Vim CTRL keys on Visual Studio Code

Oct 11, 2021

Many of the VSCode keyboard shortcuts start with CTRL+k, but the VSCodeVim plugin uses that key combination in insertion mode for inserting digraphs. I never use that digraph feature, so I prefer the VSCode functionality. This got me thinking: What are the CTRL key collisions between VSCode and VSCodeVim?

Key combination	Visual Studio Code behavior	VSCodeVim behavior	Default	Keybinding change.
CTRL+q	Quick navigation	normal: visual block mode	vim	Prefer VSCode. Though I never use quick navigation, I prefer CTRL+v for visual block mode.
CTRL+w	View: Close editor	insert: delete previous word	vim
		normal: many window manipulations	vim
CTRL+e	File: Goto file … (CTRL+p)	insert: insert same character as next line	vim
		normal: move file down one line	vim
CTRL+r	File: Open recent…	insertion: insert from register.	vim
		normal: redo	vim
CTRL+t	Goto symbol	insert: indent line	vim	Prefer VSCode. I use » and « for indent.
CTRL+y	redo	insert: insert character from above the cursor	vim
		normal: move screen up one line	vim
CTRL+u	cursor undo	insert: delete line up to cursor	vim
		normal: move back 1/2 screen	vim
CTRL+i	trigger suggest	normal: go to newer position in jump list	vim
CTRL+o	File: Open file…	insert: go back to normal mode for 1 keystroke	vim
		normal: go to older position in jump list	vim
CTRL+p	Go to file…	insert: insert previous matching identifier	VSCode	Note: Use CTRL+space for same behavior.
CTRL+a	Select All	insert: insert previously inserted text	vim
		normal: increment number under cursor	vim
CTRL+s	File: Save	nothing (This used to be the disasterous XOFF command in vi.)	VSCode
CTRL+d	Add selection to next find match	normal: Move forward 1/2 screen	vim
CTRL+f	Find	insert: Find	VSCode
		normal: move forward 1 screen	vim
CTRL+g	Go to Line/Column	normal: Show file and line number info	vim	Either way, so leave default.
CTRL+h	Replace	insert: Backspace	vim
CTRL+j	Toggle Panel	normal: move to next line	vim
CTRL+k	Start of many VSCode commands	insert: insert digraph	vim	Prefer VSCode. Enabled dozens more keyboard shortcuts.
CTRL+l	Expand line selection	Some kind of navigation? Didn’t seem to work	vim
CTRL+z	Undo		VSCode
CTRL+x	Cut	insert: Esc	vim
		normal: decrement number under cursor	vim
CTRL+c	Copy	insert: Esc	vim
CTRL+v	Paste	normal: Visual block	vim
CTRL+b	View: Toggle side bar visibility	insert: nothing	VSCode
		normal: go up one page	vim
CTRL+n	Create: New File…	insert: insert next matching identifier	vim
		normal: go down one line	vim
CTRL+m	Toggle Tab Key Moves Focus	insert: newline	vim
		normal: go to start of next line	vim

Change to settings.json

"vim.handleKeys": {
    "<C-k>": false,
    "<C-q>": false,
    "<C-t>": false
}

Notes on other ways to modify the key bindings:

vim.useCtrlKeys setting: Many of the ctrl key options are useful so I wouldn’t disable this.
keybindings.json file: The handleKeys setting is a better way to go. The nuanced “when” rules in the keybindings.json could change over time and might confuse your keybindings.json changes.

Vim CTRL keys on Visual Studio Code

Change to settings.json

Useful links