How to open settings.json in VS Code on Mac: three routes for macOS, 2026

Open settings.json from the Command Palette

The Command Palette is the fastest route. It runs VS Code commands by name, and you find one by typing part of its name. Start by clicking inside the VS Code window so it is active.

Press ⇧⌘P. A search box appears at the top of the window. Type Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON), then choose the matching entry.

Check the suffix before you press Return. The entry that ends in (JSON) opens the file itself, which is what you want here. Pressing Return runs the highlighted command. If that entry does not show, scan the list for the one that ends in (JSON).

Open settings.json from the File menu

If you prefer menus, click File in the menu bar at the top of the screen. Choose Preferences > Settings, or press ⌘, (Command and comma). The Settings editor opens with two tabs, User and Workspace.

The Settings editor is not the JSON file. It shows settings as forms with a search box, so you can change most things without typing any JSON. Pick the User tab for your personal settings.

Some settings show an Edit in settings.json link. That link does not appear on every setting. When you do not see it, go back to the Command Palette route, which opens the file directly.

Why edit the JSON instead of the Settings editor?

The Settings editor covers most common settings with a search box. The JSON file helps when you want to copy a setting to another Mac, or when you need a key the editor does not show. Both routes change the same settings, so you can switch between them.

Pick the route that matches the job. Use the editor to browse and search. Use the file when you already know the key name and want to type it directly.

Worked example: turn on word wrap in your user file

Open the user file with ⇧⌘P and Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON). Find the last line that holds a setting, which sits just above the closing brace. Add a comma at the end of that line if it has none.

On a new line, type "editor.wordWrap": "on". Do not add a comma after it, because it is now the last entry. Then press ⌘S to save the file, and check whether long lines wrap in your editor.

If a red mark appears on the line above, you most likely forgot the comma. Fix that first, then check the result again. This small edit uses the same pattern as most changes you will make by hand.

Make ⌘, open the JSON file every time

If you edit the JSON file often, you may want ⌘, to skip the visual editor. Set the workbench.settings.editor setting to json. After that, File > Preferences > Settings and ⌘, open settings.json directly.

The change takes only a few moves. Press ⌘, to open the Settings editor. Search for workbench.settings.editor in the search box at the top. Set its value to json.

This changes what ⌘, does for every project, so write down the old value first. You can set it back at any time if you want the visual Settings editor again.

Where the file lives on a Mac

The user settings file sits in your home folder. Its full path is $HOME/Library/Application Support/Code/User/settings.json. To reach it by hand, choose Go > Go to Folder in Finder and paste the path that starts with ~/Library.

Profile files only appear after you change a setting in that profile. Until then, the folder may not contain the file at all. That is expected, not a sign that something broke. To open the default profile's file, run Preferences: Open Application Settings (JSON).

User and workspace settings: which one wins

VS Code reads settings in layers. The order runs Default, then User, then Workspace, then Workspace Folder. Policy settings always win when they are set.

Later layers override earlier ones. Simple values and arrays get replaced completely. Object values get merged, so keys from both files can survive.

Use the workspace file for rules that belong to one project. Keep personal taste, such as font and theme, in the user file. That keeps each shared project clean.

Edit settings.json without breaking it

Settings files use JSON. Each entry holds a key in double quotes, a colon, and a value. Entries are separated by commas, and the last entry has no comma after it.

A line looks like this: `"editor.wordWrap": "on"`. The key sits on the left and the value on the right. Copy the pattern exactly, including the quote marks.

VS Code highlights malformed JSON in the editor. Watch for red marks and read the message next to them. Save only after the marks clear.

Change one setting at a time. Save, then check the result. If something breaks, press ⌘Z to undo the last edit before you try another fix.

Fix the Unable to write settings error

VS Code shows Unable to write settings when the file has a problem it cannot save past. The official settings docs say malformed JSON can cause this. A missing comma is one cause the docs name directly.

Scroll to the spot where the red mark sits. Look at the line just above it. Two entries side by side need a comma between them. Add it, then press ⌘S to save.

If the commas look right, look for stray characters. An extra brace, a curly quote, or an unclosed quote mark will break the file too. Delete the character, then save again.

Mistakes people make when they open settings.json

One mistake is editing the workspace file when you meant the user file. Check the tab title and the file path before you type. Workspace files sit in .vscode/settings.json in the project root.

Another mistake is adding a key you never changed and expecting it to show. The file usually holds only the settings you changed. You can type any valid key yourself.

The third mistake is a setting that seems ignored. A workspace value or a policy can override the user value you set. Check the workspace file before you blame VS Code.

Using VS Code in a browser

The web version at vscode.dev works differently. Its docs list ⇧⌘P as the Command Palette shortcut, but that shortcut does not launch in Firefox. In Firefox, press F1 instead.

The web docs also say the terminal and the debugger are not available in the browser. They do not say whether settings.json exists there. Do not assume the desktop steps work the same way in a browser.

Settings Sync and your settings file

Settings Sync keeps VS Code preferences consistent across devices. You turn it on or off from the Manage gear menu or the Accounts menu. The official docs list both places.

If you use Settings Sync on more than one Mac, check its state before a big edit. Otherwise a change may appear on one machine and not the other, which is hard to trace.

How many people use VS Code

Plenty of developers use VS Code. In the 2026 Stack Overflow survey, 70.9% of respondents said they use Visual Studio Code, which is 9,350 of 13,193 people.

The 2025 survey put that figure at 75.9%, and it drew over 49,000 responses from 177 countries. The sources I checked do not explain the drop, and both figures count all respondents.

Why does this matter for you? Your settings file holds your setup for the editor you use every day. Knowing where it lives makes backups and moves much easier.

Which VS Code version these steps cover

The latest stable release I checked is 1.145, dated November 4, 2026. Its release notes cover file exclusion and managed settings. They do not cover the Settings editor or the Preferences menu.

I could not confirm that these exact steps stayed the same in older releases. The notes for 1.144 and earlier list titles only. If a menu label looks different on your Mac, trust the command name in the Command Palette.

Next steps after you open the file

Once the file is open, you can change settings such as word wrap, auto save, or the color theme. Each has its own guide: turn on word wrap, turn on auto save, and change the color theme.

If you compare settings with code, split the editor to keep both files on screen while you work.

Keep the settings file small. Add keys as you need them, and remove the ones you no longer use. A short file is easier to read when something goes wrong.