Font: Iosevka SS14 (JetBrains Mono) 548 · Terminal: Iosevka Term SS10 · Icons: FantastIcons · Tip:
"colorize_brackets": false
shhhed
A quiet theme for Zed. Scaffolding recedes, meaning emerges.
Design
Five brightness tiers, assigned by how much each token matters when scanning code:
| Tier | OKLCH L | Examples | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canvas | — | Editor #1e1e22, chrome #1a1a1e |
Background |
| Recede | 0.56–0.60 | Comments #797981, Punctuation #74747a |
Present but not competing |
| Structural | 0.62–0.67 | Operators #929296, Keywords #918699, Attributes / properties / parameters / member vars #909094 |
Scaffolding |
| Semantic | 0.68–0.71 | Types #60b1b1, Functions #729bcf, Strings #c48d2f, Numbers #ca8489 |
Meaning |
| Reading | 0.76–0.79 | Variables #b8b8bc, Constructors #c6a6be, Variants #c6a6be |
What you're reading |
- Near-neutral canvas with blue undertone. Compatible with Night Shift / f.lux.
- Palette computed in OKLCH. Same-tier tokens differ by hue, not brightness.
- Saturation under 50% HSL (most under 40%) to reduce strain on dark backgrounds.
- Structural tokens clear 4.5:1 against the canvas (WCAG AA). Recede tokens sit at 3.5–4.1:1 — legible but not competing.
Palette
| Token | Color | Hex |
|---|---|---|
| Types | #60b1b1 |
|
| Functions | #729bcf |
|
| Strings | #c48d2f |
|
| Numbers | #ca8489 |
|
| Keywords | #918699 |
|
| Background | #1e1e22 |
Light
Same five tiers, inverted. Cool canvas, gray scaffolding, vivid meaning.
On a dark background, brighter and more colorful both mean "more visible." The eye gets two signals, so small lightness gaps are enough to tell tiers apart.
On a light background, darker and more colorful pull apart: a token can be dark or vivid, but not both. Structural tokens stay dark and neutral; semantic tokens trade some darkness for high chroma so they stand out through color intensity instead.
| Tier | OKLCH L | C | Examples | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canvas | 0.97 | ~0 | Background #f1f6fb |
Background |
| Recede | 0.58–0.60 | 0.01–0.02 | Comments #877f73, Punctuation #7f7970 |
Present but not competing |
| Structural | 0.53–0.55 | 0.02–0.07 | Keywords #79658d, Operators #726b5f, Properties #756d62 |
Scaffolding |
| Semantic | 0.49–0.60 | 0.12–0.22 | Types #008cb4, Functions #0050d8, Strings #a85b01, Numbers #c82868 |
Meaning |
| Reading | 0.28–0.41 | 0.01–0.20 | Variables #2d2821, Constructors #6a1098 |
What you're reading |
- Cool-white canvas (L=0.97) with blue undertone, matching the dark variant.
- Chroma carries the tier signal — semantic tokens pop through color intensity (C=0.12–0.22) against near-neutral structural tokens (C≈0.02–0.07).
| Token | Color | Hex | OKLCH |
|---|---|---|---|
| Types | #008cb4 |
L=0.60 C=0.12 H=227 | |
| Functions | #0050d8 |
L=0.49 C=0.22 H=262 | |
| Strings | #a85b01 |
L=0.55 C=0.13 H=59 | |
| Numbers | #c82868 |
L=0.56 C=0.20 H=3 | |
| Keywords | #79658d |
L=0.54 C=0.07 H=307 | |
| Background | #f1f6fb |
L=0.97 C=0.01 H=248 |
Install
shhhed in Zed extensions.
Further reading
- APCA Contrast Algorithm
- OKLCH Color Space
- Helmholtz–Kohlrausch effect
- Syntax Highlighting Done Right — Tonsky
License
MIT