Migrate from VS Code to WebStorm
In this section, you will find some tips on how to migrate from Visual Studio Code (VS Code) to WebStorm.
If you are looking for an overview of the features WebStorm offers, we recommend checking out this page.
Open or create your first project
One of the first things that you will notice once you download and install WebStorm is that you need a project to get started. The project-first approach helps WebStorm understand the context better and provide more advanced coding assistance.
To start with your first project, you can choose one of these options:
New Project: create an empty project or generate a project from an existing template, like ones for React, Angular, or Vue.
Open: open a project stored on your machine.
Get from VCS: get an existing project from a remote repository on a VCS hosting service like GitHub.
Once you have opened a project, you can start coding as usual. Go ahead and create your first file – here’s how.
Configure shortcuts
If you have never used WebStorm or other JetBrains IDEs before, getting used to new shortcuts can be challenging. Here are a few tips that can help you with that.
Switch to the VS Code keymap
Note that the keymap might not be bundled in some versions of WebStorm. To install it, go to and look for vscode there.
Once you've installed the keymap, you can go to and set it as the default one.
Learn WebStorm shortcuts
Learning WebStorm shortcuts will come in handy even if you decide to switch to another JetBrains IDE later on – the shortcuts are the same in almost all of them. Here is what can help you learn them faster:
Memorize WebStorm’s most universal shortcut – double Shift or Search Everywhere. You can use it to find any file, action, class, or symbol, and see all the matches in one place.
Install Key Promoter X – this extension helps you learn essential shortcuts while working. When you use the mouse on a button inside the IDE, Key Promoter X shows you the shortcut you could have used instead.
Use the WebStorm shortcut cheat sheet – You can download the default WebStorm keymap reference for macOS or Windows and Linux and print it out as a card.
WebStorm suggests a predefined keymap based on your environment. You can find this keymap in . If you change the shortcut for an action, WebStorm will store those changes in a copy of the predefined keymap and use that copy by default moving forward.
Set up your work environment
One of the key differences between WebStorm and VS Code is that you do not need to install a lot of extensions to make WebStorm more powerful. Just about everything is already there. Refer to this section to learn about the technologies supported by WebStorm. From there, you can also jump to specific instructions on how to get started with each of them.
For a general overview of the features WebStorm offers, check out this page or watch the video below.
Customize WebStorm
WebStorm’s UI might look overwhelming at first. Fortunately, you can customize it and turn off anything you don’t need. Here are some general customization tips.
Install extensions
In JetBrains IDEs, we refer to extensions as plugins. They work pretty much the same way extensions do in VS Code, allowing you to extend the built-in functionality and customize your IDE. To explore the available plugins, open settings by pressing Ctrl+Alt+S and navigate to . The available plugins are under the Marketplace tab.
Change the UI theme
WebStorm comes with only a few predefined themes, but there is a variety of custom options to choose from. To explore them, press Ctrl+Alt+S to open settings and select Plugins. In the Marketplace tab, search for theme.
You can then return to the editor to see how the installed themes look. Select from the main menu or press Ctrl+` and select . From there, you can preview all available themes, as shown here.
Switch to Zen mode
Like in VS Code, you can switch to Zen mode whenever you want to focus on coding. From the main menu, select and type enter zen mode. Do the same but select when you’re done.
Replicate common VS Code workflows
Let’s see how you can set up a few things to work like they do in VS Code.
Using command palette
Search Everywhere is your replacement for Command Palette in VS Code. You can use it to search for files, actions, classes, or symbols. All matches are displayed in a single location.
To open the Search Everywhere dialog, double-press Shift.
Search and replace
Although WebStorm’s search and replace workflow is slightly different from the one in VS Code, the principles are the same. WebStorm lets you find and replace text strings within both specific files and entire projects.
To begin, navigate to in the main menu. Select to search within the current file or to search the whole project. For text replacement, select or from the same submenu.
Change the defaults for the Project view
WebStorm has its own Explorer, the Project tool window, and it works a bit differently. For instance, you need to double-click a file to open it in the editor. Here is how you can change the default setup to match what you were used to in VS Code:
You can go to the Project tool window settings and select any or all of these options:
Enable Preview Tab: preview files you have selected in the Project view in the editor.
Open Files with Single Click: open files in the editor with one click.
Always Select Opened File: auto-select the file that is currently open in the Project view.
Set up actions on save
You can configure WebStorm to perform a specific action or run a tool like Prettier or ESLint every time you save your modified file. To do this, go to and tick the necessary boxes there. For more information about performing actions on save, refer to this section.
How to get support
You can check out our community forum to find answers to many common questions and ask other WebStorm users for help.
Also, you can always get in touch with our support team if you get stuck. To submit a new ticket, select from WebStorm’s main menu. To report a bug or ask for a new feature, create a new issue here.