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Visual Studio Extensions

The Telerik Reporting Visual Studio extensions help you configure AI tooling, create Reporting projects and report items, and maintain existing .NET Framework projects from within Visual Studio.

After you install Telerik Reporting, the extensions are available from Extensions > Telerik > Reporting in Visual Studio.

Before you use any extension feature, make sure the extension is installed:

Visual Studio Extensions menu with Telerik Reporting tools

What the Extensions Add

The Visual Studio extensions support the following development tasks:

Configure the Telerik Reporting MCP Server globally or per solution.
Add GitHub Copilot repository instructions for Reporting projects.
Create new Telerik Reporting project types.
Add new report items and launch report wizards.
Upgrade or downgrade Telerik Reporting versions in .NET Framework projects.
Enable the Visual Studio Report Designer and Toolbox items for supported projects.

Setting up the Telerik Reporting MCP Server

Starting with the Progress® Telerik® Reporting 2025 Q4 (19.3.25.1111) release, the Telerik Reporting MCP Server can now be set up using the Telerik Reporting Visual Studio Extension.

Use this integration when you want GitHub Copilot or another Model Context Protocol (MCP)-compatible client to work with Telerik Reporting context directly from your development environment.

Visual Studio extension menu with Telerik Reporting MCP commands

Choose the Configuration Scope

The extension provides the following MCP-related commands:

The Configure MCP Server Globally option creates (or updates if existing) the global %USERPROFILE%\.mcp.json file and adds the Telerik server entry.
The Configure MCP Server for Solution option is visible only if you have a project opened in Visual Studio. The option creates (or updates if existing) the .mcp.json file in the solution directory.
The Add/Update GitHub Copilot Instructions option is visible only if you have a project opened in Visual Studio. The option creates (or updates if existing) a copilot-instructions.md file in the .github\ folder of the solution (\SolutionDir\.github\copilot-instructions.md), which includes extra context that is automatically used with the prompt given to the Copilot chat in Visual Studio.

Use the global option when you want the Telerik Reporting MCP Server available across multiple repositories on your machine. Use the solution option when you want the configuration stored with a specific solution.

Set Up the MCP Server

To configure the MCP Server from Visual Studio:

Open Visual Studio.
Open Extensions > Telerik > Reporting.
Select Configure MCP Server Globally or Configure MCP Server for Solution.
If you are working in a solution and want Copilot to receive Telerik Reporting-specific repository instructions, select Add/Update GitHub Copilot Instructions.
Verify that the expected configuration file was created or updated.

After this setup, your MCP client can use the Telerik Reporting MCP Server configuration that the extension generated.

Project Templates

After installing Telerik Reporting, the extensions add Telerik Reporting project templates to the New Project dialog in Visual Studio:

Visual Studio New Project dialog with Telerik Reporting project templates

Use these templates when you want to start with a project that already contains the basic Telerik Reporting setup.

Create a Telerik Reporting Project

To create a project from a Telerik Reporting template:

In Visual Studio, select File > New > Project.
Search for Telerik Reporting templates or filter the list until the Telerik Reporting templates appear.
Select the template that matches your scenario.
Complete the standard Visual Studio project creation steps.

If you select Telerik Reporting REST service, the REST Service Project Configuration wizard opens:

REST Service Project Configuration wizard for Telerik Reporting

Use that wizard to configure the REST service properties for your project.

For hosting guidance after the project is created, refer to:

Item Templates and Report Wizards

With the installation of Telerik Reporting, several report item templates are added to the New Item dialog of Visual Studio:

Visual Studio Add New Item dialog entry point for Telerik Reporting items

Visual Studio New Item dialog with Telerik Reporting item templates

Add a New Reporting Item

To add a Telerik Reporting item to an existing project:

In Solution Explorer, right-click the target project.
Select Add > New Item.
Select the Telerik Reporting item template that matches your scenario.
Finish the item creation flow.

If you choose a wizard-based report template, the New Report Wizard opens:

New Report Wizard selector in Visual Studio

Depending on your selection, the corresponding report wizard is displayed, for example the Band Report Wizard.

Upgrade Wizard

The Upgrade Wizard lets you upgrade or downgrade a .NET Framework project to any installed Telerik Reporting version.

To start the wizard, select Extensions > Telerik > Reporting > Upgrade Wizard:

Visual Studio menu path for starting the Telerik Reporting Upgrade Wizard

Use the Upgrade Wizard when you need to align an existing .NET Framework project with a different installed Telerik Reporting version.

Visual Studio Report Designer and Toolbox Support

After installing Telerik Reporting, you can use the Visual Studio Report Designer in a .NET Framework project to create new reports and import reports from other formats.

During the installation process, Telerik Reporting assemblies are also added to the Global Assembly Cache (GAC). This enables the corresponding items in the Visual Studio Toolbox for .NET Framework projects:

Visual Studio Toolbox with Telerik Reporting items for .NET Framework projects

If the Telerik Reporting Toolbox items do not appear as expected, refer to the Troubleshooting article.