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How do I change the indentation settings in VS Code (tabs vs. spaces)?
How do I change the indentation settings in VS Code (tabs vs. spaces)?
Jun 23, 2025 am 12:05 AM
To change indentation settings in VS Code, open Settings and toggle "Insert Spaces" to switch between tabs and spaces. 1. Adjust tab size by searching for "Tab Size" and setting your preferred value. 2. Configure language-specific settings by editing the settings.json file and specifying different values for each language like Python or JavaScript. 3. Enable "Detect Indentation" and "Format On Save" to automatically match existing styles and fix inconsistencies when saving files. These steps ensure consistent and automated code formatting tailored to your preferences or project requirements.
Changing the indentation settings in VS Code—like switching between tabs and spaces—is something most developers need to do at some point, especially when working across different projects or teams. The good news is, it's pretty straightforward once you know where to look.
How to Set Tabs vs Spaces
By default, VS Code uses spaces for indentation, but you can easily switch to tabs if that’s your preference.
To change this:
- Open Settings (you can use the shortcut
Ctrl ,on Windows/Linux orCmd ,on Mac). - Search for "Insert Spaces".
- Toggle it off if you want to use actual tab characters instead of spaces.
You’ll find this setting under both the User and Workspace tabs, so make sure you're editing the right one depending on whether you want the change to apply globally or just for a specific project.
Adjusting Tab Size and Indentation
Once you've decided whether to use tabs or spaces, you'll probably also want to control how much space they take up visually. This is called the tab size.
- Go back into Settings.
- Search for "Tab Size".
- Enter the number of spaces you want a tab to represent (common choices are 2, 4, or 8).
This setting affects both the display of existing tabs and how new indents are created when you press the Tab key. You can also set this separately for different languages if needed—more on that in the next section.
Language-Specific Indent Settings
Some projects might require different indentation styles for different file types. For example, Python usually uses 4 spaces, while JavaScript often uses 2.
To customize this:
- In Settings, click the
{}icon in the top-right corner to open thesettings.jsonfile. - Add an entry like this:
"[python]": { "editor.tabSize": 4, "editor.insertSpaces": true } - Repeat for other languages by replacing
"python"with"javascript","html", etc.
This way, VS Code will automatically adjust the indentation style based on the file type you're working with.
Auto-Detect and Format on Paste/Save
VS Code can also try to guess the correct indentation style based on the current file. If you're opening files from other projects or collaborating with others, enabling auto-detection helps avoid formatting issues.
- Search for "Detect Indentation" in Settings.
- Make sure it's checked so VS Code tries to match the file’s existing style.
Also, consider turning on Format On Save so any indentation inconsistencies get cleaned up automatically every time you save a file. This keeps your code neat without manual effort.
That’s basically all there is to managing indentation in VS Code. It’s not complicated, but getting the settings right can save you a lot of small annoyances over time.
The above is the detailed content of How do I change the indentation settings in VS Code (tabs vs. spaces)?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!
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