Set default web browser for Visual Studio

This article was migrated from an older iteration of our website, and it could deviate in design and functionality.

This is a reminder of how to change the default browser used when launching a website in Visual Studio.

Estimated read time : 2 minutes

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Change which browser is launched by Visual Studio

Ever since I moved over to IIS Express for local development I find myself hitting F5 more often to browse or debug a site by having Visual Studio open it up.

However, by default this will open up the site in Internet Explorer, which isn’t my browser of choice for development – Firefox is.

To change which browser Visual Studio launches, simply right-click any web form (.aspx file) and select Browse With:

Browse with specific web browser in Visual Studio

Select the browser you want as your default and click Set as Default:

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Now you can just cancel out of this windows and press F5 or CTRL+F5 to have Visual Studio launch the website in the browser of your choice.

One would wish this option would be moved in with the other options in Visual Studio, but until then this post will serve as a reminder of how to do it. :)