aws / aws/aws-toolkit-visual-studio
AWS Explorer missing in Visual Studio 2022 after installing Amazon Q
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Description
**Describe the bug**
After installing the latest version of Amazon Q in Visual Studio 2022 Professional (fully updated), the AWS Explorer does not appear in the View menu as expected. Instructions indicate it should be present, but it is missing. Copilot suggested looking for 'Activity' on the left side (as in VS Code), but this does not exist in Visual Studio 2022.
**To Reproduce**
1. Install Visual Studio 2022 Professional (Windows 10 Pro, version 10.0.19645 Build 19045)
2. Install latest AWS Toolkit and Amazon Q
3. Open Visual Studio 2022
4. Check View menu for AWS Explorer (not present)
**Expected behavior**
AWS Explorer should appear in the View menu, as documented, allowing access to AWS services such as Beanstalk.
**Screenshots**
**Toolkit Logs**
```
2025-05-31 15:18:16,902 [14] DEBUG Amazon.AWSToolkit.Publish.Install.DeployCli - Finished initializing aws.deploy.tools
2025-05-31 15:18:18,178 [1] INFO Amazon.AwsToolkit.AmazonQ.Common.Margins.CodeWhispererMarginProvider - CodeWhispererMarginProvider ctor
2025-05-31 15:18:21,824 [1] DEBUG Amazon.AWSToolkit.VisualStudio.Notification.NotificationInfoBarManager - Trying to show notification info bar for 34776597-aefb-4c9b-9cc0-2dda6fc8b20b
2025-05-31 15:18:21,842 [1] DEBUG Amazon.AWSToolkit.VisualStudio.Notification.NotificationInfoBarManager - Notification info bar displayed for 34776597-aefb-4c9b-9cc0-2dda6fc8b20b
2025-05-31 15:18:24,105 [1] ERROR Amazon.AwsToolkit.AmazonQ.QNetTransform.Util.QNetTransformUtils - Artifact workspace directory not found.
2025-05-31 15:18:32,392 [44] DEBUG Amazon.AWSToolkit.Telemetry.Internal.TelemetryPublisher - Publishing 20 event(s)
2025-05-31 15:18:33,007 [8] DEBUG Amazon.AWSToolkit.Telemetry.Internal.TelemetryPublisher - Publishing 9 event(s)
```
**Development System (please complete the following information):**
- Windows Version: Windows 10 Pro version 10.0.19645 Build 19045
- Visual Studio Version: Visual Studio 2022 Professional (latest)
- AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio Version: Latest (with Amazon Q)
**Additional context**
Attempting to access AWS Beanstalk from Visual Studio 2022 is not possible due to the missing AWS Explorer. Guidance or a fix is needed.
Contributor guide
Research direction
Reproduce the installation steps with Visual Studio 2022 Professional, the latest AWS Toolkit, and Amazon Q, then check the View menu for AWS Explorer. Review the provided Toolkit logs, including the “Artifact workspace directory not found” error. Done means AWS Explorer appears in the View menu and provides access to AWS services such as Beanstalk.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- aws
- Domain
- cloud, devtools
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100