VS Code Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet — Mac & Windows

Select the next occurrence of the current selection. Press repeatedly to select more.

Mac:     ⌘D
Windows: Ctrl+D

Select a word, then press ⌘D repeatedly to select each next match. Edit them all at once. Skip one with ⌘K ⌘D / Ctrl+K Ctrl+D.

Select all occurrences of the current selection at once.

Mac:     ⌘⇧L
Windows: Ctrl+Shift+L

Like ⌘D but selects every match in the file instantly. Great for renaming a variable everywhere.

Place multiple cursors anywhere in the file.

Mac:     ⌥ + Click
Windows: Alt + Click

Click at each position where you want a cursor, then type to edit all positions simultaneously.

Add a cursor at the end of each selected line.

Mac:     ⌥⇧I
Windows: Alt+Shift+I

Select multiple lines first, then press this to get a cursor at the end of each line. Perfect for adding semicolons or commas to multiple lines.

Move the current line (or selection) up or down.

Mac:     ⌥↑ / ⌥↓
Windows: Alt+↑ / Alt+↓

No need to cut and paste — just move lines around directly.

Duplicate the current line above or below.

Mac:     ⌥⇧↑ / ⌥⇧↓
Windows: Alt+Shift+↑ / Alt+Shift+↓

Fastest way to duplicate a line. Works with multi-line selections too.

Delete the entire current line.

Mac:     ⌘⇧K
Windows: Ctrl+Shift+K

No need to select the line first. Works with multiple cursors too.

Toggle line comment on the current line or selection.

Mac:     ⌘/
Windows: Ctrl+/
Block comment:
Mac:     ⌥⇧A
Windows: Alt+Shift+A

Automatically uses the correct comment syntax for the current language.

Open find and replace in the current file.

Mac:     ⌘H
Windows: Ctrl+H
Find in files:
Mac:     ⌘⇧H
Windows: Ctrl+Shift+H

Enable the regex button (.*) for powerful pattern-based replacements. Use $1, $2 for capture groups.

Quickly open any file by typing part of its name.

Mac:     ⌘P
Windows: Ctrl+P

The single most important shortcut. Type fuzzy matches like ucont to find UserController.ts. Add : followed by a line number to jump to that line.

Access every VS Code command.

Mac:     ⌘⇧P
Windows: Ctrl+Shift+P

Type any command: "format document", "change language", "toggle minimap", etc. If you forget any shortcut, find it here.

Jump to a function, class, or variable in the current file.

Mac:     ⌘⇧O
Windows: Ctrl+Shift+O
Go to symbol in workspace:
Mac:     ⌘T
Windows: Ctrl+T

Type : after opening to group symbols by kind (functions, classes, etc.).

Jump to a specific line number.

Mac:     ⌘G
Windows: Ctrl+G

Type the line number and press Enter. Useful when following error stack traces.

Jump to where a function, variable, or type is defined.

Go to definition:     F12
Peek definition:      ⌥F12 / Alt+F12
Go to references:     ⇧F12 / Shift+F12
Go to type definition: (right-click menu)

⌥F12 (Peek) shows the definition inline without leaving your current file.

Navigate back to your previous cursor position.

Go back:    ⌃- / Alt+←
Go forward: ⌃⇧- / Alt+→

After jumping to a definition, press this to go back where you were. Works across files.

Toggle the file explorer sidebar.

Explorer:     ⌘⇧E / Ctrl+Shift+E
Search:       ⌘⇧F / Ctrl+Shift+F
Source Control: ⌃⇧G / Ctrl+Shift+G
Extensions:   ⌘⇧X / Ctrl+Shift+X
Debug:        ⌘⇧D / Ctrl+Shift+D

Show or hide the integrated terminal.

Toggle terminal:  ⌃` / Ctrl+`
New terminal:     ⌃⇧` / Ctrl+Shift+`
Split terminal:   ⌘\ / Ctrl+\

You can have multiple terminals and switch between them.

Show or hide the sidebar to get more editor space.

Toggle sidebar:  ⌘B / Ctrl+B
Toggle panel:    ⌘J / Ctrl+J
Zen mode:        ⌘K Z / Ctrl+K Z

Zen mode hides everything except the editor — great for focused coding.

Start debugging or continue to the next breakpoint.

Start/Continue:  F5
Stop:            ⇧F5 / Shift+F5
Restart:         ⌘⇧F5 / Ctrl+Shift+F5
Step over:       F10
Step into:       F11
Step out:        ⇧F11 / Shift+F11
Toggle breakpoint: F9

Click in the gutter (left of line numbers) to set breakpoints, or press F9.

Built-in Git commands accessible from the command palette.

Source Control view: ⌃⇧G / Ctrl+Shift+G
From Command Palette (⌘⇧P):
Git: Commit
Git: Push
Git: Pull
Git: Checkout to…
Git: Create Branch

Click the + icon next to changed files to stage them. The inline diff viewer shows changes side by side.

Open a preview of the current Markdown file.

Preview:             ⌘⇧V / Ctrl+Shift+V
Side-by-side preview: ⌘K V / Ctrl+K V

Side-by-side mode lets you edit and preview simultaneously.

Open the keyboard shortcuts editor to view and customize all shortcuts.

Mac:     ⌘K ⌘S
Windows: Ctrl+K Ctrl+S

Search for any command and assign your own keybinding. Click the record button to detect key combinations.

Open VS Code settings.

Settings UI:   ⌘, / Ctrl+,
Settings JSON: ⌘⇧P → "Open Settings (JSON)"

The JSON view gives you more control. Some settings are only available in JSON.