I have been using VS Code for years and I wish I knew about these settings sooner

Published Aug 15, 2026, 5:30 PM EDT Parth, a seasoned tech writer, wields the keyboard (or pen) with finesse to unravel the intricacies of both Windows and Mac operating systems. He has covered evergreen content on mobile devices and computers for multiple publications over the last six years. You can find his work on AndroidPolice, GuidingTech and TechWiser. Whether it’s demystifying system updates, deciphering error codes, or exploring hidden features, Parth’s prose guides readers through the binary maze. When not immersed in tech jargon, you’ll find him sipping chai, pondering the next software review, and occasionally indulging in a friendly debate about mechanical keyboards. I assumed my VS Code setup was about as efficient as it could get, so I rarely went beyond the options I had configured on day one. That changed when I started digging through the Settings page and found several small toggles that solved annoyances I had accepted as part of using VS Code. None of them is dramatic on their own, but together, they made the editor feel cleaner, faster, and much better suited to the way I actually work. Turn off the Minimap I finally cleared the visual clutter I want to start with the basics before moving into the more unusual and advanced VS Code settings, and the Minimap is an easy first change. I had left it enabled for years simply because it was part of the default layout, but I rarely used it. However, since I have started using VS Code on my laptop (when I am on the go), that narrow code preview on the right just feels like wasted space and makes the editor look busier than it needs to be. Turning it off made VS Code feel cleaner. I get a little more room for the code itself, there is less visual clutter, and I don’t miss the Minimap at all. To disable it, I open Settings with Ctrl + , then search for Minimap, and uncheck Editor: Minimap Enabled. It is a tiny adjustment, but it is exactly the kind of setting I wish I had changed much earlier. Turn on Word Wrap Long lines stopped fighting my screen Word Wrap is another simple setting that made VS Code much easier for me to use. I often work with long lines of text, comments, Markdown, and code, and I used to keep scrolling sideways just to read the rest of a line. It was a small annoyance, but one that kept breaking my flow. Turning on Word Wrap fixed that immediately. VS Code now moves long lines onto the next line inside the editor, so I can read everything without touching the horizontal scroll bar. To enable it, I open Settings with Ctrl + , then search for Word Wrap, and set Editor: Word Wrap to On. It is useful when I am working on documentation or files with long strings. The editor feels easier to read, and I spend less time adjusting the view just to see what is on the screen. Enable Smooth Cursor Animation One tweak made VS Code smoother This doesn't change how VS Code works, but it does make the editor feel nicer to use. By default, the cursor can feel a little abrupt as I move around the code. Once I enabled smooth cursor animation, those jumps became much more fluid and polished. To enable it, I headed to Settings and searched for Cursor Smooth Caret Animation, and turned on the smooth animation option. The effect is subtle, but I notice it every time I move between lines or jump across a file. I would not call it a major productivity feature, but after using VS Code for hours at a time, these small visual touches do matter. Turn off Compact Folders My folder structure finally made sense Compact Folders is one of those VS Code features I had accepted without thinking much about it. When several folders contain only one subfolder, VS Code can combine them into a single line in the Explorer. It saves some space, but I found it harder to understand the actual folder structure. Turning it off made the Explorer feel much more natural to me. I can now see every folder on its own line, which makes it easier to understand where files actually live and move around the project without second-guessing the structure. To disable it, I open Settings with Ctrl + , and search for Compact Folders, and uncheck Explorer: Compact Folders. It does make the sidebar slightly longer, but I much prefer the extra clarity over saving a few lines of space. Enable Format on Save VS Code now cleans up automatically Format on Save is another setting I wish I had enabled much earlier. I used to clean up spacing, indentation, and other formatting issues manually, or run a formatter after I was done editing. It worked, but it added one smaller step every time I touched a file. Once I turned on Format on Save, VS Code started doing that cleanup automatically whenever I saved my work. As long as I have a formatter like Prettier set up, my code stays neat and consistent without any extra effort. \To enable it, open Settings, search for Format On Save, and check Editor: Format on Save. Now I just write, save, and move on. It is a simple change, but it saves me from thinking about formatting every few minutes. Unlocking the VS Code I missed VS Code has always been powerful, but I realized I had been leaving a lot of that power untouched. Quick pro tip: I also started using Workspace Settings because different projects deserve different settings. I can keep my main VS Code setup the same while changing things like formatting, exclusions, or Word Wrap for a specific project. None of these tweaks reinvent VS Code, but together, they make my everyday experience better. That's exactly why I wish I had explored the Settings menu much sooner.