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Build quantum solutions with the Microsoft Quantum Development Kit

The Microsoft Quantum Development Kit (QDK) is a free open-source software development kit designed specifically for quantum program development. The QDK includes an extension for Microsoft's Visual Studio Code (VS Code) and a set of Python libraries. Install the QDK to get started with state-of-the-art quantum development tools.

Overview of the QDK

The QDK offers a rich set of tools and features to help you excel in quantum development, such as:

  • Support for several quantum programming languages, including Q#, Qiskit, and OpenQASM.
  • Quantum code samples for various languages and development scenarios.
  • Support for development in Jupyter Notebook.
  • Visualization tools for quantum circuits and output from your quantum programs.
  • Full integration with Azure Quantum to submit jobs that run on real quantum hardware.
  • Local simulators to test and run quantum programs on your local device.
  • Python libraries for quantum chemistry calculations on classical and quantum computers.

In addition to a robust set of quantum-specific features, the QDK offers standard VS Code development tools such as syntax highlighting, code suggestions with IntelliSense, CodeLens shortcuts, error checking and debugging, and code references.

The QDK also includes a fully integrated AI agent experience with Copilot in VS Code. The VS Code agent can write code for you, explain what the code does, help you submit jobs to Azure Quantum, and even teach you about theoretical concepts in quantum computing.

Get started with the QDK

To install the QDK, see Set up the QDK extension.

To update the QDK, see Update the QDK to the latest version.

Features of the QDK

Explore the following documentation to learn more about the main features of the QDK:

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