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What are the best VIM color-schemes?

15
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109
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15 Options Considered

15 Options ConsideredPriceLast Updated
Solarized Dark
Apr 16, 2018
Gruvbox
Apr 12, 2018
Base16 family
Mar 27, 2018
papercolor-theme light
Mar 28, 2018
Dracula
Mar 28, 2018
See Full List

Solarized Dark

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Izem Lavrenti
Sam Templeman
Top Pro

There are versions for a lot of applications or it's easy to make your own

•••
There are ready-made packages for Vim, IntelliJ, Emacs, iTerm, etc. If your app isn't supported the website explains clearly what colors are used, so it should be easy to wrap up your own.
Izem Lavrenti
Gavin Cooper
Top Pro

Works well with multiple fonts

•••
Since Solarized has pretty good color separation it's easier to distinguish both thin and bold fonts.
Izem Lavrenti
Top Pro

It seems that is has been given the most thought

•••
Judging from the description that has been given by the author, it seems that this color scheme has been designed with huge background knowledge about colors and relations between them.
HardwareHero
박현경
Izem Lavrenti
Top Con

Low contrast

•••
Comments for example, have very low contrast against the background which makes it harder to read.
tuxayo
Top Con

Vanilla version doesn't work with htop

•••
Half of the usernames in htop have the same color as the background. One has to use a patched version of htop.
See 3 more Pros & ConsSee 3 more Pros & Cons

Gruvbox

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Công Nguyễn
Top Pro

Official support for true color

•••
Jemma Nelson
Top Pro

Multiple contrast settings

•••
Choose low, medium, or high contrast for your color scheme.
Jemma Nelson
Top Pro

Light/Dark options

•••
DelightfulFortuna
Top Pro

Best colors

•••
Thøger Emil Rivera-Thorsen
Top Pro

Made ready for multiple text-editors

•••
Ports for Atom, Sublime, TextMate and Emacs and other text editors are available. For a full list of available ports: https://github.com/morhetz/gruvbox-contrib If you are using a Jetbrains IDE: https://github.com/morhetz/gruvbox-contrib
Kristaps
dotmavriq
Top Pro

Easy on the eyes for late night coding

•••
It's like a Zenburn you can put up with.
MemorableSalacia
Top Con

Hell to configure

•••
See 5 more ProsSee 5 more Pros

Base16 family

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tuxayo
Top Pro

Contains many color-schemes

•••
WorthyNinigi
Top Pro

Out of the box support for many applications (vim, terminals, etc...)

•••
Base16 template repositories on github have configurations for most popular applications where a color scheme can be applied. This reduces headache for users when applying or switching color schemes.
Ryan O’Hara
tuxayo
Top Pro

Its Solarized Dark scheme is compatible with htop

•••
This is just one example of an app that doesn't work with vanilla Solarized Dark (half of the usernames in htop have the same color as the background) One has to use a patched htop version.
WorthyNinigi
Top Con

Schemes are limited to 16 colors

•••
You may not be able to use as many colors as you want for a particular application without manual manipulation since base 16 color schemes are limited to 16 colors.
PersistentHidimba
Top Con

Each theme needs manual tweaking

•••
The base16 color schemes are really great but as a vim theme they require a lot of manual tweaking to be viable. One example is that in one theme a neon green bg is used with a white fd rendering any part of the vim UI that uses those two colors together illegible.
See 3 more Pros & ConsSee 3 more Pros & Cons

papercolor-theme light

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thermoplastics
wuqiong
Top Pro

Clean readabable looks

•••
Know any negative aspects of this option?

Dracula

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Monika
ResourcefulAhBolomTzacab
Top Pro

Comfortable, non popping colors

•••
The colors used are very comfortable on eyes and do not pop, giving ease during prolonged viewing of the code.
ResourcefulAhBolomTzacab
Top Pro

Proper separation in colors

•••
The colors don't mix with each other so the text is always clear.
Know any negative aspects of this option?
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onehalf light

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badwolf

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Monokain

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Inkpot

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Zenburn

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HonorableHehu
Top Pro

Low blue-light for eye health

•••
Izem Lavrenti
HonorableHehu
Top Pro

Low contrast

•••
Izem Lavrenti
HonorableHehu
Top Pro

Color-blind friendly

•••
Know any negative aspects of this option?
See 2 more ProsSee 2 more Pros

Hybrid Material

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jellybeans.vim

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Aaron Goshine
Top Pro

Very versatile, both on dark and light background

•••
Know any negative aspects of this option?

vim-atom-dark

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Federico Ramírez
Top Pro

Easy on the eyes

•••
Know any negative aspects of this option?

aldmeris

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Tender

Jacobo T R
Top Pro

Nice for long coding sessions

•••
thermoplastics
Jacobo T R
Top Con

Doesn't look so good when using older versions of vim

•••

109 Community Recommendations

Richard de Wit
Thøger Emil Rivera-Thorsen
dotmavriq
benoliver999
Rui Afonso Pereira
ideasman42
Aleksandar Djurdjic
Amir Zamani
Ivan Tham
Anton Vietrov
Andris Pelcbergs
+92
Request recommendations from the community
PatientAgon
PatientAgon
Contributor for 8 days
1
Total 
Recs.
0
Total 
Karma
Solarized Dark
8 days ago
blot; gets old
See full
HarmoniousAmeretat
HarmoniousAmeretat
Contributor for 2 months
1
Total 
Recs.
150
Total 
Karma
onehalf light
Recommended 2 months ago
The dark theme is very pleasant to the eye. The light theme not so much.
See full
Thøger Emil Rivera-Thorsen
Thøger
Contributor for 3 years
12
Total 
Recs.
465
Total 
Karma
Gruvbox
Recommended a month ago
This theme Just Works^TM, it supports a wealth of highlight groups that most other themes don't, has a nicely balanced contrast and a distinct feel to its colors that makes it avoid the Angry Fruit Salad problem many color themes has.
Pro
 Multiple contrast settings
Pro
 Official support for true color
Pro
 Best colors
Pro
 Easy on the eyes for late night coding
Pro
 Made ready for multiple text-editors
See full
WorthyNinigi
WorthyNinigi
Contributor for 2 months
1
Total 
Recs.
120
Total 
Karma
Base16 family
Recommended 2 months ago
I use base16-default-dark for vim and terminals.
Pro
 Contains many color-schemes
Con
 Schemes are limited to 16 colors
Pro
 Out of the box support for many applications (vim, terminals, etc...)
See full
PrincipledCaerIbormeith
PrincipledCaerIbormeith
Contributor for 2 months
1
Total 
Recs.
0
Total 
Karma
Dracula
Recommended 2 months ago
It is fantastic theme
See full
ResourcefulAhBolomTzacab
ResourcefulAhBolomTzacab
Contributor for 5 months
1
Total 
Recs.
25
Total 
Karma
Dracula
Recommended 5 months ago
Looks beautiful and easy on eyes
Pro
 Comfortable, non popping colors
Pro
 Proper separation in colors
See full
Currently displaying 6 out of 109 total recommendations.
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