Visual Studio Code Shortcuts

Instantly runs active Python, JavaScript, C++, or Java file in terminal without typing manual terminal commands.

Immediately halts the running script or infinite loop in Code Runner.

Launches local dev server with real-time browser reload for HTML, CSS, and JS web design files.

Shuts down active Live Server instance on port 5500.

Instantly inserts a formatted console.log() displaying the selected variable name and current line number.

Toggles automatic saving of dirty files after delay so code changes are never lost.

Reopens the code tab you accidentally closed with all previous history intact.

Opens interactive VS Code keybinding manager where students can remap any shortcut.

Open the universal search bar to access all editor commands, preferences, and extensions.

Search and jump to any project file by typing parts of its path or name.

Opens a brand new VS Code application window for another project.

Closes the current active VS Code window.

Opens preferences to configure themes, font size, tabs, and formatters.

Shows or hides the file explorer sidebar to maximize editor coding space.

Shows or hides the bottom panel containing Terminal, Output, and Debug Console.

Opens extensions panel to install Python, Prettier, Live Server, and linters.

Focuses file explorer tree view of project files and folders.

Opens Git panel to inspect modified files, stage changes, and commit.

Opens debugging panel to configure launch scripts and breakpoints.

Expands editor into immersive full-screen view without OS borders.

Distraction-free coding mode hiding all sidebars, tabs, and status bars.

Cuts entire current line to clipboard when no characters are selected.

Copies whole line to clipboard without needing to highlight the text.

Shifts current line or highlighted selection upward or downward smoothly.

Clones current line or block immediately above or below active cursor.

Instantly deletes the active line without requiring selection.

Creates a clean new line directly below active cursor without splitting current text.

Creates a new empty line immediately above the active line.

Toggles cursor position between opening and closing brackets (), {}, [].

Indents current line or selection to the right.

Removes indentation from line or block to the left.

Comments or uncomments line using language-specific syntax (// or #).

Wraps selected code with multi-line block comment (/* ... */).

Formats whole file cleanly using Prettier, Black, or default formatter.

Formats only the selected block of code leaving surrounding code intact.

Wraps long code lines inside viewport to avoid horizontal scrolling.

Collapses the innermost code block, function, or loop.

Expands the currently folded code block.

Collapses all functions, classes, and code blocks in active file.

Expands every folded block in the file to reveal full code.

Adds cursor to the next occurrence of current word to edit them simultaneously.

Places cursors at every occurrence of selected word across the document.

Click anywhere to place additional cursors and type at multiple places.

Adds an extra cursor directly above or below current position on adjacent lines.

Removes the last added multi-cursor while preserving previous selections.

Spawns individual cursors at the trailing end of every highlighted line.

Selects the full line where cursor rests. Press repeatedly to extend selection.

Intelligently expands or contracts selection boundary based on code AST syntax.

Opens in-file search widget to find words and patterns.

Opens find and replace fields to substitute text across active file.

Search string across all project folders, files, and modules.

Performs multi-file search and replace across the entire project.

Advances cursor to the next match of current search query.

Navigates backward to preceding search result.

Toggles case-sensitive matching on and off in search box.

Restricts search results to complete standalone words only.

Enables regex syntax patterns for complex code searches.

Jump directly to line:col (e.g. :42:10) to trace errors quickly.

Navigates immediately to where a function, variable, or class is defined.

Opens an inline popup box showing definition code without navigating away.

Displays list of every file and line where symbol is used.

Renames variable or function across every file in project synchronously.

Opens contextual suggestions to auto-import modules, fix typos, or refactor.

Triggers autocomplete suggestions and documentation dropdown.

Displays argument names and types expected by active function call.

Lists all functions, methods, and variables declared in current file.

Searches symbols across all project files.

Steps backward or forward through recent code cursor navigation locations.

Closes the current file tab.

Closes every open tab in the active group.

Divides active editor into side-by-side split groups.

Switches focus across side-by-side editor panels without clicking.

Cycles through opened files in order of most recent use.

Pins italic preview tab permanently so opening other files does not replace it.

Show or hide the built-in terminal window.

Opens a fresh parallel terminal shell session.

Splits terminal panel side-by-side to run server and tests simultaneously.

Copies selected text inside integrated terminal buffer.

Pastes clipboard text directly into active terminal prompt.

Clears screen scrollback history in active terminal shell.

Launches debug target or advances execution to next breakpoint.

Runs file directly bypassing all debugger breakpoints.

Immediately halts debugger and terminates spawned runtime.

Recompiles and restarts active debug execution from origin.

Inserts or removes red debug breakpoint at cursor position.

Executes active line and pauses at following statement without entering function body.

Steps execution inside the function being called on current line.

Runs until active function returns and pauses at caller.