Comment VS Code lines without confusing line and block comments

Choose the kind of comment you need

Line comments are useful for a line or a selected range of lines. A block comment is a different syntax form that may surround a text range. Check which language mode is active, because the same editing command can produce different delimiters in different file types.

Inspect the result before saving

Commenting can change the behaviour of executable code. Make sure the selected range is intentional and that nested comment syntax has not created a surprising result. A visually dimmed region is helpful feedback, but it is not a substitute for understanding what remains active in the program.

Use a disposable sample first

Try both commands on a short example in the language you actually use, then toggle back. If the shortcut differs from this documented default, inspect the Keyboard Shortcuts editor and any keymap extension. Punctuation keys such as Slash are especially worth checking on a non-US keyboard layout.

Documented commands for this workflow

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Keep going

• Format a VS Code document or only the selected code
• Reorder or duplicate VS Code lines without a cut-and-paste detour