10 Essential VS Code Shortcuts to Boost Your Coding Productivity

These 10 Visual Studio Code (VS Code) shortcuts are designed to improve your coding speed and efficiency by reducing the time spent on repetitive tasks. From navigating through files and manipulating code to accessing integrated tools like the terminal, these shortcuts make development smoother and more focused. Here’s a quick recap of the shortcuts:

1. Duplicate Line

• Shortcut: Shift + Alt + Down or Shift + Alt + Up
• Action: Duplicates the current line or block of code either below or above your cursor. This is helpful when you need to copy a section of code without manually selecting it.

2. Move Line

• Shortcut: Alt + Up or Alt + Down
• Action: Moves the current line (or block of code) up or down, which is great for reordering code quickly without having to cut and paste.

3. Multi-Cursor

• Shortcut: Alt + Click or Ctrl + D (Windows/Linux) / Cmd + D (Mac)
• Action: Adds multiple cursors so you can edit several places in your code at the same time. This is great for making the same change to multiple lines of code or variables.

4. Comment/Uncomment

• Shortcut: Ctrl + / (Windows/Linux) / Cmd + / (Mac)
• Action: Toggles comments for the selected line or block of code, which is useful for quickly commenting/uncommenting sections of code during debugging or development.

5. Format Code

• Shortcut: Shift + Alt + F (Windows/Linux) / Shift + Option + F (Mac)
• Action: Automatically formats the code based on your configured formatting style, which can be customized for consistency. This ensures clean and readable code.

6. Quick Open File

• Shortcut: Ctrl + P (Windows/Linux) / Cmd + P (Mac)
• Action: Opens the “Quick Open” dialog, allowing you to type the name of a file in your project to quickly navigate to it. It’s faster than manually browsing folders.

7. Go to Definition

• Shortcut: F12
• Action: Jumps directly to the definition of a function, variable, or class, making it easier to navigate and understand code without manually searching for references.

8. Search Across Files

• Shortcut: Ctrl + Shift + F (Windows/Linux) / Cmd + Shift + F (Mac)
• Action: Opens the search across your entire project, helping you find occurrences of a specific term (variable, function, etc.) in all files.

9. Toggle Terminal

• Shortcut: Ctrl + \ (Windows/Linux) / Cmd + \ (Mac)
• Action: Opens or closes the integrated terminal within VS Code, allowing you to run scripts, commands, and other terminal-based tasks without leaving the editor.

10. Split Editor

• Shortcut: Ctrl + \ (Windows/Linux) / Cmd + \ (Mac)
• Action: Splits the editor into two (or more) panels, so you can view and edit multiple files side by side, which is particularly useful when comparing or referencing code.

Conclusion

Mastering these shortcuts can greatly improve your coding productivity and streamline your development workflow. By incorporating them into your routine, you can reduce the time spent on navigating and editing code, allowing you to focus more on problem-solving and writing high-quality software. So, try using these shortcuts and experience a faster, more efficient coding experience in VS Code!