How to recover unsaved file within Visual Studio Code?

Question

VS Code crashed without saving - how do I get back the code contents?

• I've already checked, but didn't find the file:

  %AppData%\Code\Backups
  

Answer 1

You can recover your projects from the VS Code cache either via:

• Command: Ctrl+Shift+P
  Local History: Find Entry to Restore
  
  
• Directory: History
  Each file has a directory, and within each directory there are different versions of the same file

  # Linux:
    ~/.config/Code/User/History
  Windows:
  %AppData%\Code\User\History
  MacOS:
  ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/History
  

Answer 2

I'm surprised the missing part hasn't been mentioned:

• @Trigus's answer accounts for those contents that belong to a file, however the temporary contents that haven't yet been saved can be found within the Backups folder:

  # Linux:
    ~/.config/Code/Backups
  macOS:
  ~/Library/Application Support/Code/Backups
  Windows:
  %APPDATA%\Code\Backups
  

Answer 3

If you don't have backups, look in the Recycle Bin for possibly finding a deleted version of the file.

You could also set Windows Explorer to show hidden files and look in the folder where the file was last located. You may find there a version of it with a mangled name.

Look also in the temporary files folder (if in doubt run in the Command Prompt the command set TEMP).