How to get the list of all installed color schemes in Vim?

Learn how to get the list of all installed color schemes in vim? with practical examples, diagrams, and best practices. Covers list, vim, color-scheme development techniques with visual explanations.
Tags:
Categories:

How to Get a List of All Installed Color Schemes in Vim

How to Get a List of All Installed Color Schemes in Vim

Learn various methods to discover and list all available color schemes in your Vim or Neovim installation, enhancing your customization workflow.

Vim and Neovim offer extensive customization options, and one of the most impactful ways to personalize your editor is through color schemes. Knowing how to list all installed color schemes is fundamental for selecting, testing, and managing your visual themes. This article will guide you through several methods to achieve this, from simple commands to exploring your file system.

Using the :colorscheme Command

The simplest and most direct way to see available color schemes within Vim is by using the built-in :colorscheme command. When executed without any arguments, it will list all color schemes that Vim can find in its 'colors' directory within the runtimepath.

:colorscheme

" Example output:
" blue
" darkblue
" default
" delek
" desert
" elflord
" evening
" industry
" morning
" pablo
" peachpuff
" ron
" shine
" slate
" torte
" zellner

Execute :colorscheme to list available schemes.

Exploring the runtimepath Manually

Vim locates color schemes by searching directories specified in its runtimepath option. Each directory listed in runtimepath is scanned for a colors/ subdirectory. Any .vim file found within these colors/ subdirectories is considered a color scheme. You can inspect your runtimepath to understand where Vim looks for these files.

:set runtimepath

View the current value of your runtimepath.

A flowchart diagram illustrating how Vim resolves color schemes. Start with 'Vim starts', then 'Read runtimepath (RTP)', then for each path in RTP, 'Check for colors/ directory', then 'List .vim files in colors/'. Arrows connect each step in sequence. Use blue boxes for actions and green for checks.

Vim's color scheme resolution process.

To manually find color schemes, you would navigate to each directory listed in your runtimepath (e.g., ~/.vim, ~/.config/nvim, /usr/share/vim/vim82) and then look inside the colors/ subdirectory. Each .vim file in colors/ is a color scheme.

Using Command-Line Tools for Discovery

For a more programmatic approach, especially if you want to script or find schemes across multiple Vim installations, you can use shell commands to list files within the relevant colors/ directories. This is particularly useful for Neovim, which often stores its configurations in ~/.config/nvim.