CodeAura – Animated Theme Engine
Bring your editor to life with subtle animated UI effects for VS Code.
CodeAura enhances your coding experience with smooth visual effects like cursor glow, typing pulses, animated tab highlights, and atmospheric presets — all built on VS Code's native decoration API with zero DOM injection and near-zero performance impact.
✨ Features
| Effect |
Description |
| Cursor Glow |
A soft neon glow radiates from the cursor line whenever you move or type, then fades out across three smooth frames. |
| Typing Pulse |
Each keystroke briefly highlights the active line with a coloured fill that fades within ~300 ms. |
| Active Tab Highlight |
The active editor tab receives a glowing border and tinted background that matches the chosen preset. |
| Selection Glow |
Selected text gets a transparent tinted background that complements the preset accent colour. |
| Cursor Trail & Sparks |
A subtle trailing glow follows cursor movement for added depth. |
| Background Gradient |
(Optional) The editor background slowly cycles through richly tinted dark colours. Disabled by default. |
🎨 Presets
Switch presets any time via Command Palette → CodeAura: Select Preset or by clicking the status-bar badge.
| Preset |
Accent |
Vibe |
| Cyberpunk |
#FF2D9A hot pink |
Blade-Runner dystopia, sharp and electric |
| Neon Hacker |
#39FF14 acid green |
Old-school terminal, pure phosphor energy |
| Aurora Night |
#9D4EDD deep violet |
Midnight borealis with teal whispers |
| Matrix Terminal |
#00FF41 phosphor green |
Classic matrix rain on pure black |
| Ocean Glow |
#00D9FF electric cyan |
Deep ocean depths lit from within |
| Minimal Glow |
#7AA2F7 steel blue |
Near-zero distraction, quiet breathing |
| Moonlight |
#7DCFFF sky blue |
Calm night coding, balanced contrast |
| Soft Dusk |
#C792EA warm lavender |
Marathon evening sessions, soft focus |
Each preset automatically adjusts UI accents, glow colours, sidebar, status bar, tabs, and bracket highlights for a cohesive coding atmosphere.
⚙️ Commands
Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P) and run:
| Command |
Description |
CodeAura: Select Preset |
Opens a Quick Pick to instantly switch between visual presets |
CodeAura: Toggle Animations On/Off |
Enable or disable all animations without changing your preset |
CodeAura: Show Current Preset |
Displays the active preset name and its description |
CodeAura: Preview Effects |
Triggers a live preview of the current preset's animations |
You can also click the status-bar badge (bottom of the window) to quickly toggle animations on/off.
🔧 Settings
All settings live under the codeaura namespace in Settings UI (Ctrl+,) or settings.json.
{
// Master on/off switch for all animations
"codeaura.enabled": true,
// Active preset — one of the 8 built-in presets
// "Cyberpunk" | "Neon Hacker" | "Aurora Night" | "Matrix Terminal"
// "Ocean Glow" | "Minimal Glow" | "Moonlight" | "Soft Dusk"
"codeaura.preset": "Cyberpunk",
// Playback speed multiplier
// "slow" = relaxed fades | "normal" = default | "fast" = snappy
"codeaura.animationSpeed": "normal",
// Glow brightness level
// "subtle" = barely-there | "medium" = default | "intense" = vivid
"codeaura.glowIntensity": "medium",
// Theme sync behaviour when switching presets
// "ask" = prompt to apply the matching CodeAura theme (default)
// "always" = silently apply the matching theme every time
// "never" = never change your colour theme
"codeaura.themeSync": "ask",
// Individual effect toggles
"codeaura.cursorGlow": true,
"codeaura.typingPulse": true,
"codeaura.tabHighlight": true,
"codeaura.backgroundGradient": false
}
🎨 Bundled Colour Themes
CodeAura ships eight matching colour themes (one per preset) that style the full VS Code UI shell — sidebar, activity bar, status bar, tabs, panels, and terminal — while preserving your existing syntax highlighting (token colours come from VS Code Dark+ defaults).
To apply a theme manually: Command Palette → Preferences: Color Theme → CodeAura <Preset Name>
When you switch presets via CodeAura: Select Preset, you will be offered the option to apply the matching theme automatically (controlled by codeaura.themeSync).
- All effects use VS Code's native TextEditorDecorationType API — no DOM injection, no WebGL, no canvas.
- Only the active editor line is decorated at any given moment; large files are unaffected.
- Timers are cleared immediately when a new event arrives, preventing accumulation during fast typing.
- The background gradient loop ticks every 4 s (scaled by animation speed) — negligible CPU load.
- All decorations and timers are disposed automatically when animations are disabled or VS Code shuts down.
🛠 Requirements
VS Code 1.85.0 or later.
💡 Feedback
If you encounter issues or have suggestions, feel free to open an issue or share feedback via the repository.
License
MIT © 2026 CodeFXCode shuts down.
Requirements
License
MIT © CodeAura Contributors
