Termy — A fast, native terminal

Termy ships several built-in themes. You can install additional ones by dropping a JSON file into your themes directory, or by importing colors from the command palette.

Where themes live

Termy reads custom themes from the themes/ directory next to your config file.

Platform	Path
macOS	`~/.config/termy/themes/`
Linux	`~/.config/termy/themes/`
Windows	`%APPDATA%\termy\themes\`

Each .json file is one theme. The filename (without .json) is the slug — that's what you set in theme = <slug>.

Theme file format

{
  "$schema": "../../../schemas/theme.schema.json",
  "background":      "#0b1020",
  "foreground":      "#e7ebf5",
  "cursor":          "#a7e9a3",

  "black":           "#0b1020",
  "red":             "#f1b8c5",
  "green":           "#a7e9a3",
  "yellow":          "#d8d49a",
  "blue":            "#3a4568",
  "magenta":         "#9fa9d6",
  "cyan":            "#84bbf3",
  "white":           "#d0d8eb",

  "bright_black":    "#30385a",
  "bright_red":      "#f1b8c5",
  "bright_green":    "#a7e9a3",
  "bright_yellow":   "#e7ebf5",
  "bright_blue":     "#5f6f99",
  "bright_magenta":  "#b3bdd6",
  "bright_cyan":     "#c9e0fa",
  "bright_white":    "#f4f7ff"
}

All values are 6-digit hex (#RRGGBB). See Colors for the full key list and aliases.

The $schema field is optional but enables IntelliSense in editors that understand JSON Schema. The schema file lives in the Termy repo at theme.schema.json.

Install a theme

Option 1 — drop the file in

mkdir -p ~/.config/termy/themes
cp ~/Downloads/my-theme.json ~/.config/termy/themes/

Then activate it in config.txt:

theme = my-theme

Or use Switch Theme from the command palette (secondary-p) to pick it from the live list.

Option 2 — Import Colors command

The fastest way to try out a theme without committing to it:

Open the command palette (secondary-p)
Run Import Colors
Pick a .json file from the file dialog

This writes the colors into the [colors] block of your config.txt directly. Your active theme is preserved — the import just overrides specific entries.

Useful for:

Trying a theme without renaming files
Mixing one theme's cursor with another's background
Importing partial palettes (missing keys are left untouched)

# before
theme = termy

# after Import Colors with a tweaked palette
theme = termy

[colors]
background = #0b1020
cursor     = #a7e9a3

Removing overrides

Delete the [colors] block from config.txt to fall back to the pure theme. Or use Prettify Config from the command palette and remove individual lines.

Authoring tips

Start from a built-in theme JSON and edit incrementally.
Keep contrast in mind: foreground vs background should hit at least 4.5:1 for body text.
ANSI 8–15 ("bright" variants) are commonly used by shells for status colors — make them distinguishable from 0–7.
Hot-reload: editing a file in themes/ while Termy is running picks up automatically.

Just share the .json file. Recipients drop it into their themes/ directory and run theme = <slug>. No packaging, no install step.

Custom Themes