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Tapajyoti Bose
Tapajyoti Bose

Posted on • Updated on

7 Lesser-Known VS Code Shortcuts to Speed Up your Development (with GIF Demos)

VS Code has a plethora of tools and commands to make your life easier. But often, people don't know how to use them, resulting in excessive manual work and lost time.

This article will cover 7 shortcuts that can drastically speed up your development!

1. Toggle Word Wrap

Windows Mac
ALT + Z ⌥ + Z

Need a quick view of the entire line without scrolling? Just enable word-wrap!

toggle-word-wrap

2. Switch workspace

Windows Mac
CTRL + R ⌘ + R

Regular Way of Switching Workspaces: Navigate to the workspace you want to switch to & open up VS Code

Smart Way of Switching Workspaces: Open up VS Code anywhere & switch to the required workspace

switch-workspace

3. Open Settings

Windows Mac
CTRL + , ⌘ + ,

Need to modify some settings? Instead of searching where the Open Settings Dropdown is hidden, just use the command!

open-settings

4. Open Terminal

Windows Mac
CTRL + ` ⌃ + `

Need to execute some commands in the terminal? Instead of using another shell, conjure one within the editor!

open-terminal

5. Switch Tabs

Windows Mac
CTRL + Tab ^ + Tab

The more advanced developer you become, the more you avoid using the mouse to speed up your development. Switching tabs from the keyboard is the must-have skill for the job!

switch-tabs

6. Go To Line

Windows Mac
CTRL + G ^ + G

Just like switching tabs, go to line saves time by eliminating unnecessarily scrolling!

go-to-line

7. Go to file

Windows Mac
CTRL + P ⌘ + P

Another must-have skill for the modern developer! Go to file eliminates the need to search for the files in the explorer view, which often is a massive time sink!

go-to-file

If you want to know all VS Code the shortcuts, check out the following:

  1. Windows
  2. Mac

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FAQ

These are a few commonly asked questions I get. So, I hope this FAQ section solves your issues.

  1. I am a beginner, how should I learn Front-End Web Dev?
    Look into the following articles:

    1. Front End Development Roadmap
    2. Front End Project Ideas
  2. Would you mentor me?

    Sorry, I am already under a lot of workload and would not have the time to mentor anyone.

Top comments (9)

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dallas profile image
Dallas Reedy • Edited

A couple I would definitely add to this excellent list are:

  • ^ + - to go back (cursor position history) (command ID: workbench.action.navigateForward)
  • shift + ^ + - to go forward (cursor position history) (command ID: workbench.action.navigateBack)

I’m not sure what the Windows equivalents are.

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dr41d45 profile image
dr41d45 • Edited

Could you mention native "command-id" for your command?

dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/up...

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dallas profile image
Dallas Reedy

Sure thing! Thanks for asking, @dr41d45!

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atpriyanshu profile image
atpriyanshu

CTRL + w is an another shortcut for closing current editor.

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w3ndo profile image
Patrick Wendo

CTRL + P then enter a line number preceded by the full colon (:12) will also take you to that line.

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mrdulin profile image
official_dulin

Don't remember the shortcurt, remember the feature.

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andrewbaisden profile image
Andrew Baisden

So much fun with these thanks for sharing with the examples.

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owieth profile image
Oli

Personally I think CMD + J is way more convenient for opening a terminal ;)

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muhammadui profile image
Muhammad Ibrahim Umar

Thanks for sharing this ...