Dear VS Code, Cmd+H is your cue to hide

Sun, 20 Sep 2026 13:37:00 GMT

If I had to boil down my frustrations with software and user experience to one simple piece of advice, it would be “assumptions about the user context or preference do not travel well”.

Case in point, VS Code on macOS.

VS Code is built with Electron and it originates from the Windows ecosystem, which can be a dangerous combination if you put any value on user experience. On macOS, this premise is reflected in a glaring disregard towards the conventions of the platform when it comes to keyboard shortcuts.

You read that correctly, Mac users use keyboard shortcuts too.

If an application wants to act like a good citizen on a platform, it absolutelty should not override system-level keyboard shortcuts, like VS Code does on macOS. Try hiding the app with Cmd + H and see what happens.

My money is on nothing.

If you look for help online to remedy this, it’s possible that the expert advice will guide you towards the macOS System Settings to resolve the conflict by modifying or disabling the shortcuts native to the platform. That’s such an awful example of backwards thinking that I have a hard time coming up with an analogy for it. I will update this post when I do.

When compared with the majority of Electron apps out there, the one good thing with VS Code is that it is customizable. In the perfect world I would not have to do this myself, but it is possible to bring up the keybindings.json (Cmd + Shift + P -> Preferences: Open Keyboard Shortcuts (JSON)) and essentially nuke the offending bindings originating from Windows.

Here’s what my keybindings.json looks like. Look closely at those first four. That minus that in the beginning of the values for “command” is a mighty weapon.

// Restore Cmd+H to native macOS application hide
{ "key": "cmd+h", "command": "-editor.action.startFindReplaceAction" },

// Restore Cmd+M to native macOS application Minimize 
// (VS Code uses this for Toggle Tab Key Moves Focus)
{ "key": "cmd+m", "command": "-editor.action.toggleTabFocusMode" },

// Restore Cmd+Shift+H to standard macOS behaviors
// (VS Code uses this for Replace in Files)
{ "key": "cmd+shift+h", "command": "-workbench.action.replaceInFiles" },

// Restore Alt/Option keys from behaving like Windows "Alt menus"
// Prevents option-clicks or accidental navigation bar highlights
{ "key": "alt", "command": "-workbench.action.menuBarFocus" },

// Re-bind Replace using native Apple alignment (Opt+Cmd+F)
{
    "key": "alt+cmd+f",
    "command": "editor.action.startFindReplaceAction",
    "when": "editorFocus"
},
{
    "key": "alt+cmd+shift+f",
    "command": "workbench.action.replaceInFiles"
}

Now, if there only was a way to force Mac Catalyst apps like Music act like native Mac apps…

Design is how it works

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 13:37:00 GMT

Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like… Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.

— Steve Jobs, The New York Times, 2003

Toni Laakso / tlxo — Blog

Dear VS Code, Cmd+H is your cue to hide

Design is how it works