Weekly .NET Roundup: .NET 10 GC, VS Code Copilot, Licensing

by TechHub

Coding news this week centers on practical updates for developer workflows, including platform releases, debugging, open source compliance, AI-supported code assistance, productivity tools, improved .NET memory management, and guidance for licensing in long-term open source projects.

This Week's Overview

Visual Studio Code: AI, Copilot, and MCP Advancements

VS Code’s September 2025 update (v1.105) carries forward agentic automation and collaborative MCP workflows from last week. In-editor AI-powered merge conflict resolution uses chat agents, advancing previous source control features. Chain-of-thought debugging and improved session management for Copilot Chat enhance transparency and explainability, responding to earlier developer feedback. BYOK model previews add workflow flexibility, continuing registry and protocol expansion. The MCP marketplace preview in Extensions follows registry improvements, making MCP server discovery easier. Customization and agent development become more central as protocol use expands. Shell and terminal configuration updates, pull request enhancements, and agent-driven validation integrate with core test tooling—in line with past agentic workflow updates. These changes reinforce VS Code’s community-based, developer-driven evolution.

Application Performance and Stability: .NET 10 GC and WPF Troubleshooting

Prepping for .NET 10, developers get a deep dive into DATAS GC, which adapts heap sizing for real memory use—targeting containers, Kubernetes, and web apps. Configuration, performance tuning, and diagnostic instructions support safe migration. For WPF app unresponsiveness with USB pen devices, guidance recommends disabling stylus/touch handlers using an AppContext switch; apps that require these features will need other fixes. Microsoft’s findings point to memory and deadlock issues, with a permanent solution yet to arrive.

Open Source Licensing Guidance for .NET Foundation Projects

The .NET Foundation clarified its licensing guide, stating only permissive OSI licenses (MIT, Apache 2.0, BSD, ISC) are allowed for main code and dependencies. Copyleft (GPL, AGPL, RPL) is not accepted to avoid issues in commercial applications. The document discusses project governance, corrects myths, and lists monetization options, citing AutoMapper as a past example. Maintainers and teams can use compliance checks and scenario reviews in policy updates for sustainable open source projects.