VSCode ships with a huge shortcut list and most of it never gets touched. Here's the handful I actually reach for, working day to day with SQL scripts, Python, and config files.
Search and navigation
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
Ctrl+Shift+F | Search for a string across every file in the project at once, not just the one that's open. First thing I hit when I need to find every place a column name or a config key shows up. |
Ctrl+P | Jump to any file by typing part of its name. |
Ctrl+G | Jump straight to a line number. |
Ctrl+Tab | Cycle through open tabs. |
Editing
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
Alt+Z | Toggle word wrap on the current file. Turns a long SQL query or a wide CSV row into something you can actually read without scrolling sideways. |
Alt+Up / Alt+Down | Move the current line up or down. |
Ctrl+D | Select the next occurrence of whatever's highlighted. Keep hitting it to select them all and edit at once. |
Ctrl+Shift+L | Select every occurrence of the current selection in the file in one go, instead of stepping through them with Ctrl+D. |
Ctrl+/ | Comment out the current line or selection. |
F2 | Rename a variable, function, or reference everywhere it's used in the file. |
Ctrl+Shift+K | Delete the current line, no need to select it first. |
View
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
Ctrl+` | Toggle the integrated terminal. |
Ctrl+B | Toggle the sidebar. |
Ctrl+Shift+E | Jump focus to the file explorer. |