There are 4 levels of settings in VS Code, which in ascending order of priority are: Default, User, Workspace, and Workspace Folder. You can see the latter 3 as tabs in the Settings UI if they are meaningfully distinct and they are each stored as JSON in different locations. This is because VS Code supports multi-root workspaces. The files in the .vscode folder are for that workspace folder and have the highest priority. EDIT: The Settings documentation might help clear some things up. Answer from KamasamaK on reddit.com
Visual Studio Code
code.visualstudio.com › docs › configure › settings
User and workspace settings
November 3, 2021 - User settings - Settings that apply globally to any instance of VS Code you open. Workspace settings - Settings stored inside your workspace and only apply when the workspace is opened.
Visual Studio Code
code.visualstudio.com › docs › editing › workspaces › workspaces
What is a VS Code workspace?
November 3, 2021 - Workspace settings are stored in .vscode/settings.json when you open a folder as a workspace.
Videos
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Customizing VS Code Settings and Creating a Profile - YouTube
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VS Code tips — Workspace settings - YouTube
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Settings in Vs code (User | Workspace | Default) - YouTube
Reddit
reddit.com › r/vscode › what's the point of user settings?
r/vscode on Reddit: What's the point of user settings?
August 17, 2023 -
Everytime I open a new workspace, its settings are set to some default values and I have to manually copy over my user settings to the workspace settings, every single time. I'd assumed that vscode would, initially, populate a new workspace's settings with my user settings that I carefully crafted, but no...
Do you know of a way to edit the default values used to initialize new workspaces with? Or perhaps a way to automate copying over the user settings file for newly created workspaces? Many thx!
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Your user settings should be global to VS Code and the the workspace settings are only for that workspace. Are you saying that your user settings are not being applied globally? If you open your User Settings (JSON) via the command pallette - are you seeing your user settings there?
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Have you tried using profiles? https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/editor/profiles
Posit
docs.posit.co › ide › server-pro › user › vs-code › guide › settings.html
VS Code Settings – Posit Workbench Documentation Release 2026.01.1
User settings: Apply to all your VS Code sessions. Workspace settings: Settings are stored inside a workspace (folder) and are only active when the Workspace is open.
Medium
chrisrbailey.medium.com › vs-code-personal-settings-for-a-project-not-affecting-the-projects-settings-aebc965bbcf8
VS Code Personal Settings for a Project (not affecting the project’s settings) | by Chris Bailey | Medium
November 11, 2024 - For example, if your project is in `~/Code/company/project`, you would create the file ~/Code/company/project.code-workspace (or any name of your choice, although I do believe the .code-workspace extension is required). Within this file, put the settings (the same format as the normal VS Code settings.json file).
Visual Studio Code
code.visualstudio.com › docs › editing › workspaces › multi-root-workspaces
Multi-root Workspaces
November 3, 2021 - User settings are supported as with single folder projects and you can also set global Workspace settings that will apply to all folders in your multi-root Workspace. Global Workspace settings will be stored in your .code-workspace file. { "folders": [ { "path": "vscode" }, { "path": "vscode-docs" }, { "path": "vscode-generator-code" } ], "settings": { "window.zoomLevel": 1, "files.autoSave": "afterDelay" } }
Reddit
reddit.com › r/vscode › workspace file vs .vscode files - where do my project settings actually go?
r/vscode on Reddit: Workspace file vs .vscode files - where do my project settings actually go?
August 1, 2018 -
Totally VSCode noob here... but in sublime, the project file is what holds all the project specific settings. In VSCode it looks like there are potentially 2 places for workspace settings: The workspace file, and settings.json (potentially others) inside the .vscode folder.
What actually goes where? On my work computer, I added some filename patterns to exclude from the side bar and vscode created a settings.json file inside a new .vscode folder. On my personal computer I tried the same thing and vscode just added those settings to my workspace file.
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There are 4 levels of settings in VS Code, which in ascending order of priority are: Default, User, Workspace, and Workspace Folder. You can see the latter 3 as tabs in the Settings UI if they are meaningfully distinct and they are each stored as JSON in different locations. This is because VS Code supports multi-root workspaces. The files in the .vscode folder are for that workspace folder and have the highest priority. EDIT: The Settings documentation might help clear some things up.
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I believe the context on how you open your project in vscode determines where the settings are saved: - "Open folder" will save settings within that folder at .vscode\settings.json - Open workspace will save settings within the workspace file The folder-level settings can be really nice for large-scope projects, but I'll be damned if it didn't confuse me too at first.
Atomic Spin
spin.atomicobject.com › vscode-workspace-settings
Why You Should Share VS Code Workspace Settings with Your Team
January 13, 2023 - Visual Studio Code allows distinct user and workspace settings while still adhering to the workspace settings of your team's project all within one project.
GitHub
github.com › microsoft › vscode › issues › 40233
[Feature] Local Workspace settings · Issue #40233 · microsoft/vscode
December 14, 2017 - So there would be three locations for settings (for a single-folder workspace): ... This way, I can add .vscode/settings.json to git, and share project settings such as "exclude node_modules" but I can gitignore .vscode/settings.local.json and add things specific to that project that I don't want to share, such as git autofetch.
Author firelizzard18
Top answer 1 of 14
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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.
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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"
}
Stack Overflow
stackoverflow.com › questions › 74480400 › difference-between-settings-in-vscode-settings-json-and-settings-in-vscode-wor
Difference between settings in .vscode.settings.json and ...
.vscode/workspace.code-workspace is the wrong place to store your Multi Root workspace, it does not BELONG to that particular workspace, it contains settings that apply to all workspaces in the MR Workspace, and you can overrule these settings with settings in .vscode/settings.json, code.visualstudio.com/api/references/…
Visual Studio Code
code.visualstudio.com › docs › getstarted › getting-started
Tutorial: Get started with Visual Studio Code
1 week ago - You'll use the Explorer view to view and manage the files and folders in your workspace. ... When you open a folder in VS Code, VS Code can restore the UI state for that folder, such as the open files, the active view, and the layout of the editor. You can also configure settings that only apply to that folder, or define debug configurations.
Read the Docs
vscode-docs.readthedocs.io › en › stable › customization › userandworkspace
User and Workspace Settings - vscode-docs
VS Code provides two different scopes for settings: User these settings apply globally to any instance of VS Code you open Workspace these settings are stored inside your workspace in a .vscode folder and only apply when the workspace is opened.
Visual Studio Code
code.visualstudio.com › docs › configure › settings-sync
Settings Sync
November 3, 2021 - Settings Sync lets you share your Visual Studio Code configurations such as settings, keyboard shortcuts, and installed extensions across your machines so you are always working with your favorite setup.
Visual Studio Code
code.visualstudio.com › docs › getstarted › personalize-vscode
Personalize VS Code
November 3, 2021 - Almost every aspect of VS Code can be customized via settings. Settings let you configure editor options such as enabling word wrapping or showing the minimap, setting up language-specific debugger settings, enabling Workspace Trust, and more.
Codeguage
codeguage.com › blog › vscode-workspace
Workspaces in VS Code and How to Set Up and ...
October 31, 2024 - These are opportunities for you to learn and grow · Explore programming and web development guides, how-to's, tips and tricks, and much more
Visual Studio Code
code.visualstudio.com › docs › getstarted › userinterface
User interface
November 3, 2021 - You can view and edit settings in the Settings Editor (select File > Preferences > Settings, or press ⌘, (Windows, Linux Ctrl+,)). Use the User and Workspace tab to switch between user and workspace settings.
ComfyUI
mslinn.com › blog › 2021 › 04 › 11 › svcode-workspace-settings.html
Visual Studio Code Workspace Settings
April 12, 2021 - Visual Studio Code workspace settings for WSL, WSL2 and Windows
Vue School
vueschool.io › lessons › user-settings-workspace-settings-and-keybindings-in-vs-code
User Settings, Workspace Settings, and Keybindings in VS Code
In this lesson, we learn about the difference between User settings and Workspace settings in Visual Studio Code. Creating settings unique to a project is as simple as saving a settings.json file in the .vscode directory. This also allows us to save settings directly to source control (git).
Read the Docs
vscode-docs1.readthedocs.io › en › latest › getstarted › settings
User and Workspace Settings - vscode-docs1 - Read the Docs
The menu command File > Preferences > Settings (Code > Preferences > Settings on Mac) provides entry to configure user and workspace settings. You are provided with a list of Default Settings. Copy any setting that you want to change to the appropriate settings.json file.