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The Kanagawa dotfiles come with a unified theming system that applies consistent color schemes across your entire desktop environment. With a single command, you can switch themes for all applications simultaneously.

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Available Themes

Kanagawa

Warm and subtle - Inspired by Japanese Sumi Ink paintingsDeep navy backgrounds with soft, muted accent colors reminiscent of traditional Japanese art.

Gruvbox

Retro warm contrast - Classic warm color paletteEarthy browns and warm backgrounds with high contrast, perfect for long coding sessions.

Catppuccin

Pastel perfection - Smooth and creamy colorsSoft pastel colors with a cozy, comfortable aesthetic that’s easy on the eyes.

Everforest

Forest inspired - Natural green tonesComfortable green-focused palette inspired by nature, providing a calming workspace.

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What Gets Themed

The theme system applies colors to every component of your desktop environment:
  • Hyprland: Window borders, gaps, and accent colors
  • Waybar: Status bar background, text, and module colors
  • Wofi: Application launcher styling
  • SwayNC: Notification center appearance
  • Wlogout: Logout menu colors
  • Ghostty: Terminal color palette (16 colors + background/foreground)
  • Zellij: Terminal multiplexer UI colors
  • Cava: Audio visualizer color gradients
  • Neovim: Editor theme via theme_bridge.lua
  • VSCodium: Workspace color theme
  • Btop: System monitor colors

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Color Scheme Example

Here’s how the Kanagawa theme defines its color palette: 
##############################################################
## Tema: Kanagawa                                           ##
## Descripción: Paleta de colores cálida y suave (Sumi Ink) ##
##############################################################

# Backgrounds (Tonos Sumi Ink)
$bg0 = 16161D # sumiInk0 (Más oscuro)
$bg1 = 1F1F28 # sumiInk1 (Fondo principal)
$bg2 = 2A2A37 # sumiInk2
$bg3 = 363646 # sumiInk3
$bg4 = 54546D # sumiInk4

# Foreground (Texto principal)
$fg  = DCD7BA # fujiWhite

# Colores Principales
$red    = C34043 # samuraiRed
$orange = FFA066 # surimiOrange
$yellow = E6C384 # springYellow
$green  = 98BB6C # autumnGreen
$aqua   = 7AA89F # waveAqua1
$blue   = 7E9CD8 # crystalBlue
$purple = 957FB8 # oniViolet
$pink   = D27E99 # sakuraPink

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Theme Organization

Themes are organized in a consistent structure across all config directories: 
~/.config/
├── hypr/colors/
│   ├── colors.conf              # Active theme (symlink/import)
│   └── custom/
│       ├── kanagawa.conf
│       ├── gruvbox.conf
│       ├── catppuccin.conf
│       └── everforest.conf
├── waybar/colors/
│   ├── colors.css
│   └── custom/
│       ├── kanagawa.css
│       ├── gruvbox.css
│       ├── catppuccin.css
│       └── everforest.css
├── ghostty/colors/
│   ├── colors                   # Active theme config
│   └── custom/
│       ├── kanagawa
│       ├── gruvbox
│       ├── catppuccin
│       └── everforest
├── btop/themes/
│   ├── colors.theme             # Symlink to active theme
│   └── custom/
│       ├── kanagawa.theme
│       ├── gruvbox.theme
│       ├── catppuccin.theme
│       └── everforest.theme
└── nvim/lua/
    └── theme_bridge.lua         # Theme name for Neovim
Each application has a colors file that points to the active theme, and a custom/ directory containing all available theme definitions.

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How Themes Work

The theme system uses different strategies based on the application:
  1. Import-based (Hyprland, Waybar, Wofi, SwayNC, Wlogout)
    • Main colors.conf/colors.css file contains an import statement
    • Points to the selected theme in custom/ directory
  2. Config file reference (Ghostty)
    • Uses config-file directive to load theme from custom/
  3. Symlink-based (Btop, Cava)
    • Active colors.theme/colors file is a symlink to the chosen theme
  4. Bridge file (Neovim)
    • theme_bridge.lua returns the theme name as a Lua string
    • LazyVim reads this value to load the appropriate colorscheme
  5. JSON editing (VSCodium)
    • Theme name is written directly to settings.json

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Next Steps

Switch Themes

Learn how to switch themes interactively or via command line

Create Custom Themes

Build your own theme with custom colors and styles