tint is a terminal theme switcher with live preview, directory-based switching, and custom theme support.
Each theme sets background, foreground, and all 16 ANSI colors.
Drop .tint files into project directories and your theme changes automatically as you navigate.
brew install corygabrielsen/tint/tintcurl -fsSL https://github.com/corygabrielsen/tint/releases/latest/download/tint \
-o ~/.local/bin/tint && chmod +x ~/.local/bin/tintMake sure ~/.local/bin is in your PATH.
Requires awk (for palette parsing) and a terminal that supports OSC 11 background-color sequences. Both are standard on modern systems.
Verify:
tint --versiontint # Interactive picker with live preview
tint dracula # Set by name (bg + fg + 16 ANSI colors)
tint "#002b36" # Set by hex (bg + auto-computed fg)
tint random # Pick a random theme
tint reset # Reset to terminal default
tint hook bash # Output shell hook for auto-tinting on cd
tint completions bash # Output shell completions
tint -h, --help # Show help
tint -l, --list # List available themes
tint -v, --version # Show version| Key | Action |
|---|---|
↑ ↓ k j |
Navigate list |
← → h l |
Navigate list (alternate) |
Enter |
Select theme |
Esc q |
Cancel (restore original) |
Chosen from popular community themes.
Dark: apprentice ayu campbell catppuccin-frappe catppuccin-macchiato catppuccin-mocha cobalt2 dracula everforest-dark github gruvbox-dark horizon kanagawa linux-console material monokai night-owl nord onedark palenight putty rose-pine rose-pine-moon solarized-dark synthwave tango tokyo
Light: catppuccin-latte everforest-light gruvbox-light onelight rose-pine-dawn solarized-light
24 hues × 6 lightness/saturation tiers. Hue order: red, vermilion, orange, amber, yellow, lime, chartreuse, harlequin, green, emerald, spring-green, aquamarine, cyan, sky-blue, azure, cobalt, blue, indigo, violet, purple, magenta, fuchsia, rose, crimson.
Deep (L=0.20, S=0.35 — near-black with strong hue): deep-red deep-vermilion deep-orange deep-amber deep-yellow deep-lime deep-chartreuse deep-harlequin deep-green deep-emerald deep-spring-green deep-aquamarine deep-cyan deep-sky-blue deep-azure deep-cobalt deep-blue deep-indigo deep-violet deep-purple deep-magenta deep-fuchsia deep-rose deep-crimson
Dark (L=0.35, S=0.35 — between deep and base): dark-red dark-vermilion dark-orange dark-amber dark-yellow dark-lime dark-chartreuse dark-harlequin dark-green dark-emerald dark-spring-green dark-aquamarine dark-cyan dark-sky-blue dark-azure dark-cobalt dark-blue dark-indigo dark-violet dark-purple dark-magenta dark-fuchsia dark-rose dark-crimson
Muted (L=0.50, S=0.35 — base canonical hue, no prefix): red vermilion orange amber yellow lime chartreuse harlequin green emerald spring-green aquamarine cyan sky-blue azure cobalt blue indigo violet purple magenta fuchsia rose crimson
Light (L=0.65, S=0.35 — lighter hue, dark text required): light-red light-vermilion light-orange light-amber light-yellow light-lime light-chartreuse light-harlequin light-green light-emerald light-spring-green light-aquamarine light-cyan light-sky-blue light-azure light-cobalt light-blue light-indigo light-violet light-purple light-magenta light-fuchsia light-rose light-crimson
Pale (L=0.80, S=0.35 — pastel daytime, dark text required): pale-red pale-vermilion pale-orange pale-amber pale-yellow pale-lime pale-chartreuse pale-harlequin pale-green pale-emerald pale-spring-green pale-aquamarine pale-cyan pale-sky-blue pale-azure pale-cobalt pale-blue pale-indigo pale-violet pale-purple pale-magenta pale-fuchsia pale-rose pale-crimson
Neon (L=0.50, S=0.80 — high-saturation siblings of muted): neon-red neon-vermilion neon-orange neon-amber neon-yellow neon-lime neon-chartreuse neon-harlequin neon-green neon-emerald neon-spring-green neon-aquamarine neon-cyan neon-sky-blue neon-azure neon-cobalt neon-blue neon-indigo neon-violet neon-purple neon-magenta neon-fuchsia neon-rose neon-crimson
Each theme is a name followed by 18 hex colors: background, foreground, and ANSI colors 0-15.
name:#bg:#fg:#00:#01:#02:#03:#04:#05:#06:#07:#08:#09:#10:#11:#12:#13:#14:#15
Drop theme files into $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/tint/themes (commonly ~/.config/tint/themes when XDG_CONFIG_HOME is unset; any filename works):
mkdir -p ~/.config/tint/themes
cat > ~/.config/tint/themes/mine.theme <<'EOF'
mytheme:#1a1b26:#c0caf5:#414868:#f7768e:#9ece6a:#e0af68:#7aa2f7:#bb9af7:#7dcfff:#a9b1d6:#414868:#f7768e:#9ece6a:#e0af68:#7aa2f7:#bb9af7:#7dcfff:#c0caf5
EOF
tint mythemeEach file can contain one or more theme entries, one per line. Files are read in alphabetical order and appended to the built-in palette. Pick unique names for your drop-in themes — built-ins win lookups on name collision. Set TINT_PALETTE_DIR to override the $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/tint/themes default.
Source tint to use its functions in scripts. Use . for POSIX compatibility, or source in bash/zsh:
. /path/to/tint
tint_supports_color # Check if terminal supports OSC color sequences
tint_resolve "dracula" # Name → full theme string, hex → expanded #rrggbb
tint_lookup "dracula" # Palette name → theme string (#bg:#fg:#00:...:#15)
tint_set "#002b36" # Set background (auto-computes foreground)
tint_set "$theme_string" # Set full theme (bg + fg + 16 ANSI colors)
tint_reset # Reset to terminal default
tint_pick "$current" # Interactive picker → selected theme name
tint_list # Print all theme names
tint_reload_palette # Rebuild TINT_PALETTE after changing TINT_PALETTE_DIR / XDG_CONFIG_HOME / HOMEAuto-apply terminal themes when you cd into a project. The hook runs on every directory change — your terminal shifts to match whatever you're working on.
# bash (~/.bashrc)
eval "$(tint hook bash)"
# zsh (~/.zshrc)
eval "$(tint hook zsh)"Then create .tint files in project directories:
echo "nord" > ~/projects/myproject/.tint
echo "dracula" > ~/projects/work/.tint
echo "reset" > ~/projects/personal/.tint # reset to defaultThe hook walks up from $PWD to / looking for the nearest .tint file. Themes are sticky — if no .tint is found, the current theme is kept. Place a .tint in ~ for a global default.
A .tint file contains a single value — either a theme name (dracula), hex (#002b36), or reset. Inline comments are supported (dracula # work theme).
Fish shell is not currently supported for hooks (completions work via tint completions fish).
For tab completion of theme names and subcommands, see Shell Completions.
Tab-complete theme names, subcommands, and flags:
# bash (~/.bashrc)
eval "$(tint completions bash)"
# zsh (~/.zshrc)
eval "$(tint completions zsh)"
# fish
tint completions fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/tint.fish| Feature | Requirement |
|---|---|
Interactive picker (tint) |
Bash 3.2+ |
| All other commands | Any POSIX shell (dash, ash, sh) |
| Terminal | OSC 4/10/11 support (most modern terminals) |
Tested on: iTerm2, Alacritty, Kitty, Windows Terminal, GNOME Terminal, Konsole
tmux: Requires set -g allow-passthrough on in your tmux config for OSC sequences to reach the outer terminal.
tint uses OSC escape sequences to control terminal colors:
\e]11;#rrggbb\e\\— Set background color (OSC 11)\e]10;#rrggbb\e\\— Set foreground color (OSC 10)\e]4;N;#rrggbb\e\\— Set ANSI color N (OSC 4, N=0-15)\e]11;?\e\\— Query current background\e]111\e\\— Reset background to default\e]110\e\\— Reset foreground to default\e]104\e\\— Reset all ANSI colors to default
make setup # Install pre-commit hooks and shellcheck
make doctor # Check dev environment
make lint # Run shellcheck
make test # Run testsMIT