IntelliSense doesn't understand Unreal macros and functions. Visual Assist does.

Visual Assist adds Unreal Engine–aware IntelliSense, navigation, and refactoring to Visual Studio — accurate on UCLASS, UFUNCTION, and other UE macros where the built-in parser breaks.

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Try a fully functional trial of Visual Assist for 30 days. No reinstallation or reconﬁguration is required if you purchase.

9.6 / Quality of Support

Visual Studio vs. Visual Assist

Get rid of false errors and parse Unreal Engine code accurately.

This is a normal Unreal class. It uses UCLASS, UPROPERTY, and UFUNCTION — the macros Unreal code is built on. On the left, Visual Studio's built-in IntelliSense marks good code as broken. On the right, Visual Assist reads the same macros, so your code stays clean and you can still move around it.

UE bad — **The same twelve lines, read two ways.** Visual Studio's IntelliSense doesn't understand `GENERATED_BODY()` or the movement component, so it puts red squiggles under good code — three fake errors before you type anything. Visual Assist reads the Unreal macros, colors the types right, and keeps Go to Definition, Find References, and Rename working.

UE good — **The same twelve lines, read two ways.** Visual Studio's IntelliSense doesn't understand `GENERATED_BODY()` or the movement component, so it puts red squiggles under good code — three fake errors before you type anything. Visual Assist reads the Unreal macros, colors the types right, and keeps Go to Definition, Find References, and Rename working.

With Visual Assist

Macro-specifier completion, inline

Start typing inside a UPROPERTY( or UFUNCTION( and Visual Assist shows the specifiers you can use, each with a short note on what it does. No more digging through Epic's docs to recall whether it's EditAnywhere or EditDefaultsOnly. Visual Studio shows nothing here, because the options sit inside a macro it doesn't read.

UPROPERTY(Edit│)

Λ VA · UPROPERTY specifiers

SEditAnywhereeditable in editor + PIE

SEditDefaultsOnlyarchetype only

SEditInstanceOnlyinstances only

SVisibleAnywhereread-only in editor

SBlueprintReadWriteget + set in BP

Options right inside the macro. Visual Assist suggests the specifiers you can use as you type, with a one-line note on each.

Side by side

Unreal Engine C++, feature by feature

What changes when Visual Assist reads your Unreal project, next to Visual Studio's built-in IntelliSense.

Visual Studio IntelliSense vs. Visual Assist — Unreal Engine C++
Task	Visual StudioIntelliSense only	Visual Studiowith Visual Assist
UE macro support UCLASS · UFUNCTION · UPROPERTY · USTRUCT	✕Trips on Unreal's macros and the generated `.generated.h` file. Often marks correct code as wrong.	✓Reads Unreal's macros directly, so your declarations show up right.
Go to Definition	✕Often fails on code the macros generate, and gets worse on big projects.	✓Jumps straight to the definition, even for code the macros add.
Find References	✕Misses uses hidden inside macros, and drops results on big projects.	✓Finds every use, including the ones macros add.
Rename / Refactor	✕Shaky in macro-heavy code. Easy to miss a spot.	✓Renames across the whole project, or tells you what it can't reach.
Red squiggles on valid UE code	✕Common. Fake errors show up on correct `UCLASS` and `GENERATED_BODY` code.	✓Visual Assist reads the macros, so good code isn't marked as broken.
Performance on large codebases	✕Slows down and lags as your project grows.	✓Stays quick even on engine-sized projects, working in the background.
Inline macro-specifier docs	✕Not offered. The specifiers sit inside a macro it doesn't read.	✓Suggests the specifiers you can use, each with a short note.

Try Visual Assist 30-day free trial

Get accurate Syntax for UE Macros

VA’s parser fully understands the context of Unreal extended code language and adjusts syntax highlighting and indentation accordingly. Annoying tabs, false errors, and unlabeled symbols when declaring UFUNCTIONS and UCLASS are now history.

Macro Specifier Completion

Type specifiers rapidly and with less switching to documentation for most U*Macros. If you modify the engine or add new specifiers, Visual Assist will detect and add suggestions for those as well.

UE-Aware Navigation and Refactoring

Visual Assist reads U*Macro specifiers & we’ve used that to make our features smarter. Goto, Goto Related, Find References, Rename & Change Signature have all been extended to support implicit methods.

No More Red Squiggles

One of the limitations of Visual Studio’s default parser is it struggles in large solutions commonly associated with game development. With Visual Assist, you can code without all the incorrect red squiggles & save memory for other tasks.

Inline Docs from UE Base Classes

The documentation for Unreal Engine C++ is often in the code itself. Visual Assist understands Unreal’s extended code language so it will show comments and dialogs from base classes and U*Macro specifiers.

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Visual Assist features

General C++ features that pay off in large game projects.

Open and search files (Shift+Alt+O)

Instead of opening the file explorer, VA lists all the projects in the solution in a single dialog menu. It is powered by a powerful context-aware search function so you can even find associated files by merely typing in a related file or string— an extremely useful feature for game projects.

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Find Symbols (Shift+Alt+S)

Easily sort through thousands of symbols with advanced filtering and sorting: from variables, class, or structs or in a solution. From this dialog, you can copy the symbol, jump to it, or even find all references to it.

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List methods in file (Alt+M)

Navigate the current file from a simple drop-down of classes and methods in it. Filter the list using substrings.

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Implement Virtual methods (Shift+Alt+Q)

Quickly generate method stubs for methods of an interface or virtual methods of a base class in C++ or C#. This shortcut opens the Quick actions and refactoring menu which provides many context-aware options depending on where the caret is or what is highlighted.

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Open corresponding file (Alt+O)

This is usually used to quickly switch between header and implementation files. VA’s version gives you a menu when more than one destination is possible.

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And Many More

Getting Started with Unreal Engine

Setting Up Visual Assist for Unreal Engine

Intro to Visual Assist for Game Development

Visual Assist for indie game developers

Common questions

Yes. Visual Assist fully supports UE4 and UE5 projects in Visual Studio. Its parser understands UE macro syntax — including UCLASS, USTRUCT, UFUNCTION, and UPROPERTY — providing accurate IntelliSense, syntax highlighting, and navigation in both versions of the engine.

Visual Studio's built-in parser doesn't understand Unreal Engine's macro system. UE's reflection macros (UCLASS, UFUNCTION, etc.) generate additional hidden code at compile time that the default parser can't process — causing false red squiggles, incorrect highlighting, and broken Go to Definition. Visual Assist uses its own parser that handles macro-heavy C++ correctly.

Several things that don't work reliably with stock Visual Studio: accurate syntax highlighting for UFUNCTION, UCLASS, USTRUCT, and UPROPERTY declarations; macro specifier completion (type a U*Macro and see valid specifiers inline); Find References, Rename, and Change Signature that understand UE implicit methods; and stable Go to Definition across large UE codebases where IntelliSense typically degrades.

No. Visual Assist uses a background parallel parser that indexes your solution without blocking the IDE. Large UE projects are a core use case. Most users report no meaningful change to IDE startup time or responsiveness.

Yes. VA Intelligence works in UE projects the same as any C++ project. It runs on local models — your code never leaves your machine — fires only when you explicitly invoke it, and requires you to review and accept any suggested change before it's applied.

No UE-specific setup is required. Install Visual Assist, open your UE project in Visual Studio, and VA starts parsing in the background immediately. UE macro support is on by default. Installation takes under five minutes.

Yes — 30 days, full product, no credit card required. The installer is 129 MB.

Testimonials

Mark T.

Senior Software Engineer

"If I lose my hands I could type with my mouth. Take my VA and I'm done."

It doesn't write the code for me, but it provides the tools for me to write it faster and better. I'm getting to really like the VA Code Inspection and the Extract Method really helps.

2022

Ryan V.

Game Director

"Visual Assist is absolutely essential."

Visual Assist is absolutely needed for professional programming in Visual Studio… The time saved through the use of these very basic things is quite incalculable to the point where there's just no reason for anyone to ever use Visual Studio without Visual Assist.

2022

Kevin M.

Professional C++ Developer

"Great software to code fast!"

"I feel utterly limited when I sit down at a Visual Studio installation that doesn't have Visual Assist."

2022

Anon.

Unreal Engine Developer

"Visual Assist is an absolute essential when it comes to working with large code bases."

Visual Assist drastically improves upon the built-in Intellisense system provided in Visual Studio. When using Visual Assist, I find that I spend much less time combing through Unreal Engine code as well as my own. The 'Search for Symbol' feature also allows filtering out engine code in order to quickly find symbols within my own code.

2022

Victor I.

C++ Developer

"Good performance on large projects, handy for everyday workflow."

The most performant solution among several alternatives I've tried on a large project.

2022

Saman K.

Animation Artist

"A real assistant."

Fewer errors, less googling, and less confusion. It provides what I expect from a modern IntelliSense.

2022