name	vscode-theme
description	Generate VSCode color themes, package them as .vsix files, and install to VSCode. Use when creating custom VSCode themes, designing color schemes, or when the user mentions VSCode theme, color theme, dark theme, or light theme.

VSCode Theme Generator

Generate custom VSCode color themes from scratch, package them, and install them directly to VSCode.

Prerequisites

The following tools are required:

@vscode/vsce (VSCode Extension Manager)
code command (VSCode CLI)

Check if tools are installed:

which vsce || echo "vsce is not installed"
which code || echo "code command is not installed"

Install if missing:

# vsce
npm install -g @vscode/vsce

# code command: In VSCode, press Cmd+Shift+P → "Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH"

Theme Builder

This skill includes a theme builder script that enables efficient theme creation by editing individual part files.

Directory Structure

<theme-id>/
├── .vscodeignore          # Excludes parts/ from .vsix
├── package.json           # Extension manifest
├── parts/                 # Edit these files to customize
│   ├── base.json          # name, type, semanticHighlighting
│   ├── colors-editor.json # Editor colors
│   ├── colors-ui.json     # UI colors (sidebar, tabs, etc.)
│   ├── colors-terminal.json # Terminal colors
│   ├── tokens.json        # Syntax highlighting
│   └── semantic.json      # Semantic token colors
└── themes/
    └── <theme-id>-color-theme.json  # Generated by merge

Builder Commands

# Initialize a new theme from template
node <skill-path>/theme-builder.js init <theme-id> "<theme-name>" [--type dark|light]

# Merge parts into final theme file
node <skill-path>/theme-builder.js merge <theme-id>

# Package as .vsix
node <skill-path>/theme-builder.js package <theme-id>

# Bump version
node <skill-path>/theme-builder.js bump <theme-id> [patch|minor|major]

Instructions

Step 1: Gather theme requirements

Ask the user for:

Theme name (e.g., "Ocean Blue")
Theme type: dark or light
Color preferences (base colors, accent colors)
Any specific style inspiration

Step 2: Initialize theme

node <skill-path>/theme-builder.js init <theme-id> "<Theme Name>" --type dark

Replace:

<skill-path>: Path to this skill directory
<theme-id>: lowercase with hyphens (e.g., ocean-blue)
<Theme Name>: display name (e.g., Ocean Blue)

Step 3: Edit part files

Edit the files in <theme-id>/parts/ to customize the theme.

parts/base.json

{
  "name": "Theme Name",
  "type": "dark",
  "semanticHighlighting": true
}

parts/colors-editor.json

Editor-related colors:

Property	Description
`editor.background`	Main editor background
`editor.foreground`	Default text color
`editorLineNumber.foreground`	Line number color
`editorCursor.foreground`	Cursor color
`editor.selectionBackground`	Selection highlight
`editorBracketMatch.*`	Matching bracket highlight
`editorError.foreground`	Error underline
`editorWarning.foreground`	Warning underline

parts/colors-ui.json

UI element colors:

Property	Description
`activityBar.background`	Left sidebar icon bar
`sideBar.background`	File explorer background
`statusBar.background`	Bottom status bar
`titleBar.activeBackground`	Window title bar
`tab.activeBackground`	Active tab
`tab.inactiveBackground`	Inactive tabs
`list.activeSelectionBackground`	Selected item in lists
`input.background`	Input field background
`button.background`	Button background

parts/colors-terminal.json

Terminal colors including ANSI colors:

Property	Description
`terminal.background`	Terminal background
`terminal.foreground`	Terminal text
`terminal.ansiBlack` - `terminal.ansiWhite`	ANSI colors
`terminal.ansiBrightBlack` - `terminal.ansiBrightWhite`	Bright ANSI colors

parts/tokens.json

Syntax highlighting (array of token rules):

Scope	Applies to
`comment`	Comments
`string`	String literals
`keyword`	`if`, `for`, `const`, etc.
`storage.type`	Type keywords
`entity.name.function`	Function names
`entity.name.type`	Type/class names
`variable`	Variables
`constant.numeric`	Numbers
`entity.name.tag`	HTML/XML tags
`entity.other.attribute-name`	Attributes

Example token rule:

{
  "scope": ["comment", "punctuation.definition.comment"],
  "settings": { "foreground": "#6A9955", "fontStyle": "italic" }
}

parts/semantic.json

Semantic token colors (optional, object format):

{
  "function": "#DCDCAA",
  "variable.readonly": "#4FC1FF"
}

Step 4: Merge and package

# Merge parts into theme file
node <skill-path>/theme-builder.js merge <theme-id>

# Package as .vsix
node <skill-path>/theme-builder.js package <theme-id>

# Install to VSCode
code --install-extension <theme-id>/<theme-id>-0.0.1.vsix

Step 5: Notify user

After installation:

Theme installed successfully! Press Cmd+K Cmd+T (Mac) or Ctrl+K Ctrl+T (Windows/Linux) to select your new theme.

Updating an Existing Theme

When updating a theme, bump the version before packaging:

# Bump version (default: patch)
node <skill-path>/theme-builder.js bump <theme-id>

# Merge and package
node <skill-path>/theme-builder.js merge <theme-id>
node <skill-path>/theme-builder.js package <theme-id>

# Install updated theme
code --install-extension <theme-id>/<theme-id>-<new-version>.vsix

Color Design Tips

Dark themes

Background: #1a1a2e to #2d2d44
Foreground: #d4d4d4 to #eaeaea
Limit accent colors to 1-2

Light themes

Background: #ffffff to #f5f5f5
Foreground: #1a1a1a to #333333
Use muted accent colors

Transparency

Use alpha channel for subtle effects: #ffffff40 (last two digits = opacity 00-ff)

Accessibility

Aim for reasonable contrast between text and background for readability.

Troubleshooting

Theme not appearing

Run Developer: Reload Window from command palette.

vscode-theme

Install Skill

SKILL.md