zen.nvim

A minimal, monochromatic colorscheme for Neovim.
Calm tones. Subtle accents. Zero distractions.

Dark Variant

Light Variant

Features

• Dark and light variants
• Monochromatic grayscale syntax with muted color accents
• Extensive TreeSitter syntax highlighting support
• Compatible with popular plugins
• Extras for terminals and other applications

Installation

-- lazy.nvim
{
  "nendix/zen.nvim",
  lazy = false,
  priority = 1000,
}

-- packer.nvim
use "nendix/zen.nvim"

Requirements

• Neovim 0.8+
• Terminal with truecolor support

Configuration

require("zen").setup({
  variant = "dark",     -- "dark" or "light"
  undercurl = true,
  transparent = false,
  dimInactive = false,
  terminalColors = true,
  commentStyle = { italic = true },
  functionStyle = {},
  keywordStyle = { italic = true },
  statementStyle = {},
  typeStyle = {},
  compile = false,
  colors = {
    palette = {},  -- override palette colors
    theme = {},    -- override theme colors
  },
  overrides = function(colors)
    return {}
  end,
})

vim.cmd.colorscheme("zen")

Customization

Override palette or theme colors:

require("zen").setup({
  colors = {
    palette = {
      bg0 = "#0a0a0a",
      sage = "#90a990",
    },
    theme = {
      ui = {
        bg = "#000000",
      },
    },
  },
})

All palette colors can be found in lua/zen/colors.lua.

Getting Colors

Access theme colors in your config:

local colors = require("zen.colors").get()
local palette = colors.palette
local theme = colors.theme

-- Example: use in lualine or other plugins
print(palette.sage)  -- "#a0b9a0"
print(theme.syn.string)  -- "#a0b9a0"

Palette

Category	Colors
Background	bg0 bg1 bg2 bg3 bg4
Foreground	fg fg_dim fg_muted
Grays	silver stone slate ash
Accents	sage sand rose sky lavender mist

Extras

• Alacritty
• Ghostty
• Kitty
• Tmux
• Wezterm
• Yazi

Lualine

require("lualine").setup({
  options = {
    theme = "zen",
  },
})

Philosophy

Zen prioritizes structure over color. Syntax is distinguished through a grayscale hierarchy, with muted accents reserved for semantic elements like strings, types, and constants. The result is a theme that stays out of your way.

Credits

Inspired by:

• kanso.nvim
• ash.nvim