How to Sync VS Code Settings and Extensions to a New Laptop

Setting up a new laptop usually means hours of reinstalling extensions and trying to remember every little VS Code tweak you made over the years. Your theme, your font size, your keybindings, even your snippets can feel impossible to recreate exactly. Luckily VS Code has a built-in feature called Settings Sync that copies all of it through your Microsoft or GitHub account, so the new machine feels like home within minutes.

This guide walks you through turning on Settings Sync on the old laptop, signing in on the new one, choosing what gets copied, and fixing the few problems that sometimes appear along the way.

Quick Answer

To sync VS Code settings and extensions to a new laptop, open VS Code on the old machine, click the Accounts icon in the bottom-left corner, and turn on Settings Sync using a Microsoft or GitHub account. Then install VS Code on the new laptop, sign in with the same account, enable Settings Sync there, and your settings, keybindings, snippets, UI state and full extension list will download and apply automatically.

What Settings Sync Actually Copies

It helps to know what travels and what does not before you wipe or sell the old machine. Settings Sync copies:

• Your user settings.json, including theme, font, editor behaviour and extension settings.
• Keybindings, so your custom shortcuts work on the new machine.
• User snippets for every language.
• Your installed extensions list; VS Code reinstalls them for you.
• UI state such as the layout and recently used views, plus your profiles.

It does not copy your project folders, workspace settings stored inside individual projects, or extensions you installed from a local .vsix file in some cases. Your projects move separately, which is a good moment to make sure each one is safely stored in the cloud, for instance by connecting your local project folder to an existing GitHub repository before you switch machines.

Step 1: Turn On Settings Sync on the Old Laptop

1. Open VS Code on the old laptop and click the Accounts icon (the person silhouette) in the bottom-left corner.
2. Choose Turn on Settings Sync.
3. Sign in with a Microsoft account or a GitHub account. Pick one you will still use on the new laptop.
4. When asked what to sync, tick Settings, Keyboard Shortcuts, User Snippets, Extensions and UI State, or simply select everything.
5. Wait for the sync to finish. The Accounts icon stops spinning when the upload is complete.

Give it a few minutes on a slow connection, especially if you have many extensions. A half-finished first sync is the most common reason something appears to be missing later.

Step 2: Sign In on the New Laptop

1. Install VS Code on the new laptop from the official site and open it once.
2. Click the Accounts icon and choose Turn on Settings Sync.
3. Sign in with the exact same account you used on the old machine. A different account means a different, empty sync set.
4. VS Code downloads your data and installs your extensions. You will see extensions appearing one by one in the Extensions view.
5. Restart VS Code when prompted so themes and UI state apply cleanly.

When it finishes, open a familiar project and check the details that matter to you: the theme, the font, the tab size, and two or three extensions you rely on daily. Microsoft’s walkthrough of Settings Sync in VS Code covers profiles and machine-specific settings in more depth if you want the full picture.

Step 3: Handle Settings That Should Differ Between Machines

A few settings are tied to one computer, like the path to a program installed in a different folder. Syncing them blindly can create small errors on the new laptop. VS Code lets you mark a setting as machine-specific so it never syncs: add it to the settingsSync.ignoredSettings list, or edit the setting in the Settings editor and choose the option to not sync it. Typical candidates are interpreter paths, shell paths and font names for fonts that only exist on one machine.

Step 4: Resolve Conflicts When Both Machines Changed Something

If you edited settings on both laptops while one was offline, VS Code may show a conflict the next time it syncs. Open the Command Palette and run Settings Sync: Show Synced Data to see what is stored, or accept the merge VS Code offers and review the result in your settings file. Conflicts are rare and never delete your local file; the worst case is one value winning over another, which you can correct in seconds.

Manual Backup: The Safety Net Worth Having

Settings Sync is convenient, but a manual backup protects you if you ever lose access to the account. On the old laptop, copy these somewhere safe:

• Your settings.json and keybindings.json files, found through Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON) and the keybindings equivalent.
• Your snippets folder, shown by the Preferences: Configure User Snippets command.
• A list of extensions, produced by running code --list-extensions in a terminal. On the new machine, code --install-extension followed by each name reinstalls them.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Signing in with a different account. Microsoft on the old laptop and GitHub on the new one creates two separate sync sets that never meet.
• Wiping the old laptop too early. Confirm the new machine looks right before you reset or sell the old one.
• Expecting project folders to sync. They never do; move code through Git or cloud storage.
• Turning sync on only on the new laptop. Sync needs the old machine to upload first, otherwise there is nothing to download.

Using Profiles: More Than One Setup on the Same Account

If you use VS Code for different kinds of work, for example web development by day and embedded projects at the weekend, Profiles let you keep separate sets of settings and extensions inside one installation. Each profile syncs independently, so your work profile can travel to the new laptop while a minimal hobby profile stays lean. Create profiles from the gear icon in the bottom-left corner with Profiles > Create Profile, choose which settings and extensions it includes, and switch between them from the same menu. On the new laptop, sign in once and each synced profile arrives with its own configuration intact, which saves rebuilding specialised setups by hand.

Conclusion

With Settings Sync, moving VS Code to a new laptop is mostly a sign-in, not a rebuild. Turn it on at the old machine, choose everything you want copied, sign in with the same account on the new one, and let VS Code reinstall your extensions and restore your setup. Keep a small manual backup of your settings files as insurance, and your new laptop will feel familiar the same day you unbox it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Settings Sync in VS Code free?

Yes. It is a built-in feature and only needs a free Microsoft or GitHub account. There is no subscription and no limit on how many machines you sync.

Will Settings Sync copy my extensions to the new laptop?

Yes, as long as Extensions is ticked in the sync options. VS Code downloads and installs the same extensions automatically. Extensions installed from local files may need to be added again by hand.

Why is nothing appearing on my new laptop?

The usual causes are signing in with a different account, the first upload on the old laptop not finishing, or sync being turned on but with the Extensions and Settings options unticked. Run Settings Sync: Show Synced Data to see what is actually stored.

Can I sync between Windows and macOS or Linux?

Yes. Most settings and extensions work across platforms. A few values, such as file paths, differ between systems, so mark those as machine-specific to avoid small errors after syncing.

How do I stop syncing on one machine?

Click the Accounts icon and choose Settings Sync is On, then select Turn Off. You can also choose to delete the synced data from the cloud from the same menu if you want a completely fresh start.