Visual Studio, TFS, Git, & GitHub

For those unfamiliar with TFVC it is one of the two version control engines shipped with Team Foundation Server, available with Visual Studio Team Services, and available on Microsoft's GitHub "rival", CodePlex. Many developers assume TFVC when they refer to using TFS but this assumption went out the window with TFS 2013 when it began shipping with the option to use either TFVC or Git as a version control repository.

There are many sites such as git-scm.com that do a great job a describing Git and what makes it so powerful so I won't get into specifics here but I will say that it excels over most other version control platforms when it comes to large, distributed projects. One such project is the Linux operating system. In fact, it was Linux's creator, Linus Torvalds, that developed Git to support the large, distributed nature of the development of Linux. Even with smaller projects, developers are embracing Git partially due to applications like GitHub that easily allow sharing and collaboration across the globe.

Git does such a great job that Microsoft itself is moving away from TFVC in favor of Git for many of its own projects. It's even hosting many of its public (open source) projects on GitHub including the .NET Core project.

...which brings us to GitHub. GitHub is not Git and Git is not GitHub. Git is a standalone version control application whereas GitHub is a web-based Git repository hosting service. GitHub allows users to create and share Git repositories and interact with them via the GitHub.com website, APIs, command line tools, IDE plugins, etc.

Back to Microsoft and its integrations with Git and GitHub...

1) CodePlex offers a Git version control option (it is the default):

2) TFS and Visual Studio Team Services offer a Git option (also the default option):

3) Visual Studio 2015 provides local Git repository integration as well as
GitHub integration:


If you landed here it's because you spend at least part of your time developing on the Microsoft stack and are interested in Git. If you know and like Git and didn't know if or how it integrated with Microsoft development tools, now you know enough to find the resources you need to get started. If you've only just heard about Git in passing and work with Microsoft development tools, I would urge you to do some research on Git and GitHub prior to starting your next project so that you can make an informed decision as to which version control system to use and if you want to use hosted repository service like GitHub.

Useful Links

1. Interesting Wired article that gives some history of Git and GitHub
2. The Register article about Microsoft moving projects to Git
3. Visual Studio GitHub extension for all version of Visual Studio prior to Visual Studio 2015 Update 1.
4. posh-git PowerShell Interface Install Overview which is also part of the GitHub Desktop app install
5. Combining TFVC and Git repos in the same TFS project blog post

Team Foundation Service (TFS) Preview with Visual Studio 2008 (and BIDS)

It is now possible to use the Team Foundation Service Preview (Microsoft hosted TFS) with Visual Studio 2008 and BIDS (VS 2008 Shell).


1) Install Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Explorer http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=16338.
2) Install Visual Studio 2008 SP1 even if it is has previously been installed http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=10986.
3) Install the Visual Studio 2008 SP1 Compatibility GDR for Visual Studio 2012 Team Foundation Server and Team Foundation Service Preview http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29983.
4) Add your server (assuming you've already signed up for TFS preview) using the following URL: https://<yoursite>.visualstudio.com/defaultcollection.

If you receive an error stating:
TF31002 Unable to connect to this Team Foundation Server...
Possible reasons for this failure include:
-The Team Foundation Server name, port number, or protocol is incorrect.
-The Team Foundation Server is offline.
-Password is expired or incorrect.

MAKE SURE YOU ADD /defaultcollection to the end of your URL.

TFS 2010 Can't Convert Branch to Folder

Branches can be removed from a TFS project by converting them back to a folder. This is usually done when a branch was created by accident and needs to be removed. The tricky part is when the Convert to Folder menu option doesn't appear. If you find yourself in this situation you're most likely using the context menu (right-clicking). Try navigating to File -> Source Control -> Branching and Merging. You should see Convert to Folder there.

I'm not sure if it's true but a colleague of mine told me that Microsoft purposely did this to help avoid accidental conversion of branches to folders by making it harder to get to the command. It also helps make it very confusing and frustrating - IMHO.

BIDS (Visual Studio 2008 Shell) with TFS 2010

BIDS is not compatible with TFS 2010. It has to do with TFS 2010 having the concept of Project Collections whereas 2005 and 2008 do not. When adding a Team Foundation Server to Visual Studio Team Explorer 2008 (Tools -> Connect to a Team Foundation Server -> Servers -> Add) there is no way to reference a TFS Project Collection. However, it is possible to get your Visual Studio 2008/BIDS environment up to speed.

There are four things you need. 

1) Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Explorer downloadable here.

2) Visual Studio 2008 SP1 downloadable here.

3)  Visual Studio Team System 2008 SP1 Forward Compatibility Update for Team Foundation Server 2010 downloadable here.

4) Lastly you'll need to create a registry entry for each Server/Collection you want to use. Launch the registry editor (regedit at a command prompt) and create an entry in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\VisualStudio\9.0\TeamFoundation\Servers similar to below. 

    Value name: ServerName

    Value data: http://ServerName:PortNumber/tfs/CollectionName