Keybindings¶

Keyboard shortcuts and customization in VS Code.

Essential Shortcuts¶

General¶

Key	Action
`Cmd`+`Shift`+`P`	Command Palette
`Cmd`+`P`	Quick Open file
`Cmd`+`,`	Settings
`Cmd`+`K`+`Cmd`+`S`	Keyboard Shortcuts
++cmd+backtick++	Toggle Terminal
`Cmd`+`B`	Toggle Sidebar
`Cmd`+`J`	Toggle Panel

File Operations¶

Key	Action
`Cmd`+`N`	New File
`Cmd`+`O`	Open File
`Cmd`+`S`	Save
`Cmd`+`Shift`+`S`	Save As
`Cmd`+`W`	Close Editor
`Cmd`+`Shift`+`T`	Reopen Closed Editor

Editing¶

Key	Action
`Cmd`+`X`	Cut line (no selection)
`Cmd`+`C`	Copy line (no selection)
`Cmd`+`Shift`+`K`	Delete line
`Cmd`+`Enter`	Insert line below
`Cmd`+`Shift`+`Enter`	Insert line above
`Alt`+`Up` / `Alt`+`Down`	Move line up/down
`Alt`+`Shift`+`Up` / `Alt`+`Shift`+`Down`	Copy line up/down
`Cmd`+`/`	Toggle line comment
`Alt`+`Shift`+`A`	Toggle block comment
`Cmd`+`[` / `Cmd`+`]`	Outdent/Indent line

Selection¶

Key	Action
`Cmd`+`D`	Select word / next occurrence
`Cmd`+`Shift`+`L`	Select all occurrences
`Cmd`+`L`	Select line
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`Cmd`+`Left` / `Ctrl`+`Shift`+`Cmd`+`Right`	Shrink/Expand selection
++alt+shift+drag++	Column selection

Multi-Cursor¶

Key	Action
++alt+click++	Add cursor
`Cmd`+`Alt`+`Up` / `Cmd`+`Alt`+`Down`	Add cursor above/below
`Cmd`+`D`	Add selection to next match
`Cmd`+`Shift`+`L`	Add cursors to all matches
`Esc`	Exit multi-cursor

Key	Action
`Cmd`+`G`	Go to Line
`Cmd`+`Shift`+`O`	Go to Symbol in file
`Cmd`+`T`	Go to Symbol in workspace
`Ctrl`+`G`	Go to Line
`Ctrl`+`-`	Go Back
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`-`	Go Forward
`Cmd`+`Shift`+`\`	Jump to matching bracket

Search¶

Key	Action
`Cmd`+`F`	Find
`Cmd`+`H`	Replace
`Cmd`+`Shift`+`F`	Search in Files
`Cmd`+`Shift`+`H`	Replace in Files
`F3` / `Shift`+`F3`	Find Next/Previous
`Enter` / `Shift`+`Enter`	Find Next/Previous (in find dialog)
`Alt`+`Enter`	Select all matches

Code Intelligence¶

Key	Action
`F12`	Go to Definition
`Alt`+`F12`	Peek Definition
`Shift`+`F12`	Find All References
`Cmd`+`K`+`F12`	Open Definition to Side
`F2`	Rename Symbol
`Cmd`+`.`	Quick Fix
`Ctrl`+`Space`	Trigger Suggest
`Cmd`+`Shift`+`Space`	Trigger Parameter Hints
`Shift`+`Alt`+`F`	Format Document
`Cmd`+`K`+`Cmd`+`F`	Format Selection

View¶

Key	Action
`Cmd`+`+` / `Cmd`+`-`	Zoom In/Out
`Cmd`+`0`	Reset Zoom
`Cmd`+`\`	Split Editor
`Cmd`+`1` / `Cmd`+`2` / `Cmd`+`3`	Focus Editor Group
`Cmd`+`K`+`Left` / `Cmd`+`K`+`Right`	Move Editor to Group
`Cmd`+`W`	Close Editor
`Cmd`+`K`+`W`	Close All Editors

Terminal¶

Key	Action
++ctrl+backtick++	Toggle Terminal
++ctrl+shift+backtick++	Create New Terminal
`Cmd`+`\`	Split Terminal
`Cmd`+`Up` / `Cmd`+`Down`	Scroll Up/Down

Custom Keybindings¶

Opening Keybindings¶

Cmd+K+Cmd+S or
Cmd+Shift+P > "Preferences: Open Keyboard Shortcuts (JSON)"

keybindings.json Structure¶

[
  {
    "key": "cmd+k cmd+c",
    "command": "editor.action.addCommentLine",
    "when": "editorTextFocus"
  }
]

Keybinding Properties¶

Property	Description
`key`	Key combination
`command`	Command to execute
`when`	Context condition
`args`	Command arguments

Key Modifiers¶

Modifier	macOS	Windows/Linux
`Cmd`	`cmd`	`ctrl`
`Ctrl`	`ctrl`	`ctrl`
`Alt`	`alt`	`alt`
`Shift`	`shift`	`shift`

Chord Sequences¶

{
  "key": "cmd+k cmd+c",
  "command": "editor.action.addCommentLine"
}

When Clauses¶

Common contexts:

Context	Description
`editorTextFocus`	Editor has focus
`terminalFocus`	Terminal has focus
`inDebugMode`	Debugging active
`editorHasSelection`	Text is selected
`editorLangId == python`	Python file open

Example:

{
  "key": "cmd+shift+t",
  "command": "python.runFile",
  "when": "editorLangId == python"
}

Remove Default Binding¶

{
  "key": "cmd+k",
  "command": "-editor.action.addCommentLine"
}

Common Customizations¶

[
  {
    "key": "ctrl+h",
    "command": "workbench.action.navigateLeft"
  },
  {
    "key": "ctrl+l",
    "command": "workbench.action.navigateRight"
  },
  {
    "key": "ctrl+k",
    "command": "workbench.action.navigateUp"
  },
  {
    "key": "ctrl+j",
    "command": "workbench.action.navigateDown"
  }
]

Quick File Operations¶

[
  {
    "key": "cmd+shift+d",
    "command": "editor.action.copyLinesDownAction"
  },
  {
    "key": "cmd+shift+c",
    "command": "workbench.action.files.copyPathOfActiveFile"
  }
]

Terminal Shortcuts¶

[
  {
    "key": "cmd+t",
    "command": "workbench.action.terminal.new",
    "when": "terminalFocus"
  },
  {
    "key": "cmd+w",
    "command": "workbench.action.terminal.kill",
    "when": "terminalFocus"
  }
]

Vim Extension¶

Install Vim extension for modal editing:

Cmd+Shift+X > Search "Vim"
Install "Vim" by vscodevim

Vim Settings¶

{
  "vim.useSystemClipboard": true,
  "vim.hlsearch": true,
  "vim.leader": "<space>",
  "vim.normalModeKeyBindings": [
    {
      "before": ["<leader>", "f", "f"],
      "commands": ["workbench.action.quickOpen"]
    },
    {
      "before": ["<leader>", "f", "g"],
      "commands": ["workbench.action.findInFiles"]
    }
  ]
}

Vim-Specific Bindings¶

{
  "vim.insertModeKeyBindings": [
    {
      "before": ["j", "k"],
      "after": ["<Esc>"]
    }
  ],
  "vim.normalModeKeyBindingsNonRecursive": [
    {
      "before": ["<leader>", "w"],
      "commands": [":w"]
    },
    {
      "before": ["<leader>", "q"],
      "commands": [":q"]
    }
  ]
}

Finding Commands¶

Command Palette¶

Cmd+Shift+P shows all commands with their keybindings.

Keyboard Shortcuts UI¶

Cmd+K+Cmd+S to:

Search commands
See current bindings
Record key combination
Change bindings

Default Keybindings Reference¶

Cmd+K+Cmd+R opens the default keybindings reference.

Troubleshooting¶

Keybinding Not Working¶

Check for conflicts: Cmd+K+Cmd+S > Search for key
Check when clause is satisfied
Check extension keybindings

Find Conflicting Bindings¶

In Keyboard Shortcuts UI:

Click "Record Keys" icon
Press the key combination
See all commands bound to it

Reset Keybindings¶

Delete keybindings.json to reset to defaults:

rm ~/Library/Application\ Support/Code/User/keybindings.json

Platform-Specific¶

macOS to Windows/Linux¶

macOS	Windows/Linux
`Cmd`	`Ctrl`
`Alt`	`Alt`
`Ctrl`	`Ctrl`

Most shortcuts use Cmd on macOS and Ctrl on Windows/Linux.

Sync Across Platforms¶

VS Code settings sync handles platform-specific keybindings automatically.