The 20 Best VSCode Themes in 2023

Microsoft's Visual Studio Code (VSCode) is one of the most popular code editors available today. With its extensive library of extensions and themes, developers can customize VSCode to suit their preferred workflows and aesthetics. This article explores 20 of the best VSCode themes to enhance your coding experience in 2023.

1. Dracula Official

Dracula is a dark theme with vibrant colors that is easy on the eyes. It features a purple-gray background, green comments, orange functions, and blue variables. The contrast between elements helps improve code readability. Dracula also supports well over 50 programming languages.

1. GitHub Theme

For users already acclimated to GitHub's style, the GitHub theme emulates the same appearance within VSCode. It uses a minimalist design with a gray background, blue sidebar, and green accents on text. Simple but effective.

1. Monokai Pro

Monokai Pro is modeled after traditional Monokai themes. It incorporates a deep purple background and high-contrast colors. The bold-colored elements help highlight important code. Monokai Pro works well for many programming languages.

1. Cobalt2 Theme

Cobalt2 gives VSCode a bold blue interface. The predominantly blue background has splashes of bright teal, purple, and green to distinguish different aspects of the code. This theme offers reduced visual noise.

1. One Monokai Theme

One Monokai is based on the popular Monokai theme. It features a fluid typography design optimized for a pleasant reading experience. The purple background and green text are easy on the eyes. One Monokai also allows you to toggle between a colorful and subdued appearance.

1. Nord Theme

Inspired by Nord color palettes, this arctic, north-blazing theme uses a violet background with blue, orange, and muted green accents. The high contrast makes each color pop on the interface. The code is clearly defined against the background.

1. Horizon Theme

Horizon delivers soft aesthetics with its desaturated blue and purple interface. Code contrasts well against the background thanks to strategic pops of color for variables, functions, and other elements. The minimalist design helps reduce eye strain during long coding sessions.

1. Gruvbox Dark Medium Theme

Gruvbox Dark Medium leverages a deep gray background with gentle green, blue, red, and orange accents. Lower contrast distinguishes this theme, helping reduce fatigue. The earthy retro feel provides a unique coding experience.

1. Shades of Purple Theme

Shades of Purple implements various purple hues throughout the interface. Teal and gold accents boost the readability of the code against the dark violet background. The color palette has a soothing effect for extended use.

1. Night Owl Theme

The Night Owl theme uses a clean design with a crisp contrast between muted blues and deep grays. Splashes of yellow, green, purple, and red help the code stand out. Night Owl delivers an elegant appearance optimized for JavaScript, TypeScript, Markdown, and PHP.

1. Winter is Coming Theme

Inspired by HBO's Game of Thrones, Winter is Coming transforms VSCode into a dim, snow-covered winter scene. Cyan text pops against the dark background. The minimalist theme helps keep the focus on coding.

1. Palenight Theme

Palenight utilizes a relaxing royal blue background with accents of vibrant magenta and cyan. The high contrast aids the readability of text. With softened edges and minimal noise, Palenight is easy on the eyes.

1. Material Theme

The Material Theme aims to emulate Google's Material Design visual language. Soft, bright colors contrast against the dark interface with purple headers and cyan code blocks. Material Design's fluid aesthetics translate well into a VSCode theme.

1. Panda Theme

The Panda Theme incorporates black, white, and red, much like a panda. The bold colors and minimalist aesthetic keep focus on the code. Panda also provides variants like Panda Syntax and Panda Pro for customized experiences.

1. SynthWave '84

As the name suggests, SynthWave '84 evokes '80s retro vibes throughout VSCode with its neon pink, teal, and purple design. The dark background remains easy to read with brightly colored text. SynthWave '84 is a unique, stylized theme.

1. Ayu

Ayu offers Mirage, a light theme, plus Dark and Storm for dark themes. Each Ayu theme uses a soft interface with bright pops of color for syntax highlighting. Ayu Mirage, Ayu Dark, and Ayu Storm provide refined designs.

1. City Lights Theme

City Lights gives VSCode an urban nighttime aesthetic. The dark background and neon purple and green accents are reminiscent of a bustling city. City Lights looks great for JavaScript, Go, Python, and PHP.

1. Community Material Theme

Community Material Theme is an extension of Material Theme with more customization options. Tweaks like more muted backgrounds, contrast adjustments, and color variations allow you to tailor the theme to your preferences.

1. Tokyo Night Theme

Tokyo Night converts VSCode into a stylish coding space with a dark blue background, neon green and red accents, and cyan text. The vibrance keeps coding interesting. Settings allow customizing colors and contrast.

1. One Dark Pro Theme

One Dark Pro expands on Atom's One Dark theme with a polished VSCode design. Subtle colors like gray, light blue, and off-white enhance readability. Additional features like italic comments and color-coded indent guides optimize the theme for coding.

Summary

VSCode theming gives developers control over their workspace aesthetic. No matter your preferred colors or style, themes like Dracula, Nord, Ayu, and Material offer custom interfaces. Tokyo Night, SynthWave '84, and other vibrant options provide unique coding experiences. Optimized designs from GitHub, Monokai, and One Dark Pro aim to boost productivity. With thousands of themes available, you can tailor VSCode to match your style.