Dependency docs (both 0.81 and current 0.83) say VS 2022, but `MinimumVisualStudioVersion=18.0` since 0.81.28 requires VS 2026

[AlexLablaiksSAP]

Problem Description

The rnw-dependencies page on every documented version, 0.81 and current 0.83, lists Visual Studio 2022 as the supported IDE. But starting with react-native-windows@0.81.28, the generated Microsoft.ReactNative.Managed.csproj sets <MinimumVisualStudioVersion>18.0</MinimumVisualStudioVersion>, which VS 2022 (17.x) refuses to load:

The project 'Microsoft.ReactNative.Managed.csproj' was created with a newer version of Visual Studio which is incompatible with your version. You can only open this project with newer versions of Visual Studio.

This affects all currently published lines that have been updated in the last few weeks: 0.81.28, 0.81.29, 0.83.x, 0.84.x.

Additional signal that VS 2026 is the intended baseline: the bug-report issue template's "Visual Studio Version" dropdown only offers "Visual Studio 2026" and "Visual Studio 2026 Preview" (no VS 2022 option). So the codebase, the published packages, and the issue template all assume VS 2026, while the user-facing docs still tell people to install VS 2022.

I verified the boundary by inspecting Microsoft.ReactNative.Managed/Microsoft.ReactNative.Managed.csproj in each published tarball:

Version	MinimumVisualStudioVersion
0.81.27	17.0
0.81.28	18.0
0.81.29	18.0
0.83.2	18.0
0.84.0	18.0

Bumping the minimum VS version on a stable patch line (0.81.27 to 0.81.28) is a breaking change for every existing user, so at minimum this should be documented prominently. The docs currently still tell users to install VS 2022.

Steps To Reproduce

1. npx --yes @react-native-community/cli@latest init Test --version 0.81-stable
2. cd Test && yarn add react-native-windows@~0.81.6 (resolves to 0.81.29)
3. npx react-native init-windows --overwrite --template old/uwp-cs-app
4. Open windows/Test.sln in Visual Studio Enterprise 2022 17.14.

VS refuses to load Microsoft.ReactNative.Managed.csproj.

Workaround: pin to react-native-windows@0.81.27.

Expected Results

Primary ask: revert MinimumVisualStudioVersion to 17.0 on the 0.81 line. Stable patch releases should not change required toolchain versions; bumping in 0.81.28 broke every existing 0.81 consumer.

Secondary: update the rnw-dependencies docs (both 0.81 and current 0.83) to reflect whatever VS version is actually required. Right now both pages say VS 2022 while the published packages all require VS 2026.

CLI version

20.0.0

Environment

System:
  OS: Windows 11 10.0.26200
  CPU: (20) x64 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-13900H
  Memory: 39.55 GB / 63.45 GB
Binaries:
  Node:
    version: 22.23.0
    path: C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.EXE
  Yarn:
    version: 1.22.22
    path: C:\Program Files\nodejs\yarn.CMD
  npm:
    version: 10.9.8
    path: C:\Program Files\nodejs\npm.CMD
  Watchman: Not Found
SDKs:
  Android SDK: Not Found
  Windows SDK:
    AllowDevelopmentWithoutDevLicense: Enabled
    AllowAllTrustedApps: Enabled
    Versions:
      - 10.0.19041.0
      - 10.0.22621.0
      - 10.0.26100.0
IDEs:
  Android Studio: AI-243.24978.46.2431.13363775
  Visual Studio:
    - 17.14.36401.2 (Visual Studio Enterprise 2022)
Languages:
  Java:
    version: 17.0.13
    path: C:\Program Files\Eclipse Adoptium\jdk-17.0.13.11-hotspot\bin\javac.EXE
  Ruby: Not Found
npmPackages:
  "@react-native-community/cli":
    installed: 20.0.0
    wanted: 20.0.0
  react:
    installed: 19.1.4
    wanted: 19.1.4
  react-native:
    installed: 0.81.6
    wanted: 0.81.6
  react-native-windows:
    installed: 0.81.29
    wanted: ~0.81.6
npmGlobalPackages:
  "*react-native*": Not Found
Android:
  hermesEnabled: true
  newArchEnabled: true
iOS:
  hermesEnabled: Not found
  newArchEnabled: Not found

Community Modules

None

Target React Native Architecture

Old Architecture (UWP) Only

Target Platform Version

10.0.22621

Visual Studio Version

None

Build Configuration

None

Snack, code example, screenshot, or link to a repository

Not applicable. The bug reproduces with the default init-windows scaffold using the steps above; no additional code is needed.

[gabor-seres-sap]

It’s also worth noting that the online dependency installer at https://aka.ms/rnw-vs2022-deps.ps1 now appears to target Visual Studio 2026 (18.x), even though the script name still suggests it is intended for Visual Studio 2022 (17.x).

Can you name the script to accurately reflect its target version and ensure it remains consistent with the content it delivers?

Thanks in advance for your help!