Focus Search

View

Opens and focuses the Search sidebar for workspace-wide search.

macOS

⇧F

Windows / Linux

CtrlShiftF

Pro Tip

Same as Find in Files but focuses the sidebar view.

About This Shortcut

The Focus Search shortcut belongs to the View category of VS Code keyboard shortcuts. Opens and focuses the Search sidebar for workspace-wide search. Learning and using keyboard shortcuts dramatically improves your coding speed and reduces dependence on the mouse.

VS Code is the most popular code editor with over 70% market share among developers. Its extensive keyboard shortcut system enables experienced users to perform complex operations — from multi-cursor editing to Git operations — entirely from the keyboard. This shortcut is one of the essential shortcuts every developer should memorize for efficient coding workflows.

You can customize this keybinding by opening the Keyboard Shortcuts editor (⌘K ⌘S on macOS). Search for "Focus Search" to view, change, or add alternative keybindings. VS Code also supports keymap extensions that import shortcut schemes from other editors like Vim, Emacs, Sublime Text, and JetBrains.

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