30 Must‑Know VS Code Shortcuts to Supercharge Your Coding

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a widely used, cross‑platform code editor. Mastering its keyboard shortcuts lets developers perform common tasks faster, reduce mouse reliance, and keep focus on writing code.

01. Search across all files

Press Ctrl + Shift + F (Windows/Linux) or Command + Shift + F (macOS) to open the global search panel, type any text, and locate matches in every file of the workspace.

02. Reopen a closed editor tab

Press Ctrl + Shift + T (Windows/Linux/macOS) to restore the most recently closed tab.

03. Add selection to next match

Press Ctrl + D (Windows/Linux/macOS) to select the next occurrence of the current word or selection.

04. Delete previous word

Press Ctrl + Backspace (Windows/Linux) or Option + Backspace (macOS) to delete the word to the left of the cursor.

05. Delete a line

Press Ctrl + X to cut the entire line.

Press Ctrl + Shift + K to delete the line without copying it.

06. Select a word

Press Ctrl + Shift + ←/→ to expand the selection by word boundaries.

07. Jump to file start or end

Press Ctrl + Home to go to the top of the file.

Press Ctrl + End to go to the bottom.

08. Move a line up or down

Press Alt + ↑/↓ (Windows/Linux) or Option + ↑/↓ (macOS) to shift the current line or selection.

09. Add cursors above/below

Press Ctrl + Alt + ↑/↓ to create additional cursors on adjacent lines.

Press Ctrl + Shift + ←/→ to add a cursor to the left or right.

10. Duplicate line above or below

Press Shift + Alt + ↑/↓ to copy the current line up or down.

11. Fold or unfold code

Press Ctrl + Shift + [ to fold the selected region.

Press Ctrl + Shift + ] to unfold.

12. Go to a specific line

Press Ctrl + G , then type the line number and press Enter.

13. Column (box) selection

Press Shift + Alt + drag (or Shift + Alt + ↑/↓ ) to select a rectangular block of text.

14. Join lines

Open File > Preferences > Keyboard Shortcuts , search for action.joinLines, and bind it (e.g., Ctrl + J on Windows, Control + J on macOS).

15. Format document

Press Shift + Alt + F (Windows/Linux) or Shift + Option + F (macOS) to auto‑format the file.

16. Trim trailing whitespace

Enable "trimTrailingWhitespace": true in settings.json (accessed via File > Preferences > Settings ) to automatically remove spaces at line ends on save.

17. Split editor

Press Shift + Alt + \ (Windows/Linux) or Command + \ (macOS) to create a side‑by‑side editor pane.

18. Go to symbol in file

Press Ctrl + Shift + O (Windows/Linux) or Command + Shift + O (macOS) to list symbols defined in the current file.

19. Go to symbol in workspace

Press Ctrl + T (Windows/Linux) or Command + T (macOS) to search symbols across the entire workspace.

20. Rename symbol

Press F2 (any platform) with the cursor on a symbol to rename it project‑wide.

21. Toggle sidebar

Press Ctrl + B (Windows/Linux) or Command + B (macOS) to show or hide the Explorer sidebar.

22. Open command palette

Press Ctrl + P (Windows/Linux) or Command + P (macOS) to open the palette, then type commands or file names.

23. Open file by matching text

Open Keyboard Shortcuts, search for action.quickOpen , and assign a convenient key binding to open files by typing matching text.

24. Open integrated terminal

Press Ctrl + ` (all platforms) to toggle the built‑in terminal.

25. Replace all matches in current file

Press Ctrl + F2 to select all occurrences of the current word, then edit them simultaneously.

26. Switch tabs

Press Ctrl + 1/2/3 to focus the first, second, or third editor tab.

27. Navigate editor history

Press Alt + ←/→ to move backward or forward through the file navigation history.

28. Focus debugger

Press F5 to start debugging, Shift + F5 to stop, and F9 to toggle breakpoints.

29. Trigger IntelliSense and comment selection

Press Ctrl + Space to invoke code completion.

Press Ctrl + K + C to comment the selected block.

Press Ctrl + K + U to uncomment.

30. Go to definition and references

Press F12 to jump to a symbol’s definition.

Press Shift + F12 to view all references.

By incorporating these shortcuts into daily workflows, developers can navigate, edit, and debug code more efficiently, saving time and keeping their focus on problem solving rather than repetitive UI interactions.