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

  1. The aforementioned settings, User and Workspace. Remote settings will appear when using WSL.

  2. By a test this maps to %APPDATA%\Roaming\Code\User\settings.json, I am not sure by what logic.

Answer from Martin Kleiven on Stack Overflow
Top answer
1 of 14
701

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

  1. The aforementioned settings, User and Workspace. Remote settings will appear when using WSL.

  2. By a test this maps to %APPDATA%\Roaming\Code\User\settings.json, I am not sure by what logic.

2 of 14
185

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 FilePreferencesSettings 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"
}
🌐
Visual Studio Code
code.visualstudio.com › docs › configure › settings
User and workspace settings
November 3, 2021 - VS Code stores workspace settings at the root of the project in a .vscode folder. This makes it easy to share settings with others in a version-controlled (for example, Git) project.
Discussions

Workspace file vs .vscode files - where do my project settings actually go?
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. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/vscode
6
14
July 24, 2018
[Feature] Local Workspace settings
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 ... More on github.com
🌐 github.com
203
December 14, 2017
How to share common settings.json file between projects/teammates?
Use workspace settings ( https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/getstarted/settings#_workspace-settings ) to override specific settings per project. If you just want to enforce coding styles, consider using editorconfig ( https://editorconfig.org/ ) . This works with many other text editors. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/vscode
9
1
February 10, 2023
visual studio code - Is there a way to make a settings.json simply on a project? - Stack Overflow
If I make that directory and file and name as .vscode and settings.json then those files will be functioning as the setting of the project of the directory. But I'm lazy to do those all acts. Is there some simpler ways to make the settings.json file on each project directory? Like by using a shortcut key we could make the file, or just by using a button from a extension. ... Select File > Preferences > Settings (or press Ctrl+,) and Select Workspace ... More on stackoverflow.com
🌐 stackoverflow.com
🌐
Visual Studio Code
code.visualstudio.com › docs › editing › workspaces › workspaces
What is a VS Code workspace?
November 3, 2021 - They are physically stored in a JSON file and their location depends on whether you opened a folder as a workspace, or whether you opened a .code-workspace file. Refer to the settings documentation for a comprehensive explanation of setting scopes and their file locations. Workspace settings are stored in .vscode/settings.json when you open a folder as a workspace.
🌐
Read the Docs
vscode-docs.readthedocs.io › en › stable › customization › userandworkspace
User and Workspace Settings - vscode-docs
Depending on your platform, the ...ttings.json * Linux $HOME/.config/Code/User/settings.json · The workspace settings file is located under the .vscode folder in your project....
🌐
Posit
docs.posit.co › ide › server-pro › user › vs-code › guide › settings.html
VS Code Settings – Posit Workbench Documentation Release 2026.01.1
Then, type and select: “Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON)” and press ENTER. ... Workspace settings are specified in .vscode/settings.json within the workspace folder.
🌐
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?
July 24, 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.

🌐
Micro Focus
microfocus.com › documentation › vscode › enterprise › GUID-84045421-C70A-4583-BC59-45995A146745.html
Visual Studio Code - Settings File (JSON)
This opens the global settings.json in the editor. The location of the file is %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Code\User (Windows) or ~/.config/Code/User (Linux) for default installations. Type settings and their values as described in Microsoft: Visual Studio Code - User and Workspace Settings.
Find elsewhere
🌐
Rip Tutorial
riptutorial.com › user and workspace settings
Visual Studio Code - User and Workspace Settings | visual-studio-code Tutorial
By default Visual Studio Code shows ... file is located here: ... The workspace settings file is located under the .vscode folder in your root folder....
🌐
Micro Focus
microfocus.com › documentation › vscode › cobol › GUID-84045421-C70A-4583-BC59-45995A146745.html
Settings File (JSON) - Micro Focus website
This opens the global settings.json in the editor. The location of the file is %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Code\User (Windows) or ~/.config/Code/User (Linux) for default installations. Type settings and their values as described in Microsoft: Visual Studio Code - User and Workspace Settings.
🌐
GitHub
github.com › microsoft › vscode › issues › 40233
[Feature] Local Workspace settings · Issue #40233 · microsoft/vscode
December 14, 2017 - I originally thought to suggest .vscode/settings.user.json, similar to how VS Pro handles similar configuration, but that might be confusing. ... configVS Code configuration, settingsVS Code configuration, settingsfeature-requestRequest for new features or functionalityRequest for new features or functionality
Author   firelizzard18
🌐
Visual Studio Code
code.visualstudio.com › docs › languages › json
Editing JSON with Visual Studio Code
November 3, 2021 - Tip: In addition to defining a schema for .babelrc, also make sure that .babelrc is associated to the JSON language mode. This is also done in the settings using the files.association array setting. To map a schema that is located in the workspace, use a relative path.
🌐
Supunkavinda
supunkavinda.blog › home › vscode settings.json secrets: decoding potential
Vscode Settings.Json: Tips and Techniques - Supunkavinda
May 8, 2024 - Craft project-specific configurations by creating a .vscode folder in the root directory and sculpting a settings.json file within. For instance: { "folder-specific-setting": "value", "another-setting": true } While workspaces lack a settings.json file, you can achieve similar results by editing your workspace.code-workspace, offering a snippet like:
🌐
Reddit
reddit.com › r/vscode › how to share common settings.json file between projects/teammates?
r/vscode on Reddit: How to share common settings.json file between projects/teammates?
February 10, 2023 -

Is there a good way to keep a settings.json file in sync between different projects and between team members? I'd like to have a common "base" config that we use on all of our projects, that can then be overwritten further if needed.

What I'd like is similar to having a shared eslint config. With eslint I can publish my config as an npm module, and then just install that module and extend it in any project. If we decide to change a setting, we just update the module and its easily applied to all projects.

Anything like this for VSCode settings? I know you can make an extension pack to auto deploy common extensions for an organization, but I don't think something like that would work for sharing settings?

🌐
Visual Studio Code
code.visualstudio.com › docs › reference › variables-reference
Variables reference
November 3, 2021 - Variable substitution is supported inside some key and value strings in launch.json and tasks.json files by using the ${variableName} syntax. ... The directory /home/your-username/your-project opened as your root workspace.
🌐
YouTube
youtube.com › watch
Where Is SETTINGS.JSON File In VSCode? (Settings Location In Visual Studio Code) - YouTube
#vscode #visualstudiocode So there are at least 3 settings.json files in VSCode. In this quick tutorial I'll show you how to navigate your way around setting...
Published   June 3, 2025
🌐
Visual Studio Code
code.visualstudio.com › docs › editing › workspaces › multi-root-workspaces
Multi-root Workspaces
November 3, 2021 - Note: If an extension doesn't yet support multiple folders, it will still work in the first folder of your multi-root workspace. VS Code supports folder level extension recommendations through the extensions.json files under the folder's .vscode subfolder. You can also provide global Workspace extension recommendations by adding them to your .code-workspace file.
🌐
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).
🌐
GitHub
github.com › microsoft › vscode-docs › blob › main › docs › configure › settings.md
vscode-docs/docs/configure/settings.md at main · microsoft/vscode-docs
May 4, 2020 - Workspace settings - Settings stored inside your workspace and only apply when the workspace is opened. VS Code stores setting values in a settings JSON file.
Author   microsoft
🌐
Visual Studio Code
code.visualstudio.com › docs › getstarted › personalize-vscode
Personalize VS Code
November 3, 2021 - 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. When you install extensions from the Visual Studio Marketplace, they might add their own extension settings. The Settings editor (⌘, (Windows, Linux Ctrl+,)) provides a graphical interface to modify settings. When you modify settings, VS Code stores them in the settings.json file.