The first build of the Rider 2026.3 Early Access Program is now available for direct download through the JetBrains website or the Toolbox App. The preview release brings a set of improvements targeting code readability, debugging, discovering game development plugins, and support for measuring coverage for tests written with TUnit.
Improved Code Reading and Completion
Rider 2026.3 adds a feature that colors matching brackets according to their nesting level, helping with reading deeply structured code, particularly on lines where indentation guides do not provide enough benefit. The feature is disabled by default and can be enabled in Settings | Editor | General | Appearance.
The code completion window has also received a filter bar displaying icons for suggestion types, such as namespaces, classes, enumerations, and events. Developers can show a specific type of suggestion by clicking its icon, or hide a type by right-clicking it. These filters are based on the same functionality available in ReSharper.
Configuring Data Breakpoints from the Editor
The release streamlines the steps for configuring data breakpoints for developers using Unreal Engine or a custom C++ engine. Instead of searching for them in the Watches window, users can right-click a variable in the editor and create a data breakpoint directly.
These breakpoints can also be added from the Breakpoints window using the add button, then selecting Data Breakpoints and entering the variable name or memory address and region size. Advanced options remain available, including breaking on read or write operations, conditions, and logging, with input validation provided while typing.
Organizing Game Development Plugins
Rider moves its built-in game development plugins, such as Unity Support, UnrealLink, and Godot plugins, into a unified category named Game Development in the Plugins settings. JetBrains Marketplace has also added the same tag to bring together community-published game development plugins in one place.
Plugin developers can add the Game Development tag from the Marketplace management panel so that their plugins appear in this category.
TUnit Support in Coverage Measurement
Rider's dotCover integration can now measure coverage for unit tests written using TUnit. Enabling this requires installing the JetBrains.dotCover.Framework package in the project, then enabling Testing Platform support in the unit testing settings.
TUnit coverage support requires Microsoft.Testing.Platform version 2.3.0 or later.
What Changes in Practice?
This early release focuses on reducing friction in recurring tasks rather than introducing an announced architectural change to the Rider environment. .NET and game developers in particular will benefit from faster access to data breakpoints and better plugin organization, while the release should be treated as a preview; the announcement did not specify a final release date, and some features require manual activation or additional prerequisites.