Find a VS Code symbol in one file or across a workspace
Shift-Command-O searches symbols in the current file; Command-T searches symbols across the workspace when language support provides them.
- Scope
- Visual Studio Code · Current vendor documentation checked 3 November 2026; no running-app compatibility test is claimed.
- Keyboard and customization
- Documented Mac defaults; punctuation and function keys depend on keyboard layout and hardware.. User bindings, app versions, focused controls and installed extensions can change a command. Inspect the active app menu or its shortcut editor when a listed combination differs.
- Review basis
- Documentation reviewed 2026-11-03 by Codex — primary-documentation and editorial review; no hands-on runtime test. These bindings were not tested in a running app for this guide.
Choose the scope of the symbol search
File symbols are useful when you know the relevant document but need a function, class or heading inside it. Workspace symbol search is useful when you know a name but not the file. These commands rely on the structure exposed by the active language tooling; they are not identical to plain text search.
Check language support before assuming a symbol is absent
A file that is recognised as plain text, a missing language extension or an unavailable language service can change the available results. Confirm the file’s language mode and the project setup before concluding that the code is missing. A text search remains a separate fallback when semantic information is unavailable.
Return to the code that prompted the search
After inspecting a definition, use editor navigation history rather than trying to remember the original line number. Practise with a small project and inspect the displayed file path when several symbols share a name. This makes symbol navigation useful without encouraging edits in the first superficially matching result.
Documented commands for this workflow
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
| Action | Keys | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Find a symbol in this file | Shift-Command-O | Uses symbols from the active editor’s language support. ↗ |
| Find a workspace symbol | Command-T | Coverage depends on the language service and workspace. ↗ |
| Return to the previous location | Control-Minus | The final key is the Minus key; this is editor navigation history. ↗ |
Sources and corrections
- Default keyboard shortcuts — Visual Studio Code — checked 2026-11-03
- Code navigation — Visual Studio Code — checked 2026-11-03
Found a mismatch? Email pashaseenainc@gmail.com with your app version, macOS version, keyboard layout and the command. Please leave personal document names out.
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