Archipelago Dark

A calm dark theme of floating islands, inspired by JetBrains' Islands UI and tuned for Python.

Archipelago Dark brings the look of the new JetBrains Islands UI to VS Code: rounded panels resting on a slightly lighter frame, a soft blue pill for the active tab, and the editor colors PyCharm users know by heart. Every color was measured from the real thing and checked side by side, so switching between the two editors feels like one tool.

Highlights

• Islands layout. Built for VS Code's modern floating panels: no bright outlines, just calm panels on a soft frame.
• Python done right. Keywords, decorators, keyword arguments, self, docstrings, f-strings and built-ins each get their own color, exactly where a JetBrains user expects them. Ordinary names stay plain, so the structure of the code stands out.
• Easy on the eyes. Low-glare backgrounds, muted accents, no neon. Made for long sessions.
• Beyond Python. Clean colors for JSON, YAML, TOML, Markdown, shell scripts, HTML and .env files.

Install

1. Open the Extensions view (Cmd+Shift+X on macOS, Ctrl+Shift+X on Windows/Linux).
2. Search for Archipelago Dark and click Install.
3. Press Cmd+K Cmd+T (Ctrl+K Ctrl+T) and choose Archipelago Dark.

From a terminal: code --install-extension aymenhammami.archipelago-theme

Get the full look (optional)

Paste into your settings.json (Command Palette → Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON)):

{
  "workbench.colorTheme": "Archipelago Dark",

  // Rounded "pill" for the active tab (VS Code's modern UI)
  "workbench.experimental.modernUIEditorTabStyle": "pill",

  // JetBrains Mono, free: https://www.jetbrains.com/lp/mono/
  "editor.fontFamily": "'JetBrains Mono', monospace",
  "editor.fontSize": 15,
  "editor.fontWeight": "500",
  "editor.lineHeight": 1.6,
  "editor.fontLigatures": false,

  // The calm, JetBrains-style editor
  "editor.bracketPairColorization.enabled": false,
  "editor.guides.indentation": false,
  "editor.minimap.enabled": false,
  "explorer.compactFolders": false,
  "explorer.decorations.badges": false
}

For matching file icons, install Atom Material Icons and set "workbench.iconTheme": "a-file-icon-vscode".

Why font weight 500? VS Code draws text thinner than JetBrains IDEs do. JetBrains Mono's Medium weight closes the gap; try "550" if you want it even closer.

Palette

FAQ

Why do class names and function calls stay plain? That's the JetBrains style: color marks structure (keywords, definitions, decorators, keyword arguments), and everything else stays easy-to-read plain text. To get there, the theme turns off semantic highlighting, so language servers like Pylance don't recolor every name. Prefer it on? Add "editor.semanticHighlighting.enabled": true.

Is there a light version? Not yet. Open an issue if you'd use one.

A color looks wrong in my language. Please open an issue with a screenshot and the language name.

Credits

Made by Aymen Hammami. Inspired by the Islands theme in JetBrains IDEs. Archipelago Dark is an independent project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by JetBrains; JetBrains and PyCharm are trademarks of JetBrains s.r.o.

MIT License