VS Code Files and Auto Save Cheat Sheet

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Programming · VS Code Files and Auto Save Cheat Sheet

The files.* settings and their closest relatives: saving, tidying files on save, line endings and encoding, recovery, and which files are shown or watched. Exact ID, what it does, and its default. Sheet 2 in the VS Code series; sheet 1 covers editor.*.

Auto Save

files.autoSaveoff (default), afterDelay, onFocusChange, onWindowChange
files.autoSaveDelayMilliseconds to wait with afterDelay (default 1000)
files.autoSaveWorkspaceFilesOnlytrue: only auto-save files inside the open workspace (default false)
files.autoSaveWhenNoErrorstrue: skip auto save while the file has errors (default false)
File > Auto SaveMenu toggle that switches auto save on and off without opening settings
Ctrl+S / Ctrl+K SSave the current file / Save All (Windows/Linux)

Tidy Up on Save

files.trimTrailingWhitespaceRemove spaces at the end of lines on save (default false)
files.insertFinalNewlineEnsure the file ends with a newline (default false)
files.trimFinalNewlinesRemove extra blank lines at the end of the file (default false)
files.trimTrailingWhitespaceInRegexAndStringstrue (default): trailing-space trimming also touches regexes and strings
editor.formatOnSaveRun the formatter when you save (default false)
editor.formatOnSaveModefile (default), modifications, modificationsIfAvailable: whole file or only changed lines
editor.codeActionsOnSaveFixes on save, e.g. { "source.fixAll": "explicit" }

Line Endings & Encoding

files.eolDefault line ending for new files: "\n", "\r\n" or "auto" (default auto)
files.encodingCharacter encoding used when reading and writing files (default utf8)
files.autoGuessEncodingtrue: try to detect a file's encoding when opening it (default false)
files.candidateGuessEncodingsEncodings to try first when guessing (default none)
Status bar: CRLF / LFClick to convert the current file's line endings
Status bar: UTF-8Click, then Reopen with Encoding or Save with Encoding

Hot Exit & Recovery

files.hotExitoff, onExit (default), onExitAndWindowClose: remember unsaved files between sessions
files.restoreUndoStackRestore undo history when a file reopens (default true)
workbench.localHistory.enabledKeep automatic snapshots of saved files (default true)
workbench.localHistory.maxFileEntriesSnapshots kept per file (default 50)
workbench.localHistory.maxFileSizeLargest file, in KB, that gets snapshots (default 256)
Timeline viewExplorer panel listing a file's local history; right-click an entry to compare or restore

Hiding, Watching & Protecting Files

files.excludeGlob patterns hidden from the Explorer; default hides .git, .svn, .hg, .jj, .DS_Store, Thumbs.db
files.watcherExcludeFolders VS Code does not watch for changes; the default skips .git/objects and similar
files.watcherIncludeExtra folders to watch (default none)
files.associationsMap patterns to languages, e.g. { "*.cmd": "bat" } (default none)
files.readonlyIncludeGlob patterns of files to open read-only
files.readonlyExcludeExceptions to files.readonlyInclude
files.enableTrashtrue (default): deleting from the Explorer moves files to the Recycle Bin

Conflicts, Timeouts & Dialogs

files.saveConflictResolutionaskUser (default) or overwriteFileOnDisk when the file changed elsewhere
files.participants.timeoutHow long format/fix-on-save may run, in ms (default 60000)
files.defaultLanguageLanguage assigned to new, untitled files (default: none, you choose)
files.dialog.defaultPathFolder where Open/Save dialogs start (absolute path)
files.simpleDialog.enabletrue: use VS Code's own file dialog instead of the system one (default false)

A Reasonable Starter Set (my suggestions, not defaults)

"files.autoSave": "onFocusChange"Saves when you switch away, and still runs format on save
"files.trimTrailingWhitespace": trueNo invisible trailing spaces in commits
"files.insertFinalNewline": trueA final newline keeps diffs and Unix tools happy
"files.trimFinalNewlines": trueNo pile of blank lines at the end
"files.eol": "\n"LF for new files, common for cross-platform projects
"files.exclude": { "**/__pycache__": true }Hide clutter you never open
[markdown]Override with { "files.trimTrailingWhitespace": false }, because two trailing spaces mean a line break in Markdown
Why didn't Format on Save run? Check which kind of save it was
Format on save is skipped for the timed auto save ("files.autoSave": "afterDelay"), but it does run when you press Ctrl+S and for the onFocusChange and onWindowChange auto saves. If you want auto save and formatting, use onFocusChange. Related: editor.codeActionsOnSave values are explicit (only on manual saves), always, or never.