What is the shortcut in Visual Studio Code for console.log

javascript

snippet-engineering

debugging-tools

vscode-shortcuts

byNikita Barsukov·Mar 12, 2025

In Visual Studio Code, the in-built shortcut for the console.log statement is log followed by pressing the Tab key. This converts your input to:

console.log();

Insert your content within the parentheses. Speed up your coding process by personalizing shortcuts in keybindings.json, or creating custom User Snippets.

Utilizing snippets for your own debugging

Personalized console.log() Shortcuts:

Navigate via File > Preferences > User Snippets.
Create a New Global Snippets file or choose an existing language.
Customize the snippet 'prefix' to clg, then set 'body' for the desired console.log structure.

"Print to console": {
  "prefix": "clg",
  "body": ["console.log('$1');", "$2"],
  "description": "Custom console.log shortcut because we all deserve unique snippets!"
}

Just type clg and press Tab, and it'll activate your new snippet.

Extensions can be your best friend:

There are a couple of community-created extensions providing additional value for logging:

JavaScript (ES6) code snippets: Opens a whole new world of abbreviations for faster JS coding.
Turbo Console Log: Speedrunner? This extension will automate the console.log process.

Feeding snippets with a custom dish

"Go beyond the Snippet":

User Snippets grant you the freedom to declare multiple languages with scope property:

"Print to console multiple": {
  "scope": "javascript,typescript,python",
  "prefix": "logm",
  "body": ["console.log('Can speak multiple languages: $1');", "$2"],
  "description": "Console.log for polyglots"
}