Interactive Guide to Accessible VS Code Theming

The Interactive Guide to VS Code Theming

An exploration of the principles, tools, and accessibility standards behind creating high-quality, multi-variation themes for developers.

UI Colors

Defines the look of the entire workbench: sidebars, status bars, tabs, and all non-editor components.

Token Colors

Styles the code itself, targeting language constructs like keywords, strings, and comments via TextMate scopes.

Semantic Tokens

Provides more accurate, context-aware highlighting based on language intelligence for superior clarity.

Themes Overview

Explore the different theme variations available in the Huebris Theme pack. Each is designed with specific use cases and accessibility considerations in mind.

Huebris Colorblind Dark

Optimized for users with common color vision deficiencies by using a color palette that remains distinguishable. This particular theme is a dark variant.

Huebris Colorblind

Optimized for users with common color vision deficiencies by using a color palette that remains distinguishable. This particular theme is a light variant.

Huebris Contrast Dark

Designed for maximum readability with stark differences between foreground and background colors, aiming to adhere to high WCAG contrast ratios. This is the dark version.

Huebris Contrast

Designed for maximum readability with stark differences between foreground and background colors, aiming to adhere to high WCAG contrast ratios. This is the light version.

Huebris Outlined Dark

Emphasizes UI element boundaries and separation by adding distinct borders to various components, enhancing visual structure. This is the dark variant.

Huebris Outlined

Emphasizes UI element boundaries and separation by adding distinct borders to various components, enhancing visual structure. This is the light variant.

Huebris Dark Mode

A balanced dark theme for daily use, offering a comfortable viewing experience with carefully selected accent colors for syntax highlighting and UI elements.

Huebris Theme

A balanced light theme for daily use, offering a comfortable viewing experience with carefully selected accent colors for syntax highlighting and UI elements.

The Core Palette & Contrast Checker

A theme's foundation is its palette. Every color must be chosen with accessibility in mind. Use this tool to test color combinations against WCAG contrast standards.

Click a background color from the left, then a text color from the right to see the contrast ratio.

Contrast Ratio

1.00 : 1

AA:

AAA:

✨ AI Theme Assistant

Stuck for ideas? Describe a theme concept in plain language, and the AI will generate a starting palette for you.

Live Theme Lab

Experience the impact of different theme variations. Select a theme below to see this entire page adapt in real-time, demonstrating how color and contrast choices affect usability.

Theme Customizer

Fine-tune the current theme to your liking. Changes are applied instantly across the page.

Colors

Accent

Background

Text

Typography

Body Font

Font Size: 16px

Layout & Export

Spacing Unit: 16px

Code Snippet Showcase

See how syntax highlighting looks with the current theme across different languages.

// Fetches user data from an API
async function getUser(id) {
  const response = await fetch(`/api/users/${id}`);
  if (!response.ok) {
    throw new Error('User not found');
  }
  return response.json();
}

<!-- A card component -->
<section class="card">
  <h2 class="card-title">Title</h2>
  <p>This is a simple card component for display.</p>
  <button class="btn btn-primary">Learn More</button>
</section>

/* Basic button styling */
.btn {
  padding: 0.5rem 1rem;
  border-radius: 4px;
  background-color: var(--accent-primary);
  color: var(--accent-fg);
  border: none;
}

# A simple Python function
def greet(name):
    """Greets the given name."""
    return f"Hello, {name}!"

if __name__ == "__main__":
    print(greet('World'))

{
  "name": "vscode-theme-guide",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "accessible": true,
  "colors": 18
}

using System;

public class Program
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        // Output to console
        Console.WriteLine("Hello, World!");
    }
}

name: CI Pipeline
on:
  push:
    branches: [ main ]
jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v2

<!-- A simple circle -->
<svg width="100" height="100">
  <circle
    cx="50" cy="50" r="40"
    stroke="var(--text-secondary)"
    stroke-width="4"
    fill="var(--accent-primary)"
  />
</svg>

File & Product Icons

Beyond colors, icons are key to a theme. This section will showcase File Icon and Product Icon themes.

Coming Soon!

This feature is currently under development.

Accessibility by the Numbers

WCAG defines specific contrast ratios to ensure content is legible for everyone. This chart shows the minimum required values for text and UI components.

Programmatic Workflow

Manual theme creation is inefficient. A programmatic workflow ensures consistency, maintainability, and scalability across all theme variations.

🎨

Define Palette

⚙️

Build Script

📦

Generate Themes

🧪

Test & Iterate

Installation & Activation

Get started with your new theme in just a few steps. Follow the guide for your preferred installation method.

From Marketplace

1Open the Extensions view (`Ctrl+Shift+X`).
2Search for the theme name.
3Click the Install button.
4Open the theme picker (`Ctrl+Shift+P` > "Color Theme") and select a variation.

From VSIX File

1Navigate to the Extensions view.
2Click the `...` menu and select Install from VSIX...
3Locate and select the `.vsix` file.
4Reload VS Code if prompted, then activate the theme.