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VS Code & Cursor Shortcuts

Complete keyboard shortcuts reference for VS Code and Cursor IDE. Master productivity shortcuts including Cursor's powerful AI commands for faster development.

Cursor AI Commands

Cursor-specific AI-powered features for generating, editing, and understanding code.

Generate/Edit Code

Open inline AI editor to generate or modify code in place.

Mac Cmd + K
Windows/Linux Ctrl + K

Chat with AI

Open AI chat panel to ask questions about your code.

Mac Cmd + L
Windows/Linux Ctrl + L

New Chat

Start a fresh AI chat conversation.

Mac Cmd + Shift + L
Windows/Linux Ctrl + Shift + L

Inline AI

Trigger inline AI suggestions and completions.

Mac Cmd + I
Windows/Linux Ctrl + I

Accept AI Suggestion

Accept current AI code suggestion.

All platforms Tab

Accept Next Word

Accept next word of AI suggestion.

Mac Cmd +
Windows/Linux Ctrl +

Essential Editing

Fundamental shortcuts for code editing and manipulation.

Cut, Copy, Paste Line

Cut, copy, or paste entire lines without selection.

Mac Cmd + X (Cut)   Cmd + C (Copy)   Cmd + V (Paste)
Windows/Linux Ctrl + X (Cut)   Ctrl + C (Copy)   Ctrl + V (Paste)

Tip: Without selection, cuts/copies entire line

Duplicate Line

Duplicate current line or selection above or below.

Mac Shift + Option + /
Windows/Linux Shift + Alt + /

Move Line Up/Down

Move current line or selection up or down.

Mac Option + /
Windows/Linux Alt + /

Delete Line

Delete entire line.

Mac Cmd + Shift + K
Windows/Linux Ctrl + Shift + K

Insert Line Below/Above

Insert new line below or above current line.

Mac Cmd + Enter (Below)   Cmd + Shift + Enter (Above)
Windows/Linux Ctrl + Enter (Below)   Ctrl + Shift + Enter (Above)

Comment/Uncomment Line

Toggle line comment.

Mac Cmd + /
Windows/Linux Ctrl + /

Block Comment

Toggle block comment.

Mac Shift + Option + A
Windows/Linux Shift + Alt + A

Indent/Outdent

Indent or outdent line/selection.

Mac Cmd + ] (Indent)   Cmd + [ (Outdent)
Windows/Linux Ctrl + ] (Indent)   Ctrl + [ (Outdent)

Format Document

Auto-format entire document.

Mac Shift + Option + F
Windows/Linux Shift + Alt + F

Format Selection

Format only selected code.

Mac Cmd + K then Cmd + F
Windows/Linux Ctrl + K then Ctrl + F

Multi-Cursor Editing

Edit multiple locations simultaneously for maximum productivity.

Add Cursor Above/Below

Add additional cursor on lines above or below.

Mac Cmd + Option + /
Windows/Linux Ctrl + Alt + /

Add Cursor at Click Position

Add cursor wherever you click.

Mac Option + Click
Windows/Linux Alt + Click

Select All Occurrences

Select all occurrences of current word/selection.

Mac Cmd + Shift + L
Windows/Linux Ctrl + Shift + L

Select Next Occurrence

Add next occurrence of selection to multi-cursor.

Mac Cmd + D
Windows/Linux Ctrl + D

Skip Next Occurrence

Skip current occurrence and move to next.

Mac Cmd + K then Cmd + D
Windows/Linux Ctrl + K then Ctrl + D

Column (Box) Selection

Select rectangular region of text.

Mac Shift + Option + Drag
Windows/Linux Shift + Alt + Drag

Command Palette

Access all commands and features through the command palette.

Show Command Palette

Open command palette to access all commands.

Mac Cmd + Shift + P
Windows/Linux Ctrl + Shift + P

Settings

Open settings UI or JSON.

Mac Cmd + ,
Windows/Linux Ctrl + ,

Keyboard Shortcuts

Open keyboard shortcuts editor.

Mac Cmd + K then Cmd + S
Windows/Linux Ctrl + K then Ctrl + S

Terminal

Integrated terminal shortcuts for command-line work.

Toggle Terminal

Show/hide integrated terminal.

All platforms Ctrl + `

Create New Terminal

Open new terminal instance.

All platforms Ctrl + Shift + `

Focus Terminal

Move focus to terminal pane.

Mac Cmd + J
Windows/Linux Ctrl + J

Kill Terminal

Close active terminal instance.

Mac Cmd + W (in terminal)
Windows/Linux Ctrl + W (in terminal)

Split Terminal

Split terminal pane.

Mac Cmd + \ (in terminal)
Windows/Linux Ctrl + Shift + 5

Display & Layout

Manage editor layout and visibility.

Toggle Sidebar

Show/hide sidebar (file explorer).

Mac Cmd + B
Windows/Linux Ctrl + B

Toggle Panel

Show/hide bottom panel (terminal, problems, output).

Mac Cmd + J
Windows/Linux Ctrl + J

Zen Mode

Enter distraction-free full-screen mode.

Mac Cmd + K then Z
Windows/Linux Ctrl + K then Z

Split Editor

Split editor vertically.

Mac Cmd + \
Windows/Linux Ctrl + \

Focus Editor Group

Switch focus between split editors.

Mac Cmd + 1 / 2 / 3
Windows/Linux Ctrl + 1 / 2 / 3

Zoom In/Out

Increase/decrease editor zoom level.

Mac Cmd + = (In)   Cmd + - (Out)
Windows/Linux Ctrl + = (In)   Ctrl + - (Out)

File Management

Manage files and editor tabs efficiently.

New File

Create new untitled file.

Mac Cmd + N
Windows/Linux Ctrl + N

Open File

Open file dialog.

Mac Cmd + O
Windows/Linux Ctrl + O

Save File

Save current file.

Mac Cmd + S
Windows/Linux Ctrl + S

Save As

Save file with new name/location.

Mac Cmd + Shift + S
Windows/Linux Ctrl + Shift + S

Save All

Save all open files.

Mac Option + Cmd + S
Windows/Linux Ctrl + K then S

Close Editor

Close current editor tab.

Mac Cmd + W
Windows/Linux Ctrl + W

Close All Editors

Close all open editor tabs.

Mac Cmd + K then W
Windows/Linux Ctrl + K then W

Reopen Closed Editor

Reopen last closed editor tab.

Mac Cmd + Shift + T
Windows/Linux Ctrl + Shift + T

Copy Path

Copy file path to clipboard.

Mac Cmd + K then P
Windows/Linux Ctrl + K then P

Reveal in File Explorer

Show file in sidebar.

Mac Cmd + K then R
Windows/Linux Ctrl + K then R

Refactoring

Code refactoring and symbol manipulation.

Rename Symbol

Rename symbol across all references.

All platforms F2

Quick Fix

Show available quick fixes and refactorings.

Mac Cmd + .
Windows/Linux Ctrl + .

Show Hover

Show hover information (type info, docs).

Mac Cmd + K then Cmd + I
Windows/Linux Ctrl + K then Ctrl + I

Trigger Suggest

Manually trigger IntelliSense suggestions.

All platforms Ctrl + Space

Trigger Parameter Hints

Show function parameter hints.

Mac Cmd + Shift + Space
Windows/Linux Ctrl + Shift + Space

Debugging

Debug your code with breakpoints and step-through execution.

Toggle Breakpoint

Add/remove breakpoint on current line.

All platforms F9

Start/Continue Debugging

Start debugging or continue to next breakpoint.

All platforms F5

Step Over

Execute current line and move to next.

All platforms F10

Step Into

Step into function calls.

All platforms F11

Step Out

Step out of current function.

All platforms Shift + F11

Stop Debugging

Stop debug session.

All platforms Shift + F5

Show Problems

Open problems panel (errors, warnings).

Mac Cmd + Shift + M
Windows/Linux Ctrl + Shift + M

Emmet Abbreviations

Rapid HTML/CSS generation with Emmet shortcuts.

Expand Abbreviation

Expand Emmet abbreviation into full code.

All platforms Tab
<!-- Before: ul>li*5 -->
<!-- After Tab: -->
<ul>
  <li></li>
  <li></li>
  <li></li>
  <li></li>
  <li></li>
</ul>

Common Emmet Patterns

// Child: >
div>ul>li

// Sibling: +
div+p+span

// Climb up: ^
div>ul>li^div

// Multiply: *
ul>li*3

// Grouping: ()
div>(header>ul>li*2)+footer>p

// ID and Class
div#header.container.main

// Attributes
a[href="#" title="Link"]

// Text: {}
li{Item $}*3

// CSS Properties
m10 → margin: 10px;
p20-30 → padding: 20px 30px;
w100p → width: 100%;

Pro Tips

  • Customize shortcuts: Open Settings → Keyboard Shortcuts → Search for any command
  • Format on Save: Enable in Settings → "Format on Save"
  • Auto Save: Settings → Files: Auto Save → "afterDelay"
  • Workspace settings: Create .vscode/settings.json in project root
  • Custom snippets: Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P → "Configure User Snippets"
  • Cursor AI Tips: Use Cmd+K with selected code for targeted edits; Reference specific files with @filename in chat

Additional Resources