Skins

Get the look you want!

Gonzo supports customizable color schemes (skins) to personalize your terminal UI experience.

Using Built-in Skins

Gonzo includes 11+ pre-built themes in the skins directory.

Available Skins

Dark Themes 🌙

default - Original Gonzo dark theme
controltheory-dark - ControlTheory branded dark theme
dracula - Purple-accented vampire theme
gruvbox - Retro groove colors
monokai - Warm high-contrast theme
nord - Arctic blue palette
solarized-dark - Precision colors for reduced eye strain

Light Themes ☀️

controltheory - ControlTheory branded light theme
github-light - Clean GitHub-inspired light mode
solarized-light - Precision light colors
vs-code-light - Professional VS Code style
spring - Fresh nature-inspired colors

Setup

Download skins:

# Create skins directory
mkdir -p ~/.config/gonzo/skins

# Download a specific skin
curl -o ~/.config/gonzo/skins/dracula.yaml \
  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/control-theory/gonzo/main/skins/dracula.yaml

# Or clone repo and copy all skins
git clone https://github.com/control-theory/gonzo.git
cp gonzo/skins/*.yaml ~/.config/gonzo/skins/

Usage

Command line:

# Use a skin
gonzo --skin=dracula -f application.log

# Short form
gonzo -s nord

Environment variable:

export GONZO_SKIN=github-light
gonzo -f application.log

Configuration file (~/.config/gonzo/config.yml):

skin: solarized-dark

Creating Custom Skins

Create a YAML file in ~/.config/gonzo/skins/ with this structure:

Basic Structure

name: my-custom-skin
description: My awesome custom skin
author: Your Name

colors:
  # UI Components
  primary: "#0066cc"           # Main accent color
  secondary: "#00cc66"         # Secondary accent
  background: "#ffffff"        # Main background
  surface: "#f8f9fa"          # Panel backgrounds
  border: "#dee2e6"           # Section borders
  border_active: "#0066cc"     # Active borders
  text: "#212529"             # Primary text
  text_secondary: "#6c757d"    # Muted text
  text_inverse: "#ffffff"      # Text on colored backgrounds
  
  # Charts
  chart_title: "#0066cc"       # Chart titles
  chart_bar: "#00cc66"        # Bar chart bars
  chart_accent: "#ff6600"      # Chart accents
  
  # Log Entries
  log_timestamp: "#6c757d"     # Timestamps
  log_message: "#212529"       # Message text
  log_background: "#ffffff"    # Entry background
  log_selected: "#e3f2fd"      # Selected entry
  
  # Severity Levels
  severity_trace: "#adb5bd"    # TRACE
  severity_debug: "#6c757d"    # DEBUG
  severity_info: "#0066cc"     # INFO
  severity_warn: "#ff9500"     # WARN/WARNING
  severity_error: "#dc3545"    # ERROR
  severity_fatal: "#6f42c1"    # FATAL/CRITICAL
  
  # Status Indicators
  success: "#00cc66"          # Success states
  warning: "#ff9500"          # Warnings
  error: "#dc3545"            # Errors
  info: "#0066cc"             # Info
  
  # Special Elements
  help: "#6c757d"             # Help text
  highlight: "#fff3cd"        # Search highlights
  disabled: "#adb5bd"         # Disabled elements

Color Reference

Complete Examples

Light Theme:

name: clean-light
description: A clean light theme
author: Me

colors:
  primary: "#0066cc"
  secondary: "#00cc66"
  background: "#ffffff"
  surface: "#f8f9fa"
  border: "#dee2e6"
  border_active: "#0066cc"
  text: "#212529"
  text_secondary: "#6c757d"
  text_inverse: "#ffffff"
  
  chart_title: "#0066cc"
  chart_bar: "#00cc66"
  chart_accent: "#ff6600"
  
  log_timestamp: "#6c757d"
  log_message: "#212529"
  log_background: "#ffffff"
  log_selected: "#e3f2fd"
  
  severity_trace: "#adb5bd"
  severity_debug: "#6c757d"
  severity_info: "#0066cc"
  severity_warn: "#fd7e14"
  severity_error: "#dc3545"
  severity_fatal: "#6f42c1"
  
  success: "#00cc66"
  warning: "#fd7e14"
  error: "#dc3545"
  info: "#0066cc"
  
  help: "#6c757d"
  highlight: "#fff3cd"
  disabled: "#adb5bd"

Dark Theme:

name: sleek-dark
description: A sleek dark theme
author: Me

colors:
  primary: "#66d9ef"
  secondary: "#a6e22e"
  background: "#272822"
  surface: "#3e3d32"
  border: "#75715e"
  border_active: "#66d9ef"
  text: "#f8f8f2"
  text_secondary: "#75715e"
  text_inverse: "#272822"
  
  chart_title: "#66d9ef"
  chart_bar: "#a6e22e"
  chart_accent: "#fd971f"
  
  log_timestamp: "#75715e"
  log_message: "#f8f8f2"
  log_background: "#272822"
  log_selected: "#49483e"
  
  severity_trace: "#75715e"
  severity_debug: "#ae81ff"
  severity_info: "#66d9ef"
  severity_warn: "#e6db74"
  severity_error: "#f92672"
  severity_fatal: "#ae81ff"
  
  success: "#a6e22e"
  warning: "#e6db74"
  error: "#f92672"
  info: "#66d9ef"
  
  help: "#75715e"
  highlight: "#49483e"
  disabled: "#75715e"

Using Your Custom Skin

# Save as ~/.config/gonzo/skins/my-skin.yaml
gonzo --skin=my-skin -f application.log

Design Guidelines

Light Themes:

Use dark text (#212529) on light backgrounds (#ffffff)
Ensure contrast ratio ≥ 4.5:1 (WCAG AA)
Use muted colors for secondary elements
Prefer subtle grays over pure white

Dark Themes:

Use light text (#f8f8f2) on dark backgrounds (#272822)
Avoid pure black; use dark grays
Use vibrant colors for accents
Ensure readability in low-light

Accessibility:

Test with color blindness simulators
Maintain adequate contrast ratios
Don't rely solely on color to convey information

Troubleshooting

Skin not loading:

# Check if skin exists
ls ~/.config/gonzo/skins/

# Verify YAML syntax
cat ~/.config/gonzo/skins/my-skin.yaml

# Test with default
gonzo --skin=default

Missing colors: All colors are optional. Unspecified colors use defaults.

Color formats: Use hex colors (#ff0000, #RGB, #RRGGBB)

Contributing Skins

Share your skin with the community! Submit a pull request to the Gonzo repository with:

Your skin YAML file
Screenshots (optional but appreciated)
Description of the theme

Additional Resources

Skin Examples: https://github.com/control-theory/gonzo/tree/main/skins
Issue Tracker: https://github.com/control-theory/gonzo/issues

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Last updated 3 days ago