VS Code is the most popular editor for a reason — it's fast, extensible, and runs everywhere. Knowing a few tricks turns it from a text editor into a real productivity machine.
1. Keyboard Shortcuts to Memorize
- Ctrl/Cmd + P — Quick open file
- Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + P — Command palette
- Ctrl/Cmd + D — Select next occurrence (multi-cursor)
- Alt + ↑/↓ — Move line up/down
- F2 — Rename symbol everywhere
- Ctrl/Cmd + . — Quick fix / refactor
2. Multi-Cursor Editing
Select a word, press Ctrl/Cmd + D repeatedly to select more occurrences, then edit them all at once. Or hold Alt and click to drop cursors anywhere.
3. Must-Have Extensions
- Volar (Vue) — official Vue 3 / Nuxt support
- ESLint + Prettier — auto-format on save
- Tailwind CSS IntelliSense — class autocomplete & previews
- GitLens — supercharged Git in the gutter
- Error Lens — inline TypeScript errors
4. Settings That Help
{
"editor.formatOnSave": true,
"editor.defaultFormatter": "esbenp.prettier-vscode",
"editor.tabSize": 2,
"editor.linkedEditing": true,
"files.trimTrailingWhitespace": true,
"files.insertFinalNewline": true
}Summary
Live in the command palette. Learn 5 keyboard shortcuts a week. Configure format-on-save once and forget about formatting forever.