Neon Contagion — Themes & Icons

50 signals. A brighter outbreak.

Vivid dark color themes, coordinated SVG file icons, and a branded developer workspace for Visual Studio Code. Created by ToxicEpoch.

Acid green, electric cyan, hot magenta, ultraviolet and warning orange illuminate individually designed dark and medium-dark workspaces. Each look has its own colored surfaces, syntax palette, emblem and coordinated file/folder artwork, from Patient Zero to Last Light Protocol.

Browser render of the extension's actual collection webview. Code samples are HTML previews, not native editor screenshots.

Installation

Install the VSIX

1. Open Visual Studio Code.
2. Open Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X on Windows/Linux, Cmd+Shift+X on macOS).
3. Choose the … menu and Install from VSIX….
4. Select neon-contagion-1.0.0.vsix.
5. Run Neon Contagion: Choose Theme + Icons from the Command Palette.

Alternatively, from a terminal where the VS Code CLI is installed:

code --install-extension neon-contagion-1.0.0.vsix

Do not double-click the VSIX if Windows opens the Microsoft Visual Studio Installer. This extension is for VS Code. The Visual Studio Installer cannot install it.

Requires desktop VS Code 1.85 or newer on Windows, macOS or Linux. The extension runs in the desktop UI extension host, including when attached to remote workspaces. The branded workspace and paired picker do not run in browser-only vscode.dev/github.dev: this package has no web extension entry point. Virtual workspace support does not grant terminal/task capabilities to a virtual provider. There are no runtime npm dependencies.

Choose your look

• Choose Theme + Icons previews a complete pair as you move up and down the list. Enter keeps the selected theme and icons; Escape or dismissing the picker restores the look you had before opening it. It uses User settings unless either setting already has a Workspace override, in which case the preview and selection use that workspace. The destination is shown in the picker.
• Browse Collection opens a searchable gallery with palette previews and the actual SVG icons for all 50 themes.
• Standard Preferences: Color Theme and Preferences: File Icon Theme commands also work. Native pickers set the two independently.

No theme is forced on installation. Preview uses temporary theme and icon settings updates through the public VS Code API. On cancellation it restores the original values, including removing overrides that did not previously exist. Fast navigation is serialized so an older preview cannot replace the confirmed selection or a restored look. Normal extension deactivation also cancels the preview and awaits restoration. A forced process termination may prevent that cleanup. The pair command reports any failure to restore settings.

The developer workspace

Select the Neon Contagion interlocked signal mark in the Activity Bar, or run Neon Contagion: Open Workspace.

The panel includes the active theme's emblem, active look and matching-icon status, theme picker, collection browser, project opener, recent workspaces, new terminal, build/test/task shortcuts, and project links. It has no Favorites section.

To keep Explorer on the left and Neon Contagion on the right, move Neon Contagion into VS Code's Secondary Side Bar using the view's context menu or drag and drop. VS Code remembers the position. The extension does not rearrange your editor automatically. After this move, its icon disappearing from the left Activity Bar is expected VS Code behavior. Reopen it with Neon Contagion: Open Workspace, or show View → Appearance → Secondary Side Bar and select Neon Contagion using that side bar's view controls. There is no need to reset your layout.

Build, Test and Run Task use VS Code's task commands and your project's configured tasks. They do not invent a project build or execute a bundled shell script. Terminal and task shortcuts require workspace trust. Themes, icons and the collection browser remain available in Restricted Mode.

Configure your own HTTPS URLs through Edit links, or set:

{
  "neonContagion.links.repository": "",
  "neonContagion.links.documentation": "",
  "neonContagion.links.pipelines": "",
  "neonContagion.links.runbook": ""
}

Empty links open the corresponding setting. User and Workspace settings are supported, so different projects can have different resources. URLs with embedded credentials or non-HTTPS protocols are rejected.

Branding appears inside the extension's workspace and collection gallery. Native themes cannot replace the VS Code application icon, splash screen or core product branding. No custom CSS injection or VS Code installation patches are used.

Browser render of the actual workspace webview with sample project state, using Chromatic Pandemic colors; not an Extension Host screenshot.

File icon coverage

Every theme uses the same association catalog: 173 extensions, 85 special filenames, 50 language IDs, and 56 named folders with expanded variants. Each family contains 94 SVG assets, including a unique theme emblem, for 4,700 SVGs across the collection. Unknown files and folders have matching defaults.

Coverage includes Python, PowerShell, shell, Terraform, Bicep, Docker, Git, CI/CD, JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Vue, Svelte, JSON, YAML, SQL, notebooks, Markdown, configuration, certificates, images, archives, Nix, Rego, Ansible and additional programming languages.

Colors, emblems, folder treatments and document details vary by theme. Recognizable file-type glyphs stay consistent across the collection. SVGs are drawn for small Explorer icons; raster mockups are visual references, not screenshots of the finished extension.

The 50 themes

The palette catalog lists the editor, panel and accent colors for each look.

Development

See CONTRIBUTING.md for clean-checkout commands, asset authoring, automated tests and native Extension Host checks. RELEASE.md documents candidate inspection and manual Marketplace upload.

Compatibility and validation

VALIDATION.json records asset checks and measured contrast. Bundled syntax, comments, selected text, buttons, titles, inactive tabs, all terminal ANSI colors, Git text and diagnostics pass a 4.5:1 threshold against their checked surfaces. This does not certify every editor state, third-party grammar or user override. Language extensions and semantic highlighting can affect syntax colors. User color customizations and system-controlled theme switching can override a selected look.

The code and original artwork are licensed under MIT. Third-party attribution is listed separately in THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md.

Support and privacy

Report bugs through GitHub Issues, including your VS Code version, OS, theme name and steps to reproduce. Never include tokens, secrets or private project files.

No telemetry, analytics, remote asset loading, or background network requests are implemented. Project links open only when clicked.