InfiniteRed

art.through(code)

The last Vim color scheme you'll ever need

April 30, 2008 | Tags: Unix, Linux, Command Line, Development, OS X | Comments: 8

Vim Logo
Color Scheme

This color scheme is based off of my popular IR_Black theme for TextMate.

When thinking of vim or vi, visually appealing UI doesn't normally enter your mind. But that isn't due to a lack of features, because its support for syntax coloring is one the best I've seen; the only thing slightly better is TextMate. It's due to the poor color schemes many people use.

In gVim or MacVim you have access to all colors, and in the shell you have access to the 16 ANSI colors (well at least in my 16 color terminal, you can have up to 256 colors in some terminals).

Examples

All the following examples use the Monaco font.

Ruby and blank file - MacVim (same as gVim) - full color
Ruby example

Ruby and blank file - vim in shell - 16 colors - note: I'm using my terminal theme
Ruby example

Other Examples

Java example

HTML example

Windows and popup example

Install

  • Download the color scheme
  • Place that file (ir_black.vim) in your ~/.vim/colors folder
  • Change your color scheme using :colorscheme ir_black

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8 comments:
  1. Jean-Francois  April 30, 2008 17:07

    I am able to load the color scheme in MacVim but doesn't work when I try to load it in console vim (v. 7.0)

    Any ideas?

  2. Todd Werth  April 30, 2008 18:07

    Jean-Francois,
    Both are set exactly the same way:
    * Make sure you have the color scheme file in your ~/.vim/colors folder
    * Then create or modify your ~/.vim/vimrc file (startup settings go here)
    * Add these lines to it:
    set background=dark
    colorscheme ir_black
    syntax on

    Also, I'd upgrade vim if possible (I use MacPorts in OS X to do that), as 7.1.x is the current version.

  3. Jean-Francois  April 30, 2008 19:11

    Thanks for the hint!
    I also figured I needed to install the SIMBL Plugin for OSX Terminal in order to have the new ANSI colors. Works now!

    Can you share your vim settings? And maybe a few tricks like how you got the code completion working? That would make for a nice post :)

  4. Ovidiu Curcan  May 01, 2008 01:33

    I think “desert” is the best Vim color scheme, but I will give yours a go.

    I love the glossy Vim logo at the top of the article. I've never seen it before. Did you make it? And if you did, can I use it?

  5. Todd Werth  May 01, 2008 08:12

    Ovidiu Curcan,

    The logo is MacVim's, which I slightly modified. You can find it in the git repo here:
    http://tinyurl.com/4x3nsm

    It's: src/MacVim/vim_gloss.icns

  6. Dan Dorman  May 01, 2008 12:07

    Beautiful work! I loves me my vim color schemes. Thanks for porting it!

  7. Costis  May 03, 2008 08:21

    Thanks very much for creating this color scheme. It's beautiful

  8. Damien  May 10, 2008 19:12

    I finally got color for certain words(syntax) but it looks nothing like the above screens.

    For example the background is not black and the font doesn't come through.

    I'm on ubuntu and have installed vim.

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