[6] It supports development in C#,[7] Visual Basic .NET,[8][9] Boo, F#,[10] IronPython and IronRuby programming languages.

Support for other project types is available in the 4.X series releases, but they may not be compatible with later versions of the .NET Framework.

[12][13] More specifically, the IDE includes a GUI designer, code/design views, syntax highlighting, auto completion menus (similar to IntelliSense[14]) the ability to compile and debug form/console .NET Framework applications,[6] a "New Project" wizard, toolbars, menus, panels and a docking system,[15]: 7 [16][17][18] and built-in code refactoring tools,[19][20] and it has an integrated debugger[21] that allows for stepping, viewing values of objects in memory, and breakpoints.

[11][26] It also includes functionality for: On 11 September 2000 Mike Kruger launched the project, while testing the first public release of .NET Framework 1.0.

[15] On 18 September 2017, Daniel Grunwald of the ICSharpCode team announced the project is "dead" for reasons related to the fast pace of changes to C# and .NET, including .NET Core, and suggested SharpDevelop users switch to either MonoDevelop or Visual Studio Code IDEs, each being recommended as a suitable open source replacement that is the target of regular updates and other maintenance.