To open the User settings:
- Open the command palette (either with F1 or Ctrl+Shift+P)
- Type ">open settings" (You must include the '>' at the beginning)
- You are presented with a few options¹, choose Open User Settings (JSON)
This image was taken in the VS Code online editor
Which, from the manual and depending on platform, is one of:
- Windows
%APPDATA%\Code\User\settings.json² - macOS
$HOME/Library/Application\ Support/Code/User/settings.json - Linux
$HOME/.config/Code/User/settings.json
The Workspace settings will be in a {workspaceName}.code-workspace file where you saved it, and the Folder settings will be in a .vscode folder if and when it has been created.
Official page on User and Workspace Settings
As stated by sevencardz below, VS Code includes a button in the Settings UI gutter which can be used to switch between JSON and graphical view.
The workbench.settings.editor option selects which of the settings files is opened by default when not using the above method, such as with the shortcut ⌘+, or through the application menu.
Footnotes
The aforementioned settings, User and Workspace. Remote settings will appear when using WSL.
By a test this maps to
%APPDATA%\Roaming\Code\User\settings.json, I am not sure by what logic.
To open the User settings:
- Open the command palette (either with F1 or Ctrl+Shift+P)
- Type ">open settings" (You must include the '>' at the beginning)
- You are presented with a few options¹, choose Open User Settings (JSON)
This image was taken in the VS Code online editor
Which, from the manual and depending on platform, is one of:
- Windows
%APPDATA%\Code\User\settings.json² - macOS
$HOME/Library/Application\ Support/Code/User/settings.json - Linux
$HOME/.config/Code/User/settings.json
The Workspace settings will be in a {workspaceName}.code-workspace file where you saved it, and the Folder settings will be in a .vscode folder if and when it has been created.
Official page on User and Workspace Settings
As stated by sevencardz below, VS Code includes a button in the Settings UI gutter which can be used to switch between JSON and graphical view.
The workbench.settings.editor option selects which of the settings files is opened by default when not using the above method, such as with the shortcut ⌘+, or through the application menu.
Footnotes
The aforementioned settings, User and Workspace. Remote settings will appear when using WSL.
By a test this maps to
%APPDATA%\Roaming\Code\User\settings.json, I am not sure by what logic.
On the settings UI page, there's a special button in the top right corner gutter that toggles between the settings.json file and the settings UI.
Bonus Answer:
Add "workbench.settings.editor": "json" to your settings.json file. This will make it so that menu File → Preferences → Settings or ⌘ + , opens your settings.json file by default. Optionally, add a comment at the top to remind yourself where the toggle button is.
// Click the Open Settings (UI) button in the top
// right corner gutter to toggle the settings UI
{
// Other settings in settings.json
// ...
"workbench.settings.editor": "json"
}
Hi , I am new to VS Code, doing a python course. The course require to use an extension and change the settings by going and editing the json file. But when I open the settings.json file it is empty. If I click any option in the settings ui, that option is showing in the .json file but default settings are not shown. How do i fix this?
Hi
Previously when I went to edit json settings I would have left/right view where I would see defaults on the left and copy paste to the right to make edits. New install of 1.31 via homebrew (macOS) and settings is empty...
I’m new to VSC and only have experience with MATLAB (mechanical engineer). I’m trying to learn Java scrip but I’m on day two. Yesterday I was making a lot of progress, today whenever I try to run anything (hello world, math, date) a settings.json tab opens up instead of showing the output. Even the codes that worked fine yesterday are doing it. I’ve uninstalled VSC and reinstalled it and it’s still doing it. Please help!
You should use the official documentation for this sort of thing as it's up to date, the readthedocs version appears to be an out of date rip of the website from the past.
The path you mention %APPDATA%\Code\User\settings.json is user settings, not workspace settings, workspace settings are located under the folder you have opened at <folder>\.vscode\settings.json. They don't exist by default but will be created when you open workspace settings and make some changes.
To open settings press ctrl+,, select the workspace settings button and change some settings:
You can access the actual file by clicking the button with the file icon in the top-right:
Just press CTRL + SHIFT + P, type workspace settings and press ENTER. If you want to see the json file, just press the {} button and vscode will automaticaly open or create the file in your workspace.
VSCode Command Pallete