Introduction
In this article, we will learn some Visual Studio Code keyboard shortcuts while working on a Windows machine. Visual Studio Code keyboard shortcuts are helpful to the developers in working faster and more efficiently and for boosting their working performance. Keyboard shortcuts are keys or combinations of keys that provide an alternative way to do something. These shortcuts can provide an easier and quicker method of using Visual Studio Code.
I have categorized all the shortcut keys into the following categories.
- General Shortcuts
- Basic Editing Shortcuts
- Navigation Shortcuts
- Toggle Tab Moves focusShortcuts
- Multi-Cursor and selectionShortcuts
- Rich Languages EditingShortcuts
- Editor ManagementShortcuts
- File ManagementShortcuts
- DebugShortcuts
- Integrated terminal Shortcuts
We can also check all shortcuts keys using the following command.
or like this -
General Shortcuts
| Shortcut Key |
Descriptions |
| Ctrl+Shift+P, F1 |
Show Command Palette |
| Ctrl+P |
Quick Open, Go to File |
| Ctrl+Shift+N |
New window |
| Ctrl+Shift+W |
Close window |
| Ctrl+, |
User Settings |
| Ctrl+K Ctrl+S |
Keyboard Shortcuts |
Basic Editing Shortcuts
| Shortcut Key |
Descriptions |
| Ctrl+X |
Cut line |
| Ctrl+C |
Copy line |
| Alt+ ↑ / ↓ |
Move line up/down |
| Shift+Alt + ↓ / ↑ |
Copy line up/down |
| Ctrl+Shift+K |
Delete line |
| Ctrl+Enter |
Insert line below |
| Ctrl+Shift+Enter |
Insert line above |
| Ctrl+Shift+\ |
Jump to matching bracket |
| Ctrl+] / [ |
Indent/outdent line |
| Home / End |
Go to beginning/end of line |
| Ctrl+Home |
Go to beginning of file |
| Ctrl+End |
Go to end of file |
| Ctrl+↑ / ↓ |
Scroll line up/down |
| Alt+PgUp / PgDn |
Scroll page up/down |
| Ctrl+Shift+[ |
Fold (collapse) region |
| Ctrl+Shift+] |
Unfold (uncollapse) region |
| Ctrl+K Ctrl+[ |
Fold (collapse) all subregions |
| Ctrl+K Ctrl+] |
Unfold (uncollapse) all subregions |
| Ctrl+K Ctrl+0 |
Fold (collapse) all regions |
| Ctrl+K Ctrl+J |
Unfold (uncollapse) all regions |
| Ctrl+K Ctrl+C |
Add line comment |
| Ctrl+K Ctrl+U |
Remove line comment |
| Ctrl+/ |
Toggle line comment |
| Shift+Alt+A |
Toggle block comment |
| Alt+Z |
Toggle word wrap |
Navigation Shortcuts
| Shortcut Key |
Descriptions |
| Ctrl+T |
Show all Symbols |
| Ctrl+G |
Go to Line |
| Ctrl+P |
Go to File |
| Ctrl+Shift+O |
Go to Symbol |
| Ctrl+Shift+M |
Show Problems panel |
| F8 |
Go to the next error |
| Shift+F8 |
Go to previous error |
| Ctrl+Shift+Tab |
Navigate editor group history |
| Alt+ ← / → |
Go back / forward |
| Ctrl+M |
Toggle Tab moves the focus |
Toggle Tab moves focus Shortcuts
| Shortcut Key |
Descriptions |
| Ctrl+F |
Find |
| Ctrl+H |
Replace |
| F3 / Shift+F3 |
Find next/previous |
| Alt+Enter |
Select all occurences of Find match |
| Ctrl+D |
Add selection to next Find match |
| Ctrl+K Ctrl+D |
Move last selection to next Find match |
| Alt+C / R / W |
Toggle case-sensitive / regex / whole word |
Multi-cursor and selection Shortcuts
| Shortcut Key |
Descriptions |
| Alt+Click |
Insert cursor |
| Ctrl+Alt+ ↑ / ↓ |
Insert cursor above / below |
| Ctrl+U |
Undo last cursor operation |
| Shift+Alt+I |
Insert cursor at end of each line selected |
| Ctrl+I |
Select current line |
| Ctrl+Shift+L |
Select all occurrences of the current selection |
| Ctrl+F2 |
Select all occurrences of the current word |
| Shift+Alt+→ |
Expand selection |
| Shift+Alt+← |
Shrink selection |
Editor Management Shortcuts
| Shortcut Key |
Descriptions |
| Ctrl+F4, Ctrl+W |
Close editor |
| Ctrl+K F |
Close folder |
| Ctrl+\ |
Split editor |
| Ctrl+ 1 / 2 / 3 |
Focus into 1 st, 2nd or 3rd editor group |
| Ctrl+K Ctrl+ ←/→ |
Focus into previous/next editor group |
| Ctrl+Shift+PgUp / PgDn |
Move editor left/right |
| Ctrl+K ← / → |
Move active editor group |
File Management Shortcuts
| Shortcut Key |
Descriptions |
| Ctrl+N |
New File |
| Ctrl+O |
Open File |
| Ctrl+S |
Save |
| Ctrl+Shift+S |
Save |
| Ctrl+K S |
Save All |
| Ctrl+F4 |
Close |
| Ctrl+K Ctrl+W |
Close All |
| Ctrl+Shift+T |
Reopen closed editor |
| Ctrl+K Enter |
Keep preview mode editor open |
| Ctrl+Tab |
Open next |
| Ctrl+Shift+Tab |
Open previous |
| Ctrl+K P |
Copy path of an active file |
| Ctrl+K R |
Reveal active file in Explorer |
| Ctrl+K O |
Show active file in a new window/instance |
Debug Shortcuts
| Shortcut Key |
Descriptions |
| F9 |
Toggle breakpoint |
| F5 |
Start/Continue |
| Shift+F5 |
Stop |
| F11 / Shift+F11 |
Step into/out |
| F10 |
Step over |
| Ctrl+K Ctrl+I |
Show hover |
Integrated Terminal Shortcuts
| Shortcut Key |
Descriptions |
| Ctrl+` |
Show integrated terminal |
| Ctrl+Shift+` |
Create a new terminal |
| Ctrl+C |
Copy selection |
| Ctrl+V |
Paste into an active terminal |
| Ctrl+↑ / ↓ |
Scroll up/down |
| Shift+PgUp / PgDn |
Scroll page up/down |
| Ctrl+Home / End |
Scroll to the top/bottom |
Summary
In this article, we learned about the Visual Studio Code keyboard shortcuts. I hope this will help you developers in boosting up your performance.