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How to Keep Your Cursor Position Visible While Scrolling in VS Code

VS Code has separate tools for pinned scope context, breathing room around the caret, on-demand line reveals, and numeric cursor coordinates.

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Use editor.cursorSurroundingLines to keep space around the caret as you move through a file. If you want function or class context pinned at the top while scrolling, use Sticky Scroll instead. They solve different problems, and both are built into VS Code.

Choose the behavior you want

What you want to see Use When it acts
Enclosing function, class, or block lines at the top of the editor Sticky Scroll While the editor scrolls
A buffer of lines around the caret editor.cursorSurroundingLines When keyboard cursor movement approaches the viewport’s top or bottom
A target line brought into a chosen viewport position editorScroll reveal commands When a command or extension invokes them
Current line and column as numbers Status-bar extension As the extension updates the status bar

Keep lines around the cursor as you move

Set editor.cursorSurroundingLines to the number of context lines you want visible when moving the cursor toward the beginning or end of a file. Microsoft introduced this setting in the VS Code 1.38 release notes in 2019: Cursor Surrounding Lines.

For example, a value of 5 asks VS Code to preserve a five-line buffer around the caret in the relevant edge-of-viewport cursor movement. This is not a rule that permanently centers the cursor, nor does it pin scope headings while you scroll.

Set it in Settings

  1. Open Settings with Ctrl+, on Windows or Linux, or Cmd+, on macOS.
  2. Search for cursor surrounding lines.
  3. Set Editor: Cursor Surrounding Lines to your preferred number of lines.

Set it in settings.json

Add the setting to your user or workspace settings file. This example also enables Sticky Scroll and limits its pinned lines:

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{
  "editor.stickyScroll.enabled": true,
  "editor.stickyScroll.maxLineCount": 3,
  "editor.cursorSurroundingLines": 5
}

Choose a smaller or larger surrounding-line value to suit your screen and coding style; the 5 in the example is a setting choice, not a required default.

Pin function and class context with Sticky Scroll

Sticky Scroll displays the starting lines of currently visible nested scopes at the top of the editor. As you scroll into a function, class, or other nested block, its scope line can remain visible so you can tell which code you are reading. Microsoft describes the feature in its user interface documentation.

Toggle Sticky Scroll in Settings by searching for Sticky Scroll and changing Editor: Sticky Scroll: Enabled, or set "editor.stickyScroll.enabled": true in settings.json. The current VS Code editor option definitions specify that it is enabled by default, with a maximum of five displayed lines; editor.stickyScroll.maxLineCount accepts values from 1 through 20. These are configuration defaults and supported values, not statistics about how people use VS Code. The definitions also specify the outlineModel selection model and horizontal scrolling as enabled: VS Code editor option definitions.

Reduce or remove pinned lines

  • If the pinned area takes too much vertical space, lower editor.stickyScroll.maxLineCount, for example to 3.
  • If you do not want scope lines to stick to the top, set "editor.stickyScroll.enabled": false.

Reveal a cursor or line on demand

For command-driven navigation, the built-in editorScroll command supports revealCursor, which reveals a cursor outside the viewport. It also supports revealLine for bringing a specified line into view at a logical position such as the top, center, or bottom. These are on-demand reveal behaviors, not settings that maintain a cursor buffer or continuously pin scope context. See the VS Code commands reference.

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Show numeric line and column coordinates

If by “cursor position” you mean a persistent numeric line-and-column readout, that is a different need from keeping code visible in the editor. The Marketplace listing for Status Bar Cursor Position advertises a status-bar display of cursor coordinates. It is a third-party extension, so check its current compatibility, maintenance, and licensing details before installing it.

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