How to install a Visual Studio 2022 extension / plugin into SSMS 21

Question

I have developed a Visual Studio 2022 extension / plugin (SQLinForm SQL Formatter / SQL Beautifier) that works perfectly inside VS 2022.

Now I would like to use the same extension in SQL Server Management Studio 21 (SSMS 21). The good news is that SSMS 21 is built on the Visual Studio 2022 shell. But unfortunately, it doesn't yet support installing extensions via .vsix files.

Has anyone found a workaround to install extensions into SSMS 21 manually?

Or is there an alternative way to deploy a VS 2022-based extension in SSMS21?

Any hint would be appreciated!

Answer 1

You can create a seperate extension for SSMS 21 that you can install from a .vsix using the standard VSIX installer. If your current extension installs for all users, you might be able to publish a single .vsix file.

You need this in your source.extension.vsixmanifest file:

    <Installation AllUsers="true">
      <InstallationTarget Id="Microsoft.VisualStudio.Ssms" Version="[21.0,)">
        <ProductArchitecture>amd64</ProductArchitecture>
      </InstallationTarget>
    </Installation>

Answer 2

To make it work for both, SSMS21 and VS2022, I set the VS2022 Install Targets like shown below in the screenshot

After having built the vsix I can run the vsix and choose where to install the SQLinForm (https://www.sqlinform.com)SQL Formatter in VS2022 or SSMS21.