex code, making it easier to understand and maintain. It provides features like code creation, simplification, navigation, and others.
Developed by DevExpress, it was formerly known as Refactor Pro and helps you create complex code blocks in next to no time. It also extends the code templates instantly.
CodeRush does the job of writing better code faster, running tests faster, refactoring faster, fixing bugs faster, and also helping to reduce RAM usage by hundreds of megabytes.
Features Of CodeRush
- Free
- Quick navigation, which makes CodeRush fast and helps you open files quickly
- Simplifies complex codes
- Create new test cases or new test suites faster
- Quickly debugs code to improve productivity
- Create Code Elements Intelligently Based on Usage
- Refactoring for C#, Visual Basic, and XAML, with the fastest .NET test runner available.
SonarLint
SonarLint is a tool for static code analysis that helps you check code quality and security problems while you code. It is developed by SonarSource and works like a spell checker, showing you what you need to fix before proceeding too far.
SonarLint is a Visual Studio 2017, 2019 and 2022 extension that provides on-the-fly feedback to developers on new bugs and quality issues in C#, VB.NET, C/C++, TypeScript and JavaScript.
Whether a beginner or an advanced programmer, you will find SonarLint easy to use and help you develop your code with just a few clicks.
Features Of SonarLint
- Free and Open source
- Easy to use
- Instant feedback
- Issues appear while you code
- Educates you on the issues detected
- Support C#, VB.Net, Javascript and C/C++.
Roslynator
Roslynator is a free, open-source code analysis tool developed by Roslyn.
It is a collection of over 500 analyzers, refactorings, and fixes for C#. It also lets you decide how to refactor your code by giving you the option of developing your Roslynator extension.
With Roslynator, the program will convert your C# code more efficiently. This plugin is available for free on Visual Studio 2019.
Features Of Roslynator
- Free and Open source
- It analyzes codes and suggests improvements you can make to them.
- Applies suggested fixes to your code
- Fixes diagnostic errors reported by the compiler
StyleCop.Analyzers
StyleCop.Analyzers is another free ReSharper alternative, and it is a static analysis tool developers use to write consistent and bug-free C# codes. Microsoft developed it to help you conform to Microsoft's .NET Framework Design Guidelines.
StyleCop.Analyzers do a good job of spotting errors and showing consistency violations in Visual Studio.
Features Of StyleCop.Analyzers
- Free
- Efficient
- Helps maintain code
- Improves readability
- Checks for improper spacing
Not all versions of StyleCop.Analyzers support all features of each C# language version.
The table below shows the minimum version of StyleCop.Analyzers required for proper support of a C# language version.
| C# version | StyleCop.Analyzers version | Visual Studio version |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 - 6.0 | v1.0.2 or higher | VS2015+ |
| 7.0 - 7.3 | v1.1.0-beta or higher | VS2017+ |
| 8.0 | v1.2.0-beta or higher | VS2019 |
CodeMaid
CodeMaid is a Visual Studio extension that helps you clean up your code and rearrange it for better navigation, and it is a reliable free ReSharper alternative.
Developers trust CodeMaid because it is effective and helps to increase productivity. The goal of CodeMaid is to analyze your existing code and suggests changes you can make to make it more efficient and understandable. CodeMaid options are available in your Visual Studio project's "Extensions" menu.
Features Of CodeMaid
- Free and Open source
- Rearranges your code for better navigation
- It helps reorganize the layout of the files in your source code
- Formats your comments automatically or on request
Currently supports VS2019 and VS2022.
For Visual Studio 2017, the last supported version is v11.2.
For Visual Studio 2012/2013/2015, the last supported version is v10.6.
For Visual Studio 2010, the last supported version is v0.8.1.
For Visual Studio 2005/2008, the last supported version is v0.4.3.
Code Cracker
Code Cracker is a code analysis tool that can either be a Visual Studio extension or NuGet package that you can add to your project.
What makes Code Cracker an excellent free alternative to ReSharper is its ability to efficiently show you the part of the code you can improve to make it readable and easier to maintain.
Features Of Code Cracker
- Free and Open source
- Helps in refactoring codes efficiently
- Helps in maintaining code
- Improves code readability, by Code Cleaning, Code Digging and Code Reorganizing
Conclusion
ReSharper may be a quality code analysis tool, but it is expensive. You should consider the accessible alternatives in this post to get ReSharper's features without paying.
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