How to Configure Terminal ANSI Colors in Islands Dark

Islands Dark defines its terminal color palette in themes/islands-dark.json and applies these ANSI colors automatically, but you can customize any specific color by overriding keys in your user settings.json or editing the theme source directly.

Islands Dark is a popular VS Code theme that includes a complete set of ANSI color definitions for the integrated terminal. The theme maps standard terminal slots—from terminal.ansiBlack to terminal.ansiBrightWhite—to its signature dark-mode palette, ensuring command-line tools render consistently with the editor interface. When you need to adjust specific hues, you can configure terminal ANSI colors in Islands Dark through user settings overrides or by modifying the theme file itself.

Where Terminal ANSI Colors Are Defined

According to the bwya77/vscode-dark-islands source code, the terminal color palette lives in themes/islands-dark.json at lines 294 through 309. This file contains the complete UI color definitions, including the sixteen standard ANSI slots used by the integrated terminal.

The default values shipped with the theme are:

Color Key	Default Value	Line
terminal.ansiBlack	#181a1d	294
terminal.ansiRed	#f75464	295
terminal.ansiGreen	#73b00a	296
terminal.ansiYellow	#e8a33e	297
terminal.ansiBlue	#548af7	298
terminal.ansiMagenta	#c77dbb	299
terminal.ansiCyan	#2aacb8	300
terminal.ansiWhite	#bcbec4	301
terminal.ansiBrightBlack	#535860	302
terminal.ansiBrightRed	#ff8d8f	303
terminal.ansiBrightGreen	#a6d96a	304
terminal.ansiBrightYellow	#f5d586	305
terminal.ansiBrightBlue	#8eb5ff	306
terminal.ansiBrightMagenta	#e5b5d9	307
terminal.ansiBrightCyan	#74dbe0	308
terminal.ansiBrightWhite	#d8dadd	309

These values are loaded automatically when you activate the Islands Dark theme in VS Code.

Method 1: Override Colors in settings.json

The safest way to customize terminal colors without forking the repository is to override specific keys in your user settings.json. VS Code merges user settings on top of the theme defaults, so any terminal.* keys you define take precedence over the values in islands-dark.json.

To change a single color, add the specific key to your settings:

{
  "terminal.ansiRed": "#ff5555",
  "terminal.ansiBrightGreen": "#b4fa7f"
}

To replace the entire terminal palette, define all sixteen ANSI colors:

{
  "terminal.ansiBlack": "#0d0d0d",
  "terminal.ansiRed": "#ff6e6e",
  "terminal.ansiGreen": "#5fff87",
  "terminal.ansiYellow": "#ffef7a",
  "terminal.ansiBlue": "#5faaff",
  "terminal.ansiMagenta": "#ff87d7",
  "terminal.ansiCyan": "#5ffaff",
  "terminal.ansiWhite": "#e5e5e5",
  "terminal.ansiBrightBlack": "#666666",
  "terminal.ansiBrightRed": "#ff8e8e",
  "terminal.ansiBrightGreen": "#a0ffb0",
  "terminal.ansiBrightYellow": "#fff57a",
  "terminal.ansiBrightBlue": "#8abfff",
  "terminal.ansiBrightMagenta": "#ff9edb",
  "terminal.ansiBrightCyan": "#9ffaff",
  "terminal.ansiBrightWhite": "#ffffff"
}

Changes take effect immediately in open terminal windows; no reload is required for settings.json updates.

Method 2: Fork and Edit the Theme File

For permanent changes that you can share or maintain across installations, fork the repository and modify the theme source directly.

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/bwya77/vscode-dark-islands.git
cd vscode-dark-islands

2. Edit themes/islands-dark.json and update the color values on lines 294-309.

3. Reinstall the extension using the provided install script:

./install.sh

After restarting VS Code, the modified ANSI colors will be active in the integrated terminal. This method ensures your custom palette persists across theme updates, though you will need to merge upstream changes manually.

Summary

• Islands Dark stores terminal ANSI colors in themes/islands-dark.json at lines 294-309, mapping standard slots like terminal.ansiRed to specific hex values.
• Override in user settings: Add terminal.ansi* keys to your settings.json for immediate, update-safe customization.
• Fork the theme: Clone the repository, edit themes/islands-dark.json, and run ./install.sh to permanently modify the defaults.
• Both methods preserve the rest of the Islands Dark UI because terminal colors are isolated from other theme properties.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Islands Dark define the default terminal ANSI colors?

The default palette is defined in themes/islands-dark.json within the bwya77/vscode-dark-islands repository, specifically at lines 294 through 309. This section maps all sixteen ANSI slots—including eight standard and eight bright variants—to the theme's dark-mode color scheme.

Will changing terminal colors in settings.json affect other parts of the theme?

No. VS Code scopes terminal.ansi* settings specifically to the integrated terminal. Overrides in your user settings.json apply only to terminal rendering and do not modify the editor background, syntax highlighting, or other UI elements defined in Islands Dark.

Do I need to reload VS Code after editing terminal colors in settings.json?

No reload is necessary. VS Code hot-reloads settings changes, so updates to terminal.ansi* colors appear immediately in any open terminal panels. If you modified the theme file directly via Method 2, you must reload the window or reinstall the extension for changes to take effect.

Can I use the Command Palette to customize these colors instead of editing JSON?

While you can open the Settings UI (Ctrl+, or Cmd+,) and search for "terminal ANSI", the Islands Dark-specific defaults are only visible in the underlying JSON files. For precise control over individual ANSI slots, editing settings.json directly is the recommended approach, as the Settings UI may not expose all sixteen color keys intuitively.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}