Change default Settings view

The default Settings view is a UI that sits on top of a JSON file. While the UI is helpful for finding things, it makes it hard to see all your settings at once. For this reason, I set the default Settings view to JSON.

The JSON view shows you every setting you have customized. To make this the default Settings view...

• Open Settings (Cmd/Ctrl + ,)

• Search for "default settings"

• Change the "Workbench > Settings: Editor" to "json"

If you find that you like the search functionality of the Settings UI (as I sometimes do), you can map a keyboard shortcut that will open that view. I map mine to Cmd/Ctrl + Opt/Alt + ,. It's very similar to the default Settings shortcut (Cmd/Ctrl + ,), but with the Option/Alt modifier key thrown in.

• Open the Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P)

• Select "Preferences: Open Keyboard Shortcuts"

• Search for "open settings"

• Select "Preferences: Open Settings (UI)

• Press the Cmd/Ctrl + Opt/Alt .+ , all together