VS Code Shortcuts for Developers: The Complete Cheatsheet

VS Code has over 1,000 commands, but you only need about 30 to work efficiently. This guide covers the shortcuts that save real time — editing, navigation, debugging, Git, and terminal integration.

Essential Shortcuts

Command Palette & Navigation

| Shortcut | Windows/Linux | macOS | Action | |---|---|---|---| | Command Palette | Ctrl+Shift+P | Cmd+Shift+P | Access all commands | | Quick Open File | Ctrl+P | Cmd+P | Open file by name | | Go to Symbol | Ctrl+Shift+O | Cmd+Shift+O | Jump to function/class | | Go to Line | Ctrl+G | Cmd+G | Jump to line number | | Go to Definition | F12 | F12 | Jump to symbol | | Go Back/Forward | Alt+←/→ | Ctrl+- / Cmd+Shift+- | Navigate history | | Show Explorer | Ctrl+Shift+E | Cmd+Shift+E | Focus file explorer | | Show Search | Ctrl+Shift+F | Cmd+Shift+F | Global search | | Show Git | Ctrl+Shift+G | Ctrl+Shift+G | Source control panel | | Show Extensions | Ctrl+Shift+X | Cmd+Shift+X | Extensions marketplace |

Editing

| Shortcut | Windows/Linux | macOS | Action | |---|---|---|---| | Multi-cursor Select | Ctrl+D | Cmd+D | Select next occurrence | | Select All Occurrences | Ctrl+Shift+L | Cmd+Shift+L | Edit all at once | | Multi-cursor (click) | Alt+Click | Option+Click | Place cursor anywhere | | Move Line Up/Down | Alt+↑/↓ | Option+↑/↓ | Move line | | Copy Line Up/Down | Shift+Alt+↑/↓ | Shift+Option+↑/↓ | Duplicate line | | Delete Line | Ctrl+Shift+K | Cmd+Shift+K | Remove current line | | Insert Line Below | Ctrl+Enter | Cmd+Enter | New line, stay put | | Insert Line Above | Ctrl+Shift+Enter | Cmd+Shift+Enter | New line above | | Toggle Comment | Ctrl+/ | Cmd+/ | Comment/uncomment line | | Format Document | Shift+Alt+F | Shift+Option+F | Auto-format | | Format Selection | Ctrl+K Ctrl+F | Cmd+K Cmd+F | Format selected | | Fold/Unfold | Ctrl+Shift+[ / ] | Cmd+Option+[ / ] | Collapse code | | Toggle Word Wrap | Alt+Z | Option+Z | Wrap long lines |

Code Navigation

| Shortcut | Windows/Linux | macOS | Action | |---|---|---|---| | Peek Definition | Alt+F12 | Option+F12 | Inline definition | | Find All References | Shift+F12 | Shift+F12 | List references | | Rename Symbol | F2 | F2 | Refactor rename | | Show Problems | Ctrl+Shift+M | Cmd+Shift+M | Error list | | Next Error/Warning | F8 | F8 | Jump to next issue | | Previous Error | Shift+F8 | Shift+F8 | Jump to previous | | Trigger Suggest | Ctrl+Space | Ctrl+Space | Show autocomplete | | Trigger Parameter Hint | Ctrl+Shift+Space | Cmd+Shift+Space | Function params | | Show Hover | Ctrl+K Ctrl+I | Cmd+K Cmd+I | Show info tooltip | | Go to Bracket | Ctrl+Shift+\ | Cmd+Shift+\ | Jump to matching bracket |

Selection & Search

| Shortcut | Windows/Linux | macOS | Action | |---|---|---|---| | Find | Ctrl+F | Cmd+F | Current file search | | Replace | Ctrl+H | Cmd+H | Find and replace | | Find in Files | Ctrl+Shift+F | Cmd+Shift+F | Global search | | Replace in Files | Ctrl+Shift+H | Cmd+Shift+H | Global replace | | Select Line | Ctrl+L | Cmd+L | Select entire line | | Expand Selection | Shift+Alt+→ | Ctrl+Shift+→ | Smart expand | | Shrink Selection | Shift+Alt+← | Ctrl+Shift+← | Smart shrink |

Terminal Integration

| Shortcut | Windows/Linux | macOS | Action | |---|---|---|---| | Toggle Terminal | Ctrl+` | Ctrl+` | Show/hide terminal | | New Terminal | Ctrl+Shift+ | Ctrl+Shift+ | Create new terminal | | Focus Terminal | Ctrl+`` | Ctrl+“ | Switch to terminal | | Focus Editor | Ctrl+1 | Cmd+1 | Switch to editor | | Run Selected | Ctrl+Shift+Enter | Cmd+Shift+Enter | Run in terminal | | Kill Terminal | Ctrl+Shift+K | Cmd+Shift+K | Close terminal |

Debugging

| Shortcut | Windows/Linux | macOS | Action | |---|---|---|---| | Start Debugging | F5 | F5 | Run with debugger | | Run Without Debug | Ctrl+F5 | Cmd+F5 | Run without attach | | Stop Debugging | Shift+F5 | Shift+F5 | Stop session | | Toggle Breakpoint | F9 | F9 | Add/remove breakpoint | | Step Over | F10 | F10 | Next line | | Step Into | F11 | F11 | Enter function | | Step Out | Shift+F11 | Shift+F11 | Exit function | | Continue | F5 | F5 | Resume execution | | Restart | Ctrl+Shift+F5 | Cmd+Shift+F5 | Restart debugging | | Show Debug Console | Ctrl+Shift+Y | Cmd+Shift+Y | Debug output |

Git Integration

| Shortcut | Windows/Linux | macOS | Action | |---|---|---|---| | Open Source Control | Ctrl+Shift+G | Ctrl+Shift+G | Git panel | | Stage Selected | Ctrl+Enter | Cmd+Enter | Stage changes | | Stage All | Ctrl+Shift+Enter | Cmd+Shift+Enter | Stage everything | | Commit | Ctrl+Enter | Cmd+Enter | Commit staged | | Commit All | Ctrl+Shift+Enter | Cmd+Shift+Enter | Commit all | | Pull | N/A | N/A | Use command palette | | Push | N/A | N/A | Use command palette | | Open Changes | Ctrl+K Ctrl+D | Cmd+K Cmd+D | Show diff | | Show Git Log | N/A | N/A | Use GitLens extension |

Window & View Management

| Shortcut | Windows/Linux | macOS | Action | |---|---|---|---| | Toggle Sidebar | Ctrl+B | Cmd+B | Show/hide explorer | | Toggle Panel | Ctrl+J | Cmd+J | Show/hide bottom panel | | Toggle Terminal | Ctrl+` | Ctrl+` | Show/hide terminal | | Split Editor | Ctrl+\ | Cmd+\ | Create new editor group | | Focus Next Group | Ctrl+1/2/3 | Cmd+1/2/3 | Switch editor groups | | Close Editor | Ctrl+W | Cmd+W | Close current tab | | Close All | Ctrl+K Ctrl+W | Cmd+K Cmd+W | Close all tabs | | Reopen Closed | Ctrl+Shift+T | Cmd+Shift+T | Restore closed tab | | Full Screen | F11 | Ctrl+Cmd+F | Toggle fullscreen | | Zen Mode | Ctrl+K Z | Cmd+K Z | Distraction-free |

Pro Tips

Quick File Navigation

Ctrl+P (or Cmd+P on Mac)
> Type filename (fuzzy match)
> Use @ to go to symbol: file@function
> Use : to go to line: file:42
> Use > to run command

Examples:

• user → finds UserController.ts
• user@create → opens UserController.ts at create function
• user:25 → opens at line 25

Multi-Cursor Magic

1. Alt+Click (Option+Click) → place cursors anywhere
2. Ctrl+D (Cmd+D) → select next occurrence
3. Ctrl+Shift+L (Cmd+Shift+L) → select all occurrences
4. Ctrl+Alt+↓ (Cmd+Option+↓) → add cursor to next line

Emmet Abbreviations

Built into VS Code for HTML/CSS:

! → HTML5 boilerplate
div.container → <div class="container"></div>
ul>li*5 → 5 list items
header+main+footer → 3 sibling elements

Type abbreviation then press Tab.

Snippets

Create custom snippets:
File → Preferences → User Snippets

Example (JavaScript):
"console.log": {
    "prefix": "clog",
    "body": "console.log('$1:', $1);",
    "description": "Log with label"
}

Type clog, press Tab, enter variable name.

Custom Keybindings

Add to keybindings.json

Ctrl+K Ctrl+S → Open Keyboard Shortcuts → Click icon to open JSON:

[
    {
        "key": "ctrl+shift+t",
        "command": "workbench.action.terminal.focus"
    },
    {
        "key": "ctrl+shift+a",
        "command": "workbench.action.quickOpen"
    },
    {
        "key": "f12",
        "command": "editor.action.revealDefinition",
        "when": "editorHasDefinitionProvider && editorTextFocus && !isInEmbeddedEditor"
    },
    {
        "key": "ctrl+shift+r",
        "command": "editor.action.rename",
        "when": "editorHasRenameProvider && editorTextFocus && !editorReadonly"
    }
]

Conditional Keybindings

{
    "key": "ctrl+enter",
    "command": "acceptSelectedSuggestion",
    "when": "suggestWidgetVisible && textInputFocus"
}

Essential Extensions

| Extension | Shortcut | Purpose | |---|---|---| | GitLens | — | Enhanced Git annotations | | Prettier | Shift+Alt+F | Code formatting | | ESLint | — | JavaScript linting | | Vim | — | Vim keybindings | | Python | — | Python support | | Docker | — | Container management | | Thunder Client | — | API testing | | Error Lens | — | Inline error display |

Settings for Speed

Add to settings.json:

{
    "editor.cursorBlinking": "smooth",
    "editor.cursorSmoothCaretAnimation": true,
    "editor.smoothScrolling": true,
    "editor.formatOnSave": true,
    "editor.formatOnPaste": true,
    "editor.tabSize": 2,
    "editor.insertSpaces": true,
    "editor.detectIndentation": true,
    "editor.quickSuggestions": {
        "other": true,
        "comments": false,
        "strings": false
    },
    "editor.suggestSelection": "first",
    "editor.acceptSuggestionOnCommitCharacter": false,
    "terminal.integrated.cursorBlinking": true,
    "workbench.tree.indent": 20,
    "files.autoSave": "afterDelay",
    "files.autoSaveDelay": 1000
}

Language-Specific Shortcuts

TypeScript/JavaScript

| Shortcut | Action | |---|---| | Ctrl+. / Cmd+. | Quick fix (add import, fix error) | | F2 | Rename symbol | | Ctrl+Shift+R | Refactor | | Ctrl+Shift+. | Insert import |

Python

| Shortcut | Action | |---|---| | Shift+Enter | Run selection in Python terminal | | Ctrl+Shift+P → Python: Run File | Run current file | | F5 | Debug Python file |

Markdown

| Shortcut | Action | |---|---| | Ctrl+Shift+V | Preview | | Ctrl+K V | Side-by-side preview | | Ctrl+B | Bold | | Ctrl+I | Italic |

Summary

Master these 20 shortcuts first:

1. Ctrl+P / Cmd+P — Open files
2. Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P — Command palette
3. Ctrl+D / Cmd+D — Multi-cursor
4. F12 — Go to definition
5. Ctrl+G / Cmd+G — Go to line
6. Ctrl+` — Toggle terminal
7. Ctrl+/ / Cmd+/ — Toggle comment
8. Alt+↑/↓ / Option+↑/↓ — Move line
9. Ctrl+F / Cmd+F — Find
10. Ctrl+H / Cmd+H — Replace
11. Ctrl+Shift+F / Cmd+Shift+F — Find in files
12. Shift+Alt+F / Shift+Option+F — Format
13. Ctrl+Space — Trigger suggest
14. F2 — Rename
15. Ctrl+B / Cmd+B — Toggle sidebar
16. Ctrl+W / Cmd+W — Close tab
17. Ctrl+Shift+T / Cmd+Shift+T — Reopen closed
18. Ctrl+Shift+O / Cmd+Shift+O — Go to symbol
19. Ctrl+K Ctrl+S / Cmd+K Cmd+S — Keyboard shortcuts
20. Ctrl+K Z / Cmd+K Z — Zen mode

Speed comes from muscle memory. Pick 5 shortcuts, use them exclusively for a day, then add more.

What to Read Next

• VS Code Debugging Guide — Deep dive into debugging
• VS Code Extensions for Web Dev — Essential extensions
• Terminal Shortcuts — Command line speed

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