Niaz Theme Suite

An ergonomic, research-informed dark theme suite for Visual Studio Code. Engineered for sustained eye comfort, anti-halation dark surfaces, balanced contrast, and clear semantic token hierarchy.

Overview

Prolonged screen exposure often induces digital eye strain (asthenopia), glare sensitivity, and ocular fatigue caused by extreme pitch-black contrast (#000000) or sub-threshold text contrast (< 4.5:1).

Niaz Themes provides a balanced, ophthalmology-conscious visual environment:

• Anti-Halation Dark Surfaces: Carefully elevated dark background tones (7–9% luminance) eliminate edge bleeding and halo artifacts for myopic and astigmatic vision.
• Strict WCAG Compliance: All core syntax tokens meet or exceed WCAG 2.1 AAA (7:1+) and AA (4.5:1+) contrast standards.
• Spectral Token Separation: Strict chromatic differentiation between functions, types, keywords, variables, parameters, and strings reduces cognitive parsing load.
• Circadian-Friendly Spectra: Reduces high-energy blue-violet spikes across all variants to maintain visual stamina during extended development sessions.

Variants

The suite includes five distinct variants tailored for different ambient lighting environments and visual preferences:

Detailed Variant Breakdown

1. Niaz Amber (Eye Comfort)

• Background: #161514 (Deep Warm Espresso)
• Palette: Hearth Amber (#E89E58), Periwinkle Blue (#6CB6FF), Champagne Gold (#DEC278), Terracotta (#F29E74)
• Use Case: Nighttime development, dim environments, and blue-light sensitive workflows.

2. Niaz Pastel (Eye Comfort)

• Background: #161719 (Neutral Charcoal)
• Palette: Dusty Rose (#D49B9B), Sky Blue (#83B4D8), Butter Linen (#E6DFAF), Sage Mint (#86CDB7), Sand (#DBC09E)
• Use Case: Balanced daylight and evening programming with low-chroma distraction-free aesthetics.

3. Niaz Oasis (Eye Comfort)

• Background: #13171A (Marine Obsidian)
• Palette: Powder Sky (#68C2E8), Royal Periwinkle (#8A9BE8), Coral Sand (#E59866), Jade Teal (#00D4AA)
• Use Case: Crisp, cool aquatic contrast designed for high-focus logic and backend work.

4. Niaz Forest (Eye Comfort)

• Background: #151814 (Woodland Charcoal)
• Palette: Botanical Leaf (#78C953), Mint Teal (#59C9A5), Amber Ochre (#E5C287), Cedar (#E09F53), Soft White (#EDEFEA)
• Use Case: Calming biophilic tones inspired by natural canopy lighting to minimize ocular fatigue.

5. Niaz Dracula (Eye Comfort)

• Background: #181722 (Velvet Slate Amethyst)
• Palette: Dracula Orchid Pink (#FF79C6), Mint Emerald (#50FA7B), Glacial Cyan (#8BE9FD), High-Contrast Slate Lilac (#8681A8)
• Use Case: An ergonomic refinement of the classic Dracula palette with elevated background luminescence and 5.8:1 comment legibility.

Installation

Method 1: VS Code Quick Open

1. Press Ctrl + P (or Cmd + P on macOS).
2. Paste the following command and press Enter:

   ext install niaz.niaz-theme
   

Method 2: Extensions View

1. Open the Extensions view (Ctrl + Shift + X or Cmd + Shift + X).
2. Search for Niaz Theme Suite.
3. Click Install.

Method 3: Command-Line Interface (CLI)

You can preview and switch themes directly via terminal using NPX:

# Launch interactive selector
npx niaz-theme

# Switch directly to a specific theme
npx niaz-theme amber
npx niaz-theme pastel
npx niaz-theme oasis
npx niaz-theme forest
npx niaz-theme dracula

Usage and Shortcuts

Interactive Theme Switcher (Live Preview)

Press Ctrl + Alt + T (or Cmd + Alt + T on macOS) to open the interactive theme switcher. As you move through the list, VS Code will render a real-time preview of each theme variant. Press Enter to confirm or Escape to revert.

Quick Commands

Recommended Settings

To get the most optimal typography rendering and contrast with Niaz Themes, add the following configuration to your settings.json:

{
  "workbench.colorTheme": "Niaz Amber (Eye Comfort)",
  "editor.semanticHighlighting.enabled": true,
  "editor.cursorBlinking": "smooth",
  "editor.cursorSmoothCaretAnimation": "on",
  "editor.bracketPairColorization.enabled": true,
  "editor.guides.bracketPairs": "active",
  "editor.renderLineHighlight": "all",
  "editor.fontFamily": "'JetBrains Mono', 'Fira Code', 'Cascadia Code', Consolas, monospace",
  "editor.fontLigatures": true,
  "editor.fontSize": 14,
  "editor.lineHeight": 1.6
}

Contrast & Accessibility Specifications

All color pairings are mathematically verified against standard dark backgrounds using the Weber-Fechner contrast metric and WCAG 2.1 ratios:

Language Support

Niaz Themes includes extensive syntax and semantic token mappings optimized for modern development:

• Web: TypeScript, JavaScript, HTML5, CSS3, SCSS, Tailwind, Vue, Svelte, JSX/TSX
• Backend & Systems: Python, Rust, Go, C/C++, C#, Java, PHP, Ruby, Kotlin, Swift
• Data & Config: JSON, YAML, TOML, GraphQL, SQL, Prisma, Dockerfile
• Shell & Tooling: Bash, Zsh, PowerShell, Git Diff / Merge, Markdown, LaTeX

Changelog

Detailed release notes and updates are available in the CHANGELOG.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.