title	description	author	ms.author	ms.date
Microsoft.Testing.Platform and VSTest comparison	Learn the differences between Microsoft.Testing.Platform and VSTest, such as namespaces, NuGet packages, and executables.	nohwnd	jajares	12/15/2023

Microsoft.Testing.Platform and VSTest comparison

Microsoft.Testing.Platform is a lightweight and portable alternative to VSTest for running tests in command line, in continuous integration (CI) pipelines, in Visual Studio Test Explorer, and in Visual Studio Code. In this article, you learn the key differences between Microsoft.Testing.Platform and VSTest.

Differences in test execution

Tests are executed in different ways depending on the runner.

Execute VSTest tests

VSTest ships with Visual Studio, the .NET SDK, and as a standalone tool in the Microsoft.TestPlatform NuGet package. VSTest uses a runner executable to run tests, called vstest.console.exe, which can be used directly or through dotnet test.

Execute Microsoft.Testing.Platform tests

Microsoft.Testing.Platform is embedded directly into your test project and doesn't ship any extra executables. When you run your project executable, your tests run. For more information on running Microsoft.Testing.Platform tests, see Microsoft.Testing.Platform overview: Run and debug tests.

Namespaces and NuGet packages

To familiarize yourself with Microsoft.Testing.Platform and VSTest, it's helpful to understand the namespaces and NuGet packages that are used by each.

VSTest namespaces

VSTest is a collection of testing tools that are also known as the Test Platform. The VSTest source code is open-source and available in the microsoft/vstest GitHub repository. The code uses the Microsoft.TestPlatform.* namespace.

VSTest is extensible and common types are placed in Microsoft.TestPlatform.ObjectModel NuGet package.

Microsoft.Testing.Platform namespaces

Microsoft.Testing.Platform is based on Microsoft.Testing.Platform NuGet package and other libraries in the Microsoft.Testing.* namespace. Like VSTest, the Microsoft.Testing.Platform is open-source and has a microsoft/testfx GitHub repository.

Communication protocol

Note

The Visual Studio Test Explorer supports the Microsoft.Testing.Platform protocol since 17.12 onward. If you run/debug your tests using earlier versions of Visual Studio, Test Explorer will use vstest.console.exe and the old protocol to run these tests.

Microsoft.Testing.Platform uses a JSON-RPC based protocol to communicate between Visual Studio and the test runner process. The protocol is documented in the MSTest GitHub repository.

VSTest also uses a JSON based communication protocol, but it's not JSON-RPC based.

Disabling the new protocol

To disable the use of the new protocol in Test Explorer, you can edit your project to add the following property: <DisableTestingPlatformServerCapability>true</DisableTestingPlatformServerCapability>.

You can also go to Preview Features options in Visual Studio and deselect the "Use testing platform server mode" option.

Executables

VSTest ships multiple executables, notably vstest.console.exe, testhost.exe, and datacollector.exe. However, Microsoft.Testing.Platform is embedded directly into your test project and doesn't ship any other executables. The executable your test project compiles to is used to host all the testing tools and carry out all the tasks needed to run tests.

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