How to find any VS Code shortcut
These are the defaults — you can search and rebind anything.
Open the Keyboard Shortcuts editor
⌘K ⌘S (Mac) or Ctrl+K Ctrl+S (Windows) — search by action name, see current binding, double-click to remap.
Use the Command Palette
⌘⇧P / Ctrl+Shift+P — type any action name. VS Code shows the current keyboard shortcut next to each command.
Download the official PDF
Help → Keyboard Shortcut Reference — opens the official one-page PDF cheatsheet for your platform (Mac, Windows, or Linux).
Profile-specific shortcuts
VS Code Profiles let you save different keybinding sets for different projects or languages. Switch profiles via the gear icon in the bottom-left.
Frequently asked VS Code shortcut questions
The Command Palette — ⌘⇧P (Mac) / Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows). Every VS Code feature is reachable by typing its name. If you forget any shortcut, open the Palette and type what you want to do.
Click on a word, then press ⌘D (Mac) / Ctrl+D (Windows) repeatedly to add each next occurrence to your multi-selection. Press ⌘⇧L / Ctrl+Shift+L to select every occurrence at once. Then type to replace all of them simultaneously.
Place your cursor on any symbol and press F12 (Go to Definition — works on both platforms). Use ⌥F12 / Alt+F12 (Peek Definition) to preview the definition in a popup without leaving your current file.
Press ⌥↑ / Alt+↑ to move the current line up, or ⌥↓ / Alt+↓ to move it down. Add ⇧ (Shift) to copy the line instead of moving it. Works with multi-line selections too.
Yes — Ctrl+- (Mac) or Alt+← (Windows) goes to your previous cursor position, even across files. This is essential when you've jumped to a definition and want to return. Ctrl+⇧- / Alt+→ goes forward again.
With the terminal focused, press Ctrl+⇧5 (same on both platforms) to split the terminal panel. Or create a new separate terminal with Ctrl+⇧`. Switch between terminal instances using the dropdown in the terminal panel header.
Use ⌘⌥[ (Mac) / Ctrl+Shift+[ (Windows) to fold the current block, and ⌘⌥] / Ctrl+Shift+] to unfold. ⌘K ⌘0 / Ctrl+K Ctrl+0 folds all regions in the file. ⌘K ⌘J / Ctrl+K Ctrl+J unfolds everything.
Place cursor on the variable and press F2 (both platforms). Type the new name and press Enter. VS Code renames it across all files in the project that reference it — not just the current file — using language-aware renaming (not simple text replace).