Kintsugi

A sophisticated dark theme for the discerning developer, lovingly inspired by Japanese philosophy and minimalist aesthetics.

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Why Kintsugi?

This theme is inspired by Kintsugi (金継ぎ), the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold-dusted lacquer. It celebrates imperfections as part of an object's unique history. Kintsugi applies this philosophy to your workspace, creating a serene, focused environment where code is the masterpiece and the UI serves it with calm, beautiful utility.

This is a theme for developers who see code as a craft.

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The Variants

Kintsugi offers two distinct, meticulously crafted variants to match your mood and focus. Both share the same seamless, minimalist UI, but offer a different syntax highlighting experience.

Kintsugi Dark (The Original)

The original experience. A calm, minimalist palette with soft, desaturated colors and bold, gilded keywords. It is designed for absolute focus and clarity.

Kintsugi Dark Flared

The warm variant. A vibrant, cozy palette inspired by autumn and campfires. It features rich oranges, terracotta, and deep golds, creating an expressive and comfortable environment for long coding sessions.

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Language Showcase

See how Kintsugi's syntax brings clarity and elegance to your favorite languages.

Kintsugi Dark

Rust	Java
C	Go

Kintsugi Dark Flared

Rust	Java
C	Go

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How to Get the Look from the Screenshots

To replicate the exact, polished aesthetic from the showcase, follow these three steps.

Step 1: Theme, Font & Icons (The Foundation)

First, install the core components.

1. Install Kintsugi Theme: Install the theme from the VS Code Marketplace.
2. Install the Font: Download and install IoskeleyMono, the free font designed to perfectly complement this theme.
3. Install the Icons:
   • File Icons: Quill Icons (minimalist, as seen in screenshots)
   • Product Icons: JetBrains Product Icon Theme (clean, unified UI icons)

Step 2: The Core Settings

Next, paste these settings into your settings.json (Code > Preferences > Settings > Open Settings (JSON)). These enable the seamless UI and minimalist features of the theme.

{
  "workbench.colorTheme": "Kintsugi Dark",
  "workbench.iconTheme": "quill-icons",
  "workbench.productIconTheme": "jetbrains-product-icon-theme",
  "editor.fontFamily": "Ioskeley Mono", // Or Hasklig, Consolas (as in screenshots)
  "editor.fontLigatures": true,
  "editor.fontSize": 16,
  "editor.fontWeight": "500",
  "window.zoomLevel": 2,

  // Essential for the clean, minimalist look
  "editor.padding.top": 5,
  "window.commandCenter": false,
  "workbench.editor.empty.hint": "hidden",
  "workbench.tree.indent": 20,
  "window.density.editorTabHeight": "compact",
  "workbench.layoutControl.enabled": false,
  "editor.cursorSmoothCaretAnimation": "on",
  "editor.minimap.enabled": false
}

Step 3: The Final Polish (Advanced Customization)

This step is required to achieve the exact look from the screenshots. It uses the Custom UI Style extension to apply two key refinements:

1. Changes the UI font (File Explorer, menus, etc.) to Sometype Mono. You must download and install this font.
2. Refines keyword boldness with a subtle font-weight for a softer, elegant appearance.

Click to see the advanced CSS settings

Add the following to your settings.json:

{
  "custom-ui-style.font.sansSerif": "Sometype Mono Semibold",
  "custom-ui-style.stylesheet": {
    ".composite-bar": {
      "width": "100%"
    },
    ".monaco-action-bar .actions-container": {
      "justify-content": "space-between"
    },
    ".mtkb": {
      "font-weight": "700 !important"
    }
  }
}

For vibrant icon packs: To align colorful icons (e.g., Bearded Icons) with Kintsugi's minimalist palette, add this to the custom-ui-style.stylesheet:

".monaco-icon-label:before": {
  "filter": "grayscale(1) brightness(0.7) !important"
}

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Further Customization Options

Alternative Font Recommendations

• Hasklig: A popular typeface based on Source Code Pro with custom ligatures.
• Consolas: A classic monospaced font with ligatures for enhanced coding aesthetics.
• Lilex: An extended IBM Plex Mono with ligatures.
• JetBrains Mono: A popular font designed for developers.
• M PLUS Code Latin Expanded: A clean, modern, monospaced font with excellent legibility.
• Iosevka: A highly customizable, monospaced font with a sleek, modern design and extensive ligature support.

Complete settings.json from the Screenshots

This is the full configuration used in the screenshots:

{
  "editor.fontFamily": "Ioskeley Mono", // Or Hasklig, Consolas (as in screenshots)
  "editor.fontSize": 16,
  "editor.fontWeight": "500",
  "workbench.colorTheme": "Kintsugi Dark Flared",
  "workbench.iconTheme": "quill-icons",
  "workbench.productIconTheme": "jetbrains-product-icon-theme",
  "editor.cursorSmoothCaretAnimation": "on",
  "window.zoomLevel": 2,
  "editor.padding.top": 5,
  "window.commandCenter": false,
  "workbench.editor.empty.hint": "hidden",
  "workbench.tree.indent": 20,
  "window.density.editorTabHeight": "compact",
  "workbench.layoutControl.enabled": false,
  "editor.minimap.enabled": false,
  "workbench.tree.enableStickyScroll": false,
  "editor.stickyScroll.enabled": false,
  "editor.renderLineHighlight": "gutter",
  "editor.overviewRulerBorder": false,
  "editor.guides.bracketPairs": false,
  "editor.bracketPairColorization.enabled": false,
  "editor.scrollbar.horizontalScrollbarSize": 6,
  "editor.scrollbar.verticalScrollbarSize": 10,
  "editor.wordWrap": "on",
  "editor.wrappingIndent": "indent",
  "editor.cursorBlinking": "solid",
  "editor.accessibilitySupport": "off",
  "editor.inlayHints.enabled": "offUnlessPressed",
  "editor.smoothScrolling": true,
  "editor.tabSize": 4,
  "editor.insertSpaces": true,
  "editor.renderWhitespace": "selection",
  "workbench.editor.tabSizing": "fit",
  "workbench.activityBar.location": "top",
  "editor.cursorSurroundingLines": 1000,
  "editor.rulers": [80, 100, 120]
}

Optional Zen Mode Configuration

For a minimalist, distraction-free experience, add these settings to your settings.json:

{
  "workbench.statusBar.visible": false,
  "breadcrumbs.enabled": false,
  "workbench.editor.showTabs": "none",
  "workbench.activityBar.location": "hidden",
  "editor.lineNumbers": "off",
  "editor.glyphMargin": false
}

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Issues & Contributing

Found a bug or have a suggestion? Please open an issue on GitHub. Contributions and feedback are welcome to make Kintsugi even better.

This project is a labor of love, and I’m excited to see how the community shapes it.

Installation

1. Open the Extensions sidebar in VS Code (View > Extensions).
2. Search for Kintsugi.
3. Click Install.
4. Go to Code > Preferences > Color Theme and select Kintsugi Dark or Kintsugi Dark Flared.

Acknowledgements

Kintsugi was built with inspiration from exceptional themes:

• Kintsugi Dark: Inspired by Owokai by toiletbril.
• Kintsugi Dark Flared: Draws from the vibrant syntax of Flare Theme by Pyxel.

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