Auto Color
What it does
Auto Color picks a color theme per workspace and applies it to the window: pastel title, activity, and status bars and a matching tint on the editor, sidebar, tabs, terminal, and related UI. Your syntax theme still controls most text; this mainly changes backgrounds so each project looks distinct.
What counts as a “workspace” here: whatever VS Code or Cursor treats as the current workspace—almost always a folder you opened (File → Open Folder). That one folder (and its .vscode/settings.json) gets one palette. If you open another window with a different folder, that’s a different workspace and can have a different color. A multi-root workspace (a .code-workspace file with several folders) is still one workspace for this extension: colors and settings are stored with that workspace, and the first folder in the list is what the default tint is derived from (unless you use Randomize).
Existing workspace settings: If .vscode/settings.json is already there—or, for a multi-root setup, the workspace JSON already has a non-empty settings block, any folder in that workspace has its own .vscode/settings.json, or workspace/folder settings already contain workbench.colorCustomizations (including colors stored only under a folder while the workspace file’s settings is empty)—Auto Color does not run on window open. It never touches that file automatically, so nothing is merged or overwritten while you are not asking for a tint. When you do want colors, use a command (for example, Auto Color: Enable for this workspace, Randomize, Reset to default color, Set color scope, or Enable (all windows) with a folder open). Only then does it write workspace settings: it updates workbench.colorCustomizations by merging in its keys next to any you already had in that object. It changes only the bar and tint keys it owns (and clears deprecated keys it used to set); everything else in settings.json stays as you left it. Disabling Auto Color or clearing colors removes only those managed keys, not the rest of your file. If there is no workspace settings file yet, it still applies the palette on load and creates .vscode/settings.json, so a new folder gets a tint without an extra step.
TL;DR: It should work when you want it to, not when you don't, and it should make your life easier.
Why it’s useful (VS Code and Cursor)
VS Code: With several windows open, you can see which folder you’re in from the bar color and overall cast instead of reading the title.
Cursor: Same idea when you run multiple Cursor windows (different repos, or one “agent” window and one “editing” window). The tint makes it harder to paste, run terminal commands, or continue the wrong chat in the wrong project.
File it writes
The extension saves colors through workspace settings. That usually creates or updates:
.vscode/settings.json
Inside that file, it adds a workbench.colorCustomizations object with the hex colors for this workspace. Anything else in that file is left alone. If you disable Auto Color for the workspace or turn it off globally, it removes only the keys it added (and a few legacy keys), not your whole settings file. If you already have workspace settings and Auto Color does not apply on open, see What it does above.
Security
- No network — colors are computed locally; nothing is sent to a server.
- No trust prompt required — Auto Color runs without asking you to “trust” the workspace first.
- Reporting — see SECURITY.md.
Commands
Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P on Mac, Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows/Linux):
| Command |
What it does |
| Auto Color: Enable (all windows) |
Turns the extension on everywhere. Applies colors in the current workspace if you have a folder open. |
| Auto Color: Disable (all windows) |
Turns it off for all windows and clears this extension’s color keys from the current workspace’s workbench.colorCustomizations. |
| Auto Color: Enable for this workspace |
Turns coloring back on for this workspace only (still requires the global switch to be on). |
| Auto Color: Disable for this workspace |
Stops coloring this workspace and clears this extension’s keys here. |
| Auto Color: Set color scope |
All bars: title + activity + status plus the workbench tint. Head and footer only: title + status only; activity bar, editor, sidebar, tabs, panel, and other tinted areas go back to your theme defaults. |
| Auto Color: Randomize color |
Picks a new random palette and saves it in workspace settings so it stays after reload. |
| Auto Color: Reset to default color |
Removes the random override so the color is derived from the workspace folder path again. |
Settings UI
Open Settings (Cmd+, / Ctrl+,), search Auto Color, or browse Extensions → Auto Color. You get the same options as the commands: global on/off, color scope (dropdown with short descriptions), disable for this workspace, and random seed. Use the Workspace tab when you want scope or per-workspace options for the current folder only.
Install
Requires VS Code 1.85+ (Cursor is compatible). Search the Marketplace for Auto Color or install from a .vsix.
Marketplace icon: color wheel from UXWing (license), resized to 128×128.
Examples
Visual Studio Code example
Cursor example
Repository: wyvernsystems/auto-color-vscode-extension · MIT · Security
