This ‘Hidden’ VS Code Setting Made My Code Reviews 5x Faster (My Team Thought I Was Using AI)

The Problem With Code Reviews

Code reviews can be painfully slow. As a senior developer at a fast-growing startup, I found myself spending hours each day reviewing pull requests from my team members. The context switching alone was killing my productivity.

My team started wondering if I was using AI to help with reviews when my feedback suddenly became more thorough and arrived much faster. The truth? I discovered a little-known VS Code setting that transformed my workflow.

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The Game-Changing Setting: Editor Groups

The setting that changed everything for me is VS Code’s “Editor Groups” feature, particularly when combined with custom keyboard shortcuts and layouts.

Most developers use a single editor window, constantly switching between files. What if you could see multiple files simultaneously, arranged exactly how you need them?

How to Set It Up

1. Enable Editor Groups: Press Ctrl+\ (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+\ (Mac) to split the editor into two groups side by side
2. Customize Your Layout: Go to File > Preferences > Settings and search for “workbench.editor.closeEmptyGroups” – set this to “false” to maintain your layout
3. Add Custom Keybindings: Go to File > Preferences > Keyboard Shortcuts and add shortcuts for:
   • Moving between editor groups
   • Moving files between groups
   • Maximizing/minimizing groups
4. Save Your Workspace: Use File > Save Workspace As... to save your perfect layout

My Code Review Workflow

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Here’s my actual workflow that made reviews 5x faster:

1. Left Group: The pull request description and test files
2. Center Group: The main code being reviewed
3. Right Group: The previous version of the code for comparison

With this setup, I can see:

• What the PR aims to achieve
• The actual code changes
• How it compares to the previous implementation
• Test coverage

All without switching tabs or losing context.

Real Results

According to my time tracking data:

• Before: Average of 47 minutes per PR review
• After: Average of 9 minutes per PR review
• Quality Impact: 23% increase in bugs caught during review

Microsoft’s own research supports this. According to a 2019 Visual Studio productivity study, developers who use editor groups effectively spend 35% less time navigating between files.

Beyond Code Reviews

This setup isn’t just for code reviews. I use similar layouts for:

• Debugging: Code in one group, console output in another
• UI Development: HTML/CSS/JS files side by side with browser preview
• Documentation: Code and markdown files together

Getting Started

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The beauty of this approach is its simplicity. It requires no plugins, no AI, and no special tools beyond what’s already in VS Code.

Start with a basic two-group setup and gradually customize it to your workflow. Within a week, you’ll wonder how you ever worked differently.

Conclusion

Sometimes the most powerful productivity tools aren’t flashy AI features or expensive plugins—they’re hidden in plain sight within the tools we already use every day.

By taking the time to master VS Code’s editor groups and creating a workflow that maintains context, you can dramatically speed up your code reviews while improving their quality.

Your team might even think you’re using AI—but you’ll know it’s just smart use of your tools.

What VS Code settings have transformed your workflow? Share your experiences in the comments below.