IntelliSense not working in VS Code for C# (SDK installed, PATH fixed)

[theunknownsexy]

Hello everyone,

I’ve just started learning C# and I’m running into issues with Visual Studio Code. The main problem is that IntelliSense is not working — I don’t get completion suggestions while typing, and when I hover over code, no information or tooltips appear.

Here’s what I’ve tried so far:

• Installed the .NET SDK (currently .NET SDK 9.0.304, architecture x64).
• Verified that dotnet --info works fine in Command Prompt.
• Fixed the PATH: C:\Program Files\dotnet is correctly added to my PATH, and Command Prompt recognizes dotnet.
• Installed the official C# extension (ms-dotnettools.csharp) in VS Code.
• Tried setting "dotnet.server.useOmnisharp": true in my settings.json.
• Restarted VS Code multiple times and reloaded the window.
• Checked runtimes installed (Microsoft.NETCore.App 6.0.29, 9.0.8, etc. — all appear correctly).

Despite this, I’m still facing issues:

1. I keep getting the error: The .NET Core SDK cannot be located: Error running dotnet --info: Error: spawn C:\Users\HP ENOENT
   .NET Core debugging will not be enabled. Make sure the .NET Core SDK is installed and is on the path.

2. VS Code sometimes tries to re-download the SDK (even though it’s already installed), and shows acquisition errors like:
   Error : (DotnetAcquisitionFinalError)
   Failed to download .NET 9.0.304-global~x64:
   An error was raised by the .NET SDK installer. Exit code: ENOENT

3. Even though I can write and run simple C# code, the lack of IntelliSense (auto-suggestions, hover info, quick fixes) makes it frustrating to code.

I’ve confirmed that everything works fine in Command Prompt (dotnet --info outputs all SDK/runtime info), but VS Code doesn’t seem to pick it up properly.

Has anyone experienced this issue? How can I get OmniSharp / IntelliSense to properly recognize my SDK and enable debugging + suggestions in VS Code?

Thanks a lot for the help!

[janissary1]

Who is maintaining this extension? Random major regressions all the time. Microsoft is not a serious company.

[AbhitejJohn]

Potentially similar to #8592

[JoeRobich]

Tried setting "dotnet.server.useOmnisharp": true in my settings.json.

How can I get OmniSharp / IntelliSense to properly recognize my SDK and enable debugging + suggestions in VS Code?

@theunknownsexy Is your intention to use OmniSharp? If so can you share the OmniSharp log from the VS Code Output pane?

VS Code sometimes tries to re-download the SDK (even though it’s already installed), and shows acquisition errors like:
Error : (DotnetAcquisitionFinalError)
Failed to download .NET 9.0.304-global~x64:
An error was raised by the .NET SDK installer. Exit code: ENOENT

The C# extension does not download SDKs. Do you have a different extension installed for this? What is the name of the Log where you see that?

[dibarbet]

Error running dotnet --info: Error: spawn C:\Users\HP ENOENT
.NET Core debugging will not be enabled. Make sure the .NET Core SDK is installed and is on the path.

This error typically means either VSCode's $PATH doesn't see the changes you've made to the $PATH or there is a config issue with VSCode/cmd preventing it from launching correctly.

Because you're also getting the same error An error was raised by the .NET SDK installer. Exit code: ENOENT in the .NET Install Tool, the latter seems most likely.

1. Particularly the C:\Users\HP part is strange here. I believe that should be your VSCode process working directory (process.cwd()). I don't think VSCode is generally directly installed in the top level user folder - is HP your current user and where is VSCode installed?
2. Can you share the $PATH environment variable that the VSCode process is seeing? Easiest way I know to do this from VSCode is to run the 'Start debugging extension host in new window' command, then in the new VSCode instance that opens, type process.env.Path in the debug console

[theunknownsexy]

Tried setting "dotnet.server.useOmnisharp": true in my settings.json.

How can I get OmniSharp / IntelliSense to properly recognize my SDK and enable debugging + suggestions in VS Code?

@theunknownsexy Is your intention to use OmniSharp? If so can you share the OmniSharp log from the VS Code Output pane?

VS Code sometimes tries to re-download the SDK (even though it’s already installed), and shows acquisition errors like:
Error : (DotnetAcquisitionFinalError)
Failed to download .NET 9.0.304-global~x64:
An error was raised by the .NET SDK installer. Exit code: ENOENT

The C# extension does not download SDKs. Do you have a different extension installed for this? What is the name of the Log where you see that?

I downloaded the SDK from the official .NET Microsoft website which is currently saved in Program Files directory. My VSCode is just unable to find it. I was in fact able to fix it after editing some environment variables, but every time I restart my computer, the problem arises again. I also changed my user account to my name from HP to my name, just in case.

Error running dotnet --info: Error: spawn C:\Users\HP ENOENT
.NET Core debugging will not be enabled. Make sure the .NET Core SDK is installed and is on the path.

This error typically means either VSCode's $PATH doesn't see the changes you've made to the $PATH or there is a config issue with VSCode/cmd preventing it from launching correctly.

Because you're also getting the same error An error was raised by the .NET SDK installer. Exit code: ENOENT in the .NET Install Tool, the latter seems most likely.

1. Particularly the `C:\Users\HP` part is strange here.  I believe that should be your VSCode process working directory (`process.cwd()`).  I don't think VSCode is generally directly installed in the top level user folder - is `HP` your current user and where is VSCode installed?

2. Can you share the $PATH environment variable that the VSCode process is seeing?  Easiest way I know to do this from VSCode is to run the 'Start debugging extension host in new window' command, then in the new VSCode instance that opens, type `process.env.Path` in the debug console

I changed the account's name from HP, from registry and all so it also reflects in the user files.

[dibarbet]

I changed the account's name from HP, from registry and all so it also reflects in the user files.

Can you clarify exactly what you did here? Based on the error message it does seem like nodejs is somehow still picking up the C:\Users\HP directory, even though VSCode seems to be installed in your other user folder. My first guess is to run process.cwd() via the same 'Start debugging extension host in new window' command as before, to check if that is correct.