Camaleone
Camaleone gives each IDE workspace more personality with gradient-inspired treatment, high customization, and presets.
VS Code's supported workbench color API accepts individual color values. Camaleone samples a start-to-end gradient and applies those samples across the title bar, activity bar, side bar, panel, status bar, buttons, borders, and optional editor accents. Users of this extension have a big deal of freedom!
More info
The website includes the animated feature walkthrough, current marketplace screenshots, user notes, and support links. README media is intentionally loaded from the live website so marketplace pages and GitHub always show the current visuals published on github-pages.
Overview
Camaleone gives every VS Code and Cursor window a distinct identity without forcing you to install a full theme.
Pick a start and end color, generate palettes with Surprise me, keep the result restrained with default Sober mode, use presets, or customize individual surfaces such as the title bar, activity bar, side bar, panel, status bar, buttons, and editor accents.
It is built for people who work across many projects and want a fast visual cue for each window. Save favourite palettes, apply them again later, restore the colors Camaleone replaced, or reset cleanly to IDE defaults whenever you need to.
Feature Highlights
- Gradient-inspired workbench identity without installing or switching full themes.
- Sober mode for restrained color on high-signal surfaces.
- Per-surface customization for title bar, activity bar, side bar, panel, status bar, buttons, borders, and editor accents.
- Built-in presets for Magnificent 7 companies and QS 2026 top universities.
- Favourite palettes for reusable workspace identities.
- Clean restore and reset commands for returning to previous colors or IDE defaults.
What Users Say
"Loving it! Installed and in use!!"
"easy to use. great interface"
"Way Better than Peacock!"
"It's just beautiful"
Screenshots
Click any image to open the Camaleone website. These images are loaded from https://trentini.fyi/camaleone/.
How To Use
- Install Camaleone in VS Code or Cursor.
- Open the Command Palette with
Cmd+Shift+P on macOS or Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows and Linux.
- Run
Camaleone: Open Colour Picker. This is the main command, and it opens the Camaleone customization interface.
- Choose a
Start color and End color, or click Surprise me to generate a palette.
- Leave
Sober enabled for a restrained window identity, or turn it off for a fuller palette across the workbench.
- Choose whether to apply the colors to
Workspace settings or Global settings.
- Use
Customize to tune individual surfaces such as the title bar, activity bar, side bar, panel, status bar, buttons, and editor accents. Surface changes apply automatically; Revert returns a surface to the generated palette color.
- Click
Apply colors to write the current palette.
- Click
Save as favourite... to store a palette, then choose it from the favourites list to apply it later. Preloaded presets can also be loaded and customized.
- Use
Restore previous to return to the colors Camaleone replaced, or Reset IDE defaults to remove Camaleone-managed colors.
Preloaded Favourites
Camaleone ships with default favourites for the Magnificent 7 companies and the QS 2026 top 10 universities. These presets are brand-inspired two-color profiles, so they fit Camaleone's workbench model while keeping the names recognizable.
- Magnificent 7: Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, NVIDIA (
#76b900), and Tesla.
- QS 2026 top 10 universities: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Imperial College London, Stanford University (
#8c1515 and #dad7cb), University of Oxford, Harvard University, University of Cambridge, ETH Zurich, National University of Singapore (NUS), UCL, and California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
- To edit a preloaded favourite, choose it from the favourites list, adjust the colors or custom surfaces, then click
Save as favourite.... The save prompt is prefilled with the preset name, and saving creates your editable override.
Commands
Main command:
Camaleone: Open Colour Picker: opens the customization interface for choosing colors, previewing the palette, tuning surfaces, applying changes, and saving favourites.
Secondary commands:
Camaleone: Quick Apply Without WebviewCamaleone: Apply Configured ColorsCamaleone: Restore Previous ColorsCamaleone: Reset to IDE DefaultsCamaleone: Surprise MeCamaleone: Save Current Colors as FavouriteCamaleone: Apply Favourite Colors
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