A Base24 color scheme for the post-artisanal coding era.
Website • Install • Palette • Markers
As models write more code, humans spend more time reviewing, planning, and explaining intent. Human++ makes human judgment visible at a glance through a two-tier accent system and lightweight annotation markers.
Human++ inverts the traditional syntax highlighting priority:
- Quiet syntax — everyday code fades into the background
- Loud diagnostics — errors, warnings, and human markers demand attention
- Terminal exception — terminal output is intentional, so terminals get loud colors
The result: when you see color, it means something.
Human++ uses a cool charcoal grayscale with warm cream text and a full Base24 palette:
- base00–07 — Cool grayscale from charcoal to warm cream
- base08–0F — Loud accents for diagnostics and signals
- base10–17 — Quiet accents for syntax and UI
Full palette reference
| Slot | Hex | Role |
|---|---|---|
| base00 | #1a1c22 | Background |
| base01 | #282b31 | Elevation |
| base02 | #3a3d42 | Selection |
| base03 | #5a5d62 | Comments |
| base04 | #828079 | UI secondary |
| base05 | #dbd6cc | Main text |
| base06 | #eeeae2 | Emphasis |
| base07 | #f8f6f2 | Brightest |
| Slot | Hex | Role |
|---|---|---|
| base08 | #e7349c | Errors, attention |
| base09 | #f26c33 | Warnings |
| base0A | #f2a633 | Caution |
| base0B | #04b372 | Success |
| base0C | #1ad0d6 | Info |
| base0D | #458ae2 | Links, focus |
| base0E | #9871fe | Special |
| base0F | #bbff00 | Human intent marker |
| Slot | Hex | Role |
|---|---|---|
| base10 | #c8518f | Keywords |
| base11 | #d68c6f | Decorators |
| base12 | #dfb683 | Constants |
| base13 | #61b186 | CSS classes |
| base14 | #91cbcd | Types |
| base15 | #5e84b6 | Functions |
| base16 | #8f72e3 | Parameters |
| base17 | #d2fc91 | Strings |
Use punctuation markers in comments to flag human judgment:
| Marker | Aliases | Meaning | Color |
|---|---|---|---|
!! | FIXME, BUG, XXX | Pay attention here | Lime (base0F) |
?? | TODO, HACK | I'm uncertain | Purple (base0E) |
>> | NOTE, NB | See reference | Cyan (base0C) |
// Regular comment stays calm (base03)// !! Critical: don't change without talking to Sarahif(legacyMode){// TODO: Not sure this handles the edge casereturntransformLegacy(data);}// NOTE: See utils.ts for the transform logicreturntransform(data);- Fast to type
- Easy to scan
- Easy to grep:
rg "// !!|// \?\?|// >>" - Easy for editors to highlight
- Legacy keywords (TODO, FIXME, NOTE) also work
The VS Code extension includes the full theme plus marker highlighting and inline diagnostics:
# Build and install from sourcecd packages/vscode-extension
npm install && npx @vscode/vsce package
code --install-extension human-plus-plus-1.0.0.vsixOr download human-plus-plus-*.vsix from Releases.
Features:
- Color theme with quiet syntax + loud diagnostics
- Marker highlighting (
!!,??,>>) with colored backgrounds - Inline diagnostic badges for errors/warnings
Add one line to your .zshrc or .bashrc:
source~/path/to/human-plus-plus/dist/shell-init.shThe loader automatically detects and configures installed tools:
- eza —
EZA_COLORSfor colorful directory listings - fzf —
FZF_DEFAULT_OPTSfor fuzzy finder colors
Uncomment lines in shell-init.sh to enable:
- Terminal palette — Sets ANSI colors on shell startup
- sketchybar — macOS menu bar colors
- skhd — Mode indicator colors
Or source individual configs directly from dist/.
All theme files are generated from palette.toml:
git clone https://github.com/fielding/human-plus-plus
cd human-plus-plus
make build # Generate all themes
make apply # Apply to installed apps| App | Location |
|---|---|
| eza | dist/eza/colors.sh |
| fzf | dist/fzf/colors.sh |
| Ghostty | dist/ghostty/config |
| delta | dist/delta/config.gitconfig |
| git | dist/git/colors.gitconfig |
| Vim / Neovim | via tinty |
| Sketchybar | dist/sketchybar/colors.sh |
| JankyBorders | dist/borders/bordersrc |
| skhd | dist/skhd/modes.sh |
| tmux | dist/tmux/human-plus-plus.conf |
| bat | dist/bat/Human++.tmTheme |
| glow | dist/glow/human-plus-plus.json |
For git colors and delta (git pager), add an include to your ~/.gitconfig:
# Include for all repos
[include]
path=~/path/to/human-plus-plus/dist/git/colors.gitconfig# Or conditionally for specific directories# https://git-scm.com/docs/git-config#_includes
[includeIf "gitdir:~/Projects/"]
path=~/path/to/human-plus-plus/dist/git/colors.gitconfigFor delta, also set it as your pager:
[core]
pager=delta
[interactive]
diffFilter=delta--color-onlytinty apply base24-human-plus-plusmake build # Build all theme files
make preview # Preview palette in terminal
make colortest # Display terminal ANSI mapping
make apply-dry # Preview what apply would do
make analyze # Analyze palette in OKLCHpalette.toml # Single source of truth (edit this)
templates/ # Theme templates
tools/ # Python generators
scripts/ # Shell orchestration
site/assets/ # Logos and images
Generated (gitignored):
dist/ # Theme outputs
site/data/ # Palette JSON
MIT