Settings Sync

Settings Sync keeps your Visual Studio Code preferences consistent across devices. This article explains how to choose what to sync, resolve conflicts, restore synced data, and troubleshoot sign-in storage.

Note

VS Code does not synchronize your extensions to or from a remote window, such as when you're connected to SSH, a development container (devcontainer), or WSL.

Turn on Settings Sync

To turn on Settings Sync, select Backup and Sync Settings... from the Manage gear menu or the Accounts menu at the bottom of the Activity Bar.

Screenshot showing the Manage menu with the Backup and Sync Settings command highlighted.

Select the data that you want to synchronize:

  • Settings
  • Keyboard Shortcuts
  • Snippets
  • Prompts and Instructions
  • Tasks
  • Extensions
  • UI State
  • Profiles
  • MCP Servers

Screenshot showing the Settings Sync configuration picker with data categories selected.

Select Sign in, and then select a Microsoft or GitHub account.

Screenshot showing the Settings Sync account picker with Microsoft and GitHub options.

If you are not already signed in with the selected account, a browser opens so that you can authenticate.

After you sign in, Settings Sync automatically merges your local and cloud data and continues to synchronize changes in the background. If it cannot merge the data, you are prompted to resolve the conflicts.

Configure synced data

Settings with the machine or machine-overridable scope are not synchronized by default because their values are specific to a device. To choose other settings that should not synchronize, use the Settings editor or the settingsSync.ignoredSettings Open in VS Code Open in VS Code Insiders setting.

Screenshot showing ignored settings in the Settings editor.

Keyboard shortcuts are synchronized separately for each operating system by default. To use the same keyboard shortcuts on every operating system, clear the settingsSync.keybindingsPerPlatform Open in VS Code Open in VS Code Insiders setting.

Installed extensions and the global enablement state of built-in and installed extensions are synchronized. To exclude an extension, use the Extensions view (⇧⌘X (Windows, Linux Ctrl+Shift+X)) or the settingsSync.ignoredExtensions Open in VS Code Open in VS Code Insiders setting.

Screenshot showing the context menu action for excluding an extension from synchronization.

The following UI state is synchronized:

  • Display language.
  • Activity Bar entries.
  • Panel entries.
  • View layout and visibility.
  • Recently used commands.
  • 'Do not show again' notification choices.

To change the data categories that you synchronize, run the Settings Sync: Configure... command or select Settings Sync is On > Configure... from the Manage gear menu.

Resolve conflicts

Conflicts can occur when you first turn on Settings Sync on a device or when you change data while a device is offline. Synchronization pauses until you resolve the conflicts.

The available actions depend on whether you are turning on sync or resolving a later conflict:

  • Accept Local or Replace Remote uses your local data and overwrites the data in the cloud.
  • Accept Remote or Replace Local uses the data in the cloud and overwrites your local data.
  • Show Conflicts opens a diff editor where you can compare the local and remote data. Edit the merge result, and then select Complete Merge.

Switch accounts

To synchronize your data with a different account, run the Settings Sync: Turn Off command, and then turn on Settings Sync with the other account.

Synchronize Stable and Insiders

By default, the VS Code Stable and Insiders builds use separate Settings Sync services and do not share data. To share data between the builds, select the Stable sync service when you turn on Settings Sync in VS Code Insiders.

Screenshot showing the sync service options in VS Code Insiders.

Note

Synchronizing Stable and Insiders can cause data incompatibility because Insiders is newer than Stable. If this occurs, Settings Sync turns off automatically in Stable. Update Stable to a compatible version before you turn on sync again.

Restore synced data

VS Code stores local and remote backups of your preferences. You can use these backups to restore an earlier version of your data.

Screenshot showing remote backup versions in the Settings Sync view.

Run the Settings Sync: Show Synced Data command to view remote backups. To view local backups in the same view, open the Views submenu from the Settings Sync view overflow menu, and then select Local Sync Activity.

Screenshot showing the Local Sync Activity option in the Views submenu.

To access local backups on disk, run the Settings Sync: Open Local Backups Folder command. The folder is organized by data category and contains timestamped versions of your JSON files.

Note

Local backups are deleted after 30 days. For remote backups, the latest 20 versions of each data category are retained.

Manage synced machines

VS Code tracks the devices that synchronize your data. Run the Settings Sync: Show Synced Data command, and then expand Synced Machines to view them.

Each device has a default name based on its operating system and whether it runs Stable or Insiders. Use the actions for a device to rename it or turn off Settings Sync remotely.

Screenshot showing devices in the Synced Machines view.

Extension authors

If your extension stores user state, decide whether that state should synchronize across devices. For example, synchronizing a dismissed notification or completed welcome page prevents the extension from showing it again on another device.

Synchronize user global state

To synchronize selected keys from vscode.ExtensionContext.globalState, pass the keys to vscode.ExtensionContext.globalState.setKeysForSync.

For an example, see Extension capabilities.

Report issues

Settings Sync activity is recorded in the Log (Settings Sync) output channel. If you report a problem, include this log with the issue. For authentication problems, also include the Account output channel.

Delete cloud data

To remove all synced data from the service, select Settings Sync is On > Turn Off from the Manage gear menu. In the confirmation dialog, select the checkbox labeled Turn off sync on all your devices and clear the data from the cloud. Then select Turn off. If you turn on Settings Sync again, it starts as a first-time setup.

Common questions

Is Settings Sync the same as the Settings Sync extension?

No. The Settings Sync extension by Shan Khan uses a private GitHub Gist to share settings. It is unrelated to the built-in Settings Sync feature.

What accounts can I use?

Settings Sync supports Microsoft and GitHub accounts. GitHub Enterprise Server accounts are not supported.

Note

Settings Sync does not support Microsoft Sovereign Cloud accounts.

Can I use a different backend or service?

No. Settings Sync uses a dedicated service to store data and coordinate updates. Custom backends are not supported.

Can I share data between Stable and Insiders?

Yes. Follow the steps in Synchronize Stable and Insiders.

Troubleshooting keychain issues

On desktop, Settings Sync stores authentication information by using the operating system credential store. This section uses keychain as a general term for a keychain, keyring, wallet, or credential store.

If the keychain is unavailable or misconfigured, restart VS Code with the following options to generate a verbose log:

code --verbose --vmodule="*/components/os_crypt/*=1"

Windows and macOS

Windows and macOS usually do not require additional keychain configuration. If the problem continues, report an issue and include the verbose log.

Linux

VS Code uses Chromium to detect the desktop environment and select a keyring. Search the verbose log for OSCrypt, password storage, or selected backend messages to identify the selected keyring.

GNOME or Unity

If the log contains Cannot create an item in a locked collection, unlock the default keyring, which is usually named Login. You can use a keyring manager such as Seahorse. The keyring must be unlocked when you sign in to the operating system.

KDE

Open KWalletManager and make sure that the default kdewallet wallet is open. If VS Code cannot connect to KWallet, try a keyring that implements the Secret Service API, as described in the next section.

Configure a keyring backend

To select a keyring backend manually, start VS Code with the password-store option. For example, install a keyring that implements the Secret Service API, and then run:

code --password-store="gnome-libsecret"

If the selected backend works, run Preferences: Configure Runtime Arguments from the Command Palette (⇧⌘P (Windows, Linux Ctrl+Shift+P)) and add "password-store": "gnome-libsecret" to the argv.json file.

The password-store option supports these values:

  • kwallet5 for KWallet 5.
  • gnome-libsecret for keyrings that implement the Secret Service API, such as GNOME Keyring, KWallet, and KeePassXC.
  • kwallet for older KWallet versions.
  • basic for basic text encryption. This option is not recommended.

If the desktop environment or keyring is not detected, report an issue and include the verbose log.

Configure basic text encryption

Warning

Basic text encryption uses a key derived from a value hardcoded in Chromium. It provides obfuscation rather than secure encryption, and processes on your system might be able to decrypt the stored data.

If you accept this risk, run Preferences: Configure Runtime Arguments from the Command Palette (⇧⌘P (Windows, Linux Ctrl+Shift+P)) and add "password-store": "basic" to the argv.json file.

Related resources

9/16/2026