standard colors

A color scheme inspired by GOV.UK colors. Built to be clear, consistent, and something you can stick with long-term.

Table of Contents

• Principles
• Screenshots
• Installation
  • Neovim
    • Lualine
    • Other plugins
  • Kitty
  • Tmux
  • FZF
  • Bat
• Contributing

Principles

• Text and information should use colors that are easy to read
• Interface elements can blend more into the background, and this should aid in making the content stand out

ℹ️ vim.o.background = "light" is supported only experimentally. I do not use it and I currently treat it as a second-class citizen.

Screenshots

TypeScript code inside Neovim using Treesitter highlighting.

Debugging a Python test using Neotest.

Error handling built-ins use special colors.

Showcasing Kitty, tmux, FZF, and bat support.

The font in these screenshots is Berkeley Mono.

Installation

Neovim

-- Using lazy.nvim
{
  "fnune/standard",
  lazy = false,
  priority = 1000,
  config = function()
    require("standard").setup({})
    vim.cmd("colorscheme standard")
  end,
}

Lualine

require('lualine').setup {
  options = {
    theme = 'standard'
  }
}

Other plugins

The following plugins are supported with custom highlight groups:

• Treesitter
• Neorg
• Git (GitGutter, GitSigns)
• Neogit
• Diffview
• Neotest
• nvim-dap-ui
• Telescope
• Illuminate
• NvimTree
• Dropbar
• Aerial
• nvim-scrollbar
• blink.cmp
• snacks.nvim

Support for other plugins may be added in the future. All plugin support is enabled by default. See highlights.lua for specifics.

Kitty

Add to your kitty.conf:

include /path/to/standard/kitty/standard.dark.conf

Tmux

Add to your tmux.conf:

source-file /path/to/standard/tmux/standard.dark.conf

FZF

Source the script:

source /path/to/standard/fzf/standard.dark.sh

Bat

Works well with the base16 theme in Bat:

export BAT_THEME="base16"

Ghostty

Copy ghostty/standard to your $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/ghostty/themes or $PREFIX/share/ghostty/themes directory.

Then, set the theme in your ghostty.conf:

theme = "standard"

LS_COLORS

There is an LS_COLORS (colors ls output and others) generated using vivid in ./vivid/standard.zsh. You can source the contents of that file directly or use vivid on your own with the provided ./vivid/standard.yml configuration.

To test development changes of this setup, use the provided ./vivid/test.zsh script.

Contributing

You can contribute to standard in multiple ways:

Development Environment Setup

Using Nix (recommended)

This project includes a Nix flake for development. If you have Nix with flakes enabled:

1. Copy the .envrc.sample file to .envrc (or run echo "use flake" > .envrc if you use direnv)
2. If you use direnv, run direnv allow to automatically set up your environment
3. Otherwise, run nix develop to enter the development shell

The Nix environment provides all needed tools:

• biome
• lua-language-server
• luacheck
• nodejs
• stylua
• yarn

Without Nix

If you're not using Nix, you'll need to install these tools manually:

• Node.js and Yarn for JavaScript tooling
• LuaCheck and Stylua for Lua formatting and linting
• Lua Language Server for Lua language support

After installing the dependencies, you can run:

yarn install
yarn format
yarn lint

Understanding the Codebase

The colorscheme is organized around two main concepts:

1. Tokens - The raw color values in palette.lua
   • These are stored in the govuk and lowcontrast tables
   • These define the base colors that match the GOV.UK design system, and other derived colors
2. Decisions - How colors are applied in M.colors
   • The M.colors table maps tokens to specific UI elements and syntax
   • This is where the actual colorscheme design happens
   • Organized by categories like interface, intent, diff, syntax, etc.

When contributing, consider whether you're:

• Adding a new token (rare, unless extending the base palette)
• Changing a decision about how an existing token is applied
• Adding support for a new plugin or UI element

Please include screenshots of your changes when applicable.