Most Useful VScode Shortcuts

Table of Content

Table of Contents

Author

Armoghan-ul-Mohmin

Introduction #

Visual Studio Code (VScode) is a powerful code editor, and mastering its keyboard shortcuts can greatly enhance your productivity. This article serves as a comprehensive cheat sheet for some of the most useful VScode keyboard shortcuts. The shortcuts may vary slightly depending on your operating system (Linux, Windows, or MacOS).

Editing #

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl + X`	Cut the current line (no need for selection).
`Ctrl + C`	Copy the current line (no need for selection).
`Alt + ↓/↑`	Move the current line up or down.
`Ctrl + /`	Toggle line comment for the current line or selection.
`Ctrl + Shift + I`	Format the entire document.
`Ctrl + .`	Trigger quick fixes and suggestions.
`F12`	Rename the symbol under the cursor.
`Ctrl + H`	Open the Find and Replace dialog.

Display #

Shortcut	Description
`F11`	Toggle full-screen mode.
`Ctrl + B`	Toggle the sidebar.
`Ctrl + K V`	Show a Markdown preview of the current file.
`Ctrl + K Z`	Enter or exit Zen mode, providing a distraction-free environment.
`Ctrl + \`	Split the editor. Change the active pane with Ctrl + 1, 2, 3, etc.
`Ctrl + ``	Show or hide the terminal (backtick).

Navigation #

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl + G`	Go to a specific line in the file.
`Ctrl + Alt/Shift + -`	Navigate back/forward through the cursor’s location history.
`Ctrl + P`	Quickly open files or navigate to a specific file.
`Ctrl + K Z`	Enter or exit Zen mode, offering a full-screen editor with no distractions.
`Ctrl + T`	Show all symbols in the current file.
`Ctrl + Shift + O`	Go to a specific symbol within the current file.

Debug #

Shortcut	Description
`F8`	Go to the next error or warning in the Problems panel.
`F9`	Toggle a breakpoint at the current line.
`F5`	Start or continue debugging.
`F11/Shift+F11`	Step into or out of a function during debugging.

Source Control #

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl + Shift + G`	Open the source control (Git) panel.
`Ctrl + Shift + J`	Open the source control (SVN) panel.

Terminal #

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl + ``	Create a new terminal.
`Ctrl + Shift + ``	Create a new terminal in split view.

Extensions #

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl + Shift + P`	Show the command palette, allowing you to run various VScode commands and extensions.
`Ctrl + Shift + X`	Open the Extensions view, where you can manage your VScode extensions.
`Ctrl + K Ctrl + X`	Show the Extensions menu for quick extension management.
`Ctrl + Shift + C`	Install new extensions directly from VScode.
`Ctrl + Shift + I`	Show the extensions installed in the current workspace.

Integrated Terminal #

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl + C`	Terminate the currently running command in the integrated terminal.
`Ctrl + Space`	Trigger code suggestions and auto-completion in the integrated terminal.
`Ctrl + Up`	Scroll up in the integrated terminal.
`Ctrl + Down`	Scroll down in the integrated terminal.

Zen Mode #

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl + K Z`	Enter or exit Zen mode, providing a full-screen editor with no distractions.

Search and Replace #

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl + F`	Open the Find dialog to search for text in the current file.
`Ctrl + H`	Open the Replace dialog to find and replace text in the current file.
`F3`	Find the next occurrence of the search term.
`Shift + F3`	Find the previous occurrence of the search term.
`Alt + Enter`	Select all occurrences of the search term in the document.
`Ctrl + F2`	Select all occurrences of the current word under the cursor.
`Ctrl + D`	Add the current selection to the next find match.

Version Control #

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl + Shift + K`	Commit changes to your version control system (e.g., Git).
`Ctrl + Alt + M`	Resolve merge conflicts when working with version control.
`Ctrl + Alt + S`	Push changes to your version control system.
`Ctrl + Alt + U`	Pull changes from your version control system.
`Ctrl + Shift + L`	Open the Source Control Status view.

Files and Folders #

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl + N`	Create a new file.
`Ctrl + O`	Open an existing file.
`Ctrl + S`	Save the current file.
`Ctrl + W`	Close the current file.
`Ctrl + F4`	Close the active editor.
`Ctrl + K Ctrl + O`	Show the current file in the File Explorer.
`Ctrl + K P`	Copy the file path of the current file to the clipboard.

Debugging #

Shortcut	Description
`F9`	Add or remove a breakpoint at the current line.
`F10`	Step over while debugging.
`Shift + F5`	Stop the debugging session.
`Ctrl + Shift + F5`	Restart the debugging session.

Emmet Abbreviations #

Shortcut	Description
`Tab`	Expand Emmet abbreviations when working with HTML and CSS.

Code Navigation #

Shortcut	Description
`Alt + Left/Right`	Navigate back and forward between cursor positions.
`Ctrl + -`	Go to the last edit location.
`Ctrl + F6`	Navigate editor group history.
`Ctrl + M`	Toggle the menu bar.
`Ctrl + T`	Go to a specific file symbol within the current file.

Git Lens (if you have the extension installed) #

Shortcut	Description
`Alt + G`	Toggle Git Lens Blame to see the Git blame annotation.
`Alt + P`	Toggle Git Lens Previous Changes to see previous changes in Git.
`Alt + N`	Toggle Git Lens Next Changes to see next changes in Git.
`Alt + Shift + P`	Toggle Git Lens Uncommitted Changes to see uncommitted changes.
`Alt + Shift + N`	Toggle Git Lens Current Changes to see current changes in Git.

Code Folding #

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl + (K, 0-9)`	Fold or unfold code levels from 1 to 9.
`Ctrl + K Ctrl + 0`	Fold or unfold all code levels.
`Ctrl + (K, J)`	Fold all code in the editor.
`Ctrl + (K, L)`	Unfold all code in the editor.

Multi-Cursor and Selection #

Shortcut	Description
`Alt + Click`	Add a new cursor at the clicked location.
`Ctrl + Alt + Down`	Add a cursor below the current line.
`Ctrl + Alt + Up`	Add a cursor above the current line.
`Shift + Alt + I`	Insert a cursor at the end of each line in the current selection.

Commenting #

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl + K Ctrl + C`	Comment the selected lines.
`Ctrl + K Ctrl + U`	Uncomment the selected lines.

Zen Mode #

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl + K Z`	Enter or exit Zen mode, providing a full-screen editor with no distractions.

Emmet Actions #

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl + Alt + Enter`	Expand an abbreviation with Emmet.
`Tab`	Expand an abbreviation when working with Emmet.

Selection and Navigation #

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl + D`	Select the word under the cursor or the next occurrence of the word.
`Ctrl + U`	Undo the last cursor operation.
`Ctrl + L`	Select the entire current line.
`Ctrl + Shift + L`	Select all occurrences of the current selection.
`Ctrl + Alt + Down`	Add cursors below the current cursor positions.
`Ctrl + Alt + Up`	Add cursors above the current cursor positions.
`Ctrl + Left/Right`	Move the cursor to the beginning or end of the current word.

Indentation #

Shortcut	Description
`Tab`	Indent the current line or selected lines.
`Shift + Tab`	Outdent the current line or selected lines.
`Ctrl + [ / ]`	Indent or outdent the current line or selected lines.

Formatting #

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl + K Ctrl + F`	Format the entire document according to the language-specific rules.
`Ctrl + K Ctrl + S`	Sort the lines in the selection.
`Alt + Shift + F`	Format the current selection according to the language-specific rules.

Terminal #

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl + T`	Create a new terminal.
`Ctrl + W`	Close the terminal panel.
`Ctrl + K Ctrl + C`	Copy the current selection from the terminal.
`Ctrl + K Ctrl + V`	Paste the clipboard content into the terminal.
`Ctrl + Home/End`	Scroll to the top or bottom of the terminal.

Code Actions #

Shortcut	Description
`Alt + Enter`	Show available code actions, including quick fixes and refactorings.
`Ctrl + .`	Trigger the Quick Fix and refactoring menu for the selected code.

Extensions #

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl + Shift + P`	Show the command palette for running VScode commands and extensions.
`Ctrl + Shift + X`	Open the Extensions view for managing VScode extensions.
`Ctrl + K Ctrl + X`	Show the Extensions menu for quick extension management.
`Ctrl + Shift + C`	Install new extensions directly from VScode.
`Ctrl + Shift + I`	Show the extensions installed in the current workspace.

Git Integration #

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl + Alt + G`	Stage changes in Git.
`Ctrl + Shift + D`	Show the Git Changes view.
`Ctrl + Alt + C`	Open the Git Blame annotation for the current line.
`Ctrl + K Ctrl + G`	Show the Git Graph for a visual representation of Git history.

Debugging #

Shortcut	Description
`F9`	Add or remove breakpoints in your code.
`F10`	Step over functions while debugging.
`Shift + F5`	Stop the debugging session.
`F11/Shift+F11`	Step into or out of functions while debugging.

Intellisense #

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl + Space`	Trigger code suggestions and auto-completion.
`Ctrl + Shift + Space`	Trigger parameter hints for function calls.

Markers #

Shortcut	Description
`F2`	Go to the next error or warning in the current file.
`Shift + F2`	Go to the previous error or warning in the current file.
`Ctrl + F8`	Toggle code markers in the editor.
`Ctrl + Shift + F8`	Show code markers in the Problems panel.

Miscellaneous #

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl + P`	Use Quick Open to quickly navigate to a file.
`Ctrl + T`	Go to a specific file symbol in the workspace.
`Ctrl + E`	Show the list of recent files.
`Ctrl + J`	Toggle various panels (Output, Terminal, Problems, etc.).
`Ctrl + K Ctrl + M`	Change the language mode for the current file.

These shortcuts cover a wide range of actions within VScode, and mastering them can significantly improve your coding efficiency. Feel free to refer back to this cheat sheet whenever you need a quick reminder of a particular shortcut.