How to Find Files and Symbols Fast with Quick Open in VS Code

Quick Open lets you open any file in your project in seconds without touching the mouse or browsing the file tree. You type part of a file name, and VS Code finds it instantly.

Press Ctrl+P on Windows and Linux, or Cmd+P on macOS.

Opening a file by name

Quick Open uses fuzzy matching. You do not need to type consecutive letters. Typing bts matches Button.styles.ts because the letters appear in order, even with other characters between them.

Recently opened files appear at the top of the list.

Opening multiple files

When you find a file in Quick Open, press Right Arrow instead of Enter. The file opens in the background, and Quick Open stays active. You can open several files this way before pressing Escape to close the dialog.

Switching between recently opened files

Press Ctrl+P again without typing anything. Each press cycles through your recently opened files. This is the fastest way to bounce between two or three files you are actively working on.

For more control, hold Ctrl and press Tab to see a list of open files. Keep holding Ctrl, press Tab to move, and release Ctrl to open.

Searching symbols in the current file

Press Ctrl+Shift+O on Windows and Linux, or Cmd+Shift+O on macOS. This opens Quick Open with the @ prefix, showing every symbol in the current file: functions, classes, methods, variables, and more.

Type to filter the list. Type @: to group symbols by category, like functions, classes, and variables.

This is useful in long files. Instead of scrolling, press Ctrl+Shift+O, type a function name, and jump directly to it.

Searching symbols across the workspace

Press Ctrl+T on Windows and Linux, or Cmd+T on macOS. This opens Quick Open with the # prefix, searching symbols across every file in your project.

Type a function or class name. VS Code finds it regardless of which file contains it. Press Enter to open that file at the symbol's location.

Jumping to a line number

Press Ctrl+G and type a line number. Press Enter to jump there.

You can also type a file name, colon, and line number directly in Quick Open: app.ts:42 opens app.ts at line 42. Add a colon and column number for more precision: app.ts:42:10 opens app.ts at line 42, column 10.

All Quick Open prefixes

Type ? in the Quick Open input box to see every prefix shortcut listed.

Navigation history

Quick Open is fast for opening files, but you also need to go back to where you were.

• Windows: Alt+Left to go back, Alt+Right to go forward
• Linux: Ctrl+Alt+- to go back, Ctrl+Shift+- to go forward
• macOS: Ctrl+- to go back, Ctrl+Shift+- to go forward

These work across files. If you jump from index.ts to utils.ts with Quick Open, use the go back shortcut for your platform to return to index.ts at the exact line you left.

Next steps

Quick Open handles file navigation. For splitting your editor into multiple panes so you can see files side by side, learn how to split editors and manage tabs. For running any editor command from the keyboard, use the Command Palette.