docs Reference
Theming
Write and test your own color theme.
Use a theme to change Resterm's colors and text styles. Theme files configure its Lip Gloss styles; your terminal emulator still controls the font and how the requested colors appear.
Where themes live
- Default directory:
<config-dir>/themes/ - Override with
RESTERM_THEMES_DIR - Sample:
_examples/themes/aurora.toml - Switch at runtime with
Ctrl+Alt+T(or pressgthenm). The selection persists insettings.toml.
Theme anatomy
Theme files can be TOML or JSON. You only need to include the fields you want to change; the rest keep their defaults.
[metadata]
name = "Oceanic"
author = "You"
description = "Cool dusk palette"
[styles.header_title]
foreground = "#5fd1ff"
bold = true
[colors]
pane_border_focus_file = "#1f6feb"
pane_border_focus_editor = "#56a9dd"
pane_border_focus_response = "#33c481"
pane_active_foreground = "#f8faff"
[editor_metadata]
comment_marker = "#4c566a"
[[command_segments]]
background = "#3b4252"
key = "#88c0d0"
text = "#eceff4"
[status_bar]
base = "#000000"
[status_bar.info]
foreground = "#eff6ff"
background = "#2563eb"
[status_bar.tests_pass]
foreground = "#ecfeff"
background = "#0e7490"
[status_bar.tests_fail]
foreground = "#fff1f2"
background = "#be123c"
[status_bar.tests_error]
foreground = "#faf5ff"
background = "#7e22ce"
[status_bar.file]
foreground = "#f9fafb"
background = "#404040"Sections and fields
| Section | Keys | Notes |
|---|---|---|
[metadata] |
name, description, author, version, tags[] |
Shown in the selector. A light or dark tag tells Resterm which background the theme is made for, so it picks matching syntax highlighting and Timeline colors. |
[styles.*] |
browser_border, editor_border, response_border, navigator_title, navigator_title_selected, navigator_subtitle, navigator_subtitle_selected, navigator_badge, navigator_tag, app_frame, header, header_title, header_value, header_icon, header_label, header_help, header_warn, header_separator, status_bar, status_bar_info, status_bar_key, status_bar_value, command_bar, command_bar_hint, cli_run_picker, cli_run_picker_selected, cli_run_picker_cursor, cli_run_picker_cursor_selected, response_search_highlight, response_search_highlight_active, tabs, tab_active, tab_inactive, notification, error, success, header_brand, command_divider, pane_title, pane_title_file, pane_title_requests, pane_title_editor, pane_title_response, pane_divider, editor_hint_box, editor_hint_item, editor_hint_selected, editor_hint_annotation, list_item_title, list_item_description, list_item_selected_title, list_item_selected_description, list_item_dimmed_title, list_item_dimmed_description, list_item_filter_match, response_content, response_content_raw, response_content_headers, response_selection, response_cursor, stream_content, stream_timestamp, stream_direction_send, stream_direction_receive, stream_direction_info, stream_event_name, stream_data, stream_binary, stream_summary, stream_error, stream_console_title, stream_console_mode, stream_console_status, stream_console_prompt, stream_console_input, stream_console_input_focused |
Accept foreground, background, border_color, border_background, border_style (normal, rounded, thick, double, ascii, block), plus booleans bold, italic, underline, faint, strikethrough, and align (left, center, right). |
[colors] |
pane_border_focus_file, pane_border_focus_requests, pane_border_focus_editor, pane_border_focus_response, pane_active_foreground, git_branch, git_modified, git_added, git_untracked, git_deleted, git_renamed, git_conflict, method_get, method_post, method_put, method_patch, method_delete, method_head, method_options, method_grpc, method_ws, method_default |
Shared colors for pane borders, active text, Git markers, and method badges. |
[status_bar] |
base, plus [status_bar.info], [status_bar.warn], [status_bar.error], [status_bar.success], [status_bar.tests_pass], [status_bar.tests_fail], [status_bar.tests_error], [status_bar.file], [status_bar.focus], [status_bar.mode], [status_bar.editor], [status_bar.mock], [status_bar.record], [status_bar.zoom], [status_bar.minimized], [status_bar.version], [status_bar.user], [status_bar.host] with foreground and background |
Controls the segmented bottom status bar. Segment entries inherit the built-in palette. The tests_* entries color test result blocks separately from matching request status blocks. [status_bar.editor] colors the editor cursor position (Ln/Col), shown faint by default. Set it to override. [status_bar.mock] colors the mock server segment, which switches to the warn colors while a reload error is active. [status_bar.record] colors the traffic recorder segment, which switches to the warn colors once a capture limit is reached. base fills otherwise empty status bar cells when set. Omit it to leave them uncolored. |
[editor_metadata] |
comment_marker, directive_default, value, setting_key, setting_value, request_line, request_separator, rts_keyword_default, rts_keyword_decl, rts_keyword_control, rts_keyword_literal, rts_keyword_logical, rts_function, [editor_metadata.directive_colors] |
Controls metadata highlighting inside the editor. The rts_* keys color .rts files: keyword classes and, for rts_function, function and call names. |
[[header_segments]] |
background, foreground, border, accent |
Accepted for older themes but ignored. The header uses header for its background, pane_divider for the bottom rule, header_icon for segment icons, header_label for the env, workspace, mock, rec, req, and Help labels, header_value for values, header_separator for gaps, header_help for the Help key, header_warn for warnings, and header_brand for the left block. Test results use success and error. The active request uses its method color. |
[[command_segments]] |
background, border, key, text |
Color sets for contextual command bar hints. Hints render flat by default. Set background to a color to turn on keycap chips, or to none to turn them off explicitly. border is accepted for compatibility. |
The segmented bottom bar uses [status_bar] for section backgrounds and text colors. Older themes can still use [styles.status_bar*] entries, but they do not control the segmented section palette.
Setting editor_metadata.directive_default recolors every built-in directive (such as @name and @tag) that still uses the inherited default. Add entries inside [editor_metadata.directive_colors] only when a directive needs a different color.
Set editor_metadata.request_line to recolor the full request line (POST https://…). If you omit it, Resterm falls back to the directive default.
Use editor_metadata.request_separator for the ### section dividers. editor_metadata.comment_marker colors ordinary #, //, --, and /* … */ comments. Directive names and values keep their metadata colors. Comment markers inside multipart bodies, mock responses, and script blocks are treated as data and are not colored.
styles.stream_* keys control the transcript viewer (events, timestamps, direction badges). styles.stream_console_* keys style the interactive WebSocket console (prompt, status line, input field).
styles.cli_run_picker* keys only affect the interactive resterm run request picker. If they are omitted, the picker inherits the general list item styles where possible.
navigator_* styles control the unified sidebar tree, and styles.list_item_* keys style the rows in the history and picker lists. styles.response_content, styles.response_content_raw, styles.response_content_headers, styles.response_selection, and styles.response_cursor color the response panes (with the general key applied first, then the tab-specific override for Raw and Headers).
Pane border titles inherit the active or inactive border color by default. Set a pane_title_* foreground when you want a title in a different color.
Testing a theme
export RESTERM_THEMES_DIR="$(pwd)/_examples/themes"
restermInside Resterm, press g then m (or Ctrl+Alt+T) and pick "Aurora" for a dark setup or "Daybreak" for light terminals. Quit and restart to check that the theme is kept. If a theme fails to parse, Resterm logs the error and falls back to the default palette.