oxide for VS Code

Where function meets form.

oxide VS Code preview

oxide for VS Code brings the oxide colorscheme to your code editor. A minimalist dark theme built around clarity and restraint, using a deep near-black background, crisp white foregrounds, and vibrant accent colors to emphasize structure without visual noise.

Design Philosophy

oxide is built on three core principles:

Function first: Every color exists to convey information
Visual silence: Elegance emerges from what is intentionally omitted
Systematic harmony: Every color relates predictably to the others

The full design philosophy and color system are documented in the main oxide repository.

Installation

Via VS Code Marketplace (Recommended)

Open VS Code
Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
Search for "Oxide Theme"
Click Install
Press Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P
Type "Preferences: Color Theme"
Select "Oxide"

Via Command Line

code --install-extension oxidescheme.oxide-theme

Manual Installation

Download the latest .vsix file from GitHub Releases
Open VS Code
Go to Extensions view
Click "..." (Views and More Actions)
Select "Install from VSIX..."
Choose the downloaded file

Features

Comprehensive Syntax Highlighting

Functions: Red (#ed756e) - Clear identification of callable elements
Strings: Green (#5bb661) - Distinct text and data representation
Keywords: Purple (#968ff7) - Language structure and control flow
Variables: Blue (#3ba6f5) - Identifiers and references
Types/Classes: Sky (#00b3d6) - Type definitions and structures
Constants/Numbers: Orange (#e48233) - Literal values
Comments: Subtle gray (#484848) - Intentionally de-emphasized
Operators: Text color (#cecece) - Minimal distraction

Minimalist UI

Clean gray interface with deep black backgrounds
Accent colors only where they convey information
Subtle borders and visual hierarchy
Focused editing experience without distractions

Integrated Features

Terminal Colors: Full ANSI color support matching the theme palette
Git Integration: Semantic colors for added, modified, and deleted files
Semantic Highlighting: Enhanced token coloring for supported languages
Symbol Icons: Consistent iconography with theme colors
Debug Mode: Contextual highlighting during debugging sessions

Configuration

The theme works out of the box with no configuration needed. However, you can customize specific aspects in your settings.json:

Bracket Pair Colorization

VS Code's bracket pair colorization is automatically styled with oxide colors:

{
  "editor.bracketPairColorization.enabled": true
}

Semantic Highlighting

For enhanced token coloring (recommended):

{
  "editor.semanticHighlighting.enabled": true
}

Color Palette

oxide uses a carefully calibrated OKLCH color space palette:

Base Colors

Background: #161616 - Deep near-black
Foreground: #cecece - Crisp white
Subtle Text: #bebebe, #8f8f8f, #484848 - Hierarchical grays

Accent Colors

Red: #ed756e - Errors, functions
Orange: #e48233 - Warnings, constants
Yellow: #c39900 - Highlights, search
Green: #5bb661 - Success, strings
Teal: #00baaa - Special elements, imports
Sky: #00b3d6 - Types, classes
Blue: #3ba6f5 - Variables, information
Purple: #968ff7 - Keywords, control flow

Contributing

We follow the same philosophy as the main oxide project: minimalism doesn't mean stagnation.

Report issues through GitHub Issues
PRs that improve clarity and consistency are welcome
Ensure changes align with oxide's functional aesthetic

Credits

Port Creator: @jakmaz
Current Maintainer: @jakmaz
Contributors: See contributors list

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

Oxide Theme

oxidescheme