oxide for VS Code

Where function meets form.

oxide for VS Code brings the oxide colorscheme to your code editor. A minimalist dark theme built around clarity and restraint, using a deep near-black background, crisp white foregrounds, and vibrant accent colors to emphasize structure without visual noise.

Design Philosophy

oxide is built on three core principles:

• Function first: Every color exists to convey information
• Visual silence: Elegance emerges from what is intentionally omitted
• Systematic harmony: Every color relates predictably to the others

The full design philosophy and color system are documented in the main oxide repository.

Installation

Via VS Code Marketplace (Recommended)

1. Open VS Code
2. Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
3. Search for "Oxide Theme"
4. Click Install
5. Press Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P
6. Type "Preferences: Color Theme"
7. Select "Oxide"

Via Command Line

code --install-extension oxidescheme.oxide-theme

Manual Installation

1. Download the latest .vsix file from GitHub Releases
2. Open VS Code
3. Go to Extensions view
4. Click "..." (Views and More Actions)
5. Select "Install from VSIX..."
6. Choose the downloaded file

Features

Comprehensive Syntax Highlighting

• Functions: Red (#ed756e) - Clear identification of callable elements
• Strings: Green (#5bb661) - Distinct text and data representation
• Keywords: Purple (#968ff7) - Language structure and control flow
• Variables: Blue (#3ba6f5) - Identifiers and references
• Types/Classes: Sky (#00b3d6) - Type definitions and structures
• Constants/Numbers: Orange (#e48233) - Literal values
• Comments: Subtle gray (#484848) - Intentionally de-emphasized
• Operators: Text color (#cecece) - Minimal distraction

Minimalist UI

• Clean gray interface with deep black backgrounds
• Accent colors only where they convey information
• Subtle borders and visual hierarchy
• Focused editing experience without distractions

Integrated Features

• Terminal Colors: Full ANSI color support matching the theme palette
• Git Integration: Semantic colors for added, modified, and deleted files
• Semantic Highlighting: Enhanced token coloring for supported languages
• Symbol Icons: Consistent iconography with theme colors
• Debug Mode: Contextual highlighting during debugging sessions

Configuration

The theme works out of the box with no configuration needed. However, you can customize specific aspects in your settings.json:

Bracket Pair Colorization

VS Code's bracket pair colorization is automatically styled with oxide colors:

{
  "editor.bracketPairColorization.enabled": true
}

Semantic Highlighting

For enhanced token coloring (recommended):

{
  "editor.semanticHighlighting.enabled": true
}

Color Palette

oxide uses a carefully calibrated OKLCH color space palette:

Base Colors

• Background: #161616 - Deep near-black
• Foreground: #cecece - Crisp white
• Subtle Text: #bebebe, #8f8f8f, #484848 - Hierarchical grays

Accent Colors

• Red: #ed756e - Errors, functions
• Orange: #e48233 - Warnings, constants
• Yellow: #c39900 - Highlights, search
• Green: #5bb661 - Success, strings
• Teal: #00baaa - Special elements, imports
• Sky: #00b3d6 - Types, classes
• Blue: #3ba6f5 - Variables, information
• Purple: #968ff7 - Keywords, control flow

Contributing

We follow the same philosophy as the main oxide project: minimalism doesn't mean stagnation.

• Report issues through GitHub Issues
• PRs that improve clarity and consistency are welcome
• Ensure changes align with oxide's functional aesthetic

Credits

• Port Creator: @jakmaz
• Current Maintainer: @jakmaz
• Contributors: See contributors list

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

Copyright © 2025-present oxidescheme