Vs-preclean-vs.exe Visual Studio 2012

Despite its helpful intent, vs-preclean-vs.exe can be a source of frustration. Below are the most frequently reported problems.

Developers may see an error in the Output window stating:

vs_preclean_vs.exe is a legacy utility associated with Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 (specifically found on MSDN Disc 5095 vs-preclean-vs.exe visual studio 2012

Visual Studio 2012 sometimes struggles with file locking, especially when the IDE tries to delete files that are technically still in use by the debugger or an attached process.

This usually happens when the executable is referenced in the within the project properties. Despite its helpful intent, vs-preclean-vs

In a standard installation of Visual Studio 2012, you will find vs-preclean-vs.exe here:

When invoked, vs-preclean-vs.exe performs the following tasks: This usually happens when the executable is referenced

A: No. It is a purely local build tool. No network or telemetry functionality is present.