Visual Studio Code (VSCode) has become one of developers’ and power users’ most popular text editors. It comes packed with features, shortcuts, extensions, and more to cater to every developer’s caliber. However, like most tools, it is only as powerful as the user.
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By default, VSCode already provides a set of keyboard shortcuts that can control almost any aspect of the text editor. For example, the program provides a way to toggle its user interface and enable its “rich languages” feature. However, one of the most significant limitations of VSCode is it has no clear way of knowing the available shortcuts inside the program.
Luckily, this VSCode ultimate keyboard shortcuts cheatsheet will provide you with the most common and useful shortcuts to turn you into a Visual Studio Code power user.
| Windows | Linux | Mac | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| Managing Files | |||
| Ctrl + O | Ctrl + O | Cmd + O | Opens a file from the file system. |
| Ctrl + N | Ctrl + N | Cmd + N | Creates a new file. |
| Ctrl + S | Ctrl + S | Cmd + S | Saves the current file. |
| Ctrl + Shift + S | Ctrl + Shift + S | Cmd + Shift + S | Enables Save As mode, which allows you to define an extension or rename a file |
| Ctrl + K, then S | Cmd + Option + S | Save All. | |
| Ctrl + F4 | Ctrl + W | Cmd + W | Close the current open file, saving the changes. |
| Ctrl + K, then Ctrl + W | Ctrl + K, then Ctrl + W | Cmd + K, then Cmd + W | Close all open files simultaneously, saving the changes. |
| Ctrl + Shift + T | Ctrl + Shift + T | Cmd + Shift + T | Reopen closed editor window. |
| Ctrl + K, then R | Ctrl + K, then R | Cmd + K, then R | Open the file location of the active file in the file system. |
| Ctrl + K, then P | Ctrl + K, then P | Cmd + K, then P | Copy the full path of the active file. |
| Ctrl + Shift + F | Ctrl + Shift + F | Cmd + Shift + F | Show the search window. |
| Managing the Editor | |||
| Ctrl + Backslash (\) | Ctrl + Backslash (\) | Cmd + Backslash (\) | Split the editor by adding one extra editing window. |
| Ctrl + W | Ctrl + W | Cmd + W | Close the current editor window. |
| Ctrl + K, then F | Ctrl + K, then F | Cmd + K, then F | Close the currently opened folder and default to the main window. |
| Alt + Z | Alt + Z | Option + Z | Enable or disable word wrap on the current file. |
| Ctrl + Shift + U | Ctrl + K, then Ctrl + H | Cmd + Shift + U | Toggle VSCode’s output window. |
| Ctrl + K, then Z | Ctrl + K, then Z | Cmd + K, then Z | Toggle VSCode’s Zen mode. |
| Editing Files | |||
| Ctrl + C | Ctrl + C | Cmd + C | Copy the current line if section is highlighted. |
| Alt + Shift + Up arrow | Copy the current line if the section is highlighted. | Copy the line above the current line. | |
| Alt + Shift + Down arrow | Replace the entity in the current file. | Copy the line below the current line. | |
| Ctrl + X | Ctrl + X | Cmd + X | Cut the current line if no section is highlighted. |
| Ctrl + F | Ctrl + F | Cmd + F | Search in the current file. |
| Ctrl + H | Ctrl + H | Cmd + Option + F | Replace entity in the current file. |
| Ctrl + L | Ctrl + L | Cmd + L | Select the current line. |
| Ctrl + Shift + L | Ctrl + Shift + L | Cmd + Shift + L | Select all instances of the current line in the file. |
| F3 | F3 | Cmd + G | Find next. |
| Shift + F3 | Shift + F3 | Cmd + Shift + G | Find previous. |
| Ctrl + Shift + K | Ctrl + Shift + K | Cmd + Shift + K | Move the current lineup from the current position. |
| Ctrl + U | Ctrl + U | Cmd + U | Undo the most recent cursor operation. |
| Alt + Up Arrow | Alt + Up Arrow | Option + Up Arrow | Move the current line up from its current position. |
| Alt + Down Arrow | Alt + Down Arrow | Option + Down Arrow | Move the current line down from the current position. |
| End | End | End | Go to the end of the current line. |
| Home | Home | Home | Go to the beginning of the file. |
| Ctrl + End | Ctrl + End | Cmd + Down Arrow | Go to the end of a file. |
| Ctrl + Home | Ctrl + Home | Cmd + Up Arrow | Go the beginning of the file. |
| Alt + Enter | Alt + Enter | Option + Enter | Select all occurrences of the found matches. |
| Ctrl + Enter | Ctrl + Enter | Cmd + Enter | Insert a new line below the current line. |
| Ctrl + Shift + Enter | Ctrl + Shift + Enter | Cmd + Shift + Enter | Insert a new line above the current line. |
| Ctrl + Shift + Backslash (\) | Ctrl + Shift + Backslash (\) | Cmd + Shift + Backslash (\) | Go to the matching bracket. |
| Ctrl + Right Square Bracket (]) | Ctrl + Right Square Bracket (]) | Cmd + Right Square Bracket (]) | Automatically indent the current line if no section is highlighted. |
| Ctrl + Left Square Bracket ([) | Ctrl + Left Square Bracket ([) | Cmd + Left Square Bracket ([) | Automatically outdent the current line if no section is highlighted. |
| Alt + Shift + F | Ctrl + Shift + I | Option + Shift + I | Format the current document. |
| Ctrl + K, then Ctrl + F | Ctrl + K, then Ctrl + F | Cmd + K, then Cmd + F | Format the selected section. |
| Ctrl + Shift + H | Ctrl + Shift + H | Cmd + Shift + H | Replace in Files. |
| Ctrl + Period (.) | Ctrl + Period (.) | Cmd + Period (.) | Show Quick Fix actions, if one is available. |
| Ctrl + K, then M | Ctrl + K, then M | Cmd + K, then M | Alter the current file language and set to auto-detect by default. |
| Ctrl + K, then Ctrl + X | Ctrl + K, then Ctrl + X | Cmd + K, then Cmd + X | Remove all excess spaces and tabs in the document. |
| Ctrl + Space | Ctrl + Space | Ctrl + Space | Manually activate a code suggestion. |
| Alt + Left Mouse Click | Alt + Left Mouse Click | Option + Left Mouse Click | Insert a cursor. |
| Commenting Code | |||
| Ctrl + Slash (/) | Ctrl + Slash (/) | Cmd + Slash (/) | Comment or uncomment out the current line. |
| Ctrl + K, then Ctrl + C | Ctrl + K, then Ctrl + C | Cmd + K, then Cmd + C | Create a comment on the current line. |
| Ctrl + K, then Ctrl + U | Ctrl + K, then Ctrl + U | Cmd + K, then Cmd + U | Remove a comment on the current line. |
| Alt + Shift + A | Ctrl + Shift + A | Option + Shift + A | Comment or uncomment out the currently selection region. |
| Function Definitions | |||
| F12 | F12 | F12 | Open the library definition of the current function. |
| Ctrl + K, then F12 | Ctrl + K, then F12 | Cmd + K, then F12 | Open a new window containing the library definition of the current function. |
| Alt + F12 | Ctrl + Shift + F10 | Option + F12 | Open a small window that shows the library definition of the current function. |
| Shift + F12 | Shift + F12 | Shift + F12 | Find all the functions in the project that references the current function. |
| F2 | F2 | F2 | Rename the current function. |
| Ctrl + F2 | Ctrl + F2 | Rename the current function and replace all instances of it in the file. | |
| General Usage | |||
| Ctrl + Shift + P | Ctrl + Shift + P | Cmd + Shift + P | Launch the Command Palette. |
| Ctrl + Comma (,) | Ctrl + Comma (,) | Cmd + Comma (,) | Open the user settings. |
| Ctrl + K, then Ctrl + S | Ctrl + K, then Ctrl + S | Cmd + K, then Cmd + S | Launch the Keyboard Shortcut interface. |
| Ctrl + Shift + N | Ctrl + Shift + N | Cmd + Shift + N | Open a new window. |
| Ctrl + Shift + W | Ctrl + W | Cmd + W | Close the window. |
| Ctrl + Left Mouse Click | Ctrl + Left Mouse Click | Open the link on the default browser. | |
| Navigating VSCode | |||
| Ctrl + T | Ctrl + T | Cmd + T | Quickly toggle all symbols. |
| Ctrl + P | Ctrl + P | Cmd + P | Go to a specific file. |
| Ctrl + Shift + O | Ctrl + Shift + O | Cmd + Shift + O | Navigate to a specific symbol. |
| F11 | F11 | Cmd + Ctrl + F | Enable full screen mode. |
| Ctrl + Shift + E | Ctrl + Shift + E | Cmd + Shift + E | Toggle Explorer/Editor Focus. |
| Ctrl + Shift + X | Ctrl + Shift + X | Cmd + Shift + X | Show/Search Visual Studio extensions. |
| Ctrl + Shift + D | Ctrl + Shift + D | Cmd + Shift + D | Show the Debug panel. |
| Ctrl + Equal (=) | Ctrl + Equal (=) | Cmd + Equal (=) | Zoom in the VSCode interface. |
| Ctrl + Minus (-) | Ctrl + Minus (-) | Cmd + Shift + Minus (-) | Zoom out the VSCode interface. |
| Ctrl + Shift + Left Square Bracket ([) | Option + Shift + Left Square Bracket ([) | Hide the current region of code. | |
| Ctrl + Shift + Right Square Bracket (]) | Option + Shift + Right Square Bracket (]) | Unhide the current region of code. | |
| Ctrl + K, then Ctrl + 0 | Ctrl + K, then Ctrl + 0 | Cmd + K, then Cmd + 0 | Hide all regions in the currently open file. |
| Ctrl + K, then Ctrl + J | Ctrl + K, then Ctrl + J | Cmd + K, then Cmd + J | Unhide all regions in the currently open file. |
| Ctrl + K, then Ctrl + Left Square Bracket ([) | Cmd + K, then Cmd + Left Square Bracket ([) | Hide all subregions in the currently open file. | |
| Ctrl + K, then Ctrl + Right Square Bracket (]) | Cmd + K, then Cmd + Right Square Bracket (]) | Unhide all subregions in the currently open file. | |
| Terminal Mode | |||
| Ctrl + Backtick (`) | Ctrl + Backtick (`) | Ctrl + Backtick (`) | Open the terminal. |
| Ctrl + Shift + Backtick (`) | Ctrl + Shift + Backtick (`) | Ctrl + Shift + Backtick (`) | Create a new terminal instance. |
| Ctrl + C | Ctrl + Shift + C | Cmd + C | Copy the highlighted section. |
| Ctrl + V | Ctrl + Shift + V | Paste into the active terminal session. | |
| Ctrl + Up Arrow | Ctrl + Shift + Up Arrow | Cmd + Up Arrow | Scroll Up in the active terminal. |
| Ctrl + Shift + Down Arrow | Ctrl + Shift + Down Arrow | Cmd + Down Arrow | Navigate to the top. |
| Ctrl + Home | Ctrl + Home | Cmd + Home | Navigate to the top. |
| Ctrl + End | Ctrl + End | Cmd + End | Scroll to bottom. |
| Debug Mode | |||
| F9 | F9 | F9 | Create a breakpoint at the currently highlighted line. |
| F5 | F5 | F5 | Run the code one step after the breakpoint. |
| F11 | F11 | F11 | Go inside either the child function or loop. |
| Shift + F11 | Shift + F11 | Shift + F11 | Go outside either the child function or loop. |
| F10 | F10 | F10 | Skip the execution on the current breakpoint. |
| F8 | F8 | F8 | Move the pointer to the next error in the file. |
| Shift + F8 | Shift + F8 | Shift + F8 | Move the point to the previous error in the file. |
| Shift + F5 | Shift + F5 | Shift + F5 | Stop the debugging session. |
Image credit: Unsplash. All alterations by Ramces Red.
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