Update (November 05, 2016): Add this new theme at the bottom of the article. https://github.com/dempfi/ayu
Sublime Text is an incredibly powerful editor. Not only does it have a great amount of features, it can also look good. We've gone through and looked at the best themes of 2014; let's have a look at the newest Sublime Text 3 themes.
Installing Themes
Table of Contents
To install themes, just use package control. So the process would be:
- ctrl + shift + p or cmd + shift + p
- Look for
Package Control: Install Package
- Search for the theme and hit enter
- Set the theme in Preferences -> Settings – User by editing the json property called
theme
{
"theme": "Lanzhou.sublime-theme"
}
The font used in the screenshots is called Operator Mono.
Boxy
- Features four high quality themes and complimentary color schemes.
- Large variety of options to tune every visual aspect of your editor.
{
// Boxy Yesterday
"color_scheme": "Packages/Boxy Theme/schemes/Boxy Yesterday.tmTheme",
"theme": "Boxy Yesterday.sublime-theme",
}
// Boxy Tomorrow
"color_scheme": "Packages/Boxy Theme/schemes/Boxy Tomorrow.tmTheme",
"theme": "Boxy Tomorrow.sublime-theme",
{
// Boxy Ocean
"color_scheme": "Packages/Boxy Theme/schemes/Boxy Ocean.tmTheme",
"theme": "Boxy Ocean.sublime-theme",
{
// Boxy Monokai
"color_scheme": "Packages/Boxy Theme/schemes/Boxy Monokai.tmTheme",
"theme": "Boxy Monokai.sublime-theme",
}
Material Theme
- Very well documented and lots of options to customize.
- Author has created plugins for additional customization.
See Material Theme on Package Control
{
// Default theme
"theme": "Material-Theme.sublime-theme",
"color_scheme": "Packages/Material Theme/schemes/Material-Theme.tmTheme"
}
{
// Darker theme
"theme": "Material-Theme-Darker.sublime-theme",
"color_scheme": "Packages/Material Theme/schemes/Material-Theme-Darker.tmTheme"
}
{
// Lighter theme
"theme": "Material-Theme-Lighter.sublime-theme",
"color_scheme": "Packages/Material Theme/schemes/Material-Theme-Lighter.tmTheme"
}
Agila
- Well spaced folders in the file tree for readability.
- Agila Oceanic has a similar feel to the popular Spacegray theme.
{
// Default theme
"theme": "Agila.sublime-theme",
"color_scheme": "Packages/Agila Theme/Agila Oceanic Next.tmTheme"
}
{
// Classic theme
"theme": "Agila Classic.sublime-theme",
"color_scheme": "Packages/Agila Theme/Agila Classic Oceanic Next.tmTheme"
}
{
// Light theme
"theme": "Agila Light.sublime-theme",
"color_scheme": "Packages/Agila Theme/Agila Light Solarized.tmTheme"
}
Lanzhou
- Good contrast between sidebar and editor if you use a flat-dark color scheme like
Base16 Ocean Dark
.
See Lanszhou on Package Control
{
"theme": "Lanzhou.sublime-theme",
"color_scheme": "Packages/Theme - Lanzhou/base16-ocean.dark.tmTheme"
}
Sunrise
See Sunrise on Package Control
{
"theme": "Sunrise.sublime-theme"
}
Kronuz
{
"theme": "Theme - Kronuz.sublime-theme",
"color_scheme": "Packages/Theme - Kronuz/Kronuz.tmTheme"
}
Autumn
- Features a cool perspective on the file tree.
- Looks really good with Monokai.
{
"theme": "Autumn.sublime-theme",
"color_scheme": "Packages/Theme - Autumn/Autumn.tmTheme"
}
Ayu
- Simple and well thought out theme
- Dark and light for working all day comfortably
{
// Ayu Light
"theme": "ayu-light.sublime-theme",
"color_scheme": "Packages/ayu/ayu-light.tmTheme",
}
{
// Ayu Mirage
"theme": "ayu-mirage.sublime-theme",
"color_scheme": "Packages/ayu/ayu-mirage.tmTheme",
}
{
// Ayu Dark
"theme": "ayu-dark.sublime-theme",
"color_scheme": "Packages/ayu/ayu-dark.tmTheme",
}
Tips For Choosing A Theme
- Everyone's eyes see color differently, find a theme that creates a good contrast between the background and the text for you.
- When your eyes get tired or it's a late night while your working consider a program like Flux.
- Try out Colorsublime, it lets you change your current color scheme instantly from within Sublime Text.
Conclusion
By far my favorite theme and color scheme is Boxy Monokai
, but Agila
came in a close second. However I found these theme's color schemes to have varied syntax highlighting for files I work in like ES6, ReactJS/JSX, or HTML.
Know of any new themes or color schemes that you really liked?
Like this article? Follow @michaeljcalkins on Twitter