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Overview

Netcatty includes 60+ built-in terminal themes and supports full theme customization. Create your own color schemes, adjust fonts, and apply themes globally or per-host.

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Terminal Themes

Themes define the color palette and visual appearance of your terminal.

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Theme Structure

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TerminalTheme
object

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Built-in Themes

Netcatty includes 60+ carefully curated themes across various styles.

Netcatty Dark

Default dark theme with blue accentsColors:
  • Background: #0d1117
  • Foreground: #c9d1d9
  • Accent: #58a6ff

Dracula

Popular purple-based dark themeColors:
  • Background: #282a36
  • Foreground: #f8f8f2
  • Accent: #ff79c6

Tokyo Night

Modern dark blue themeColors:
  • Background: #1a1b26
  • Foreground: #c0caf5
  • Accent: #7aa2f7

Monokai

Classic coding themeColors:
  • Background: #272822
  • Foreground: #f8f8f2
  • Accent: #f92672

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Theme Categories

Browse themes by style:
  • Professional: Netcatty, Tokyo Night, Atom One, Material
  • Classic: Solarized, Monokai, Dracula, Gruvbox
  • Colorful: Aura, Rose Pine, Kanagawa, Cyberpunk
  • Retro: Hacker Green, Homebrew, Ocean, Pro
  • Seasonal: Halloween, Diwali, Movember
  • Nature: Grass, Ocean, Everforest

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Creating Custom Themes

Design your own terminal color scheme.

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UI Workflow

  1. Navigate to Settings → Terminal → Theme
  2. Click Customize or Create New
  3. Theme editor opens with:
    • Live preview terminal on the right
    • Color pickers on the left
    • Base theme selector (start from existing theme)
  4. Adjust colors:
    • Background/Foreground
    • Cursor/Selection
    • 16 ANSI colors (normal + bright)
  5. Test in preview terminal
  6. Click Save
  7. Name your theme

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Color Picker Features

  • Hex input: Type colors directly (#ff5733)
  • Visual picker: Click and drag to choose
  • Eyedropper: Sample colors from screen
  • Presets: Quick access to common colors

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Theme JSON Structure

{
  "id": "my-custom-theme",
  "name": "My Custom Theme",
  "type": "dark",
  "isCustom": true,
  "colors": {
    "background": "#1e1e2e",
    "foreground": "#cdd6f4",
    "cursor": "#f5e0dc",
    "selection": "#313244",
    "black": "#45475a",
    "red": "#f38ba8",
    "green": "#a6e3a1",
    "yellow": "#f9e2af",
    "blue": "#89b4fa",
    "magenta": "#f5c2de",
    "cyan": "#94e2d5",
    "white": "#cdd6f4",
    "brightBlack": "#585b70",
    "brightRed": "#f38ba8",
    "brightGreen": "#a6e3a1",
    "brightYellow": "#f9e2af",
    "brightBlue": "#89b4fa",
    "brightMagenta": "#f5c2de",
    "brightCyan": "#94e2d5",
    "brightWhite": "#cdd6f4"
  }
}

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Importing Themes

Import themes from other terminal emulators. Supported Formats:
  • iTerm2 color schemes (.itermcolors)
  • Windows Terminal themes (settings.json excerpt)
  • Xterm color files (.Xresources)
Import Steps:
  1. In theme customizer, click Import
  2. Select file or paste JSON
  3. Netcatty converts to internal format
  4. Preview and adjust
  5. Save

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Applying Themes

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Global Theme

Set the default theme for all new terminals. UI Location:
  1. Navigate to Settings → Terminal → Theme
  2. Select from dropdown
  3. All new terminals use this theme
  4. Existing terminals update immediately

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Per-Host Theme

Override the global theme for specific hosts.
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theme
string
Theme ID to use for this host
Configuration: 
{
  "hostname": "production-server.com",
  "username": "admin",
  "theme": "dracula"
}
UI Workflow:
  1. Open Host Details panel
  2. Navigate to Appearance section
  3. Select Theme from dropdown
  4. Click Save
Use Cases:
  • Production servers: Use red-themed theme as a visual warning
  • Development: Use green/blue themes
  • Personal preference: Different themes for different projects

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Per-Protocol Theme

Different themes for different protocols on the same host.
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protocols[].theme
string
Theme override for specific protocol
Example: 
{
  "hostname": "server.example.com",
  "protocols": [
    {
      "protocol": "ssh",
      "port": 22,
      "enabled": true,
      "theme": "tokyo-night"
    },
    {
      "protocol": "telnet",
      "port": 23,
      "enabled": true,
      "theme": "hacker-green"
    }
  ]
}

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Font Customization

Configure terminal fonts globally or per-host.

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Global Font Settings

UI Location: Settings → Terminal → Font
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fontFamily
string
Font family name (e.g., Fira Code, JetBrains Mono)
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fontSize
number
Font size in points (default: 13)
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fontWeight
number
Normal text weight (100-900, default: 400)
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fontWeightBold
number
Bold text weight (100-900, default: 700)
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fontLigatures
boolean
default:"true"
Enable font ligatures (for coding fonts)
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linePadding
number
default:"0"
Additional space between lines in pixels
  • Fira Code - Popular with extensive ligatures
  • JetBrains Mono - Designed for developers
  • Cascadia Code - Microsoft’s coding font
  • Victor Mono - Cursive italics
  • Iosevka - Narrow, customizable

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Per-Host Fonts

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fontFamily
string
Font family override for this host
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fontSize
number
Font size override for this host
Example: 
{
  "hostname": "code-server.com",
  "fontFamily": "Fira Code",
  "fontSize": 14
}
Host-specific font settings override global settings.

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Managing Custom Themes

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Viewing Themes

UI Location: Settings → Terminal → Themes → Custom Custom themes are marked with a badge and shown separately from built-in themes.

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Editing Themes

  1. Navigate to custom themes list
  2. Click on a theme
  3. Theme editor opens with current colors
  4. Make changes
  5. Click Update

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Duplicating Themes

Create variations of existing themes:
  1. Open any theme (built-in or custom)
  2. Click Duplicate
  3. Modify colors
  4. Save with new name

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Deleting Themes

  1. Navigate to custom themes
  2. Click on theme to delete
  3. Click Delete
  4. Confirm deletion
Deleting a theme that’s in use will revert affected terminals to the global theme.

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Exporting Themes

Share your custom themes:
  1. Open theme in editor
  2. Click Export
  3. Choose format:
    • JSON: Netcatty format
    • iTerm2: .itermcolors file
    • Windows Terminal: JSON snippet
  4. Save file

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Importing Themes

  1. Navigate to Settings → Terminal → Themes
  2. Click Import
  3. Select file or paste content
  4. Netcatty validates and converts
  5. Preview and save

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Theme Storage

Custom themes are stored locally using Electron’s storage system. Location:
  • Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Netcatty/themes.json
  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Netcatty\themes.json
  • Linux: ~/.config/Netcatty/themes.json
Themes sync across Netcatty windows via IPC.

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Theme Best Practices

  • Contrast: Ensure text is readable (WCAG AA: 4.5:1 ratio)
  • Consistency: Keep similar colors across normal/bright variants
  • Purpose: Use red for errors, green for success, yellow for warnings
  • Dark themes: Background < 20% brightness, foreground > 80%
  • Light themes: Background > 90% brightness, foreground < 30%
  • Test both: Verify readability in bright and dark environments
  • Standard order: Black, Red, Green, Yellow, Blue, Magenta, Cyan, White
  • Bright variants: Should be noticeably brighter/saturated
  • Semantic meaning: Respect common terminal color conventions
  • Real content: Test with actual terminal output (ls, git, logs)
  • Syntax highlighting: Try vim/nano color schemes
  • Eye strain: Use theme for 30 minutes before finalizing

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Troubleshooting

Possible Causes:
  • Font not installed on system
  • Font name misspelled
Solution:
  1. Verify font is installed: Check Font Book (Mac) / Fonts (Windows)
  2. Use exact font name (case-sensitive)
  3. Restart Netcatty after installing fonts
Solution:
  • Ensure font supports ligatures (Fira Code, JetBrains Mono, etc.)
  • Enable Font Ligatures in Settings → Terminal
  • Verify font is loaded correctly
Solution:
  • Check if host has theme override
  • Verify theme ID matches stored theme
  • Refresh terminal session
Possible Causes:
  • OS color management
  • Display calibration
  • Terminal transparency/blur
Solution:
  • Test on multiple displays
  • Adjust theme colors if needed
  • Check OS display settings

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Theme Inspiration

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Resources

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Design Tools

  • Coolors: Color palette generator
  • Adobe Color: Harmony rules and trends
  • Paletton: Color scheme designer

Host Configuration

Apply themes per host

Terminal Settings

Configure fonts and appearance

Keyword Highlighting

Add color to terminal output