Master Visual Studio Code with these essential keyboard shortcuts. We cover shortcuts for Windows/Linux and macOS to help you code faster and more efficiently.

Legend

  • Windows/Linux: Ctrl
  • macOS: Cmd (⌘)
  • Alt: Alt (Windows/Linux) / Option (⌥) (macOS)

Essential File & Navigation Shortcuts

File Operations

| Action | Windows/Linux | macOS | |--------|---------------|--------| | New File | Ctrl + N | Cmd + N | | Open File | Ctrl + O | Cmd + O | | Save File | Ctrl + S | Cmd + S | | Save As | Ctrl + Shift + S | Cmd + Shift + S | | Save All | Ctrl + K, S | Cmd + Option + S | | Close File | Ctrl + W | Cmd + W | | Close All Files | Ctrl + K, Ctrl + W | Cmd + K, Cmd + W | | Reopen Closed File | Ctrl + Shift + T | Cmd + Shift + T |

Quick Navigation

| Action | Windows/Linux | macOS | |--------|---------------|--------| | Quick Open (Go to File) | Ctrl + P | Cmd + P | | Command Palette | Ctrl + Shift + P | Cmd + Shift + P | | Go to Line | Ctrl + G | Cmd + G | | Go to Symbol | Ctrl + Shift + O | Cmd + Shift + O | | Go to Definition | F12 | F12 | | Peek Definition | Alt + F12 | Option + F12 | | Go Back | Alt + ← | Cmd + - | | Go Forward | Alt + → | Cmd + Shift + - |

Text Editing Shortcuts

Selection & Cursor

| Action | Windows/Linux | macOS | |--------|---------------|--------| | Select All | Ctrl + A | Cmd + A | | Select Line | Ctrl + L | Cmd + L | | Select Word | Ctrl + D | Cmd + D | | Select All Occurrences | Ctrl + Shift + L | Cmd + Shift + L | | Multi-cursor (Click) | Alt + Click | Option + Click | | Multi-cursor (Up/Down) | Ctrl + Alt + ↑/↓ | Cmd + Option + ↑/↓ | | Expand Selection | Shift + Alt + → | Shift + Option + → | | Shrink Selection | Shift + Alt + ← | Shift + Option + ← |

Text Manipulation

| Action | Windows/Linux | macOS | |--------|---------------|--------| | Copy Line | Ctrl + C (no selection) | Cmd + C (no selection) | | Cut Line | Ctrl + X (no selection) | Cmd + X (no selection) | | Duplicate Line | Shift + Alt + ↓ | Shift + Option + ↓ | | Move Line Up/Down | Alt + ↑/↓ | Option + ↑/↓ | | Delete Line | Ctrl + Shift + K | Cmd + Shift + K | | Insert Line Below | Ctrl + Enter | Cmd + Enter | | Insert Line Above | Ctrl + Shift + Enter | Cmd + Shift + Enter | | Join Lines | Ctrl + J | Cmd + J |

Formatting & Comments

| Action | Windows/Linux | macOS | |--------|---------------|--------| | Format Document | Shift + Alt + F | Shift + Option + F | | Format Selection | Ctrl + K, Ctrl + F | Cmd + K, Cmd + F | | Toggle Line Comment | Ctrl + / | Cmd + / | | Toggle Block Comment | Shift + Alt + A | Shift + Option + A | | Indent Line | Ctrl + ] | Cmd + ] | | Outdent Line | Ctrl + [ | Cmd + [ |

Search & Replace

| Action | Windows/Linux | macOS | |--------|---------------|--------| | Find | Ctrl + F | Cmd + F | | Find and Replace | Ctrl + H | Cmd + Option + F | | Find in Files | Ctrl + Shift + F | Cmd + Shift + F | | Replace in Files | Ctrl + Shift + H | Cmd + Shift + H | | Find Next | F3 or Ctrl + G | F3 or Cmd + G | | Find Previous | Shift + F3 | Shift + F3 | | Select All Matches | Alt + Enter | Option + Enter |

Window & Panel Management

Layout & Views

| Action | Windows/Linux | macOS | |--------|---------------|--------| | Toggle Sidebar | Ctrl + B | Cmd + B | | Toggle Terminal | Ctrl + `` | `Cmd + `` | | Toggle Problems Panel |Ctrl + Shift + M|Cmd + Shift + M| | Toggle Output Panel |Ctrl + Shift + U|Cmd + Shift + U| | Focus Explorer |Ctrl + Shift + E|Cmd + Shift + E| | Focus Search |Ctrl + Shift + F|Cmd + Shift + F| | Focus Extensions |Ctrl + Shift + X|Cmd + Shift + X` |

Tab Management

| Action | Windows/Linux | macOS | |--------|---------------|--------| | Next Tab | Ctrl + Tab | Cmd + Option + → | | Previous Tab | Ctrl + Shift + Tab | Cmd + Option + ← | | Close Tab | Ctrl + W | Cmd + W | | Reopen Closed Tab | Ctrl + Shift + T | Cmd + Shift + T | | Go to Tab (1-9) | Ctrl + 1-9 | Cmd + 1-9 |

Split Editor

| Action | Windows/Linux | macOS | |--------|---------------|--------| | Split Editor Right | Ctrl + \ | Cmd + \ | | Split Editor Down | Ctrl + K, Ctrl + \ | Cmd + K, Cmd + \ | | Focus Next Group | Ctrl + K, Ctrl + → | Cmd + K, Cmd + → | | Focus Previous Group | Ctrl + K, Ctrl + ← | Cmd + K, Cmd + ← | | Move Editor to Next Group | Ctrl + Alt + → | Cmd + Option + → |

Development Shortcuts

Code Intelligence

| Action | Windows/Linux | macOS | |--------|---------------|--------| | Show Hover | Ctrl + K, Ctrl + I | Cmd + K, Cmd + I | | Trigger Suggestion | Ctrl + Space | Cmd + Space | | Trigger Parameter Hints | Ctrl + Shift + Space | Cmd + Shift + Space | | Rename Symbol | F2 | F2 | | Show References | Shift + F12 | Shift + F12 | | Quick Fix | Ctrl + . | Cmd + . |

Debugging

| Action | Windows/Linux | macOS | |--------|---------------|--------| | Start/Continue Debugging | F5 | F5 | | Stop Debugging | Shift + F5 | Shift + F5 | | Restart Debugging | Ctrl + Shift + F5 | Cmd + Shift + F5 | | Step Over | F10 | F10 | | Step Into | F11 | F11 | | Step Out | Shift + F11 | Shift + F11 | | Toggle Breakpoint | F9 | F9 |

Terminal

| Action | Windows/Linux | macOS | |--------|---------------|--------| | New Terminal | Ctrl + Shift + `` | `Cmd + Shift + `` | | Split Terminal |Ctrl + Shift + 5|Cmd + Shift + 5| | Focus Next Terminal |Ctrl + PageDown|Cmd + Shift + ]| | Focus Previous Terminal |Ctrl + PageUp|Cmd + Shift + [| | Kill Terminal |Ctrl + Shift + K|Cmd + Shift + K` |

Pro Tips for Maximum Efficiency

1. Master the Command Palette

Press Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + P and type any command. This is the most powerful feature in VS Code - you can access almost any function through it.

2. Use Quick Open Effectively

  • Ctrl/Cmd + P then type filename to quickly open files
  • Add : after filename to go to a specific line
  • Add @ to search for symbols in the current file
  • Add # to search for symbols across the workspace

3. Customize Your Shortcuts

Go to File > Preferences > Keyboard Shortcuts (or Ctrl/Cmd + K, Ctrl/Cmd + S) to customize any shortcut to your preference.

4. Multi-cursor Magic

Use Ctrl/Cmd + D to select the next occurrence of the current word, then edit multiple instances simultaneously. This is incredibly powerful for refactoring.

5. Zen Mode

Press Ctrl/Cmd + K, Z to enter Zen Mode for distraction-free coding.

Essential Extensions Shortcuts

These shortcuts become available when you install popular extensions:

GitLens

  • Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + G, L - Toggle GitLens

Bracket Pair Colorizer

  • Better visual brackets (now built into VS Code)

Live Server

  • Alt + L, Alt + O - Open with Live Server

Practice Exercise

Try this workflow to practice multiple shortcuts:

  1. Open Command Palette (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + P)
  2. Create a new file (Ctrl/Cmd + N)
  3. Save it (Ctrl/Cmd + S)
  4. Duplicate a line (Shift + Alt/Option + ↓)
  5. Select all occurrences of a word (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + L)
  6. Format the document (Shift + Alt/Option + F)
  7. Split the editor (Ctrl/Cmd + \)

Are you an android developer? Check out these 80+ Android Studio Shortcuts as well.