Keyboard
Overrides

VS Code intercepts before macOS

VS Code registers keyboard shortcuts at the application layer — before macOS sees them. When you press F3, VS Code fires Find Next. Your OS shortcut never runs.

The fix is simple: add explicit unbind entries to VS Code's keybindings.json using the "-" prefix convention. VS Code stops handling the key; the event falls through to the OS.

The unbind convention

VS Code's keybindings file supports a minus-prefix command syntax. Setting a key to a command prefixed with "-" removes the default binding entirely.

File location on macOS:

~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/keybindings.json

All F-keys unbound

The complete keybindings.json that releases F1–F19 back to macOS, including common Shift+Fx pairs.

// ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/keybindings.json
[
  // Unbind all F-keys so macOS OS-level shortcuts are not captured
  { "key": "f1",        "command": "-workbench.action.showCommands" },
  { "key": "f2",        "command": "-editor.action.rename" },
  { "key": "f3",        "command": "-editor.action.nextMatchFindAction" },
  { "key": "shift+f3",  "command": "-editor.action.previousMatchFindAction" },
  { "key": "f4",        "command": "-editor.action.marker.nextInFiles" },
  { "key": "shift+f4",  "command": "-editor.action.marker.prevInFiles" },
  { "key": "f5",        "command": "-workbench.action.debug.continue" },
  { "key": "shift+f5",  "command": "-workbench.action.debug.stop" },
  { "key": "f6",        "command": "-workbench.action.debug.pause" },
  { "key": "f7",        "command": "-editor.action.inlineSuggest.commitNextWord" },
  { "key": "f8",        "command": "-editor.action.marker.next" },
  { "key": "shift+f8",  "command": "-editor.action.marker.prev" },
  { "key": "f9",        "command": "-editor.debug.action.toggleBreakpoint" },
  { "key": "f10",       "command": "-workbench.action.debug.stepOver" },
  { "key": "shift+f10", "command": "-editor.action.showContextMenu" },
  { "key": "f11",       "command": "-workbench.action.toggleFullScreen" },
  { "key": "shift+f11", "command": "-workbench.action.debug.stepOut" },
  { "key": "f12",       "command": "-editor.action.revealDefinition" },
  { "key": "shift+f12", "command": "-editor.action.goToReferences" },
  { "key": "f13",       "command": "-" },
  { "key": "f14",       "command": "-" },
  { "key": "f15",       "command": "-" },
  { "key": "f16",       "command": "-" },
  { "key": "f17",       "command": "-" },
  { "key": "f18",       "command": "-" },
  { "key": "f19",       "command": "-" }
]