Microsoft Implements Training Wheels
🛠️ When the Tool Fights the Technician
Why Visual Studio 2026’s Schema Lockdown Is a Step Backward for Developers Who Know What They’re Doing
I didn’t set out to break anything. I wasn’t trying to override the system, exploit a loophole, or hack around a limitation. I was trying to fix a broken feature—AI documentation suggestions triggered by /// comments—that used to work just fine. And when it failed, I did what any disciplined developer would do: I opened the settings file and tried to restore it manually.
That’s when Visual Studio 2026 Insiders erased my configuration.
No warning. No fallback. No grayed-out keys. Just silent deletion.
🧭 The Regression Nobody Asked For
In previous versions, if you added an unsupported key to settings.json, Visual Studio would ignore it gracefully. It might gray it out in the UI, or skip it during parsing—but it wouldn’t punish you for trying. That behavior respected developers. It understood that experimentation is part of the process.
Now? Schema validation is strict. If you add a key that isn’t recognized—like triggerOnTripleSlash or enableDocumentationComments—the entire block is wiped. No trace. No feedback. No respect.
🧬 Configuration Is Code
Let’s be clear: if a developer can’t handle a simple JSON file, they have no business writing code. Configuration is code. Structure is clarity. And clarity is non-negotiable.
When Microsoft locks down the schema and removes the ability to experiment, they’re not protecting developers—they’re infantilizing them. They’re trading flexibility for control. And they’re breaking workflows that power users have relied on for years.