Printable VS Code Keyboard Shortcuts
59 Visual Studio Code default keybindings on one page, with the Windows, Mac and Linux keys side by side — editing, navigation, debugging and the integrated terminal. Hit Print or Download PDF for the whole sheet, no signup. For the shortcuts that work outside the editor too, see the general keyboard shortcuts cheat sheet.
Prints on one US Letter page. Set margins to "None" for the sharpest result.
VS Code Keyboard Shortcuts
Default keybindings · Mac: ⌘ Command ⌥ Option ⌃ Control ⇧ Shift · "Ctrl+K Ctrl+S" = press one, then the other
Bold Linux keys differ from the Windows default · your own bindings may differ — check Ctrl+K Ctrl+S (⌘K ⌘S) · printablepolly.com/vs-code-shortcuts
How to Use This VS Code Cheat Sheet
1. Learn the two that unlock the rest
The Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / ⇧⌘P) runs any command by name, and Quick Open (Ctrl+P / ⌘P) jumps to any file by name. Between them they replace most menu and mouse trips, and the palette prints each command's own shortcut beside it — so it doubles as the way you discover the next shortcut to learn.
2. Read across the row when you switch machines
All three platforms sit on the same row, so pairing on a colleague's Mac or moving to a Linux box is a sideways glance rather than a fresh sheet. The bolded Linux cells are the only rows where Linux and Windows disagree — 6 of them, all because the desktop environment already claims the Windows combo.
3. Drill the multi-cursor block first
Ctrl+D (add the next match to the selection), Ctrl+Shift+L (select every occurrence) and add-cursor-above/below are the shortcuts that change how you edit rather than saving a click. Pair them with regex search patterns in the Find widget — click the .* icon — and a rename across a file takes one pass.
4. Keep the terminal keys next to your git keys
Most VS Code sessions run git from the integrated terminal, so Ctrl+` and the scroll keys get used dozens of times a day. Print this sheet alongside the git commands cheat sheet and the two cover almost everything you type outside the code itself.
Printable PDF
The sheet above is the whole thing — one US Letter page, black-and-white friendly, with all 59 shortcuts for Windows, Mac and Linux. Print as many copies as you need for a team or a classroom. No signup, no watermark.
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FAQ
How do I see every VS Code keyboard shortcut?
Open the Keyboard Shortcuts editor with Ctrl+K Ctrl+S (⌘K ⌘S on Mac), or run "Preferences: Open Keyboard Shortcuts" from the Command Palette. It is searchable and shows the bindings your extensions added as well as the defaults, which a printed sheet cannot. The Command Palette also prints the binding next to any command it lists — a fast way to learn the shortcut for something you already do by menu.
Why are some of the Linux shortcuts different from Windows?
Because the desktop environment gets the key first. Ctrl+Alt+↑/↓ switches workspaces on GNOME and KDE, so on Linux VS Code binds insert-cursor-above/below to Shift+Alt+↑/↓ and pushes copy-line-up/down out to Ctrl+Shift+Alt+↑/↓. Toggle block comment (Ctrl+Shift+A), format document (Ctrl+Shift+I), peek definition (Ctrl+Shift+F10) and go back/forward (Ctrl+Alt+- and Ctrl+Shift+-) differ for the same reason. Those six are bolded on the sheet; every other row is identical on Windows and Linux.
What do the Mac symbols mean?
⌘ is Command, ⌥ is Option (Alt), ⌃ is Control and ⇧ is Shift. Note that Mac uses both ⌘ and ⌃ — a few defaults such as go to line (⌃G) and trigger suggestion (⌃Space) are Control, not Command.
What does a shortcut like Ctrl+K Ctrl+S mean?
It is a chord: press Ctrl+K, release, then press Ctrl+S. VS Code shows a pending indicator in the status bar after the first half, and Escape cancels it. Most of the Ctrl+K chords are the ones worth learning — Ctrl+K Ctrl+S for shortcuts, Ctrl+K Z for Zen Mode, Ctrl+K Ctrl+F to format a selection.
Can I change a shortcut that clashes with something else?
Yes. In the Keyboard Shortcuts editor, right-click a command and choose Change Keybinding, or edit keybindings.json directly for full control including when-clauses. Custom bindings live in your user profile and sync with Settings Sync, so they follow you to another machine — but they will not match this sheet, which lists the shipped defaults.
Is this VS Code cheat sheet free to print?
Yes — click Print or Download PDF and you get all 59 shortcuts on one US Letter page with the Windows, Mac and Linux keys side by side. No signup, no watermark, and no limit on copies for your team or classroom.