---
title: Set your default directory in VS Code's open dialog
description:
slug: vscode-default-dir
date: Jun 6, 2024
type: tip
---

This is my workflow for opening a project in VS Code:

1. Open an empty window of VS Code
2. Hit cmd+O
3. Navigate to my `~/Documents/...` directory
4. Hit enter

In my opinion, that's a few too many steps. I've made it a little better by
changing the `files.dialog.defaultPath` setting (added almost exactly [one year ago](https://code.visualstudio.com/updates/v1_80)).

![VS Code settings](/blog/vscode-dir/screenshot.png)

Hope this helps.
