Don't Use the Sidebar in VS Code!!

If you want to write code faster, don't use the Sidebar in VS Code. It will slow you down! As a developer, your goal should be to keep your hands off of the mouse as much as possible. To do that, you should learn to use the built-in shortcuts in VS Code as well as a few amazing extensions. Learn how you can work with your files in VS Code without using the File Explorer or the Sidebar.

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COURSES 💻

[yiqiangjizhang]

CTR + W: Close files
CTR + P: Find files
CTR + Tab: Switch windows
CTR + SHIFT + P: Command Palette (for commands)

[phucnguyen]

Short recap for those who might not want to watch the full video:

Ctrl + P: File search
Ctrl + Tab: Switch between opening file tabs
Advanced New File from Extension Marketplace => Ctrl + Shift + P (or do a custom shortcut like James demonstrated)
File Utils Extension from Extension Marketplace => Ctrl + Shift + P again

P/S: I love the VSCode customization video you did previously James! <3

My favorite shortcuts that I frequently use are:

Ctrl +, (for settings)
Ctrl + Shift + E (just to bring the Explorer sidebar up - and it doesn't toggle on and off though)
Ctrl + ` (for Terminal)

[johnwellbelove]

I've been a developer for over 40 years now, and I can safely say that "writing code faster" is one of the lesser useful skills to have. I actually spend most of my time 'thinking' about code, not editing code. Saving the odd few seconds when editing would make very little difference to my overall productivity.

[joostschuur]

I've moved my file explorer pane to the right. It's usually hidden, but this way when I do pop it open, my main code window doesn't shift over.

[musababdullah]

Control + G let’s you move to a specific line in a line. I find that rlly helpful when I have test cases on specific lines in a file

[edwinreyes]

I subscribed a minute into this video in do part to your emphasis on improving short cuts. This is the sort of content I have been looking for. I am excited to see what the rest of your content has to offer!

[prodrigu]

I recently bought a Macbook Pro and am getting used to working a lot more with the keyboard than with the mouse. I start putting your video into practice from now on. Greetings from Santiago de Chile

[soromiso]

frequently I watch your short footages which are very useful and help me a lot, thank you.

[zieuw]

You can hide the activity bar completely by finding it in command palette, so you can practice using your keyboard. You will learn it fast as you are forced to use keyboard everytime you need to do something. Useful shortcuts: ctrl+shift+e for explorer, ctrl+shift+f for search, ctrl+shift+g for git, d and x for debugging and eXtensions respectively.

[pedronunes]

My favorite, without a doubt, is command + / (toggle comment). Also use a lot command + B to toggle the side bar... mostly to see file paths

[kapsnotes]

Awesome, I got couple of new things.

However for new file/dir, rename, delete, I use/suggest CMD/CTRL + ` (open in-build terminal) followed by unix commands like touch, mkdir, mv, rm respectively. With that, I can make multiple sub-folders as well with single command. Thus, I suggest mastering unix terminal commands as well.

I'm also huge fan of shortcuts but I try to install as little as possible extensions as too many extensions may make VS code (Or any IDE/editor) slow.

[willadams]

Next thing you know, you'll be using Vim!

[aarovas]

Bro, you have already speed up myself, and now I returning to this video again to speed up even more

[HectorRodriguezTriathlete]

I have been a shortcut user since WordStar.. minimalistic usage of mouse. Thanks for this video

[ratatacks]

(cmd + shift + e) or (ctrl + shift + e ) opens the side bar in the file you have currently open, that helps if you want to open a file in the same root and also I find that easier for renaming files, since i don't need to install another extension. It would just make it a little bit harder for moving files

[CarloPiana]

Great stuff. Personally, learning, tweaking and adding shortcuts to apps is the first thing I do when I start actually using it, and sharing through my several machines.

[inephekt]

Ctrl + - (on Mac) to cycle through your cursor position history. It’ll even open closed files, which is nice. You can add the shift key to go forward as well.

[adriangranado]

For filesystem operations I recommend to use vscode terminal and learn the basics like touch, mv, rm... You won't need any extension plus you have all the power of a terminal.

[lucasantalucia]

what's the extensions that shows who committed the line on the right of the selected line?

[craigluedtke]

Been with vscode since the beginning. Somehow file utils is the extensions I didn't know I needed! Bingo bango thanks!!