Darkroom: Event Horizon

Near-black surfaces. Starlight syntax. A little gravity for your editor.

Gold functions · Violet keywords · Cyan variables · Optional audio visualization

About

Darkroom: Event Horizon is a dark color theme for Visual Studio Code, inspired by the light around a black hole. Near-black panels frame a cool editor surface, while warm gold, soft violet, and icy blue give your code its structure.

• A coordinated workspace: editor, sidebar, terminal, Git diffs, and diagnostics share one palette.
• Distinct syntax colors: functions, keywords, types, variables, and strings each have their place.
• Semantic highlighting: TextMate scopes and semantic tokens work together with your language extensions.
• Contrast checked: base syntax foregrounds meet at least 4.5:1 against the editor background.
• Lightweight: the theme contains no runtime code, production dependencies, telemetry, or network requests.
• Free and open source: MIT licensed, with editable TypeScript sources.

Table of Contents

• About
• Install
• Recommended Settings
• Horizon Pulse
• Color Palette Reference
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Feedback and Contributions
• Development
• License

Install

1. Open the Extensions sidebar with Cmd + Shift + X on macOS, or Ctrl + Shift + X on Windows/Linux.
2. Search for Darkroom: Event Horizon by blankmax.
3. Click Install.
4. Open the Command Palette and run Preferences: Color Theme.
5. Select Darkroom: Event Horizon.

Requires VS Code 1.85.0 or later. The theme works on macOS, Windows, and Linux.

You can also install from Quick Open with Cmd + P on macOS or Ctrl + P on Windows/Linux:

ext install blankmax.darkroom-theme

Or install from your terminal:

code --install-extension blankmax.darkroom-theme

For a downloaded .vsix, run Extensions: Install from VSIX… from the Command Palette, then select Darkroom: Event Horizon as your color theme.

Recommended Settings

The theme works with your existing editor setup. To select it and explicitly enable semantic highlighting, add these optional settings to your settings.json:

{
  "workbench.colorTheme": "Blackhole: Event Horizon",
  "editor.semanticHighlighting.enabled": true
}

Keep your preferred font, icon theme, and editor layout. No additional extension is required.

Horizon Pulse

A black hole that moves with your music.

Horizon Pulse is a separate, optional companion extension. A gold accretion disk responds to bass, violet light follows the midrange, and particles react to treble inside VS Code's bottom panel.

• A single Start capture / Stop capture button.
• Response fixed at 2.5×.
• System reduced-motion preferences respected.
• Capture stops when the visualizer is hidden or closed.
• Local system-audio processing, with no microphone access, recordings, or uploads.

Live capture requires macOS 14.2 or later. The theme works independently on all supported platforms.

Install Horizon Pulse from the Marketplace · Companion details

Color Palette Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Does it work with my programming language?

The theme styles TextMate scopes and semantic token types supplied by VS Code and your language extensions. Exact highlighting depends on the language and its extension. If something looks wrong, open an issue with a small code sample.

Do I need a special font or icon pack?

No. Blackhole works with your existing font and icon theme.

Does the theme react to music?

The optional Horizon Pulse extension provides the audio visualization. Your editor's syntax colors stay stable, and the theme does not access audio.

Is the theme accessible?

Automated checks verify at least 4.5:1 contrast for base syntax foregrounds against the editor background, including comments. This is a targeted check; selections, overlays, and extension-provided interfaces can affect contrast.

Can I customize the colors?

Yes. VS Code's workbench.colorCustomizations and editor.tokenColorCustomizations settings let you override individual colors. For source changes, edit the TypeScript files in src/ and rebuild.

Feedback and Contributions

Found a highlighting issue or have an idea? Open an issue or contribute on GitHub. Include your VS Code version, language extension, and a short code sample or screenshot when reporting a visual problem.

Development

Use Node.js 22 or later and pnpm 10.31.0.

pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
pnpm build
pnpm check
pnpm package

The TypeScript sources in src/ generate the theme JSON and icon. The README banners are maintained as PNG files in images/. Commit generated theme and icon files alongside their sources. Use pnpm watch while editing, then select Preview Event Horizon in Run and Debug to launch the development host.

pnpm package creates a VSIX in dist/, containing only the manifest, theme, images, README, changelog, and license. For the visualizer, see the Horizon Pulse development instructions.

License

MIT · Copyright © 2026 Hamiz Ali