I dont know why this occurs but you can solve this issue reloading the window:

  1. CTRL + SHIFT + P
  2. Developer: Reload Window
Answer from Martinez on Stack Overflow
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GitHub
github.com › microsoft › vscode-jupyter › issues › 13263
pressing arrow key when editing code cell sometimes doesn't work · Issue #13263 · microsoft/vscode-jupyter
April 4, 2023 - pasting contents to a new cell - it depends on where the new cell is created, and seems is not related to the content itself. I feel It's possible that it's because of other extensions. I will have a try disabling some. Below is an illustration when I hold arrow down/up:
Author   yuuuxt
Discussions

Arrows key behavior between chunks in python jupyter notebook
Does this issue occur when all extensions are disabled?: Yes VS Code Version: 1.70.2 OS Version: Ubuntu 18.04.6 LTS Steps to Reproduce: When working with python jupyter notebooks (.ipynb) is possib... More on github.com
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3
August 30, 2022
Arrow key freezes while working in Jupyter notebook
Hi, while working with vscode in Jupyter notebook arrow key freeze at most of the instance specially right and left although up - down works fluently. More on github.com
🌐 github.com
7
May 5, 2023
Up and down arrow keys stop working in cells
Applies To Notebooks (.ipynb files) Interactive Window and/or Cell Scripts (.py files with #%% markers) What happened? After running a notebook for some amount of time the up and down arrow keys st... More on github.com
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2
January 11, 2025
visual studio code - Prevent arrow keys from going to the previous/next cell - Stack Overflow
When working with Jupyter notebooks inside of Visual Studio Code (using the Python extensions by Microsoft), it is possible to configure the application as to prevent the arrow keys from exiting the More on stackoverflow.com
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w3tutorials
w3tutorials.net › blog › why-aren-t-arrow-keys-working-in-my-vs-code-jupyter-notebook-using-the-jupyter-extension-s-v2023-3
Why Arrow Keys Stop Working in VS Code Jupyter Notebook (Jupyter Extension v2023.3): Troubleshooting & Fixes — w3tutorials.net
Keyboard-focused extensions (e.g., Vim, Emacs, or "Custom Keymap" tools) often remap arrow keys to mimic terminal or editor behaviors. Other notebook extensions (e.g., "JupyterLab", "Notebook Renderers", or "Python Data Science") may interfere with the Jupyter extension’s core functionality.
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GitHub
github.com › microsoft › vscode › issues › 159576
Arrows key behavior between chunks in python jupyter notebook · Issue #159576 · microsoft/vscode
August 30, 2022 - When working with python jupyter notebooks (.ipynb) is possible to pass from one python chunk to another using the arrows keys, only from a lower chunk to a higher one (arrow up) .
Author   Camilochiang
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GitHub
github.com › microsoft › vscode › issues › 181643
Arrow key freezes while working in Jupyter notebook · Issue #181643 · microsoft/vscode
May 5, 2023 - Type: Bug Hi, while working with vscode in Jupyter notebook arrow key freeze at most of the instance specially right and left although up - down works fluently. At first I thought it would be my keyboard issue but on every other they wor...
Author   Mayankmittal1698
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Visual Studio Code
code.visualstudio.com › docs › datascience › jupyter-notebooks
Jupyter Notebooks in VS Code
November 3, 2021 - When a code cell is in command mode, use the A key to add a cell above and the B key to add a cell below the selected cell. You can change a selected code cell using the mouse or the up/down arrow keys on the keyboard.
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GitHub
github.com › microsoft › vscode-jupyter › issues › 16372
Up and down arrow keys stop working in cells · Issue #16372 · microsoft/vscode-jupyter
January 11, 2025 - 2025-01-11 08:45:01.655 [info] [KeybindingService]: + Invoking command notebook.cell.nullAction. It appears that the notebook.cell.nullAction binding is matched when cursorUp should be matched. The same applies to the down arrow. Right and left are unaffected. I have seen this issue three times now in large Jupyter notebooks but I am not exactly sure how I am getting into this state.
Author   jgeorge0123
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Developer Community
developercommunity.visualstudio.com › t › up-and-down-arrow-keys-stop-working-in-code-window › 518346
Up and down arrow keys stop working in code window
April 8, 2019 - Skip to main content · Microsoft · Visual Studio · Sign in · You need to enable JavaScript to run this app · Sorry this browser is no longer supported · Please use any other modern browser like 'Microsoft Edge'
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GitHub
github.com › microsoft › vscode-jupyter › issues › 13514
Arrow buttons stopped working · Issue #13514 · microsoft/vscode-jupyter
Arrow buttons stop working. After some development time, the arrow buttons stop working in a cell and I'm unable to navigate. Closing and opening the tab fixes the issue.
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YouTube
youtube.com › watch
VSCode: Arrow keys in Jupyter Notebook stop working after a while - YouTube
VSCode: Arrow keys in Jupyter Notebook stop working after a whileThe frustrating issue of VSCode arrow keys becoming unresponsive in Jupyter Notebooks after ...
Published   November 21, 2025
Top answer
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5

The setting you are looking for is: Notebook › Navigation: Allow Navigate To Surrounding Cells

Description: When enabled cursor can navigate to the next/previous cell when the current cursor in the cell editor is at the first/last line.

When you first use Visual Studio Code with a notebook it asks you this question, and you have virtually no chance of remembering the setting. Of course this is before you have a chance to realize that this is a horrible option for many coders. Using the down arrow does not move to the end of the line in the last cell, but to whereever your cursor last happened to be in the next cell.

They are cells for a reason, and treating them as if they are just paragraphs may make sense to a non-coder who is looking at them as if they were documentation. For a coder, cells are collections of small files, not paragraphs, and pressing down arrow always goes to the end of the line. Navigation between them should be explicit, certainly not something that can accidentally be done when trying to add a line.

If there were an option to add an empty line at the end of the cell, to continue the cell, this would be fine, but pressing ctrl+Enter runs the cell, instead of opening a new line, as it does in the code editor. It isn't always clear when you are on the last line, as the bottom border of the cells is huge, so half the time you press down arrow just to move to the border space, only to find you have the hit up arrow ten times to get back there, or escape+uparrow+enter+end to get to where you wanted to be in the first place.

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GitHub
github.com › microsoft › vscode-jupyter › issues › 8672
Some Keyboard Shortcuts do not work. · Issue #8672 · microsoft/vscode-jupyter
January 12, 2022 - Build of Visual Studio Code - Insiders: 1.64.0-insider (user setup) Build of python-insider: v2022.0.1684931726-dev Build of Pylance-insider: v2022.1.0 Build of Jupyter-insider: v2022.1.1001614873 · Select a notebook cell by clicking on it 2. Move selection up and down with j, k and arrow keys.
Author   linette-zyy
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Medium
bbyond.medium.com › vscode-jupyter-notebook-keyboard-shortcuts-31fab95fa301
VSCode Jupyter Notebook Keyboard ShortCuts | by bbyond | Medium
January 30, 2024 - VSCode Jupyter Notebook Keyboard ShortCuts I organized the keyboard shortcuts in VScode when using Jupyter Notebook. I referred to VScode …
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Microsoft Developer Blogs
devblogs.microsoft.com › dev blogs › microsoft for python developers blog › jupyter in visual studio code – april 2021 release
Jupyter in Visual Studio Code – April 2021 Release - Microsoft for Python Developers Blog
March 31, 2021 - Reminder that the Python extension comes with the Jupyter extension and when working with Python we recommend having both installed for the best Python experience. Jupyter Notebooks now have support for selecting multiple consecutive cells using the mouse (Shift + Click) or the keyboard shortcut (Shift + Arrow) when in cell selection mode.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/vscode › i use vscode and use the arrow keys a lot, but wanted your ideas on what i could do so i don't constantly have to move my right hand to navigate to where i want. any suggestions?
r/vscode on Reddit: I use VScode and use the arrow keys a lot, but wanted your ideas on what I could do so I don't constantly have to move my right hand to navigate to where I want. Any suggestions?
May 17, 2023 -

I know this sounds lazy but I move around so much (and I do know about vscode shortcuts like ctrl+g), but I really would love something where I can just type like crazy and just move to where I need using arrow keys.

I'm thinking of maybe converting my alt keys to left and right arrow, which doesn't solve the up and down issue, but it does let me easily read them with my thumb.

What would you do? Or rather, what do you do?

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Databricks Documentation
docs.databricks.com › notebooks › develop code in notebooks › code navigation
Navigate the Databricks notebook and file editor | Databricks on AWS
July 16, 2023 - This can be helpful when working with long code blocks because it lets you focus on specific sections of code you are working on. To hide code, place your cursor at the far left of a cell. Downward-pointing arrows appear at logical points where you can hide a section of code. Click the arrow to hide a code section. Click the arrow again (now pointing to the right) to show the code. For more details, including keyboard shortcuts, see the VS Code documentation.
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Developer Community
developercommunity.visualstudio.com › content › problem › 567831 › up-and-down-arrow-keyboard-keys-stop-working-in-co.html
Up and Down arrow keyboard keys stop working in code ...
May 15, 2019 - Skip to main content · Visual Studio · Guidelines Problems Suggestions Code of Conduct · Downloads · Visual Studio IDE Visual Studio Code Azure DevOps Team Foundation Server Accounts and Subscriptions · Subscriber Access · Microsoft Security Azure Dynamics 365 Microsoft 365 Microsoft ...
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/vscode › pressing arrow keys does not move cursor in terminal, instead showing escape codes
r/vscode on Reddit: Pressing arrow keys does not move cursor in terminal, instead showing escape codes
February 23, 2025 -

I am simply doing this Build your own Shell | CodeCrafters using Go.
When I run my code, I used to be able to use arrow keys to move the cursor as usual in the terminal. But I believe after probably pressing something accidentally which I cannot remember what it was, when I press any arrow key (even Delete, Home, End buttons, etc), this string "^[[A" and others appear.

I asked chatgpt what it was and they are arrow key escape codes.

As I said, I may have pressed something accidentally which changed vscode settings. How do i get the setting back where pressing any arrow keys just move the cursor, not display these strings? I could not find any keywords for this issue.
Please help me get the old behavior back.

Thank you in advance!