Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 Community Edition Offline Download [new] -
To download Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 Community Edition for offline use, you must first download a small "bootstrapper" file and use it to create a local layout on a machine with internet access. You can then transfer this layout to your offline machine for installation. 1. Download the Bootstrapper
Since Microsoft no longer provides direct ISO images, you must download the initial installer file. Go to the Visual Studio Older Downloads page.
Download the Visual Studio 2019 Community bootstrapper (usually named vs_community.exe). 2. Create the Local Layout (Offline Installer)
Open a Command Prompt with administrator privileges and run the bootstrapper with the --layout parameter.
Full Installation (Warning: can exceed 45GB):vs_community.exe --layout C:\VS2019Layout --lang en-US
Specific Workloads (Recommended to save space):If you only need .NET desktop development, use:vs_community.exe --layout C:\VS2019Layout --add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.ManagedDesktop --includeRecommended --lang en-US 3. Install on the Offline Machine
Once the download is complete, copy the entire C:\VS2019Layout folder to the target offline computer.
Install Certificates: Navigate to the certificates folder within your layout and install all certificates (right-click -> Install Certificate) to prevent installation errors.
Run Installer: Run the vs_community.exe file from the layout folder using the --noWeb flag to ensure it doesn't try to connect to the internet.C:\VS2019Layout\vs_community.exe --noWeb System Requirements & Constraints Create an offline installation - Visual Studio (Windows) To download Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 Community Edition
To download Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 Community Edition for offline installation, you must first download a small "bootstrapper" file and then use a command-line argument to download the full installation packages (the "layout"). 1. Download the Bootstrapper
You can find the official Visual Studio 2019 bootstrapper through these sources:
Visual Studio Older Downloads: Sign in with a free Visual Studio Dev Essentials account to access the 2019 versions.
Direct Link (Experimental): High-quality community sources like this GitHub Gist often maintain direct links to the executable, such as vs_community.exe. 2. Create the Offline Layout
Once you have the vs_community.exe file, you must run a command to download the files to a local folder. Open the Command Prompt as an administrator. Navigate to the folder where you saved the bootstrapper.
Run the following command to download the most common English-language packages (this can require 20GB–35GB of space depending on selected workloads):vs_community.exe --layout C:\vslayout --lang en-US Note: Change C:\vslayout to your preferred storage path. 3. Install Offline
After the download finishes, you can move the vslayout folder to your offline machine.
In the vslayout folder, locate and run setup.exe (or the original vs_community.exe within that folder). Final Recommendations and Best Practices
Use the --noWeb flag to ensure it doesn't try to access the internet:vs_community.exe --noWeb.
Certificates: If the installation fails on a completely offline machine, open the certificates folder within your layout and manually install each certificate before running the setup. Install Visual Studio 2019 with Offline Installer
Downloading the Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 Community Edition for offline use is essential for developers with limited internet access or those needing to deploy the IDE across multiple machines without re-downloading gigabytes of data. Because Microsoft does not provide a single "ISO" file for modern versions, you must create a local layout—a folder containing all the necessary installation files. Prerequisites and System Requirements
Before starting, ensure your machine meets the minimum hardware and software standards for Visual Studio 2019:
Operating System: Windows 7 SP1 (with latest updates), Windows 8.1, or Windows 10/11. Processor: 1.8 GHz or faster (Quad-core recommended). RAM: 2 GB minimum (8 GB recommended).
Disk Space: 800 MB minimum, but a full offline layout can exceed 45 GB. Internet: Required only for the initial download phase. Create an offline installation - Visual Studio (Windows)
Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 Community Edition is a highly regarded free integrated development environment (IDE) for individual developers and students . While newer versions like Visual Studio 2022 are available, the 2019 version remains a stable choice for legacy projects or older operating systems . Offline Download Review
An "offline download" for Visual Studio is not a single large ISO file but a layout of installation files created using a small bootstrapper . Create an offline installation - Visual Studio (Windows) Keep your offline layout on an NTFS drive
By downloading the packages locally first, you can then safely disconnect from the internet before you install Visual Studio. Microsoft Learn
Final Recommendations and Best Practices
- Keep your offline layout on an NTFS drive. FAT32 has a 4 GB file size limit, and VS packages exceed this frequently.
- Update your layout quarterly – run the same
--layoutcommand periodically to pull in security updates and patches. - Document your workloads: Save the exact command line you used in a
.batscript or areadme.txtinside the layout folder. - For team use: Share the layout on a network share, and have each developer run
vs_community.exe --noWeb --addto install only what they need from the shared source.
The Future: Moving to Visual Studio 2022
As of 2025, Visual Studio 2019 is in extended support (mainstream support ended April 2022, extended support ends April 2029). While it remains a robust choice for legacy projects, Microsoft’s active development focuses on Visual Studio 2022 – a 64-bit IDE with superior performance.
If you are starting a new project, consider downloading the offline layout for Visual Studio 2022 Community Edition using the same --layout methodology described above. However, for maintaining existing .NET Framework 4.8, UWP, or older Xamarin projects, VS 2019 Community remains a gold-standard tool.
Step 2: Create the Local Layout (Offline Download)
- Create a target directory for the offline files (e.g.,
C:\VS2019Offline). - Open the Command Prompt (cmd) with Administrator privileges.
- Navigate to the directory where
vs_community.exewas downloaded. - Execute the following command syntax based on the required components.
Command Syntax:
vs_community.exe --layout [Download Path] --add [Workload IDs] --lang [Language Code]
Recommended Command (Standard .NET/Desktop Development): This command downloads the core components necessary for standard Windows development, significantly reducing download size compared to a "complete" download.
vs_community.exe --layout C:\VS2019Offline --add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.ManagedDesktop --add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.NativeDesktop --add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.NetWeb --add Microsoft.Net.ComponentGroup.4.7.2.TargetingPack --includeRecommended --lang en-US
Note: For a comprehensive offline cache that includes all features, omit the --add arguments (warning: this may require 40GB+ of space).
Explanation of Flags:
--layout: Specifies the directory where files will be downloaded.--add: Selects specific workloads to download (prevents downloading unnecessary features).--includeRecommended: Includes recommended add-ons for the selected workloads.--lang: Sets the language (e.g.,en-US).