VS Code Alt Key Keybindings User Guide¶

This guide covers the reorganized Alt key combinations for VS Code, designed for maximum efficiency and memorability. All shortcuts use the Alt key as the primary modifier, organized by functional categories.

🎯 Design Philosophy¶

Alt + [Category Letter] + [Action]: Consistent pattern for easy memorization
Logical grouping: Related functions share the same category letter
Mnemonic shortcuts: Letters chosen to match the action (e.g., s for Settings, f for Files)
Progressive complexity: Simple actions use single letters, complex actions use combinations

📋 Quick Reference Categories¶

Category	Letter	Description
Settings	`s`	Settings, preferences, and configuration
Files	`f`	File operations and management
Editor	`e`	Editor actions and text manipulation
Layout	`e`	Window layout and splitting
Editor Switching	`l`	Editor switching and navigation
Terminal	`t`	Terminal and console operations
View	`v`	Views, panels, and navigation
Git	`g`	Version control operations
Jupyter	`j`	Jupyter notebook operations
References	`r`	Code references and search
Workspace	`w`	Workspace and window management
Codeium	`c`	AI assistance (Codeium)
Amazon Q	`q`	AI assistance (Amazon Q)
Python	`p`	Python-specific operations
Merge	`m`	Merge conflict resolution
Updates	`u`	System updates and maintenance

🔧 Settings & Configuration (`Alt + s`)¶

Shortcut	Action	Description
`Alt + s + k`	Open Keybindings	Open keyboard shortcuts settings
`Alt + s + Shift + k`	Open Keybindings File	Edit keybindings.json directly
`Alt + s + s`	Open Settings	Open VS Code settings
`Alt + s + j`	Open Settings JSON	Edit settings.json directly
`Alt + s + u`	Open Settings UI	Open settings with UI
`Alt + s + t`	Select Theme	Choose color theme
`Alt + s + p`	Switch Profile	Change VS Code profile
`Alt + s + m`	Change Language Mode	Set file language mode

📁 File Operations (`Alt + f`)¶

Shortcut	Action	Description
`Alt + f + s`	Save File	Save current file
`Alt + f + a`	Save All Files	Save all open files
`Alt + f + Shift + a`	Save All in Workspace	Save all files in workspace
`Alt + f + o`	Open File	Open file dialog
`Alt + f + r`	Revert File	Revert file to last saved state

✏️ Editor Operations (`Alt + e`)¶

Shortcut	Action	Description
`Alt + e + c`	Close Editor	Close current editor tab
`Alt + e + o`	Close Other Editors	Close all other editor tabs
`Alt + e + Shift + o`	Close Other Groups	Close editors in other groups
`Alt + e + g`	Go to Line	Jump to specific line number
`Alt + e + d`	Go to Definition	Navigate to symbol definition
`Alt + e + r`	Rename Symbol	Rename symbol at cursor
`Alt + e + n`	Next Error	Go to next error/warning
`Alt + e + Shift + n`	Next Error in Files	Go to next error across files

🔄 Editor Switching (`Alt + l`)¶

Shortcut	Action	Description
`Alt + l`	Switch Recent Editor	Switch between recent editors
`Alt + l`	Navigate Editor Picker	Navigate in editor picker (when active)

🔲 Layout & Splitting (`Alt + e`)¶

Shortcut	Action	Description
`Alt + e + v`	Split Vertical	Split editor vertically
`Alt + e + h`	Split Horizontal	Split editor horizontally
`Alt + e + ←/→/↑/↓`	Split Direction	Split in specific direction
`Alt + e + j/k`	Focus Left/Right	Focus left/right editor group
`Alt + e + ↑/↓`	Focus Up/Down	Focus up/down editor group
`Alt + e + 1/2/3`	Layout Columns	Set 1/2/3 column layout

💻 Terminal Operations (`Alt + t`)¶

Shortcut	Action	Description
`Alt + t + t`	Toggle Terminal	Show/hide terminal
`Alt + t + n`	New Terminal	Create new terminal
`Alt + t + s`	Split Terminal	Split current terminal
`Alt + t + ←/→`	Switch Terminal	Navigate between terminals
`Alt + t + p`	Toggle Panel	Show/hide bottom panel

👁️ Views & Navigation (`Alt + v`)¶

Shortcut	Action	Description
`Alt + v + f`	Focus File Explorer	Open and focus file explorer
`Alt + v + e`	View Extensions	Open extensions view
`Alt + v + s`	Focus Search	Open and focus search view
`Alt + v + g`	Focus Git	Open and focus source control
`Alt + v + d`	View Debug	Open debug view
`Alt + v + t`	View Testing	Open testing view
`Alt + v + o`	Focus Outline	Focus outline view

🔀 Git Operations (`Alt + g`)¶

Shortcut	Action	Description
`Alt + g + c`	Commit	Commit staged changes
`Alt + g + s`	Stage All	Stage all changes
`Alt + g + p`	Push	Push to remote
`Alt + g + Shift + p`	Pull	Pull from remote
`Alt + g + r`	Revert Change	Revert current change
`Alt + g + b`	Checkout Branch	Switch branch
`Alt + g + n`	Next Change	Go to next git change
`Alt + g + Shift + n`	Previous Change	Go to previous git change

📓 Jupyter Operations (`Alt + j`)¶

Shortcut	Action	Description
`Alt + j + r`	Restart Kernel	Restart Jupyter kernel
`Alt + j + Shift + r`	Restart & Run All	Restart kernel and run all cells
`Alt + j + k`	Select Kernel	Choose Jupyter kernel
`Alt + j + p`	Select Python Env	Choose Python environment
`Alt + j + i`	Interrupt Kernel	Stop kernel execution
`Alt + j + d`	Clear Outputs	Clear cell outputs
`Alt + j + m`	Change to Markdown	Convert cell to markdown

🔍 References & Search (`Alt + r`)¶

Shortcut	Action	Description
`Alt + r + r`	Go to References	Find all references
`Alt + r + n`	Next Reference	Go to next reference
`Alt + r + p`	Previous Reference	Go to previous reference
`Alt + r + o`	Open Recent	Open recent files/workspaces

🏢 Workspace & Windows (`Alt + w`)¶

Shortcut	Action	Description
`Alt + w + n`	New Window	Open new VS Code window
`Alt + w + c`	Close Window	Close current window
`Alt + w + o`	Close Other Windows	Close all other windows
`Alt + w + q`	Quit Application	Exit VS Code
`Alt + w + r`	Recent Workspaces	Open recent workspace
`Alt + w + a`	Add Folder	Add folder to workspace
`Alt + w + Shift + r`	Remove Folder	Remove folder from workspace
`Alt + w + s`	Switch Window	Switch between VS Code windows

🤖 Codeium AI (`Alt + c`)¶

Shortcut	Action	Description
`Alt + c + c`	Open Chat	Open Codeium chat
`Alt + c + v`	Toggle Chat Panel	Show/hide chat panel
`Alt + c + p`	Open Profile	Open Codeium profile
`Alt + c + i`	Login	Login to Codeium
`Alt + c + o`	Logout	Logout from Codeium
`Alt + c + e`	Toggle Enable	Enable/disable Codeium
`Alt + c + r`	Restart Server	Restart language server
`Alt + c + n`	Next Completion	Show next completion
`Alt + c + Shift + n`	Previous Completion	Show previous completion
`Alt + c + a`	Accept Suggestion	Accept AI suggestion
`Alt + c + d`	Reject Suggestion	Reject AI suggestion
`Alt + c + x`	Explain Code	Explain selected code
`Alt + c + f`	Refactor Code	Refactor selected code

🔮 Amazon Q AI (`Alt + q`)¶

Shortcut	Action	Description
`Alt + q + c`	Focus Chat	Focus Amazon Q chat
`Alt + q + e`	Explain Code	Explain selected code
`Alt + q + f`	Fix Code	Fix code issues
`Alt + q + t`	Generate Tests	Generate unit tests
`Alt + q + i`	Inline Chat	Start inline chat
`Alt + q + m`	Manual Completion	Trigger completion manually
`Alt + q + o`	Optimize Code	Optimize selected code
`Alt + q + r`	Refactor Code	Refactor selected code
`Alt + q + s`	Toggle Suggestions	Enable/disable suggestions
`Alt + q + d`	Dev Menu	Open developer menu

🐍 Python Development (`Alt + p`)¶

Shortcut	Action	Description
`Alt + p + r`	Run Selection	Execute selected Python code
`Alt + p + i`	Select Interpreter	Choose Python interpreter
`Alt + p + o`	Organize Imports	Organize Python imports
`Alt + p + s`	Restart Pylint	Restart Pylint server

🔀 Merge Conflicts (`Alt + m`)¶

Shortcut	Action	Description
`Alt + m + n`	Next Conflict	Go to next merge conflict
`Alt + m + p`	Previous Conflict	Go to previous conflict
`Alt + m + c`	Accept Current	Accept current change
`Alt + m + i`	Accept Incoming	Accept incoming change
`Alt + m + b`	Accept Both	Accept both changes
`Alt + m + Shift + c`	Accept All Current	Accept all current changes
`Alt + m + Shift + i`	Accept All Incoming	Accept all incoming changes
`Alt + m + Shift + b`	Accept All Both	Accept all both changes

🔄 Updates & System (`Alt + u`)¶

Shortcut	Action	Description
`Alt + u + r`	Show Release Notes	View current release notes
`Alt + u + c`	Check for Updates	Check for VS Code updates
`Alt + u + u`	Update Check	Manual update check
`Alt + u + i`	Install Update	Install available update
`Alt + u + Shift + r`	Restart to Update	Restart and apply update
`Alt + u + w`	Reload Window	Reload current window
`Alt + u + d`	Toggle Dev Tools	Open developer tools

🎨 Toggle Features (`Alt + Shift`)¶

Shortcut	Action	Description
`Alt + Shift + f`	Toggle Fullscreen	Enter/exit fullscreen
`Alt + Shift + z`	Toggle Zen Mode	Enter/exit zen mode
`Alt + Shift + s`	Toggle Sidebar	Show/hide sidebar
`Alt + Shift + p`	Maximize Panel	Maximize bottom panel
`Alt + Shift + m`	Toggle Menu Bar	Show/hide menu bar
`Alt + Shift + w`	Toggle Word Wrap	Enable/disable word wrap
`Alt + Shift + e`	Toggle Error Lens	Show/hide error lens
`Alt + Shift + t`	Random Theme	Apply random theme

🔤 Text Transformation (`Alt + u/i`)¶

Shortcut	Action	Description
`Alt + u`	Uppercase	Transform to uppercase
`Alt + Shift + u`	Lowercase	Transform to lowercase
`Alt + i`	Trigger Inline Suggest	Manually trigger suggestions
`Alt + Shift + f`	Format Document	Format entire document
`Alt + Shift + Space`	Trim Whitespace	Remove trailing whitespace

🔄 Navigation (`Alt + Arrow Keys`)¶

Shortcut	Action	Description
`Alt + ←`	Navigate Back	Go to previous location
`Alt + →`	Navigate Forward	Go to next location
`Alt + Tab`	Switch Editor	Switch between recent editors
`Alt + n`	Next Suggestion	Next inline suggestion
`Alt + p`	Previous Suggestion	Previous inline suggestion

Shortcut	Action	Description
`Ctrl + n`	Move Down	Move down in lists (Emacs-style)
`Ctrl + p`	Move Up	Move up in lists (Emacs-style)
`Alt + n`	Move Down	Move down in lists (Alternative)
`Alt + p`	Move Up	Move up in lists (Alternative)

📁 File Explorer Shortcuts¶

When focused in File Explorer (no Alt needed):

Key	Action	Description
`a`	New File	Create new file
`Shift + a`	New Folder	Create new folder
`r`	Rename	Rename file/folder
`d`	Delete	Delete file/folder
`c`	Copy	Copy file/folder
`x`	Cut	Cut file/folder
`p`	Paste	Paste file/folder

⌨️ Tab Handling¶

Key	Action	Description
`Tab`	Accept/Indent	Accept AI suggestion or indent
`Shift + Tab`	Outdent	Reduce indentation

💡 Tips for Memorization¶

Category First: Remember the category letter (s=Settings, f=Files, etc.)
Action Second: The second letter usually matches the action name
Shift for Variants: Shift often provides related or opposite actions
Consistent Patterns: Similar actions across categories use similar letters
Practice Gradually: Start with one category and gradually add more

🚀 Getting Started¶

Print this guide or keep it handy while learning
Start with frequently used actions (file save, editor close, etc.)
Practice one category at a time (e.g., master all file operations first)
Use muscle memory: Repeat shortcuts until they become automatic
Customize as needed: Modify shortcuts that don't work for your workflow

🔧 Customization¶

To modify these keybindings: 1. Open VS Code 2. Press Alt + s + Shift + k to open keybindings.json 3. Add or modify entries as needed 4. Save and restart VS Code if necessary

Remember: Consistency is key to building muscle memory. Stick with the pattern even if it feels unfamiliar at first!

VS Code Alt Key Keybindings User Guide¶

🎯 Design Philosophy¶

📋 Quick Reference Categories¶

🔧 Settings & Configuration (Alt + s)¶

📁 File Operations (Alt + f)¶

✏️ Editor Operations (Alt + e)¶

🔄 Editor Switching (Alt + l)¶

🔲 Layout & Splitting (Alt + e)¶

💻 Terminal Operations (Alt + t)¶

👁️ Views & Navigation (Alt + v)¶

🔀 Git Operations (Alt + g)¶

📓 Jupyter Operations (Alt + j)¶

🔍 References & Search (Alt + r)¶

🏢 Workspace & Windows (Alt + w)¶

🤖 Codeium AI (Alt + c)¶

🔮 Amazon Q AI (Alt + q)¶

🐍 Python Development (Alt + p)¶

🔀 Merge Conflicts (Alt + m)¶

🔄 Updates & System (Alt + u)¶

🎨 Toggle Features (Alt + Shift)¶

🔤 Text Transformation (Alt + u/i)¶

🔄 Navigation (Alt + Arrow Keys)¶

📁 List Navigation¶