Key Concepts & Shortcuts
Essential keyboard shortcuts, slash commands, and chat features at a glance
Read time: 5 min
title: "Key Concepts & Shortcuts" description: "Essential keyboard shortcuts, slash commands, and chat features at a glance" section: "Copilot" readTime: "5 min"
Key Concepts & Shortcuts
Essential Keyboard Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl+Alt+I | Open the Chat view |
Ctrl+Shift+I | Switch to agents in Chat view |
Ctrl+I | Inline chat in editor or terminal |
Ctrl+Shift+Alt+L | Quick Chat |
Ctrl+N | New chat session |
Ctrl+Alt+. | Model picker |
Tab | Accept inline suggestion / navigate to next edit suggestion |
Ctrl+Right | Accept next word of inline suggestion |
Alt+] / Alt+[ | Cycle through alternative suggestions |
Escape | Dismiss inline suggestion |
F2 | AI-powered symbol rename suggestions |
Chat Access Methods
| Method | Shortcut | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Chat view | Ctrl+Alt+I | Ongoing conversation, multi-file edits |
| Inline chat (editor/terminal) | Ctrl+I | In-place edits while in flow |
| Quick Chat | Ctrl+Shift+Alt+L | Quick questions without switching context |
| Command line | code chat | Starting chat from outside VS Code |
Slash Commands
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
/explain | Explain selected code or a concept |
/fix | Fix a code block or linting/compiler error |
/tests | Generate tests for selected code |
/doc | Generate documentation comments |
/new | Scaffold a new project or file |
/init | Generate workspace instructions (copilot-instructions.md) |
/plan | Create a detailed implementation plan |
/compact | Summarize context to free up space |
/clear | Start a new session |
/startDebugging | Generate launch.json and start debugging |
/search | Generate a search query |
Context References
| Syntax | Adds to context |
|---|---|
#file | A specific file |
#folder | A folder and its files |
#symbol | A specific symbol/function |
#codebase | Semantic search across workspace |
#selection | Current editor selection |
#terminalSelection | Current terminal selection |
#changes | Source control changes |
#fetch | Content from a URL |
Chat Participants (@-mentions)
| Participant | Domain |
|---|---|
@github | GitHub repos, issues, PRs, code search |
@terminal | Integrated terminal, shell commands |
@vscode | VS Code features, settings, extension APIs |
Context Window
A visual indicator in the chat input shows context window usage. Hover to see total token count and breakdown by category. Use /compact when context fills up.