VS Code vVS Code 1.85+BEGINNER

VS Code Shortcuts

Essential Visual Studio Code keyboard shortcuts for Windows and Mac to boost your productivity

5 min read

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General

Essential VS Code shortcuts for navigation and commands

Command Palette

Open command palette to access all VS Code commands

💡 Access to all VS Code commands and extensions

WINCtrl+Shift+P

MAC⌘+Shift+P

Quick Open File

Quickly open files by name

💡 Type filename to quickly navigate

WINCtrl+P

MAC⌘+P

Settings

Open VS Code settings

💡 Access user and workspace settings

WINCtrl+,

MAC⌘+,

Toggle Sidebar

Show/hide the sidebar

💡 Maximize editing space

WINCtrl+B

MAC⌘+B

Toggle Terminal

Show/hide integrated terminal

💡 Access command line without leaving editor

WINCtrl+`

MAC⌘+`

Editing

Text editing and manipulation shortcuts

Copy Line Up/Down

Duplicate current line above or below

💡 Duplicate entire lines quickly

WINShift+Alt+↑/↓

MAC⇧+⌥+↑/↓

Move Line Up/Down

Move current line up or down

💡 Reorder code without cut and paste

WINAlt+↑/↓

MAC⌥+↑/↓

Delete Line

Delete entire current line

💡 Remove entire line regardless of cursor position

WINCtrl+Shift+K

MAC⌘+Shift+K

Insert Line Below

Insert new line below current line

💡 Create new line without moving cursor to end

WINCtrl+Enter

MAC⌘+Enter

Toggle Line Comment

Comment/uncomment current line or selection

💡 Language-aware commenting

WINCtrl+/

MAC⌘+/

Navigation

File and code navigation shortcuts

Go to Line

Jump to specific line number

💡 Enter line number to jump directly

WINCtrl+G

MAC⌘+G

Go to Symbol

Navigate to symbols in current file

💡 Search functions, classes, variables

WINCtrl+Shift+O

MAC⌘+Shift+O

Go to Definition

Jump to symbol definition

💡 Navigate to where symbol is defined

WINF12

MACF12

Go Back/Forward

Navigate back and forward through cursor history

💡 Browser-like navigation through code

WINAlt+←/→

MAC⌃+-/⌃+⇧+-

Switch Editor

Cycle through open editor tabs

💡 Quick switcher for open files

WINCtrl+Tab

MAC⌃+Tab

Search & Replace

Finding and replacing text across files

Find

Search in current file

💡 Basic text search in current file

WINCtrl+F

MAC⌘+F

Replace

Search and replace in current file

💡 Find and replace with preview

WINCtrl+H

MAC⌘+H

Find in Files

Search across all files in workspace

💡 Project-wide search

WINCtrl+Shift+F

MAC⌘+Shift+F

Replace in Files

Search and replace across all files

💡 Project-wide find and replace

WINCtrl+Shift+H

MAC⌘+Shift+H

Find Next/Previous

Navigate through search results

💡 Cycle through search matches

WINF3/Shift+F3

MACF3/⇧+F3

Multi-cursor & Selection

Advanced text selection and editing

Add Cursor Above/Below

Add cursor to line above or below

💡 Edit multiple lines simultaneously

WINCtrl+Alt+↑/↓

MAC⌘+⌥+↑/↓

Select All Occurrences

Select all instances of current word

💡 Multi-cursor for all matching text

WINCtrl+Shift+L

MAC⌘+Shift+L

Select Next Occurrence

Add next occurrence to selection

💡 Gradually select matching instances

WINCtrl+D

MAC⌘+D

Add Cursor to Line Ends

Add cursor to end of each selected line

💡 Edit multiple line endings

WINShift+Alt+I

MAC⇧+⌥+I

Expand/Shrink Selection

Intelligently expand or shrink selection

💡 Smart selection based on syntax

WINShift+Alt+→/←

MAC⇧+⌥+→/←

Debug & Terminal

Debugging and integrated terminal shortcuts

Start Debugging

Start debugging session

💡 Launch configured debugger

WINF5

MACF5

Toggle Breakpoint

Add or remove breakpoint on current line

💡 Set breakpoints for debugging

WINF9

MACF9

Step Over

Execute current line and move to next

💡 Step through code line by line

WINF10

MACF10

New Terminal

Create new terminal instance

💡 Multiple terminal sessions

WINCtrl+Shift+`

MAC⌘+Shift+`

Focus Terminal

Switch focus to terminal panel

💡 Toggle between editor and terminal