What are the most useful VS Code shortcuts to learn?

Cmd/Ctrl+P (file quick-open), Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P (command palette — does anything), Cmd/Ctrl+D (multi-cursor on next match), Cmd/Ctrl+/ (toggle comment), Alt+Up/Down (move line), Cmd/Ctrl+B (toggle sidebar). Those six cover 90% of editor productivity wins.

How do I customise a shortcut?

Cmd/Ctrl+K Cmd/Ctrl+S opens the Keyboard Shortcuts editor. Search for the action you want to rebind, click it, press the new combo, enter. Conflicts are highlighted so you can resolve them deliberately.

Do the same shortcuts work in Cursor / Windsurf?

Yes — Cursor, Windsurf, and most VS Code forks inherit the keybindings exactly. The cheatsheet works for all of them. Their AI panel commands are usually mapped to Cmd/Ctrl+K or Cmd/Ctrl+L.

Is anything sent to a server?

No — this is a static reference page.

vscode · mac · win · linux · local

VS Code shortcuts, both OS

Searchable reference of 75 VS Code keyboard shortcuts. Toggle between macOS and Windows / Linux bindings — click any shortcut to copy.

VS Code Shortcut Cheatsheet

75 matches

Visible

all

Total

shortcuts

Win/Linux

keys

Sections

groups

shortcuts

General

Navigation

Editing

Multi-cursor & selection

Editor management

Side bar & panels

Integrated terminal

Debugging

Display & zoom

descriptions

General

Show Command Palette

Quick Open file by name

Open user settings

Open keyboard shortcuts

New VS Code window

Close current editor

Close window

Navigation

Go to line…

Go to symbol in file

Go to symbol in workspace

Go to definition

Peek definition

Find all references

Navigate back

Navigate forward

Toggle side bar

Editing

Cut line (when no selection)

Copy line (when no selection)

Move line up/down

Duplicate line up/down

Delete line

Insert line below

Insert line above

Indent line

Outdent line

Toggle line comment

Toggle block comment

Format document

Format selection

Rename symbol

Multi-cursor & selection

Add next occurrence to selection

Select all occurrences

Insert cursor at click position

Insert cursor above/below

Select current line

Undo last cursor

Jump to matching bracket

Select current line

Find

Replace

Find next

Find previous

Find in files

Replace in files

Editor management

Split editor

Focus editor group 1/2/3

Move active editor between groups

Close all editors in group

Close all editors

Side bar & panels

Show Explorer / toggle focus

Show Search

Show Source Control

Show Run and Debug

Show Extensions

Show Problems panel

Toggle panel visibility

Integrated terminal

Toggle terminal

Create new terminal

Clear terminal (when focused)

Scroll terminal up/down by line

Scroll by page

Debugging

Start / continue debugging

Toggle breakpoint

Step over

Step into

Step out

Stop debugging

Restart debugging

Display & zoom

Toggle full screen

Zoom in

Zoom out

Zen mode

Toggle word wrap

Open Markdown preview to side

Quick Start

Find any VS Code shortcut

Toggle OS, then search by action or partial key. Auto-detected to your current platform on first load.

01
Pick OS
macOS vs Windows / Linux — the same actions, different keys.
Inputs are treated as UTF-8 throughout the pipeline and validated client-side as you type — nothing dispatches until the value is well-formed.
osinpututf-8client-sidevalidated
os · textmacOS · set
```
Cmd+P
```
loaded · parsedclient-side
02
Search
Free-text matches key or action.
Each toggle re-computes through a memoised hook, so flipping options never resets your input and the UI stays snappy on large inputs.
searchoptionslivememoisedtoggles
search · memoisedformat · live
```
Format Document
```
options set · memoisedlive
03
Read mapping
Left panel: shortcut. Right panel: action.
Randomness — where used — comes from crypto.getRandomValues, never Math.random. Heavy work sits in useMemo.
readcomputeinstantlocaldeterministic
key · instantaction · computed
```
Cmd+P · Quick Open
```
computed · instantinstant
04
Copy
Click any shortcut to copy.
Copy writes through navigator.clipboard and downloads use a Blob — zero network traffic. Same input plus same options always yield the same bytes.
copydownloadzero-networkreproducible
ok · copiedready · copied
```
Copied Cmd+P
```
shipped · ready to shipsuccess

Pro tips

Pro tips for everyday utilities

Reach for crypto.getRandomValues

Cryptographically random for IDs, tokens, salts. Math.random is for animation and games, not security.

Sort IDs lexicographically

UUID v4 has no time ordering. Use ULID or UUID v7 if you need sorted IDs.

Mock data with seeds

Faker-style libraries can be seeded so tests are reproducible. Embed the seed in the fixture file.

Reference cards beat memory

Cheatsheets for Vim, Git, Docker, Linux signals are faster than man pages when you’re mid-flow.

Browser APIs vary

Touch events, gamepads, and clipboard differ across vendors. Feature-detect before use.

Persist in the right place

localStorage for user preferences, sessionStorage for transient state, IndexedDB for structured data.

Use Cases

When to look up a shortcut

Learning, pairing, switching OS.

Learning VS Code

One-page essentials by category. Random values come from crypto.getRandomValues — cryptographically secure for tokens, salts, and session IDs. Math.random is deterministic enough for animations but predictable enough to be a security bug.

CSPRNG-backed

Pair programming

Quick lookup while screen sharing. Pair with hashids, ULID, or UUID v7 when you need both random and sortable — useful for primary keys, public-facing IDs, and event log ordering without a sequence column.

reproducible

OS switch

macOS → Linux migration cheat lookup. Output is deterministic given the same seed, so fixtures and tests stay reproducible across CI runs and contributor machines. Embed the seed in the fixture file for full replay.

snappy

Accessibility

Find keyboard alternatives to mouse actions. Heavy work runs through useMemo so the UI stays snappy on large inputs. Same input + same options yields identical bytes — the kind of stability snapshot tests rely on.

a11y

Productivity wins

Discover unused power shortcuts. Storage tools persist to the right backend: localStorage for user preferences, sessionStorage for transient state, IndexedDB for structured data. Pick the right shelf and quota worries disappear.

deterministic

Teaching

Share with new team members. Browser feature detection: clipboard, fullscreen, gamepad, and Web Bluetooth APIs gracefully fall back when unavailable. No surprise white screens on Safari or older Firefox.

production-ready

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Are these defaults?

Yes — out-of-box VS Code shortcuts. Your customizations may differ.

Linux same as Windows?

Mostly yes — VS Code uses the same Ctrl-based bindings on both.

Where are the extension shortcuts?

Extensions register their own — see each extension's docs.

Can I add my own?

Open a PR — the SECTIONS array lives in this file.

Does it run locally?

Yes — bundled in JS. Nothing is sent to a server.

Suggest a tool

Something missing?

Tell us what you need. We ship the top requests every two weeks.

47 in queue·8 shipped this month

Request queued. Thanks!