How to open two / multiple instances of Visual Studio for MAC?

Solution 1:

Open a terminal window, and then issue the following command:

open -n -a "Visual Studio"

Solution 2:

Alright, at last!, Microsoft has just implemented the simplest solution of all in Visual Studio 2019: just right click on its icon on the launch bottom bar, and choose "New instance":

See the details of the feature in the release notes of VS2019 for Mac Preview.

Solution 3:

There is also the option of opening multiple solutions in the same Visual Studio instance.

1. From Recent list: Hold Ctrl while clicking the solution name
2. From File -> Open: Single click the .sln file, click Options and uncheck Close Current Workspace.

Credit: https://www.jimbobbennett.io/opening-multiple-solutions-in-visual-studio-for-mac/

Note. the active project(For run/debug) changes depending on which file you have marked/selected/editing.

Solution 4:

If you don't want to daily search for this specific terminal command, create a script as below:

1. Open "Script Editor" in Mac
2. Paste: do shell script "open -n -a 'Visual Studio'"
3. Save this file somewhere (On Desktop)
4. Whenever need to launch another instance, simply open this file and click on "Run the Script" button

Screenshot Here

Solution 5:

Official documentation: How do I open multiple solutions or instances of Visual Studio for Mac?

Open a second solution inside a single instance

To open a second solution alongside your first solution, use the following steps:

1. With your first solution already open, select File > Open.
2. Select the solution and press the Options button.
3. Uncheck the Close Current Workspace button:
4. Press the Open button to open the second solution in the Solution Pad.

Alternatively, if you have recently opened the solution, you can do the following:

1. Go to the File > Recent Solutions menu item:
2. Hold down the Ctrl key and select the solution. This combination opens the second Solution in the Solution Pad

Open a second instance

To open a second instance of Visual Studio for Mac, open the Terminal application and enter

open -n "/Applications/Visual Studio.app"