Change

May 4, 2026 ยท View on GitHub

Version: 3.1.0 Update: 2026-01-15

ColorV

Color in Vim

.. image:: https://github.com/Rykka/github_things/raw/master/image/colorv.png

Change

  • Remove all scheme functionality (online fetch, fav, etc.)
  • Add RGB float line (0.0-1.0) in ColorV window
  • Remove redundant info
  • Use tab in colorv window to switch HSL quickly
  • Use +/- to modify it

Example

.. code:: vim

" you want to change a color " #334455

" move to color and edit it :ColorVEdit ce

" add its lightness with 2 ++

" quit q

" color became " #38495C

" done

Intro

ColorV is a color view/pick/edit/design tool in vim.

It makes handling colors much easier.

With it, you can:

View colors :ColorV (cv): show ColorV window

``:ColorVView`` (<leader>cw): show ColorV window with color text under cursor.

``:ColorVPreview`` (<leader>cpp): Preview colors in current buffer

Edit colors :ColorVEdit (ce): Edit color text under cursor

``:ColorVEditAll`` (<leader>cE): Edit color text under cursor and change all in current buffer.

``:ColorVInsert`` (<leader>cii): Insert color with ColorV window.

Design Colors :ColorVName (cn): show color name list window.

``:ColorVList Hue`` (<leader>cgh) generate Hue list with color text under cursor.

``:ColorVTurn2 {hex1} {hex2}`` (<leader>cgg) generate Hue list from hex1 to hex2.

``:ColorVPicker`` (<leader>cd): show a GUI color picker.

And More You can even use it under 8/256 color terminal.

Get latest and Post issues at https://github.com/Rykka/colorv.vim

Install

  • Using Vundle_ (Recommended)

    Add this line to your vimrc::

    Bundle 'Rykka/colorv.vim'

  • Using downloaded zip/tar.gz file. Just extract it to your .vim folder .

:NOTE: Make sure filetype plugin on and syntax on is in your vimrc

  • Related tools:

    • vim: Galaxy_, generate colorschemes with colorv

Tutors

  • Global:

    • ColorV (cv)
    • ColorVView (cw)
    • ColorVEdit (ce)
    • ColorVEditTo {fmt} (c2r...) fmt see formats_
    • ColorVEditAll (cE)
    • ColorVInsert {fmt} (cii...)
    • ColorVList {gen} (cg2...) gen see generates_
    • ColorVTurn2 {hex1} {hex2} (cgg)
    • ColorVPreview (cpp)
    • ColorVPreviewLine (cpl)
    • ColorVClear (cpc)
    • ColorVPicker (cd)

  • In ColorV window:

    • Double Click or Press to trigger actions.

      1. Hue Line: change hue
      2. pallete: set current color
      3. Attrbuite: change attr of current color
      4. history pallete: previous 3 colors
      5. Tips: show tips or trigger relevant actions.
      6. Stats: change relevant setting.

    • <Tab>/<S-tab> will jump to next/prev input

    • +=/-_/scroll up/scroll down to change RGB/HSV attributes under cursor

    • yy/cc/p/yr/... to copy/paste colors

    • gg/g2/... to generate a list

    • q to quit

    • ? to show tips

    • Other actions, see :h colorv-mapping-buffer

  • Detailed instructions: use :h colorv

  • Options: see :h colorv-options

.. _formats:

Color Text Formats::

  There are following formats currently:

  The KEY means the abbrevation key used in mapping
  
  KEY  NAME    EXAMPLE                       DESCRIPTION
       HEX     FF00FF 334455
       rgb(f)  r:.00 g:.32 b:1.0             (float 0.0-1.0)
       HEX3    #CFF #F11
  #/s  HEX#    #FF00FF #00FFFF #FFFFFFAA    (alpha ignored in preview)
  0/x  HEX0    0xFFFF00   0xEE3399
  n    NAME    red/lime/blue                 (|colorv-colorname|)
  r    RGB     rgb(255,55,15)                (css1 standard)
  ar   RGBA    rgba(205,25,255,1.0)          (css2 standard)
  l    HSL     hsl(50,90%,40%)               (css3 standard)
  al   HSLA    hsla(230,30%,50%,1.0)         (css3 standard)
       glRGBA  glColor4f(1.00,0.5,1.00,1.00) (openGL color format)
       ColorRGBA Color(0.0,0.0,0.0,1.0)      (float 0.0-1.0)
  pr   RGBP    rgb(30%, 98%, 98%)             
  ap   RGBAP   rgba(100%,40%,100%,1.0) 
  h    HSV     hsv(360,100,100)
  m    CMYK    cmyk(25,41, 0,46) 

  e.g.: <leader>cim  will insert a CMYK color text

.. _generates:

Color Generate Methods::

There are following type currently:

The KEY means the abbrevation key used in mapping

KEY  NAME                     DESCRIPTION
h    Hue                      Hue 
s    Saturation               Saturation
v    Value                    Value/Lightness
m    Monochromatic            Generate by S and V s/v+{step}
a    Analogous                Generate colors h+15
3    Triadic                  Generate 3 colors 
4    Tetradic                 Generate 4 colors 
n    Neutral                  Generate colors h+30
c    Clash                    Generate 3 clash color 
q    Square                   Generate 4 colors h+90
5    Five-Tone                Generate 5 colors 
6    Six-Tone                 Generate 6 colors 
2    Complementary            Generate opposite color h+180
p    Split-Complementary      Generate 2 opposite colors
l    Luma                     Generate by Luma+{step} ('yiq' only)
g    Turn-To                  Generate colorlist by history_0 and history_1

e.g.: <leader>cg5  will generate a Five-Tone list

Todo and Done

TODO


* 3.1: 
 
  - add upload, maybe a site to uplad to is needed.
  - ColorVTurn2 should use cursor color text if hex1 omitted.
  - DONE 2013-04-21 Add '<Tab>/<S-Tab>' for input jumping
  - DONE 2013-04-21 Add 0 value support for pallette and input

Done

  • bug fix:

    • fix #16 and #17: nnor for maps inside colorv.
    • fix #18: #888888 term code should be 102

  • 3.0.2:

    • add back_buf for all win.
    • add scheme fetch info.
    • fix scheme nav arrow pos.

  • 3.0.1:

    • fix debug message: miss cache file.
    • fix scheme navigation with key.
    • update image.

  • 3.0:

    • add Scheme (fetch, fav, edit, new)
    • change cache behavior
    • auto preview edited color if in a preview buffer
    • back to last buffer if closed colorv
    • add ColorVInsert

Contribution

Anyone willing to help can contact me, for now.