https://github.com/exloud/visual-studio-telemetry-disable-tool
Telemetry Disable Tool
https://github.com/exloud/visual-studio-telemetry-disable-tool
command-line disable free powershell telemetry telemetry-collection tweak tweaks visualstudio visualstudiocode windows windows-10 windows-11
Last synced: 7 months ago
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Telemetry Disable Tool
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/exloud/visual-studio-telemetry-disable-tool
- Owner: EXLOUD
- License: mit
- Created: 2025-06-29T15:29:08.000Z (7 months ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2025-07-05T23:08:22.000Z (7 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-07-06T00:19:03.043Z (7 months ago)
- Topics: command-line, disable, free, powershell, telemetry, telemetry-collection, tweak, tweaks, visualstudio, visualstudiocode, windows, windows-10, windows-11
- Language: PowerShell
- Homepage:
- Size: 1.38 MB
- Stars: 1
- Watchers: 0
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE
- Security: SECURITY.md
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
# Visual Studio Telemetry Disable Tool
[](https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell)
[](LICENSE)
A comprehensive PowerShell-based tool to disable telemetry and data collection across Microsoft development tools including Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, .NET CLI, and NuGet.
## 🚀 Features
- **Comprehensive Coverage**: Disables telemetry for Visual Studio 2015-2022, VS Code, .NET CLI, and NuGet
- **Backup & Restore**: Create registry backups before making changes and restore when needed
- **Smart Detection**: Only modifies existing registry paths - doesn't create unnecessary entries
- **PowerShell 7 Optimized**: Enhanced performance and modern PowerShell features
- **Administrator Safety**: Requires admin privileges and validates permissions
- **Cross-Version Support**: Works with PowerShell 5.1 and 7.0+
- **Detailed Logging**: Color-coded output with comprehensive status reporting
## 📋 What Gets Disabled
### Visual Studio (2015-2022)
- Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP)
- Feedback dialogs and crash reporting
- Automatic data collection
- VS Standard Collector Service
### Visual Studio Code
- Telemetry reporting
- Crash reporter
- Automatic experiments
- Extension auto-updates
- Usage analytics
### .NET CLI & NuGet
- .NET CLI telemetry collection
- NuGet package usage analytics
- Performance data collection
### System-Wide
- Windows SQM (Software Quality Metrics) Client
- Application Insights data collection
- Telemetry directories cleanup
## 🛠️ Prerequisites
- Windows operating system
- Administrator privileges
- PowerShell 5.1 or PowerShell 7.0+
## 📦 Installation
1. **Download the tool:**
```bash
git clone https://github.com/your-username/vs-telemetry-disable.git
cd vs-telemetry-disable
```
2. **Or download as ZIP:**
- Click "Code" → "Download ZIP"
- Extract to your desired location
## 🚀 Usage
### Quick Start
1. **Right-click on `Launcher.bat`** and select **"Run as administrator"**
2. Follow the interactive prompts
3. The launcher will automatically detect your PowerShell version and run the appropriate script
### Command Line Usage
#### Basic Usage (Disable telemetry)
```powershell
# PowerShell 7
.\script\off_telemetry_ps7.ps1
# PowerShell 5
.\script\off_telemetry_ps5.ps1
```
#### Create Backup First (Recommended)
```powershell
# Create backup before making changes
.\script\off_telemetry_ps7.ps1 -CreateBackup
# Create backup to specific location
.\script\off_telemetry_ps7.ps1 -CreateBackup -BackupPath "C:\MyBackups\telemetry_backup.reg"
```
#### Restore from Backup
```powershell
# Restore from default backup location
.\script\off_telemetry_ps7.ps1 -RestoreBackup -BackupPath "path\to\your\backup.reg"
```
### Advanced Usage Examples
```powershell
# Create backup and continue with telemetry disable
.\script\off_telemetry_ps7.ps1 -CreateBackup
# Restore specific backup file
.\script\off_telemetry_ps7.ps1 -RestoreBackup -BackupPath "C:\Backups\telemetry_backup_20241201_143022.reg"
# Create backup to custom location without running disable
.\script\off_telemetry_ps7.ps1 -CreateBackup -BackupPath "D:\MyBackups\vs_telemetry.reg"
```
## 📁 Project Structure
```
vs-telemetry-disable/
├── Launcher.bat # Interactive launcher script
├── assets/
│ └── preview.gif # Tool demonstration
├── script/
│ ├── off_telemetry_ps7.ps1 # PowerShell 7.0+ version
│ └── off_telemetry_ps5.ps1 # PowerShell 5.1 version
├── README.md # This file
├── LICENSE # MIT License
└── .gitignore # Git ignore rules
```
## 🔧 How It Works
### Detection Process
1. **PowerShell Version Detection**: Launcher automatically detects available PowerShell versions
2. **Registry Path Validation**: Only existing registry paths are modified
3. **Service Management**: Safely stops and disables telemetry services
4. **Environment Variables**: Sets opt-out environment variables
5. **File Cleanup**: Removes existing telemetry data directories
### Registry Modifications
The tool modifies the following registry areas (only if they exist):
- `HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VSCommon\*\SQM`
- `HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\VisualStudio`
- `HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\VisualStudio`
- `HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SQMClient`
### Environment Variables Set
- `DOTNET_CLI_TELEMETRY_OPTOUT=1`
- `NUGET_TELEMETRY_OPTOUT=true`
- `POWERSHELL_TELEMETRY_OPTOUT=1`
## ⚠️ Important Notes
- **Administrator Rights Required**: The script must run with administrator privileges
- **Backup Recommended**: Always create a backup before making changes
- **Restart Required**: Some changes may require a system restart to take full effect
- **Existing Paths Only**: The script only modifies existing registry entries
- **VS Code Settings**: Creates/updates VS Code settings.json with privacy-focused configuration
## 🔄 Backup & Restore
### Creating Backups
```powershell
# Default backup location (Desktop with timestamp)
.\script\off_telemetry_ps7.ps1 -CreateBackup
# Custom backup location
.\script\off_telemetry_ps7.ps1 -CreateBackup -BackupPath "C:\Backups\my_backup.reg"
```
### Restoring Backups
```powershell
# Restore from backup
.\script\off_telemetry_ps7.ps1 -RestoreBackup -BackupPath "path\to\backup.reg"
```
Backup files are standard Windows Registry (.reg) files that can be imported manually if needed.
## 🆘 Troubleshooting
### Common Issues
**"This script must be run as Administrator"**
- Right-click the batch file and select "Run as administrator"
- Or run PowerShell as administrator and execute the script directly
**"PowerShell script not found"**
- Ensure the `script` folder contains the PowerShell files
- Check that file paths are correct
**"No compatible PowerShell version found"**
- Install PowerShell 7 (recommended) or ensure Windows PowerShell 5.1 is available
### Verification
To verify the changes worked:
1. Check environment variables in a new command prompt
2. Look for disabled services in Services.msc
3. Check VS Code settings.json for updated privacy settings
4. Review registry entries (if comfortable with registry editing)
## 🤝 Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.
### Development Setup
1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (`git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature`)
3. Make your changes
4. Test on both PowerShell 5.1 and 7.0+
5. Commit your changes (`git commit -m 'Add amazing feature'`)
6. Push to the branch (`git push origin feature/amazing-feature`)
7. Open a Pull Request
## 📄 License
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the [LICENSE](LICENSE) file for details.
## ⚡ Author
**EXLOUD**
## 🙏 Acknowledgments
- Microsoft for providing comprehensive documentation on registry settings
- PowerShell community for best practices and patterns
- Contributors and users who provide feedback and improvements
## 📊 Compatibility
| Component | Status | Notes |
|-----------|--------|-------|
| Visual Studio 2015 | ✅ Supported | If installed |
| Visual Studio 2017 | ✅ Supported | If installed |
| Visual Studio 2019 | ✅ Supported | If installed |
| Visual Studio 2022 | ✅ Supported | If installed |
| Visual Studio Code | ✅ Supported | If installed |
| .NET CLI | ✅ Supported | Always processed |
| NuGet | ✅ Supported | Always processed |
| PowerShell 5.1 | ✅ Supported | Windows PowerShell |
| PowerShell 7.0+ | ✅ Supported | Recommended |
## 🔮 Roadmap
- [ ] GUI interface for easier usage
- [ ] Support for additional Microsoft development tools
- [ ] Scheduled telemetry cleanup
- [ ] Configuration profiles for different scenarios
- [ ] Integration with package managers
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**⭐ If this tool helped you, please consider giving it a star!**