VSCode keybinding to hide Explorer

Question

Is there any keybinding in VSCode that can hide Explorer, like Ctrl+Shift+E works for showing it?

I hate reaching for the mouse and I don't have enough screen space to keep Explorer always on.

Solution 1

Toggle Sidebar Visibility: Ctrl+B (Windows/Linux)

If you're a MacOS user, then it's ⌘ + b.

Visual Studio Code Key Bindings

Solution 2

If you're a MacOS user, then it's ⌘ + b.

I won't leave you without a GIF.

Solution 3

Some clarification: usually Ctrl+B is used for closing a sidebar (not toggling by default). So if you haven't a sidebar and want to open it - press the following combination: Ctrl+Shift+E(opens the sidebar with active explorer) or Ctr+Shift+F (with active search) etc. Now if you want to get rid of a sidebar press Ctrl+B. Note if you're using vim plugin and want to close a sidebar but currently is working on your code - first make a sidebar active by pressing (Ctrl+Shift+E) and then close it via Ctrl+B.

update: recently I've discovered that Ctrl+Shift+E doesn't play nice with my neo vim plugin, so in order to overcome it there is another shortcut to open sidebar explorer: single press of Ctrl+0 to open it and pressing of Ctrl+0 one more time to get focus on it.

Solution 4

I'm using Visual Studio keymap. On my keyboard shortcuts, Toggle Side Bar Visibility was set to CTRL+B but doesn't works.

I do remap to CTRL+B and works fine.

File > Preferences > KeyBoard ShortCuts

Solution 5

VSCode default Keybinding for Toggling "Side Bar" aka "Explorer" is CTRL+B. Just CTRL+B alone works fine.

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Comments

[petzi]

I had to resign shortcut priorities, because on my Mac CMD-b was assigned also to "Navigate Next in Quick Open".

[rtviii]

I had Vscodevim hijack the Ctrl + / on the first installment. In case anyone's wondering about the actual keybinds.json name, it's workbench.action.toggleSidebar.

[Liviu Trifoi]

It didn't work in my case as ctrl+b was assigned to both workbench.action.toggleSidebar and some debug command (by default, I didn't change anything). Editing the workbench.action.toggleSidebar shortcut and pressing ctrl+b will show you if you have such duplicates and so you can delete/change the conflicting keybindings on a case by case basis.

[Irfan wani]

I don't think your answer is right as ctrl + \ is used to split the editor

[Gurnard]

for me it does not work when the editor is focussed. I have to do CTRL + SHIFT + E to focus the explorer and then CTRL + B really not impressed with this

[Gurnard]

This is what works for me when the editor pane is focussed. but that is a bit poop. If I am on the editor I just want to close the explorer for real estate not switch to explorer then hide it. Netbeans gives me CTRL + ESC from anywhere to hide the side bar.

[vhs]

Not sure why you didn't just edit the correct answer from a year earlier. So I did it instead.

[Shawn Zhang]

I would say, Shift+B is better choice for workbench.action.toggleSidebar if there is a vim plugin using Ctrl+B

[Juan]

I would expect the sidebar would close with the same shortcut that opens it... That's how Phpstorm does it, and it feels more natural.

[flodis]

Maybe in the future the sidebar could be easier to hide/show if it had a little tab or made itself known when mouse is on the left edge of the application screen. CTRL+B and similar is is not easily remembered if you work with 65 other amazing IDE;s the same day. Eclipse already occupies half of my flash memory brain cells.

[Gregory Bologna]

Ctrl+B works on Windows