orca/docs/reference/plugin-themes.md

# Plugin themes

Plugins contribute three kinds of theme through `orca-plugin.json` `contributes`:
`themes` (app colors), `terminalThemes` (an ANSI palette) and, separately, icon themes.
Each entry is `{ "id", "title", "path" }` pointing at a JSON file of at most 16 KiB.

## App themes

```json
{
  "schemaVersion": 1,
  "base": "dark",
  "tokens": { "--background": "#1b1430", "--foreground": "#e8e0ff" }
}
```

- `schemaVersion` is optional for app themes and must be `1` when present.
- `base` (`light` or `dark`) picks the slot the theme fills: users choose a Light theme and a
  Dark theme separately, and Orca paints the one for its current mode (following the OS under
  System). Contribute one theme of each base to ship a pair; installing it fills both slots.
- `--background` and `--foreground` are required. Every other public token is optional; an
  omitted token is derived from the ones you set (cards from `--background`, sidebars lifted a
  step off `--background` so the left sidebar keeps a visible edge, text from `--foreground`,
  sidebar accents from `--accent`, rings from `--primary`, and so on), so a two-token theme still
  colors the whole app.
- [Theme tokens](plugin-theme-tokens.md) lists every public token and what it falls back to
  when omitted. Other variables cannot be set.
- Values must be colors: hex, a color function (`rgb`, `hsl`, `oklch`, …) or a color name.
  `transparent`, `currentColor`, CSS-wide keywords, lengths, `calc()`, `var()` and `url()` are
  refused.
- Each text/surface pair (for example `--background`/`--foreground`,
  `--primary`/`--primary-foreground`) must be opaque with at least 4.5:1 contrast; a pair that
  fails is dropped and keeps Orca's built-in colors. A pair you set only half of is checked
  against what the other half falls back to. Some checks drop only your token: `--text-link`
  needs 4.5:1 on `--editor-surface`, each `--git-decoration-*` 3:1 on `--sidebar`, and
  `--worktree-sidebar-active`, `--chat-user-message` and the diff line and character tints
  4.5:1 with the text drawn on them. Those surfaces and `--host-badge` may be translucent; they
  are checked as painted over the surface beneath.
- An omitted surface token paints exactly what Orca paints without a theme. The code editor's
  diff view and links keep Monaco's own colors unless the theme sets a diff token or
  `--text-link`. Setting only `--diff-added` and `--diff-removed` is enough; the line, gutter and
  changed-character tints follow them.
- When the user picks **Match terminal** or **Tinted** for the left sidebar, it ignores the
  theme's current-row colors (and, for Match terminal, its host badge colors); a chat set to
  match the terminal ignores the theme's chat and diff colors.
- Trust and approval dialogs always use Orca's own colors, whatever theme is active.
- `pnpm validate:plugin` refuses unknown keys, tokens and slots in every theme file. Orca itself
  skips them, so a theme that sets a token added in a newer release still loads on older ones.

### Code colors

An app theme also colors the code editor: its background, text, line numbers, cursor and
selection follow the theme's tokens. Users can also pick any app theme, of either base, as just
their editor theme (Settings → Appearance → Light/Dark editor theme); the editor then takes its
colors from `--editor-surface` (else `--background`), `--foreground`, `--muted-foreground`,
`--accent`, `--ring`, `--popover`, `--border` and `tokenColors`, while the rest of Orca keeps the
app theme. If those tokens can't make a legible editor, it uses Monaco's default colors. To
color code itself, add `tokenColors` (Orca 1.4.245 and later) in the same shape as a VS Code theme's, so most VS Code theme lists paste in unchanged (`validate:plugin` flags entries without a `scope` and any setting other than these two):

```json
{
  "base": "dark",
  "tokens": { "--background": "#1b1430", "--foreground": "#e8e0ff" },
  "tokenColors": [
    { "scope": "comment", "settings": { "foreground": "#8f84ad", "fontStyle": "italic" } },
    { "scope": ["keyword", "storage"], "settings": { "foreground": "#ff7ad9" } },
    { "scope": "string", "settings": { "foreground": "#a8e6a1" } },
    { "scope": "constant.numeric", "settings": { "foreground": "#ffb86c" } },
    { "scope": "entity.name.function", "settings": { "foreground": "#82cfff" } },
    { "scope": "markup.heading", "settings": { "foreground": "#ff7ad9", "fontStyle": "bold" } }
  ]
}
```

- `scope` is a TextMate scope or a list of them (a comma-separated string works too). Scopes
  follow the [TextMate naming convention](https://macromates.com/manual/en/language_grammars#naming_conventions):
  `comment`, `string`, `constant.numeric`, `keyword.control`, `keyword.operator`,
  `entity.name.function`, `entity.name.type`, `variable`, `punctuation`, `markup.heading`,
  `markup.underline.link`, `invalid`, and so on. A scope also colors everything beneath it
  (`keyword` covers `keyword.control.flow`); the longest match wins, then the later rule.
- `settings.foreground` is a hex color; `settings.fontStyle` is `italic`, `bold`, `underline`,
  `strikethrough`, a space-separated combination, or `""` for none. `name` is allowed and ignored.
- Orca applies them to its built-in languages and to plugin syntaxes alike. Selectors with
  spaces (descendant scopes) and `semanticTokenColors` are not read.
- A color under 3:1 contrast with the editor background is dropped, and anything a theme leaves
  out keeps the built-in light or dark code colors.

### Background image

An app theme may add one image painted behind the window's translucent surfaces:

```json
{
  "base": "dark",
  "tokens": { "--background": "#1b1430", "--foreground": "#e8e0ff" },
  "background": {
    "path": "images/dusk.webp",
    "opacity": 0.35,
    "size": "cover",
    "position": "center"
  }
}
```

- `path` is a file inside the plugin: PNG, JPEG or WebP, static, 640×360 to 4096×4096, at most
  2 MB. Orca serves it only through its own image scheme and checks the bytes each time; an image
  that does not pass is not shown and the theme still applies. `validate:plugin` reports a
  missing file.
- `opacity` (0 to 1, default 1) is how strongly the image shows through the theme's
  `--background`; `size` is `cover` (default), `contain` or `tile`; `position` is `center`
  (default), `top`, `bottom`, `left` or `right`.
- The image is one static layer, never blurred. Sidebars, editors and pages stay opaque; it
  shows through terminals when the user's terminal Background Opacity is below 1.
- Orca releases without background images ignore the field (`validate:plugin` on them reports it).

## Terminal themes

```json
{
  "schemaVersion": 1,
  "mode": "dark",
  "terminal": { "background": "#1b1430", "foreground": "#e8e0ff", "red": "#ff6b8b" }
}
```

Colors are hex. A palette needs `background`, `foreground` and at least one ANSI color. When a
user selects it, Orca saves a copy of the palette in settings so hosts, headless servers and
relays answer terminal color queries without the plugin loaded.

## Icon themes

`contributes.iconThemes` points at a JSON file that maps files and folders to SVG icons. Paths
are relative to the plugin root. The map names match the common JSON file icon theme format.
To port such a theme, keep the keys you want and replace each value: those themes map a key
to an icon definition ID, while Orca needs the SVG file's path, which is that definition's
`iconPath`. Large themes have far more entries than the 512-mapping limit, so pick the most
common names.

```json
{
  "schemaVersion": 1,
  "icons": {
    "file": "icons/file.svg",
    "folder": "icons/folder.svg",
    "folder-open": "icons/folder-open.svg"
  },
  "fileNames": { "readme.md": "icons/readme.svg" },
  "fileExtensions": { "ts": "icons/typescript.svg", "d.ts": "icons/typescript-def.svg" },
  "folderNames": { "src": "icons/folder-src.svg", "docs": "icons/folder-docs.svg" },
  "folderNamesExpanded": {
    "src": "icons/folder-src-open.svg",
    "docs": "icons/folder-docs-open.svg"
  }
}
```

- `icons` holds the generic `file`, `folder` and `folder-open` icons.
- For a file, Orca checks `fileNames`, then the longest matching `fileExtensions` key (so
  `d.ts` beats `ts`), then `icons.file`.
- For a folder, Orca matches the folder's own name, not its path. A closed folder checks
  `folderNames`, then `icons.folder`. An open folder checks `folderNamesExpanded`, then
  `icons["folder-open"]`, then falls back like a closed folder. If you set `folder-open`, give
  each named folder an expanded icon too, or it shows the generic open folder when expanded.
  Orca releases up to 1.4.245 ignore `folderNames` and `folderNamesExpanded`. They show only
  the generic icons, and an open folder without `folder-open` gets Orca's built-in icon.
- Keys are case-insensitive. Two keys that differ only in case are refused. Name keys can't
  contain `/` or `\`, so keys qualified by a parent folder (`src/components`) are not
  supported.
- These icons appear in the file explorer, Source Control, diff and conflict file trees, tabs,
  Quick Open, search results and the remote folder browser.
- The theme file can be at most 64 KiB. A theme can have at most 512 mappings across all maps
  and 512 distinct SVGs. Each SVG can be at most 64 KiB, and all of a theme's SVGs together at
  most 4 MiB. An SVG painted only with `currentColor` takes the row's text color. Any other SVG
  keeps its own colors.
- `rootFolder`, `rootFolderNames`, `languageIds` and font icons aren't supported.
  Orca's explorer has no workspace-root row for a root icon. `pnpm validate:plugin` flags these
  keys, and Orca skips them at runtime.