Visual Studio Icon Visual Studio 2015 System Requirements


System requirements for the Visual Studio 2015 family of products are listed in the table below. For more information on compatibility, please see Visual Studio 2015 Platform Targeting and Compatibility.

To view system requirements for specific products, click on a bookmark below:

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You can download Visual Studio 2015 from My.VisualStudio.com. My.VisualStudio.com requires a free Dev Essentials subscription, or a Visual Studio Subscription.

For additional information, see How to Install a Specific Release of Visual Studio.

Tip

For other versions of Visual Studio, see the system requirements for Visual Studio 2022, Visual Studio 2019, Visual Studio 2017, Visual Studio 2015, Visual Studio 2013, or Visual Studio 2012.

Visual Studio 2015


Requirements Supported Operating Systems
Visual Studio Community 2015 with Update 3
Hardware Requirements
  • 1.6 GHz or faster processor
  • 1 GB of RAM (1.5 GB if running on a virtual machine)
  • 4 GB of available hard disk space5400 RPM hard disk drive
  • DirectX 9-capable video card (1024 x 768 or higher resolution)
Windows 10
Windows 8.1
Windows 8
Windows 7 SP 1
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
Visual Studio Enterprise 2015 with Update 3
Hardware Requirements
  • 1.6 GHz or faster processor
  • 1 GB of RAM (1.5 GB if running on a virtual machine)
  • 10 GB of available hard disk space
  • 5400 RPM hard disk drive
  • DirectX 9-capable video card (1024 x 768 or higher resolution)
Windows 10
Windows 8.1
Windows 8
Windows 7 SP 1
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
Visual Studio Professional 2015 with Update 3
Hardware Requirements
  • 1.6 GHz or faster processor
  • 1 GB of RAM (1.5 GB if running on a virtual machine)
  • 10 GB of available hard disk space
  • 5400 RPM hard disk drive
  • DirectX 9-capable video card (1024 x 768 or higher resolution)
Windows 10
Windows 8.1
Windows 8
Windows 7 SP 1
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
Visual Studio 2015 Update 3
Hardware Requirements
  • 1.6 GHz or faster processor
  • 1 GB of RAM (1.5 GB if running on a virtual machine)
  • 4 GB of available hard disk space
  • 5400 RPM hard disk drive
  • DirectX 9-capable video card that runs at 1024 x 768 or higher display resolution
Windows 10
Windows 8.1
Windows 8
Windows 7 SP 1
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
Visual Studio 2015 Language Pack
Hardware Requirements
  • 1.6 GHz or faster processor
  • 1 GB of RAM (1.5 GB if running on a virtual machine)
  • 600 MB of available hard disk space
  • 5400 RPM hard disk drive
  • DirectX 9-capable video card (1024 x 768 or higher resolution)
Windows 10
Windows 8.1
Windows 8
Windows 7 SP 1
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
Visual Studio Express 2015 for Windows Desktop
Hardware Requirements
  • 1.6 GHz or faster processor
  • 5 GB of available hard disk space
  • 5400 RPM hard disk drive
  • DirectX 9-capable video card (1024 x 768 or higher resolution)
Windows 10
Windows 8.1
Windows 8
Windows 7 SP 1
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
Visual Studio Express 2015 for Web
Hardware Requirements
  • 1.6 GHz or faster processor
  • 1 GB of RAM (1.5 GB if running on a virtual machine)
  • 4 GB of available hard disk space
  • 5400 RPM hard disk drive
  • DirectX 9-capable video card (1024 x 768 or higher resolution)
Windows 10
Windows 8.1
Windows 8
Windows 7 SP 1
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
Visual Studio Express 2015 for Windows 10
Hardware Requirements
  • 1.6 GHz or faster processor
  • 1 GB of RAM (1.5 GB if running on a virtual machine)
  • 5 GB of available hard disk space
  • 5400 RPM hard disk drive
  • DirectX 9-capable video card (1024 x 768 or higher resolution)
Windows 10
More Information
  • See the Installing Visual Studio page for detailed information on installing Visual Studio 2015.
  • These versions of Visual Studio works best with Internet Explorer 10 or later. Some features might not work as expected when it, or a later version, is not installed.
  • For Windows Store and Windows Universal app development: Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 and development require Windows 8.1 Update or later.
  • Windows 10 Home, Pro, and Enterprise are supported.
  • Windows Phone 8.0 development requires Windows 8.1 Update (x64) or later.
  • For emulator support (Windows or Android), Windows 8.1 (x64) Professional edition or later or Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise (x64) editions are required. A processor that supports Client Hyper-V and Second Level Address Translation (SLAT) is also required.
  • Installation on Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 requires Update 2919355 (also available from Windows Update).
  • Be sure to install a Visual Studio 2015 product before installing a Visual Studio 2015 Language Pack.

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Team Foundation Server 2015

Requirements Supported Operating Systems
Team Foundation Server 2015 Update 3 Hardware Requirements
  • 2.13 GHz or faster processor
  • 1 GB or greater RAM
  • 8 GB or more available hard disk space
More Information For more information on installing TFS, see Requirements and Compatibility. See the Install, upgrade and administer TFS on-premises page for in-depth information on set up, upgrade, and administration scenarios.
Server Operating Systems
  • Windows Server 2012 R2 (Essentials, Standard, Datacenter)
  • Windows Server 2012 (Essentials, Standard, Datacenter)
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 (minimum SP1) (Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter)
Client Operating Systems
  • Windows 10 (Home, Professional, Enterprise)
  • Windows 8.1 (Basic, Professional, Enterprise)
  • Windows 7 (minimum SP1) (Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, Ultimate)
Team Foundation Server Express 2015 Update 3 Hardware Requirements
  • 2.13 GHz or faster processor
  • 1 GB or greater RAM
  • 4 GB or more available hard disk space
More Information For more information on installing TFS, see Requirements and Compatibility. See the Install, upgrade and administer TFS on-premises page for in-depth information on set up, upgrade, and administration scenarios.
Server Operating Systems
  • Windows Server 2012 R2 (Essentials, Standard, Datacenter)
  • Windows Server 2012 (Essentials, Standard, Datacenter)
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 (minimum SP1) (Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter)
Client Operating Systems
  • Windows 10 (Home, Professional, Enterprise)
  • Windows 8.1 (Basic, Professional, Enterprise)
  • Windows 7 (minimum SP1) (Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, Ultimate)
Team Foundation Server Extensions for Project Server 2015 Update 3 Additional Requirements Office 2013, 2010, or 2007 must be installed on the computer.

More Information For more information on installing TFS, see Requirements and Compatibility. See the Install, upgrade and administer TFS on-premises page for in-depth information on set up, upgrade, and administration scenarios.

Server Operating Systems
  • Windows Server 2012 R2 (Essentials, Standard, Datacenter)
  • Windows Server 2012 (Essentials, Standard, Datacenter)
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 (minimum SP1) (Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter)
Client Operating Systems
  • Windows 10 (Home, Professional, Enterprise)
  • Windows 8.1 (Basic, Professional, Enterprise)
  • Windows 7 (minimum SP1) (Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, Ultimate)
Feedback Client for Team Foundation Server 2015 Hardware Requirements
  • 2.2 GHz or faster processor
  • 1 GB or more of RAM
  • 1 GB or more of available hard disk space
More Information For more information on installing TFS, see Requirements and Compatibility. See the Install, upgrade and administer TFS on-premises page for in-depth information on set up, upgrade, and administration scenarios.
Server Operating Systems
  • Windows Server 2012 R2 (Essentials, Standard, Datacenter)
  • Windows Server 2012 (Essentials, Standard, Datacenter)
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 (minimum SP1) (Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter)
Client Operating Systems
  • Windows 10 (Home, Professional, Enterprise)
  • Windows 8.1 (Basic, Professional, Enterprise)
  • Windows 7 (minimum SP1) (Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, Ultimate)
Feedback Client for Team Foundation Server 2015 Language Pack Hardware Requirements
  • 1.6 GHz or faster processor
  • 1 GB of RAM (1.5 GB if running on a virtual machine)
  • 5400 RPM hard drive
Additional Requirements Install the Feedback Client for TFS 2015 before installing the language pack. More Information For more information on installing TFS, see Requirements and Compatibility. See the Install, upgrade and administer TFS on-premises page for in-depth information on set up, upgrade, and administration scenarios.
Server Operating Systems
  • Windows Server 2012 R2 (Essentials, Standard, Datacenter)
  • Windows Server 2012 (Essentials, Standard, Datacenter)
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 (minimum SP1) (Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter)
Client Operating Systems
  • Windows 10 (Home, Professional, Enterprise)
  • Windows 8.1 (Basic, Professional, Enterprise)
  • Windows 7 (minimum SP1) (Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, Ultimate)

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Tools for Visual Studio 2015

Requirements Supported Operating Systems
Agents for Visual Studio 2015 with Update 3
Hardware Requirements
  • 1.6 GHz or faster processor
  • 1 GB of RAM (for x86) or 2 GB of RAM (for x64); an additional 512 MB RAM recommended if running a virtual machine
  • 200 MB of available hard disk space (Setup requires up to 1 MB across all drives)
  • 5400 RPM hard disk drive
  • DirectX 9-capable video card that runs at 1024 x 768 or higher display resolution

Additional Requirements
.NET Framework 4.5.2 or later version
More Information
See the Installing and Configuring Test Agents and Test Controllers page for in-depth information on installation and configuration.
Windows 10
Windows 8.1
Windows 8
Windows 7 Service Pack 1
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
Agents for Visual Studio 2015 Language Pack
Hardware Requirements
  • 1.6 GHz or faster processor
  • 1 GB of RAM (1.5 GB if running on a virtual machine)
  • 10 MB of available hard disk space
  • 5400 RPM hard drive
  • DirectX 9-capable video card running at 1024 x 768 or higher display resolution

Additional Requirements
Visual Studio Community 2015 or higher
Visual Studio 2015 SDK
More Information
Before you install a Language Pack, install the corresponding version of the product.
Windows 10
Windows 8.1
Windows 8
Windows 7 Service Pack 1
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
Microsoft Build Tools 2015 Update 3
Hardware Requirements
  • 1.6 GHz or faster processor
  • 1 GB of RAM (for x86) or 2 GB of RAM (for x64); an additional 512 MB RAM recommended if running a virtual machine
  • 200 MB of available hard disk space (Setup requires up to 1 MB across all drives)
  • 5400 RPM hard disk drive
  • DirectX 9-capable video card that runs at 1024 x 768 or higher display resolution

Additional Requirements
.NET Framework 4.5.2 or later version
More Information
Setup requires up to 1 MB across all drives.
Windows 10
Windows 8.1
Windows 8
Windows 7 Service Pack 1
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
Modeling SDK for Visual Studio 2015 Update 3
Hardware Requirements
  • 1.6 GHz or faster processor
  • 1 GB of RAM (1.5 GB if running on a virtual machine)
  • 10 MB of available hard disk space
  • 5400 RPM hard drive
  • DirectX 9-capable video card running at 1024 x 768 or higher display resolution

Additional Requirements
Visual Studio Community 2015 or higher
Visual Studio 2015 SDK
Windows 10
Windows 8.1
Windows 8
Windows 7 Service Pack 1
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
Release Management for Visual Studio 2015 Update 3
Hardware Requirements (for Release Management client)
  • 1 GHz Pentium processor or equivalent (2 GHz Pentium processor or equivalent recommended)
  • 512 MB of RAM (1 GB recommended)
  • 2.2 GB available hard disk space (due to .NET Framework dependency)
  • 5400 RPM hard disk drive
  • 1024 x 768 high-color, 16-bit display (1280 x 1024 high-color, 32-bit display recommended)

Compatible versions of TFS (for Release Management client)
  • Team Foundation Server 2015
  • Team Foundation Server 2013
  • Team Foundation Server 2012
  • Team Foundation Server 2010

More Information
See the System requirements for Release Management server/client for VS 2015 and TFS 2015 page for in-depth information on operating system and hardware requirements.
Windows 10
Windows 8.1
Windows 8
Windows 7 Service Pack 1
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
Remote Tools for Visual Studio 2015 Update 3
Hardware Requirements
  • 1.6 GHz or faster processor
  • 1 GB of RAM (1.5 GB if running on a virtual machine)
  • 1 GB of available hard disk space
  • 5400 RPM hard drive
  • DirectX 9-capable video card running at 1024 x 768 or higher display resolution

More Information
For the best experience, use the most recent update of the Remote Tools for your version of Visual Studio.
See Downloads and tools for Windows 10 to get the tools you need to build for Windows.
Windows 10
Windows 8.1
Windows 8
Windows 7 Service Pack 1
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
Visual C++ Build Tools 2015 Update 3
Hardware Requirements
  • 1.6 GHz or faster processor
  • 4 GB of RAM (for x86) or 2 GB of RAM (for x64); an additional 512 MB RAM recommended if running a virtual machine
  • 200 MB of available hard disk space (Setup requires up to 4 GB across all drives)
  • 5400 RPM hard disk drive
  • DirectX 9-capable video card that runs at 1024 x 768 or higher display resolution

Additional Requirements
.NET Framework 4.5.2 or later version
More Information
Setup requires up to 4 GB across all drives.
Windows 10
Windows 8.1
Windows 8
Windows 7 Service Pack 1
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 Update 3
Hardware Requirements
  • 1.6 GHz or faster processor
  • 1 GB of RAM (1.5 GB if running on a virtual machine)
  • 50 MB of available hard disk space
  • 5400 RPM hard disk drive
  • DirectX 9-capable video card that runs at 1024 x 768 or higher display resolution (DirectX 11 or later-capable video card recommended)

More Information
Installation on Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 requires Update 2919355 and Update 2919442 (also available from Windows Update).
Windows 10
Windows 8.1
Windows 8
Windows 7 Service Pack 1
Windows Vista Service Pack 2
Windows XP Service Pack 3
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP2
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
Visual Studio 2015 Shell (Integrated) Redistributable Package
Visual Studio 2015 Shell (Isolated) Redistributable Package
Visual Studio 2015 Shell (Integrated) Language Pack
Visual Studio 2015 Shell (Isolated) Language Pack

Hardware Requirements
  • 1.6 GHz or faster processor
  • 1 GB of RAM (for x86) or 2 GB of RAM (for x64); an additional 512 MB RAM recommended if running a virtual machine
  • 200 MB of available hard disk space
  • 5400 RPM hard disk drive
  • DirectX 9-capable video card that runs at 1024 x 768 or higher display resolution

More Information
This version of Visual Studio works best with Internet Explorer 10 or later. Some features might not work as expected when it, or a later version, is not installed.
Installation on Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 requires Update 2919355 (also available from Windows Update).
Windows 10 Windows 8.1
Windows 8
Windows 7 Service Pack 1
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1

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.NET Framework

Requirements Supported Operating Systems
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6.2
Hardware Requirements
  • 1 GHz or faster processor
  • 512 MB of RAM
  • 2.5 GB of available hard disk space (x86)
  • 2.5 GB of available hard disk space (x64)
Windows 10 Anniversary Update
Windows 8.1 (x86 and x64)
Windows 7 SP1 (x86 and x64)
Windows Server 2012 R2 (x64)
Windows Server 2012 (x64)
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 (x64)
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6.2 Language Pack
Hardware Requirements
  • 1 GHz or faster processor
  • 512 MB of RAM
  • 640 MB of available hard disk space
Windows 10 Anniversary Update
Windows 8.1 (x86 and x64)
Windows 7 SP1 (x86 and x64)
Windows Server 2012 R2 (x64)
Windows Server 2012 (x64)
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 (x64)
Windows Server 2008 SP2 (x86 and x64)
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6.1
Hardware Requirements
  • 1 GHz or faster processor
  • 512 MB of RAM
  • 1.3 GB of available hard disk space (x86)
  • 2.5 GB of available hard disk space (x64)
Windows 10
Windows 8.1 (x86 and x64)
Windows 8 (x86 and x64)
Windows 7 SP1 (x86 and x64)
Windows Server 2012 R2 (x64)
Windows Server 2012 (x64)
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 (x64)
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6.1 Language Pack
Hardware Requirements
  • 1 GHz or faster processor
  • 512 MB of RAM
  • 1.3 GB of available hard disk space (x86)
  • 2.5 GB of available hard disk space (x64)
Windows 10
Windows 8.1 (x86 and x64)
Windows 8 (x86 and x64)
Windows 7 SP1 (x86 and x64)
Windows Server 2012 R2 (x64)
Windows Server 2012 (x64)
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 (x64)
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6
Hardware Requirements
  • 1 GHz or faster processor
  • 512 MB of RAM
  • 1.3 GB of available hard disk space (x86)
  • 2.5 GB of available hard disk space (x64)
Windows 10 (x86 and x64)
Windows 8.1 (x86 and x64)
Windows 8 (x86 and x64)
Windows 7 SP1 (x86 and x64)
Windows Vista SP2 (x86 and x64)
Windows Server 2012 R2 (x64)
Windows Server 2012 (x64)
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 (x64)
Windows Server 2008 SP2 (x86 and x64)
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6 Language Pack
Hardware Requirements
  • 1 GHz or faster processor
  • 512 MB of RAM
  • 2.2 MB of available hard disk space (x86)
  • 3 GB of available hard disk space (x64)
Windows 8.1 (x86 and x64)
Windows 8 (x86 and x64)
Windows 7 SP1 (x86 and x64)
Windows Vista SP2 (x86 and x64)
Windows Server 2012 R2 (x64)
Windows Server 2012 (x64)
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 (x64)
Windows Server 2008 SP2 (x86 and x64)