kimi-code/docs/en/customization/themes.md

Custom Themes

Kimi Code CLI can use a built-in color scheme or a custom JSON theme file. Custom files live in the themes directory and appear in /theme alongside the built-in choices.

Built-in color tokens

Custom themes can override the tokens below. The dark and light columns show the built-in values; auto resolves to one of those palettes at startup, and falls back to dark when terminal background detection is unavailable.

Token	dark	light	What it controls
primary	#4FA8FF	#1565C0	The most-used color. Links, inline code, the selected item in nearly every dialog, the focused editor border, Plan/"running" badges, spinners
accent	#5BC0BE	#00838F	Secondary highlight. Approval ▶ prefix, device-code box, image placeholder, BTW / queue panes, registry import
text	#E0E0E0	#1A1A1A	Body text. Dialog bodies, todo titles, footer model label, Markdown headings, assistant/tool message bullets, list bullets
textStrong	#F5F5F5	#1A1A1A	Emphasized / bold text. Input dialogs, status messages
textDim	#888888	#454545	Secondary, dimmed text. Thinking, hints, descriptions, completed todos, Markdown quotes, footer status bar
textMuted	#6B6B6B	#5F5F5F	Faintest text. Counters, scroll info, descriptions, Markdown link URLs, code-block borders
border	#5A5A5A	#737373	Pane and editor borders, Markdown horizontal rule
borderFocus	#E8A838	#92660A	Focus / attention border, currently only the approval panel
success	#4EC87E	#0E7A38	Success state. ✓, "enabled", completed
warning	#E8A838	#92660A	Warning state. auto/yolo badges, stale markers, Plan mode hint
error	#E85454	#B91C1C	Error state. Error messages, failed tool output
diffAdded	#4EC87E	#0E7A38	Diff added lines
diffRemoved	#E85454	#B91C1C	Diff removed lines
diffAddedStrong	#7AD99B	#0E7A38	Diff intra-line changed words, added and bold
diffRemovedStrong	#F08585	#B91C1C	Diff intra-line changed words, removed and bold
diffGutter	#6B6B6B	#737373	Diff line-number gutter
diffMeta	#888888	#5F5F5F	Diff meta / hunk headers
roleUser	#FFCB6B	#9A4A00	User message bullet and text, skill-activation name

Use the custom-theme skill

You do not need to write the JSON by hand. Run the built-in /custom-theme [extra text] skill command to enter the custom-theme workflow; the skill can choose colors, write the file under ~/.kimi-code/themes/, validate the hex values, and tell you how to apply it.

Example invocations:

• /custom-theme Create a warm dark theme with amber accents.
• /custom-theme Make a light theme based on Solarized, but keep errors easy to see.
• /custom-theme Tweak my ember theme so diffs have higher contrast.

After activation, the skill usually asks whether you want a light or dark base, what mood or palette you prefer, and whether you have exact colors to include. If you use it to edit an existing theme, make sure it reads and backs up the file before overwriting it.

Create a theme

Add a .json file to the themes directory:

• ~/.kimi-code/themes/
• or $KIMI_CODE_HOME/themes/ when the KIMI_CODE_HOME environment variable is set

Create the directory if it does not exist. The filename is the theme name: ember.json appears in /theme as Custom: ember.

A minimal theme only sets the colors you want to change; the rest fall back to the base palette (dark by default):

{
  "name": "ember",
  "colors": {
    "primary": "#83A598",
    "accent": "#FE8019"
  }
}

Fields:

• name (required): the theme identifier.
• displayName (optional): a human-readable name.
• base (optional): the built-in palette that unspecified tokens inherit — "dark" (default) or "light". Set "base": "light" when you are building a light theme so the tokens you leave out stay readable on a light background (otherwise they fall back to the dark palette).
• colors (optional): the color tokens to override, each a 6-digit hex value (e.g. #FE8019).

Use the token names from Built-in color tokens. Any token you omit falls back to the selected base palette, so partial themes are fine:

{
  "name": "just-blue",
  "colors": {
    "primary": "#3B82F6",
    "roleUser": "#3B82F6"
  }
}

Select a theme

Two ways:

1. The /theme command (recommended): opens the theme picker, where custom themes appear as Custom: <filename>. The picker re-scans the themes directory every time it opens, so a theme file you just added shows up without a restart.

2. tui.toml: set theme to your theme name:

   # ~/.kimi-code/tui.toml
   theme = "ember"
   

What happens on errors

Custom themes are designed to never get in your way:

• An invalid color value (not # followed by 6 hex digits): that one entry is silently skipped and falls back to the selected base palette; the rest of the colors still apply.
• An unrecognized token: ignored, with no effect on other colors.
• A missing custom theme file or malformed JSON: silently falls back to the built-in dark palette. It does not retry auto.

Editing the active theme

If you edit the theme file that is currently active, the change is not reloaded automatically. To apply the new colors:

• run /reload-tui — it reloads tui.toml and re-applies the current theme (including re-reading the theme file); or
• switch to another theme in /theme and back.

::: warning Note Re-selecting the same theme in /theme does not reload it (you get a "Theme unchanged" message). To reload changes to the active theme, use one of the two methods above. :::