VSCode extension: hotkeys for navigation

[jeffomatic]

This is a feature request. I'd like the ability to use keyboard shortcuts for the following:

• switching from the main text editor group to the Claude Code extension terminal. cmd+esc doesn't work, because it will re-launch a new session.
• minimizing the Claude Code terminal/group and switching back to the main text editor group.

I can sort of simulate this with the following:

• go to Claude Code if open: cmd+2
• go to main text editor group: cmd+1
• "hide" Claude Code without closing: switch to main text editor group, then maximize via cmd+k cmd+m

But it would be nice to toggle Claude Code on and off without terminating the session.

Here's a strawman:

• cmd-esc opens a new Claude Code editor group if there is none already, or opens and focuses a pre-existing Claude Code editor group
• cmd-esc in the Claude Code editor group minimizes the group and switches back to the main text editing group
• For partial backward compatibility, the pre-existing cmd-esc action is bound to cmd-shift-esc

Thanks!

[piavgh]

This will improve the UX 1000%, but why does it receive so little engagement?

[github-actions]

This issue has been inactive for 30 days. If the issue is still occurring, please comment to let us know. Otherwise, this issue will be automatically closed in 30 days for housekeeping purposes.

[jeffomatic]

It seems like the Claude VSCode extension has gone in a bit of a different direction: cmd+escape will move between the chat window and the last text buffer. That's better than the original state (cmd+escape would open a new claude code tab), although it's not exactly the same thing as my original request, which was to hide the chat buffer.

I'll leave this issue open for now and see if it gets auto-closed in a month. I'm guessing a hotkey-to-close feature is unlikely, since there are incentives to keeping the Claude pane open as much as possible.

[piavgh]

there are incentives to keeping the Claude pane open as much as possible

But that UX is really bad 🥲

[corazza]

The cmd+esc shortcut doesn't even work on Windows (assuming that cmd is meant to be interpreted as ctrl on PC keyboards). Honestly this is a bewildering situation.

[0weberlucas]

a shortcut to hide would improve 1000%

[recursivecodes]

Try mapping a keyboard shortcut to 'View: Toggle Secondary Side Bar Visibility' - this worked for me.

[Subetov]

Still an issue on extension 2.1.222 / VS Code 1.132.0 (macOS). Adding concrete detail, because the workaround suggested above doesn't cover the main use case.

Why "map View: Toggle Secondary Side Bar Visibility" isn't a general answer: that only works if you run Claude in the sidebar, and the extension registers exactly one webview there (claudeVSCodeSidebarSecondary). If you want several concurrent sessions, you need claudeCode.preferredLocation: "panel" — which despite the name means editor tab (Claude Code: Open in New Tab, webview claudeVSCodePanel), not the bottom panel. So the multi-session layout is precisely the one with no hide shortcut: Cmd+B / Cmd+Option+B / Cmd+J all target containers Claude isn't in, and VS Code has no command to hide the focused editor group (microsoft/vscode#164968).

What Cmd+Esc actually does in that mode: claude-vscode.focus when editorTextFocus, claude-vscode.blur otherwise — pure focus movement, never visibility. So in editor-tab mode the only ways out are Cmd+W (closes the tab, Cmd+Shift+T to restore the session) or the group trick below.

Best workaround today, for anyone landing here — keep Claude tabs in their own editor group and bind:

{ "key": "cmd+alt+j", "command": "workbench.action.toggleMaximizeEditorGroup" }

Focus the code group, press it, and the Claude group collapses without closing any tab. Toggle again to restore. It's serviceable but positional: it depends on group layout and hides all other groups, not Claude specifically.

Concrete request: a single claude-vscode.toggle command that hides/restores Claude wherever it currently lives (sidebar view, editor tab group, or bottom panel), keeping sessions alive, so users can bind one key. Today there is no command in the extension whose semantics are "hide" — claude-vscode.blur is the closest and it only moves focus.

[bcherny]

This is available in a recent release of the VS Code extension: Cmd+Esc (Mac) / Ctrl+Esc (Windows/Linux) now toggles focus between the editor and the existing Claude Code panel instead of starting a new session, and the binding (Claude Code: Focus input) can be remapped in VS Code's Keyboard Shortcuts editor. To hide the panel without ending the session, use VS Code's normal sidebar/panel toggle.

Docs: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/vs-code#vs-code-commands-and-shortcuts
Changelog: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md

Closing as shipped.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code