How to reset VS Code to the default settings

Updated: September 1, 2023 By: A Goodman 6 comments

This is a guide on how to reset VS Code (Visual Studio Code) to the default settings for both Windows and macOS users.

The Steps

1. Go to View > Command Palette or press Cmd + Shift + P (macOS) or Ctrl + Shift + P (Windows).

2. Search for open settings json and select Preferences: Open Settings (JSON) which shows up from the result list.

3. If you’ve been working with VS Code for a while and installed a lot of things and made a lot of changes, you’ll find there’s a lot of stuff in this file:

Delete everything inside the root braces and save the file:

4. Relaunch your VS Code.

5. (This step is optional) In case you want to not only reset VS Code but also remove all installed extensions:

  • Delete the ~/.vscode/extensions folder if you’re on a Mac.
  • Delete the %USERPROFILE%.vscode\extensions folder if you’re using Windows.

Further reading:

You can also check out our Visual Studio Code topic page for more tips and tricks to improve your producibility and coding experience.

6 Comments
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agueda
agueda
2 years ago

I dont see a “src” folder anymore and I am wondering if there is anyway to restore it? no coding background

agueda
agueda
2 years ago
Reply to  A Goodman

omgggg! thank you SO much! From now on I will look in the recycle bin first!

Shade_Programmer
Shade_Programmer
2 years ago

???…Nvm it’s fixed now.

Shade_Programmer
Shade_Programmer
2 years ago

Its read only mode, I can’t delete it. Help me.

Joel Johnson
Joel Johnson
2 years ago

wanna run fades

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