Claude Code VS Code extension: install, shortcuts, settings and /ide (works in Cursor too)

• Requires VS Code 1.94.0 or later
• Sign in with a Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise subscription, or a Claude Console account. No API key is required
• The same extension installs in Cursor
• Or install from the VS Code Marketplace listing anthropic.claude-code

Installing the extension does not put claude on your shell PATH. For the terminal CLI, do the standalone install once.

• Cmd+Esc / Ctrl+Esc: toggle focus between the editor and Claude
• Cmd+Shift+Esc / Ctrl+Shift+Esc: open a new conversation as an editor tab
• Option+K / Alt+K: insert an @-mention of the current file and selection, for example @app.ts#5-10
• Cmd+Shift+T / Ctrl+Shift+T: reopen the last closed Claude session tab
• Cmd+N / Ctrl+N: new conversation, only with enableNewConversationShortcut set to true

On macOS Tahoe and later, the system Game Overlay shortcut grabs Cmd+Esc. Rebind Claude Code: Focus input in the Keyboard Shortcuts editor (Cmd+K Cmd+S) if it does nothing.

Type @ followed by a file or folder name to add it. Fuzzy matching works. Claude also sees your selected text and the file you have open. Turn off the Attach Open File setting to send only the selection.

Open settings with Cmd+, or Ctrl+, and go to Extensions, then Claude Code.

• claudeCode.useTerminal (default false): launch Claude in terminal mode instead of the graphical panel
• claudeCode.initialPermissionMode: default, plan, acceptEdits or bypassPermissions for new conversations. Read from user settings only
• claudeCode.useCtrlEnterToSend (default false): send with Ctrl/Cmd+Enter instead of Enter
• claudeCode.enableNewConversationShortcut (default false)

{
  "claudeCode.useTerminal": false,
  "claudeCode.initialPermissionMode": "plan"
}

Open the integrated terminal (Ctrl+` or Cmd+`) and run claude. The CLI integrates with the IDE for diff viewing and diagnostics. From an external terminal, run /ide inside Claude Code to connect it to VS Code.

/ide

Running claude in a VS Code integrated terminal reinstalls the extension automatically. To prevent that, turn off Auto-install IDE extension in /config, set autoInstallIdeExtension to false, or set the environment variable below.

export CLAUDE_CODE_IDE_SKIP_AUTO_INSTALL=1