Burgundy · #8C113E
Dusty Claret
Burgundy, softened. Dusty rose-grey surfaces with a deep wine accent and wine-ink keywords.
VS Code colour themes
Pastel themes for VS Code,grown from one colour.
Editor Theme is a set of thirteen light themes for VS Code. Ten are grown from a single base colour: every panel is a pale tint of it, the text is dark, and the contrast is checked in code. Choose a colour, download the .vsix, install it.
- Light
- Pastel
- One base colour
- Contrast-checked
- 13
- Themes
- 10
- From one base colour
- 65
- Contrast checks per generated theme
Previewing Dusty Claret
Thirteen themes, one strip
Ordered around the colour wheel, then the earlier PastelCool set. Select one to see it on the Themes page.
Why these themes
Pale surfaces, dark text, nothing left to chance
One base colour
In the ten single-colour themes, every panel is a pale tint of the same hue, so a theme feels like one colour, not a collage.
Dark text on pale
In the single-colour themes, text and syntax colours are derived dark enough for the pastel backgrounds, not borrowed from a dark theme.
Contrast checked in code
Main text clears 10:1 on the editor. The generator refuses to build a theme if any checked colour falls below its minimum.
Syntax you can tell apart
Syntax hues are spread around the colour wheel, and the generator reports how close the two most similar colours are.
A terminal that matches
In the single-colour themes the integrated terminal is pastel too, with dark ANSI colours that stay readable on it.
Reproducible
Each single-colour theme is generated by one script from its base colour, and the .vsix ships with the source.
Explore
Where to next
The themes
All thirteen, with real colours and a download for each.
See the themes →The colour list
Every colour of every theme in one page, with hex values to copy.
Open the colour list →How it's made
One colour in, a checked theme out: the recipe and its limits.
See how it's made →Install
Three steps from a .vsix download to a theme in your editor.
See how to install →Themes
Thirteen light themes, one for every colour
Ten are grown from a single base colour, from burgundy round to purple. Three are the earlier PastelCool set: Harbour Fog, Morning Linen and Sailcloth. Every card is drawn from the theme's own file, and each has a download.
All themes
Orange · #D9732B
Terracotta Glow
Warm peach surfaces with a burnt-orange accent. Deep brown keywords stay clear of the red errors.
Gold · #D4AF37
Gilded Honey
Cream-gold surfaces with a dark gold accent, indigo functions and green strings.
Lime green · #B2C16C
Pistachio Cream
Pale olive-cream surfaces with a dark olive accent, built from a light pistachio green.
Emerald · #50C878
Emerald Isle
Mint surfaces with an emerald accent, green keywords and indigo functions.
Slate green · #485954
Juniper Mist
A near-grey slate green. Sage-grey surfaces and a muted green accent; the tints are held back so it never turns minty.
Teal · #1F7A8C
Tidal Lagoon
Pale aqua surfaces with a lagoon-teal accent, cyan keywords and indigo functions.
Sky blue · #4A90D9
Azure Breeze
Pale sky-blue surfaces with an azure accent. The lighter of the two blues.
Indigo · #280D8C
Indigo Dusk
Pale periwinkle surfaces from a deep indigo base, with a violet-blue accent. The darker of the two blues.
Purple · #7B4B94
Amethyst Haze
Lilac surfaces with an amethyst accent, purple keywords and blue functions.
Muted navy
Harbour Fog
Muted navy on a light base: a pale blue-grey editor, slate-blue activity bar, and a deep navy status bar and terminal.
Warm white and blue
Morning Linen
Warm whites and cool blues with a golden accent and a black terminal. Soft, quiet text.
Warm white and navy
Sailcloth
Morning Linen with navy in place of every red: errors, deleted files and the terminal red.
Need exact hex values? Open the full colour list →
How it's made
One colour in. A checked theme out.
The ten single-colour themes are generated by a script in the repository. It turns one base colour into every panel, text and syntax colour, then refuses to build the theme if any checked colour falls below its contrast minimum.
Three steps
Pick, derive, check
1 · Pick
One base colour
Its hue colours every panel. Its lightness and strength tell the script how lively the theme can be.
2 · Derive
Pale surfaces, dark text
Surfaces become pale tints of the hue. Text is darkened until it clears a contrast minimum. Syntax colours are spread around the colour wheel.
3 · Check
65 checks, then package
The contrast checks run before anything is written. A failed check stops the build; a pass produces the theme, its documents and the .vsix.
The numbers
Contrast minimums
Each text role is darkened until it clears its minimum against the strictest surface it can sit on. Ratios are WCAG contrast ratios.
- Primary text
- 10 : 1 on the editor and the surfaces it sits on
- Secondary text
- 7 : 1
- Inactive items
- 5 : 1
- Syntax colours
- 6.5 : 1 on the editor, 4.8 : 1 on selection and find highlights
- Comments
- 4.6 : 1
- Terminal colours
- 4.5 : 1 on the terminal background
- Placeholders
- 3.6 : 1
- Line numbers
- 3.2 : 1
Honest limits
What the code handles, and what it can't
Handled in code
- Contrast for text, syntax and terminal colours: the build stops if a check fails.
- A rule keeps keywords and errors apart when the base colour is close to red.
- On every run the script reports how close the two most similar syntax colours are.
Judged by eye
- Whether a palette feels like its colour. Dusty Claret was softened after the first burgundy version looked too pink.
- Very muted colours need holding back: Juniper Mist's tints are weakened so a near-grey green never turns minty.
- How it looks in your own editor and light.
Install
Install a theme from its .vsix file
Each theme is a small extension in one file. Download it, install it into VS Code, then pick it by name.
Three steps
Download, install, choose
- Download the .vsix. Pick a theme on the Themes page and use its Download button.
- Install it in VS Code. Open the Extensions view, choose the “…” menu, then Install from VSIX… and select the file. Or run this in a terminal from the download folder:
code --install-extension pastelsingle-indigo-dusk-1.0.0.vsix - Choose the theme. Open the Command Palette (Cmd or Ctrl + Shift + P), run Preferences: Color Theme and select the theme by name.
All at once
Install every theme in one go
Download the zip and unzip it. It holds all 13 .vsix files and an INSTALL.txt with the same commands. Open a terminal in the unzipped folder; the code command must be available.
macOS, Linux, Git Bash
for f in *.vsix; do code --install-extension "$f"; doneWindows PowerShell
Get-ChildItem *.vsix | ForEach-Object { code --install-extension $_.FullName }No terminal command? Open the Extensions view, choose the “…” menu, then Install from VSIX…, once per file.
Good to know
Before you install
Needs VS Code 1.74 or newer. That is the version each theme's manifest asks for.
Not on the Marketplace yet. The themes are installed from the .vsix files on this site.
One extension per theme. Install as many as you like and switch between them in the Color Theme picker. To remove one, uninstall it from the Extensions view.
About & contact
Themes made under the KonTheEA brand
Editor Theme is a small collection of light colour themes for VS Code, made by Konstantinos Damianakis under the KonTheEA name. The idea is simple: pick one colour and let the rest of the editor follow it, with pale panels, dark text and contrast checked in code, so a light theme stays easy to read. Ten themes grow from a single base colour; three earlier PastelCool themes use navy and warm white. All are free under the MIT licence.
Get in touch
Feedback, questions, ideas
Colour requests, problem reports and general feedback all go to one mailbox.
Ways to write
What to write about
Suggest a colour
Send a base colour you would like as a theme. A hex value or a name is enough.
Report a problem
Say which theme, which VS Code version and what looks wrong. A screenshot helps.
Ask a question
Installation trouble, licence questions or anything else about the themes.
Licence and legal notice
Free to use, with a named owner
MIT licence. Each theme ships with its own LICENSE file inside the .vsix.
Who runs this site. Editor Theme is run by Konstantinos Damianakis, an individual and not a registered company, who owns the kontheea.com domain. Contact: kon@kontheea.com.!
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