VSCode shortcuts / keybinding for Non Visual Users

In this article, I’ll be sharing a selection of VSCode shortcuts and keybindings that I frequently use and find
particularly useful as a screen reader (non-visual) developer.

While memorizing every keybinding available in VSCode can
be overwhelming, focusing on a core set of shortcuts can greatly enhance efficiency and ease of use. To make this guide practical, I’ve highlighted keybindings that are most likely to be beneficial for screen reader users. The list below will have marks on shortcuts which I think essential.

The default keybindings are sourced from the official VSCode documentation as of September 3, 2024. I hope this resource will help you streamline your workflow by focusing on the most useful and frequently used shortcuts.

NOTE: The essential shortcuts will ended by 👍

General

Ctrl+Shift+P, F1 👍

Show Command Palette

Ctrl+P 👍

Quick Open, Go to File…

Ctrl+Shift+N

New window/instance

Ctrl+Shift+W 👍

Close window/instance

Ctrl+, 👍

User Settings

Ctrl+K Ctrl+S

Keyboard Shortcuts

Basic editing

Ctrl+X 👍

Cut line (empty selection)

Ctrl+C 👍

Copy line (empty selection)

Alt+ ↑/↓

Move line up/down

Shift+Alt+ ↑/↓

Copy line up/down

Ctrl+Shift+K 👍

Delete line

Ctrl+Enter 👍

Insert line below

Ctrl+Shift+Enter 👍

Insert line above

Ctrl+Shift+\ 👍

Jump to matching bracket

Ctrl+ ]/[

Indent/outdent line. This is useful when I want to make sure there is no whitespaces at start.

Home/End 👍

Go to beginning / end of line

Ctrl+Home 👍

Go to beginning of file

Ctrl+End 👍

Go to end of file

Ctrl+ ↑/↓

Scroll line up/down

Alt+ PgUp/PgDn

Scroll page up/down

Ctrl+Shift+[

Fold (collapse) region

Ctrl+Shift+]

Unfold (uncollapse) region

Ctrl+K

Ctrl+[ Fold (collapse) all subregions

Ctrl+K

Ctrl+] Unfold (uncollapse) all subregions

Ctrl+K Ctrl+0

Fold (collapse) all regions

Ctrl+K Ctrl+J

Unfold (uncollapse) all regions

Ctrl+K Ctrl+C

Add line comment

Ctrl+K Ctrl+U

Remove line comment

Ctrl+/ 👍

Toggle line comment

Shift+Alt+A 👍

Toggle block comment

Alt+Z 👍

Toggle word wrap

Navigation

Ctrl+T

Show all Symbols

Ctrl+G 👍

Go to Line...

Ctrl+P 👍

Go to File...

Ctrl+Shift+O 👍

Go to Symbol...

Ctrl+Shift+M 👍

Show Problems panel

F8 👍

Go to next error or warning

Shift+F8 👍

Go to previous error or warning

Ctrl+Shift+Tab 👍

Navigate editor group history

Alt+ ←/→

Go back / forward

Ctrl+M 👍

Toggle Tab moves focus

Search and replace

Ctrl+F 👍

Find

Ctrl+H 👍

Replace

F3 / Shift+F3

Find next/previous

Alt+Enter

Select all occurences of Find match

Ctrl+D

Add selection to next Find match

Ctrl+K Ctrl+D

Move last selection to next Find match

Alt+ C/R/W

Toggle case-sensitive / regex / whole word

Multi-cursor and selection

Alt+Click

Insert cursor

Ctrl+Alt+ ↑/↓

Insert cursor above / below

Ctrl+U

Undo last cursor operation

Shift+Alt+I 👍

Insert cursor at end of each line selected

Ctrl+L 👍

Select current line

Ctrl+Shift+L

Select all occurrences of current selection

Ctrl+F2 👍

Select all occurrences of current word

Shift+Alt+→

Expand selection

Shift+Alt+←

Shrink selection

Shift+Alt + (drag mouse)

Column (box) selection

Ctrl+Shift+Alt+ (arrow key)

Column (box) selection

Ctrl+Shift+Alt+ PgUp/PgDn

Column (box) selection page up/down

Rich languages editing

Ctrl+Space, Ctrl+I 👍

Trigger suggestion

Ctrl+Shift+Space 👍

Trigger parameter hints

Shift+Alt+F 👍

Format document

Ctrl+K Ctrl+F 👍

Format selection

F12 👍

Go to Definition

Alt+F12 👍

Peek Definition

Ctrl+K F12 👍

Open Definition to the side

Ctrl+. 👍

Quick Fix

Shift+F12 👍

Show References

F2 👍

Rename Symbol

Ctrl+K Ctrl+X 👍

Trim trailing whitespace

Ctrl+K M

Change file language

Editor management

Ctrl+F4, Ctrl+W 👍

Close editor

Ctrl+K F

Close folder

Ctrl+\

Split editor

Ctrl+ 1/2/3

Focus into 1st, 2nd or 3rd editor group. This is most useful for me when I repeatedly jump between specific locations in file/files.

Ctrl+K Ctrl+ ←/→

Focus into previous/next editor group

Ctrl+Shift+ PgUp/PgDn

Move editor left/right

Ctrl+K ←/→

Move active editor group

File management

Ctrl+N

New File

Ctrl+O

Open File...

Ctrl+S 👍

Save

Ctrl+Shift+S

Save As...

Ctrl+K S

Save All

Ctrl+F4 👍

Close

Ctrl+K Ctrl+W

Close All

Ctrl+Shift+T 👍

Reopen closed editor

Ctrl+K 👍

Enter Keep preview mode editor open

Ctrl+Tab 👍

Open next

Ctrl+Shift+Tab 👍

Open previous

Ctrl+K P 👍

Copy path of active file

Ctrl+K R 👍

Reveal active file in Explorer

Ctrl+K O

Show active file in new window/instance

Display

F11

Toggle full screen

Shift+Alt+0

Toggle editor layout (horizontal/vertical)

Ctrl+ =/-

Zoom in/out

Ctrl+B

Toggle Sidebar visibility

Ctrl+Shift+E 👍

Show Explorer / Toggle focus

Ctrl+Shift+F 👍

Show Search

Ctrl+Shift+G 👍

Show Source Control

Ctrl+Shift+D 👍

Show Debug

Ctrl+Shift+X 👍

Show Extensions

Ctrl+Shift+H 👍

Replace in files

Ctrl+Shift+J

Toggle Search details

Ctrl+Shift+U

Show Output panel

Ctrl+Shift+V 👍

Open Markdown preview

Ctrl+K V

Open Markdown preview to the side

Ctrl+K Z

Zen Mode (Esc Esc to exit)

Debug

F9 👍

Toggle breakpoint

F5 👍

Start/Continue

Shift+F5 👍

Stop

F11 / Shift+F11

Step into/out

F10

Step over

Ctrl+K Ctrl+I

Show hover

Integrated terminal

Ctrl+` 👍

Show integrated terminal

Ctrl+Shift+` 👍

Create new terminal

Ctrl+C 👍

Copy selection

Ctrl+V 👍

Paste into active terminal

Ctrl+ ↑/↓ 👍

Scroll up/down

Shift+ PgUp/PgDn 👍

Scroll page up/down

Ctrl+ Home/End

Scroll to top/bottom

Other operating systems’ keyboard shortcuts and additional unassigned shortcuts available at aka.ms/vscodekeybindings