Color theme for VS Code integrated terminal

Question

Can we change color settings of VS Code Integrated Terminal? Mine looks dull with just white.

Here's a useful theme generator to modify your "workbench.colorCustomizations" in settings.json — Darragh Enright, Commented Apr 19, 2020 at 14:18
Different background color and customization per terminal window would be nice. — jarmod, Commented Nov 17, 2020 at 17:19
To customize the terminal find highlight color add "terminal.selectionBackground": "#e26cffcb", on the dark theme. See vscode-terminal-change-the-find-highlight-color — Ricardo, Commented Jan 3, 2022 at 20:11
Here is a video that shows how to change the terminal colors in vscode youtu.be/p4h-5B8k2NY — Adam, Commented Jun 28, 2022 at 20:48
@jarmod Is this what you're talking about? Do you know if it's possible? — Alex Duchnowski, Commented Nov 21 at 9:55

MarredCheese · Accepted Answer · 2024-02-17 04:53:18Z

362

You can actually modify your user settings and edit each colour individually by adding the following to the user settings.

Open user settings (Ctrl+,)
Search for workbench and select Edit in settings.json under Color Customizations

"workbench.colorCustomizations" : {
    "terminal.foreground" : "#00FD61",
    "terminal.background" : "#383737"
}

For more on what colors you can edit you can find out here.

edited Feb 17 at 4:53

MarredCheese

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answered Sep 12, 2017 at 1:23

Zrag123

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3

It's currently working for me, my VSCode version is 1.17.2 (which is the latest)
– Zrag123
Commented Oct 22, 2017 at 22:02
1

You're right. Odd. They said it was removed, but it is there. Just tried it myself and it worked. I was disappointed that they said it was removed. Glad to see that's not the case.
– Mark A. Donohoe
Commented Oct 23, 2017 at 3:35
2

This works correctly! I also want to learn how to get contrast colors in terminal though!
– theusual
Commented Feb 13, 2018 at 18:46
4

Still works as of 1.24.0. I think part of the confusion is that you can't search for terminal.background in settings ('workbench.colorCustomizations': {} is the default), so it seems like a missing feature at first glance.
– Jim K.
Commented Jun 28, 2018 at 20:03
1

as i'm 40 next year, i appreciate your example which makes the VS Code terminal like my very first computer the Amstrad CPC 464 :)
– JGilmartin
Commented Jan 25, 2020 at 13:57

| Show 9 more comments

MarredCheese · Accepted Answer · 2024-02-17 04:54:19Z

128

In case you are color picky, use this code to customize every segment.

Step 1: Open user settings
Windows: Ctrl+,
Mac: CMD+Shift+P

Step 2: Search for "workbench: color customizations" and select Edit in settings.json. Page the following code inside existing {} and customize as you like.

"workbench.colorCustomizations": {
    "terminal.background":"#131212",
    "terminal.foreground":"#dddad6",
    "terminal.ansiBlack":"#1D2021",
    "terminal.ansiBrightBlack":"#665C54",
    "terminal.ansiBrightBlue":"#0D6678",
    "terminal.ansiBrightCyan":"#8BA59B",
    "terminal.ansiBrightGreen":"#237e02",
    "terminal.ansiBrightMagenta":"#8F4673",
    "terminal.ansiBrightRed":"#FB543F",
    "terminal.ansiBrightWhite":"#FDF4C1",
    "terminal.ansiBrightYellow":"#FAC03B",
    "terminal.ansiBlue":"#00a1f9",
    "terminal.ansiCyan":"#8BA59B",
    "terminal.ansiGreen":"#95C085",
    "terminal.ansiMagenta":"#8F4673",
    "terminal.ansiRed":"#FB543F",
    "terminal.ansiWhite":"#A89984",
    "terminal.ansiYellow":"#FAC03B"
},

Resource: This site has VS Code themes you can copy/paste in settings. https://glitchbone.github.io/vscode-base16-term/#/

edited Feb 17 at 4:54

MarredCheese

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answered Nov 23, 2019 at 7:01

Rana Jayant

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7

Thanks! Blue is missing: e.g. "terminal.ansiBlue":"#00a1f9"
– Panagiotis Panagi
Commented Jul 26, 2020 at 20:43
23

This website provides a bunch of terminal themes customizations that you can copy/paste into your settings: glitchbone.github.io/vscode-base16-term
– OJ7
Commented Mar 24, 2021 at 18:44
Thanks. It's not a matter of being color picky... it's more like, some of these default colors don't work for everyone - red on black background ? Can barely see... there are other people on my team who have trouble seeing for example, green. So this will help everyone.. and yeah, I had red on black :-)
– AlexD
Commented Feb 27, 2022 at 19:34
1

If you are a visual learner here is a short video youtu.be/rYb_WpOc0UY
– Adam
Commented Jun 28, 2022 at 18:48

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Josh Correia · Accepted Answer · 2021-07-07 18:30:16Z

47

+50

VSCode comes with in-built color themes which can be used to change the colors of the editor and the terminal.

For changing the color theme press Ctrl+K+T in windows/ubuntu or CMD+K+T on mac.
Alternatively you can open command palette by pressing Ctrl+Shift+P in windows/ubuntu or CMD+Shift+P on mac and type color. Select preferences: color theme from the options, to select your favourite color.
You can also install more themes from the extensions menu on the left bar. just search category:themes to install your favourite themes. (If you need to sort the themes by installs search category:themes @sort:installs)

Edit - for manually editing colors in terminal

VSCode team have removed customizing colors from user settings page. Currently using the themes is the only way to customize terminal colors in VSCode. For more information check out issue #6766

edited Jul 7, 2021 at 18:30

Josh Correia

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answered Apr 16, 2017 at 10:49

Dani Akash

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38

Thank you for your answer, but the global themes have minimal impact on the terminal window, only affecting background and foreground color in a very broad sense. OP and I were looking to colorize the prompt, input command, and output independently, not just change between white-on-black and black-on-white. Know of a way to gain more control over the terminal text colors?
– kjhughes
Commented Apr 16, 2017 at 13:34
1

Seems like they removed customizing colors from user settings page. Currently using the themes seems to be the only way to customize terminal colors in VSCode. check out github.com/Microsoft/vscode/issues/6766
– Dani Akash
Commented Apr 17, 2017 at 4:49
It's unfortunate that that the answer appears to be that it currently isn't supported, but it's useful to know nonetheless. I'll assign you the bounty. Thanks for tracking this down.
– kjhughes
Commented Apr 17, 2017 at 13:09
2

From what I can tell, it is still in there to customize from the settings. Open settings and look for 'workbench.colorCustomizations'
– Mark A. Donohoe
Commented Oct 23, 2017 at 3:34
1

This is to change the global color theme and doesnt affect the integrated terminal
– Akh
Commented Feb 4, 2019 at 18:45

| Show 2 more comments

MarredCheese · Accepted Answer · 2024-02-17 04:57:03Z

36

Add workbench.colorCustomizations to user settings

"workbench.colorCustomizations": {
  "terminal.background":"#FEFBEC",
  "terminal.foreground":"#6E6B5E",
  ...
}

Check https://glitchbone.github.io/vscode-base16-term for some presets.

edited Feb 17 at 4:57

MarredCheese

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answered Aug 6, 2019 at 3:41

Longfei Wu

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8

the interactive presets site is a fantastic resource
– mdisibio
Commented Mar 19, 2020 at 17:21

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MarredCheese · Accepted Answer · 2024-02-17 04:57:31Z

Go to the settings of VSCode

On Windows/Linux - File > Preferences > Settings or Shortcut(ctrl,)

On macOS - Code > Preferences > Settings or Shortcut (⌘,) or Search (⇧⌘P) → “Preferences: Open Settings”

Search for "workbench: color customizations" and open the settings.json file

You can see workbench.colorCustomizations as empty if you are editing it for the first time,

"workbench.colorCustomizations": {
}

Edit or Paste your configuration under workbench.colorCustomizations

Fill it with your customized options, I sharing Isotope theme here

"workbench.colorCustomizations": {
    "terminal.background":"#000000",
    "terminal.foreground":"#D0D0D0",
    "terminalCursor.background":"#D0D0D0",
    "terminalCursor.foreground":"#D0D0D0",
    "terminal.ansiBlack":"#000000",
    "terminal.ansiBlue":"#0066FF",
    "terminal.ansiBrightBlack":"#808080",
    "terminal.ansiBrightBlue":"#0066FF",
    "terminal.ansiBrightCyan":"#00FFFF",
    "terminal.ansiBrightGreen":"#33FF00",
    "terminal.ansiBrightMagenta":"#CC00FF",
    "terminal.ansiBrightRed":"#FF0000",
    "terminal.ansiBrightWhite":"#FFFFFF",
    "terminal.ansiBrightYellow":"#FF0099",
    "terminal.ansiCyan":"#00FFFF",
    "terminal.ansiGreen":"#33FF00",
    "terminal.ansiMagenta":"#CC00FF",
    "terminal.ansiRed":"#FF0000",
    "terminal.ansiWhite":"#D0D0D0",
    "terminal.ansiYellow":"#FF0099"
}

Now you can able to see your changes in VS Code Terminal

For more themes => Base16 Themes

For more customization => VSCode Terminal Colors

terminalCursor.background and terminalCursor.foreground shouldn't be the same colour. You can't see text if the cursor is over it. In my theme, I set terminalCursor.background the same as terminal.background and that works. — wjandrea, Commented Mar 29, 2023 at 19:35

Josh Correia · Accepted Answer · 2021-07-09 17:37:02Z

The best colors I've found --which aside from being so beautiful, are very easy to look at too and do not boil my eyes-- are the ones I've found listed in this GitHub repository: VSCode Snazzy

Very Easy Installation:

Copy the contents of snazzy.json into your VS Code "settings.json" file.

(In case you don't know how to open the "settings.json" file, first hit Ctrl+Shift+P and then write Preferences: open settings(JSON) and hit enter).

_Notice:_ For those who have tried ColorTool and it works outside VSCode but not inside VSCode, you've made no mistakes in implementing it, that's just a decision of VSCode developers for the VSCode's terminal to be colored independently.

aazimkhani · Accepted Answer · 2022-02-22 12:22:06Z

6

if you want prebuilt theme for terminal first check out this link

copy the theme you want and in settings.json add:

"workbench.colorCustomizations":{
 //paste the copied theme  
}

answered Feb 22, 2022 at 12:22

aazimkhani

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Danna Capellan · Accepted Answer · 2021-06-17 15:39:29Z

5

I use Oh My Zsh. It takes the dullness away and also have nice features.

Check the link here: https://ohmyz.sh/

answered Jun 17, 2021 at 15:39

Danna Capellan

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VonC · Accepted Answer · 2021-09-19 00:19:35Z

2

Check also VSCode 1.61 (Sept. 2021) with:

It adds:

    export interface TerminalOptions {
        /**
         * Supports all ThemeColor keys, terminal.ansi* is recommended for contrast/consistency
         */
        color?: ThemeColor;
    }
    export interface ExtensionTerminalOptions {
        /**
         * Supports all ThemeColor keys, terminal.ansi* is recommended for contrast/consistency
         */
        color?: ThemeColor;
    }

answered Sep 19, 2021 at 0:19

VonC

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Could you give an example of what this looks like filled out, and where this needs to go? (or are these shell commands?)
– Sterling
Commented Oct 21, 2021 at 21:57
@Sterling I don't have much beside what you can see in github.com/microsoft/vscode/issues/…
– VonC
Commented Oct 22, 2021 at 7:03

Add a comment |

Fabrelle · Accepted Answer · 2022-08-05 07:43:48Z

1

On macOS - Code > Preferences > Settings or Shortcut (⌘,) or Search (⇧⌘P) → “Preferences: Open Settings”

"workbench.colorCustomizations": { } and choose which color you want form here: https://glitchbone.github.io/vscode-base16-term/#/

answered Aug 5, 2022 at 7:43

Fabrelle

111 bronze badge

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MarredCheese · Accepted Answer · 2024-02-17 04:58:20Z

Gruvbox Dark color:

"workbench.colorCustomizations": {
    "terminal.background":"#252525",
    "terminal.foreground":"#ecdbb2",
    "terminal.ansiBlack":"#353535",
    "terminal.ansiBrightBlack":"#a39586",
    "terminal.ansiBrightBlue":"#94b3a8",
    "terminal.ansiBrightCyan":"#9dd08e",
    "terminal.ansiBrightGreen":"#c4c431",
    "terminal.ansiBrightMagenta":"#dc9aab",
    "terminal.ansiBrightRed":"#fe6142",
    "terminal.ansiBrightWhite":"#efe1bf",
    "terminal.ansiBrightYellow":"#fcc73c",
    "terminal.ansiBlue":"#549699",
    "terminal.ansiCyan":"#79aa7d",
    "terminal.ansiGreen":"#a8a521",
    "terminal.ansiMagenta":"#bf7897",
    "terminal.ansiRed":"#d73925",
    "terminal.ansiWhite":"#b7a996",
    "terminal.ansiYellow":"#dfa82a"
  },

A1991 · Accepted Answer · 2020-05-30 08:53:45Z

-2

Simply. You can go to 'File -> Preferences -> Color Theme' option in visual studio and change the color of you choice.

answered May 30, 2020 at 8:53

A1991

431 bronze badge

1

This does not change the text color of terminal.
– hatirlatici
Commented Apr 8, 2021 at 8:54

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