How to install VSCode color theme extensions?

Hi all! It is said that Theia supports VSCode color themes and extensions. I have found the perfect color theme for my taste and downloaded it as a VSCode extension. Is there a way to install it in the Arduino IDE 2.0?

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I just found that it's so much easier than I thought! All I needed to do was copy the extension VSIX file into the folder resources\app\plugins. After that, the theme was available under File - Preferences. :sunglasses:

Here's how the IDE looks with the really cool "Blue Dolphin" theme:

Very nice! Thanks for taking the time to make an update to share your findings @laserjones.

I didn't find time to play with it myself, but I have been intrigued by the idea that the VS Code/Eclipse Theia framework offered the possibility of a much larger selection of 3rd party themes compared to the maybe a dozen that had been created for Arduino IDE 1.x over the years.

I'm not much for themes myself, but I became interested in them when I noticed that most of the people asking about them here on the forum needed to modify the IDE for the sake of accessibility rather than for aesthetics. Since Arduino IDE 2.x comes with a selection of official themes out of the box, I'm not sure whether that trend will hold in this new era, but being able to customize the IDE is cool regardless.

For me, visuals do play an important role, and the included four themes only cover a limited scope of needs. For example, I love "light on dark" themes, but a black background is too heavy on the eyes for me.

BTW, there are some differences between the appearance of the above theme compared to VSCode. At least the color of the C++ comment lines is different. Would be interesting to find out why.

I get the same results.

From what I can tell, the colors in Theia Blueprint are identical to those in Arduino IDE when the "Blue Dolphin Color Theme" is installed:

So I think this is something originating from the underlying Eclipse Theia framework rather than from the modifications made on top of that by Arduino.

This actually makes the investigation easier because there is a lot more relevant information available about Eclipse Theia (since it is intended to serve as a framework to build IDEs on top of) than about Arduino IDE 2.x (since it is intended for use as a finished application).

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Thanks @laserjones as I also find the available themes not to my taste.

However it took me a minute to figure out how to get this VSIX file.

First find more Themes: VS Code Themes , Eclipse Color Themes

Then search for the desired Theme to get the VSIX file here: VsixHub

Then copy it into the folder:

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You can also get the VSIX by clicking the "Download Extension" link on the Visual Studio Code Marketplace page for the theme. For this theme it is here:

but there are more themes listed here:

Also worth mentioning the Open VSX Registry:

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