How to toggle the integrated terminal in VS Code on Mac: shortcut and menu steps

The shortcut that toggles the terminal

Press ⌃` to show or hide the integrated terminal in VS Code on Mac. The official Terminal Basics page gives this exact shortcut for toggling the terminal panel. Windows and Linux use Ctrl+` instead.

On a US keyboard, the backtick key sits just below Escape and above Tab. Keep Shift out of the shortcut. Adding Shift turns it into ⌃⇧`, which creates a new terminal instead of hiding one.

If the shortcut does nothing, two causes come up most. One is Restricted Mode, which blocks the terminal. The other is a keyboard layout that puts the backtick key somewhere else. Both are covered below.

Use the View and Terminal menus instead

If you would rather click, the docs list two menu paths on macOS. Use View > Terminal to show the terminal. Use Terminal > New Terminal to start a new shell in the panel. Both sit in the menu bar at the top of the screen.

The docs do not explain how the two differ when a terminal is already open. Try each one once in an open project folder. Then keep the one that fits how you work.

Open the Command Palette when the shortcut is taken

Press ⇧⌘P to open the Command Palette. Type View: Toggle Terminal and press Return. The command shows or hides the terminal panel, the same job as ⌃`.

This route helps when another app already uses ⌃`. It also helps when you changed the key and forgot the new one. You do not need the exact name. Type toggle terminal and pick the match from the list.

Start a new terminal with ⌃⇧`

A new terminal is a second shell. It opens as its own tab in the terminal panel. Press ⌃⇧` or choose Terminal > New Terminal. Use it when one shell runs a dev server and you need another for git commands.

To split the current terminal side by side, press ⌘\. On Windows and Linux, the split key is Ctrl+Shift+5. Splitting does not hide anything, so check the panel if the view looks different than you expected.

• ⌃` shows or hides the terminal panel.
• ⌃⇧` creates a new terminal.
• ⌘\ splits the current terminal.
• ⇧⌘P, then View: Toggle Terminal, works without the shortcut.

Put the terminal in the editor area

Some people want the terminal as an editor tab, not in the bottom panel. Open the Command Palette with ⇧⌘P and run Terminal: Create New Terminal in Editor Area. Use the side version to open it beside your code.

You can also right-click a folder in the Explorer and choose Open in Integrated Terminal. The terminal opens in that folder. This saves a cd step when your project has many nested directories.

Why the terminal stays blocked in Restricted Mode

VS Code runs a folder in Restricted Mode until you trust it. The Workspace Trust docs say opening a terminal is blocked by default in that mode. Your ⌃` press will look like it failed.

Cancelling the trust prompt leaves you in Restricted Mode with no terminal. Trust the folder if you cloned it or wrote it yourself. Only trust folders from sources you know.

• Click Manage in the Restricted Mode banner, then Trust.
• Click the Restricted Mode badge in the status bar, then Trust.
• Press ⇧⌘P, run Workspaces: Manage Workspace Trust, then Trust.

Pick the shell the terminal opens

On macOS, a new terminal runs your $SHELL. The Terminal Profiles docs say so. Change it with Terminal: Select Default Profile in the Command Palette.

To set it by hand, add terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.osx to your settings. macOS terminals run as login shells. Login shells can duplicate or reverse PATH entries.

The docs suggest two fixes. Set terminal.integrated.inheritEnv to false. Or set the profile args to an empty list and move your aliases into ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc, depending on your shell.

Keep tasks fast when your login script is slow

The docs also mention terminal.integrated.automationProfile.osx. Tasks and debugging can use that separate shell, such as /bin/sh. A slow login script then does not hold them up.

Your interactive terminal still runs your normal login shell. If it feels slow to open, look at what your shell profile runs on startup.

Change the shortcut if ⌃` clashes with another app

Press ⌘K then ⌘S to open the Keyboard Shortcuts editor. Search for the toggle command and set a new key. Pick a combination that no other app on your Mac uses.

The keybindings docs say shortcuts follow your keyboard layout. A non-US layout may place the backtick key somewhere else, so check which key produces the symbol. The docs link a printable PDF of the default macOS keybindings for US English.

I did not find an official fix for Mission Control or input source conflicts with ⌃`. If another app grabs the keys, check those shortcut settings on your Mac.

Lazur on your screen: ask where the controls are

Lazur is a voice assistant for the Mac that lives in the notch. Hold ⌥ ⌘, which means Option and Command, and ask where something is. Lazur draws a circle and a label around it on your screen and answers out loud.

Ask how to do something, and Lazur guides you one click at a time. It waits for each click. Lazur does not press keys or click buttons for you.

What to ask Lazur while you work in VS Code

Short questions about the screen work best. Ask where the View menu is, and Lazur circles it. Ask it to walk you through opening the terminal, and it guides you one step at a time.

If the panel looks blank, ask what Lazur can see. It explains what is on screen and answers out loud. You still press the keys yourself, and the editor stays under your control.

Browser VS Code and Codespaces have no local terminal

VS Code for the Web runs entirely in the browser. The docs say its terminal and debugger are not available there, and that includes vscode.dev. The docs point to the desktop app or GitHub Codespaces for a terminal.

If you open a repo in a browser tab and expect ⌃` to work, nothing will happen. Open the same folder in the desktop app instead.

Which version these steps match

These steps match the Terminal Basics docs as checked on 9 November 2026. VS Code 1.145 became stable on November 4, 2026. Its release notes do not list changes to the terminal toggle or the View and Terminal menus.

The 1.145 notes do mention one terminal change. A banner now explains why agent terminal commands are blocked when sandboxing is required but unavailable. That banner is separate from the toggle. I did not check these steps against older releases.

Mistakes people make with the toggle

• Pressing ⌃⇧` to hide the panel. That shortcut creates a new terminal.
• Using ⌘` from a blog post. The official docs list ⌃`, and ⌘` is the macOS key for cycling windows.
• Trying the shortcut in a browser tab at vscode.dev. The browser version has no terminal.
• Ignoring the Restricted Mode banner, then wondering why nothing opens.
• Changing the default shell and skipping the PATH fix, then seeing duplicate entries.

When the shortcut still does nothing

Start with the trust check. If the Restricted Mode banner is showing, trust the folder first. Then try View > Terminal or the Command Palette.

If the palette command works but the keyboard shortcut does not, the problem is the key, not the terminal. Rebind it in the Keyboard Shortcuts editor. If the terminal never opens from any route, try the default profile before you try anything else.

How many people use VS Code

In the 2025 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, 75.9% of respondents in the Dev IDEs question said they use Visual Studio Code. That question had 26,143 responses. In May 2025, Microsoft said 50 million developers use Visual Studio and VS Code each month.

The 50 million figure covers both products together. It is not a count for VS Code alone. Use the Stack Overflow number if you want a VS Code-only share.

Quick checklist for the terminal toggle

1. Confirm you are in the VS Code desktop app, not vscode.dev.
2. Trust the folder if Restricted Mode is showing.
3. Press ⌃` to show or hide the terminal.
4. If nothing happens, press ⇧⌘P and run View: Toggle Terminal.
5. If that fails too, rebind the key in the Keyboard Shortcuts editor with ⌘K ⌘S.

Where to go next

If your terminal opens in the wrong folder, read how to open a folder from the terminal in VS Code on Mac. To run the code command from a shell, see how to install the code command in VS Code on Mac.

If you write code for a living, the VS Code for developers on Mac page covers setup, shortcuts, debugging, and Git. Lazur has a 3-day Pro trial with no credit card, if you want to try screen help on your own Mac, at the download page.