VS Code's .json Configuration Files

Overview

Many settings of VS Code come in the form of dedicated .json files. Those files, along with UI-only settings, Lycia configuration files, and environment variables will define the behaviour of your applications at compile time, runtime, debugging, etc.

VS Code assumes different levels (scopes) of settings, described in the table below. They can act alongside each other in order of precedence (see Settings Priority).

Scopes of VS Code-Specific .json Files

Settings Scope	Details and Default Paths
User settings (fol a local VS Code instance)	Apply to every project (unless redefined by any of the files listed further in this table); Are loaded first and used if there are no other settings for VS Code defined (see the Settings Priority schema).
	On Linux: ~/.config/Code/User/settings.json
	On Windows: C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Roaming\Code\User\settings.json
Remote server settings (for a remote VS Code instance)	On Linux: ~/.vscode-server/data/Machine/settings.json
	On Windows:  C:\Users\Remote_Username\AppData\Roaming\Code\User\settings.json
Untitled Workspace settings (single-root and multi-root ones)	On Linux: <opened_folder_name>/.vscode/settings.json
	On Windows: C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Roaming\Code\Workspaces\<auto_generated_dir>\workspace.json
Saved Workspace settings	The directory you chose when saving the Workspace: <custom_directory>/<workspace_name>.code-workspace.json
Folder settings	.vscode folder inside the directory that you configure: <custom_directory>/.vscode/settings.json VS Code creates a .vscode folder when you set a non-default value in VS Code Settings for at least one folder setting.

 

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Accessing Specific Settings

To access the settings of a specific scope, you can use the gear-shaper icon in VS Code's Activity Bar and pick a specific tab (See LVSCE Configuration page for all possible ways of accessing VS Code's settings), or use the CTRL + SHIFT + P keyboard shortcut and type Open Settings to get the list of options:

Then, use the arrow buttons to navigate to the option you seek, and press ENTER. The VS Code's Settings view will open with the focus on the scope of your choice.

Note that the options which have the (JSON) indication in their name will open the corresponding .json file in the editor.

From the list of LVSCE settings in VS Code's UI, you also have an appropriate link for opening the JSON file under every setting that can be configured in JSON:

 

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JSON Configuration Examples

Sample settings.json File

 

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Sample <workspace_name>.code-workspace.json File

 

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Lycia Variables and JSON Variables Correspondence

The format of variables Lycia uses looks like that:

To set that variable in a JSON file, use the following format:

 

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