VS Code keyboard shortcuts
VS Code has more shortcuts than anyone can hold in their head, so this page is ordered by how often you would actually reach for one. If you learn only the command palette and the multi-cursor group, you have most of the benefit.
Checked against Visual Studio Code — Key Bindings. Version: Visual Studio Code, current stable, default keymap.
Showing the Windows keyboard. Showing the Mac keyboard.
82 shortcuts
The top 20 are the VS Code shortcuts this page marks as the ones to learn first, in the order they appear here. The drill asks the marked ones first too, shuffled. Or tick your own and print those.
The 20 to learn first: the shortcuts the VS Code page marks as the ones to learn first, in the order they appear on it.
Your own sheet: the VS Code shortcuts you ticked.
Start here
The command palette is the answer to every shortcut you have not learned yet: it lists the command, runs it, and shows you the key next to it.
Practise theseOpen the command palette # Ctrl+P and a > gets you here too: the > is what turns Go to File into the command list.WinControl plusShift plusPMacShift plusCommand plusP
Go to a file by name #WinControl plusPMacCommand plusP
Go to a symbol in this file # Type a colon after the @ to group the symbols by kind.WinControl plusShift plusOMacShift plusCommand plusO
Go to a symbol anywhere in the project # Relies on the language's extension. In a plain text file it finds nothing.WinControl plusTMacCommand plusT
Go to a line number # Ctrl, not Cmd, on a Mac: Cmd+G is Find Next there.WinControl plusGMacControl plusG
Open the keyboard shortcuts editor #WinControl plusKthenControl plusSMacCommand plusKthenCommand plusS
Open settings #WinControl plusCommaMacCommand plusComma
Several cursors at once
The thing VS Code does better than almost anything else, and the reason to stop using find and replace for small edits.
Practise theseAdd the next occurrence of the selection to the selection # Press it repeatedly to collect matches one at a time. This is the one to learn first.WinControl plusDMacCommand plusD
Select every occurrence at once # Matches the text, not the symbol, so it also takes the word inside comments and strings. F2 renames only the symbol.WinControl plusShift plusLMacShift plusCommand plusL
Put a cursor on the line above #WinControl plusAlt plusUp arrowMacOption plusCommand plusUp arrow
Put a cursor on the line below #WinControl plusAlt plusDown arrowMacOption plusCommand plusDown arrow
Put a cursor wherever you click #WinAlt plusclickMacOption plusclick
Put a cursor at the end of every selected line # Select a block of lines first, then press it to type on all of them at once.WinAlt plusShift plusIMacOption plusShift plusI
Skip this occurrence and take the next #WinControl plusKthenControl plusDMacCommand plusKthenCommand plusD
Undo the last cursor # Removes only the most recent cursor. Esc drops every extra cursor at once.WinControl plusUMacCommand plusU
Select a column with the mouse #WinAlt plusShift plusdragMacOption plusShift plusdrag
Expand the selection to the next largest thing # Press it again to grow to the brackets, the statement, then the function. How far each step reaches depends on the language.WinAlt plusShift plusRight arrowMacControl plusShift plusRight arrow
Shrink it again #WinAlt plusShift plusLeft arrowMacControl plusShift plusLeft arrow
Editing
Practise theseMove the line up or down #WinAlt plusUp arroworAlt plusDown arrowMacOption plusUp arroworOption plusDown arrow
Copy the line up or down #WinAlt plusShift plusUp arroworAlt plusShift plusDown arrowMacOption plusShift plusUp arroworOption plusShift plusDown arrow
Delete the line # Deletes without copying. Ctrl+X with nothing selected cuts the whole line to the clipboard instead.WinControl plusShift plusKMacShift plusCommand plusK
Insert a line below #WinControl plusEnterMacCommand plusReturn
Insert a line above #WinControl plusShift plusEnterMacShift plusCommand plusReturn
Comment out the line # On layouts where / needs Shift, such as German, the key is different. The keyboard shortcuts editor shows yours.WinControl plusSlashMacCommand plusSlash
Comment out the selection as a block #WinAlt plusShift plusAMacOption plusShift plusA
Indent #WinControl plusRight bracketMacCommand plusRight bracket
Outdent #WinControl plusLeft bracketMacCommand plusLeft bracket
Format the document # Needs a formatter for the language. With more than one installed, VS Code asks which to use.WinAlt plusShift plusFMacOption plusShift plusF
Format just the selection #WinControl plusKthenControl plusFMacCommand plusKthenCommand plusF
Trigger a suggestion # On a Mac with more than one keyboard language, Ctrl+Space may switch the input source instead.WinControl plusSpace barMacControl plusSpace bar
Show the quick fixes for this problem # Offers only what the language support provides. The light bulb in the margin is the mouse way in.WinControl plusFull stopMacCommand plusFull stop
Rename this symbol everywhere # Renames the symbol, not the text: other things that happen to share the name are left alone, where the language supports it.WinF2MacF2
Fold this block # Cmd+Opt+[ on a Mac, because Cmd+Shift+[ switches tabs there.WinControl plusShift plusLeft bracketMacOption plusCommand plusLeft bracket
Unfold it #WinControl plusShift plusRight bracketMacOption plusCommand plusRight bracket
Fold everything # Ctrl+K then a number from 1 to 7 folds to that level instead.WinControl plusKthenControl plus0MacCommand plusKthenCommand plus0
Unfold everything #WinControl plusKthenControl plusJMacCommand plusKthenCommand plusJ
Finding and replacing
Practise theseFind in this file #WinControl plusFMacCommand plusF
Replace in this file # Cmd+Opt+F on a Mac, because Cmd+H hides the window there.WinControl plusHMacOption plusCommand plusF
Find across the whole project #WinControl plusShift plusFMacShift plusCommand plusF
Replace across the whole project # Click a file in the results to see the change as a diff before replacing anything.WinControl plusShift plusHMacShift plusCommand plusH
Turn the regular expression option on # Capture groups work in the replacement as $1, $2 and so on.WinAlt plusRMacOption plusCommand plusR
Match whole word only #WinAlt plusWMacOption plusCommand plusW
Match case #WinAlt plusCMacOption plusCommand plusC
Select every match of what you searched for # Turns every match into a cursor, so you can edit them all at once.WinAlt plusEnterMacOption plusReturn
Panels, tabs and layout
Practise theseShow or hide the sidebar #WinControl plusBMacCommand plusB
Show or hide the terminal #WinControl plusBacktickMacControl plusBacktick
Show or hide the panel #WinControl plusJMacCommand plusJ
Split the editor # Opens the same file in the new group. Drag a tab across to show a different one.WinControl plusBackslashMacCommand plusBackslash
Focus that editor group # Ctrl+2 and Ctrl+3 focus the second and third groups.WinControl plus1MacCommand plus1
Close the editor #WinControl plusWMacCommand plusW
Close every editor # Asks before closing anything with unsaved changes.WinControl plusKthenControl plusWMacCommand plusKthenCommand plusW
Reopen the editor you just closed #WinControl plusShift plusTMacShift plusCommand plusT
Keep this preview tab open # A single click opens a file as a preview, shown in italics, which the next single-clicked file replaces. Double-clicking keeps it open.WinControl plusKthenEnterMacCommand plusKthenReturn
Zen mode # Press Esc twice to leave it.WinControl plusKthenZMacCommand plusKthenZ
Open the explorer #WinControl plusShift plusEMacShift plusCommand plusE
Open source control #WinControl plusShift plusGMacControl plusShift plusG
Open the debug view #WinControl plusShift plusDMacShift plusCommand plusD
Open extensions #WinControl plusShift plusXMacShift plusCommand plusX
Open the problems panel #WinControl plusShift plusMMacShift plusCommand plusM
Zoom the whole interface in # Ctrl+Minus zooms out and Ctrl+0 resets.WinControl plusPlusMacCommand plusPlus
The built-in terminal
Practise theseShow or hide the terminal #WinControl plusBacktickMacControl plusBacktick
Make a new terminal #WinControl plusShift plusBacktickMacControl plusShift plusBacktick
Split the terminal #WinControl plusShift plus5MacCommand plusBackslash
Kill the terminal # When the terminal has focus.WinControl plusShift plusWMacNo shortcut
Scroll up a page #WinShift plusPage UpMacFunction key plusShift plusUp arrow
Clear the terminal #WinControl plusKMacCommand plusK
Debugging
Practise theseStart or continue # Needs a debugger for the language. The first press offers to create a launch configuration.WinF5MacF5
Step over #WinF10MacF10
Step into # On a Mac, F11 shows the desktop unless you change that in System Settings or press Fn+F11.WinF11MacF11
Step out #WinShift plusF11MacShift plusF11
Stop #WinShift plusF5MacShift plusF5
Toggle a breakpoint # Clicking in the margin to the left of the line number does the same.WinF9MacF9
Run without debugging #WinControl plusF5MacControl plusF5
Next
Cursor
Cursor is built on VS Code, so the whole VS Code keymap comes with it and everything on that page still applies.
Vim
Vim is not a list of shortcuts so much as a small language: an operator, then a motion or a text object.
Terminal
Almost everything here comes from readline, the line editor that bash and zsh both use.
Windows
These are the system shortcuts: they work on the desktop and inside almost any app, because Windows handles them before the app ever sees the key press.
VS Code keyboard shortcuts — comboshelf.com. Checked 23 September 2026 against Visual Studio Code — Key Bindings.