Introduction

To find and replace with a newline in VS Code, open Find and Replace with Ctrl+H (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Option+F (Mac), enable regex mode by clicking the .* button, then use \n in either the search or replace field. This works for inserting newlines, removing them, and transforming text structure.

Step-by-Step: Replace Text with a Newline

Here is the exact process:

1. Press Ctrl+H (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Option+F (Mac) to open Find and Replace
2. Click the .* button on the right side of the search field to enable regex mode (this is required for \n to work)
3. In the Search field, type the text you want to find
4. In the Replace field, type \n where you want a newline
5. Click the replace button (single) or replace all button

The regex toggle is the step most people miss. Without it, VS Code treats \n as the literal characters backslash and n.

Common Use Cases with Examples

Convert Comma-Separated Values to Separate Lines

Search: ,\s* Replace: \n

Before:

apple, banana, cherry, date

After:

1apple
2banana
3cherry
4date

Convert Semicolons to Newlines (SQL, CSS, etc.)

Search: ;\s* Replace: ;\n

Before:

margin: 0; padding: 0; border: none; display: flex;

After:

1margin: 0;
2padding: 0;
3border: none;
4display: flex;

Remove Blank Lines

Search: \n\n+ Replace: \n

This replaces two or more consecutive newlines with a single newline, collapsing all blank lines.

Join Multiple Lines into One Line

Search: \n Replace: (a single space)

This replaces every newline with a space, turning a multi-line block into a single line.

Add a Newline After Every Opening Brace

Search: \{ Replace: {\n

Before:

function hello() { console.log("hi"); return true; }

After:

function hello() {
 console.log("hi"); return true; }

Split a JSON Array into Separate Lines

Search: ,\s*" Replace: ,\n"

Before:

["one", "two", "three", "four"]

After:

1["one",
2"two",
3"three",
4"four"]

Regex Patterns for Newline Operations

Advanced: Using Capture Groups with Newlines

Capture groups let you rearrange text while inserting newlines. Wrap parts of your search in parentheses () and reference them in the replace field with $1, $2, etc.

Reformat Key-Value Pairs onto Separate Lines

Search: (\w+)=(\w+)\s* Replace: $1 = $2\n

Before:

name=John age=30 city=NYC

After:

name = John
age = 30
city = NYC

Convert Inline HTML Attributes to Multi-Line

Search: \s+([\w-]+)= Replace: \n $1=

Before:

<div class="container" id="main" data-value="42" style="color:red">

After:

1<div
2  class="container"
3  id="main"
4  data-value="42"
5  style="color:red">

Extract Email Addresses to Separate Lines

Search: ([\w.+-]+@[\w-]+\.[\w.]+) Replace: $1\n

This finds email-like patterns and puts each on its own line.

Find and Replace Across Multiple Files

To use newline replacements across your entire project:

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+H (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+H (Mac) to open the global search and replace panel
2. Enable regex mode with the .* button
3. Use \n in the replace field the same way as in single-file mode
4. Use the files to include and files to exclude fields to scope your changes (for example, *.csv or src/**/*.ts)

Be especially careful with Replace All across files. There is no single undo for multi-file replacements. Each file gets its own undo history, so you would need to undo individually in each modified file.

Keyboard Shortcuts Reference

Common Pitfalls

• Regex mode not enabled: The most frequent mistake. Without clicking the .* toggle, \n is treated as literal text, not a newline. Your replacement will insert a backslash followed by the letter n.
• Using \r\n unnecessarily: VS Code normalizes line endings internally. Use \n in the replace field regardless of your file's line ending setting. VS Code converts it to the appropriate line ending for the file.
• Forgetting to escape special regex characters: Characters like ., *, +, ?, (, ), [, ], {, }, ^, $, and | have special meaning in regex. To match them literally, prefix with a backslash: \., \*, etc.
• Replace All on large files without preview: Always use the single replace button a few times to verify the result before committing to Replace All, especially with complex regex patterns.
• Losing whitespace in multi-line replacements: When you replace with \n, the new line starts at column 1 with no indentation. If you need indentation, include spaces or tabs explicitly in your replace string: \n (newline followed by four spaces).
• Confusing \n in search vs replace: In the search field with regex enabled, \n matches existing newlines. In the replace field, \n inserts a new newline. Same syntax, different roles.

Summary

• Enable regex mode (.* button or Alt+R / Option+R) before using \n in Find and Replace.
• Use \n in the replace field to insert newlines. Use \n in the search field to match existing newlines.
• Combine \n with capture groups ($1, $2) for powerful text restructuring.
• For multi-file replacements, use Ctrl+Shift+H / Cmd+Shift+H and scope with file filters.
• Always test with single replacements before running Replace All.
• VS Code handles line ending conversion automatically. Use \n on all platforms.