Aether.nvim

June 30, 2026 · View on GitHub

A dark Neovim colorscheme with WCAG accessible contrast ratios, direct color injection, and broad plugin support.

Branch note: This is the v3 branch. Use branch = "v3" in your plugin manager.

Aether.nvim

Requirements

Neovim 0.8 or later with true color support enabled:

vim.opt.termguicolors = true

Install

lazy.nvim

{
    "bjarneo/aether.nvim",
    branch = "v3",
    priority = 1000,
    config = function()
        require("aether").setup()
        vim.cmd.colorscheme("aether")
    end,
}

With custom colors

Every palette color is a named variable you can override directly. Pass any combination through the colors table.

{
    "bjarneo/aether.nvim",
    branch = "v3",
    name = "aether",
    priority = 1000,
    opts = {
        colors = {
            bg         = "#1a1d24",
            dark_bg    = "#13161c",
            darker_bg  = "#0e1015",
            lighter_bg = "#242830",

            fg         = "#a2aebb",
            dark_fg    = "#6b7688",
            light_fg   = "#c0ccd5",
            bright_fg  = "#dfe6eb",
            muted      = "#4a5366",

            red        = "#ad523c",
            yellow     = "#d4a05a",
            orange     = "#c47a4e",
            green      = "#5e9a7e",
            cyan       = "#5b9ea0",
            blue       = "#5a8faa",
            purple     = "#8b6e9e",
            brown      = "#7d5440",

            bright_red    = "#c46e5a",
            bright_yellow = "#e0b87a",
            bright_green  = "#7eb89a",
            bright_cyan   = "#7ebcbe",
            bright_blue   = "#7aaac2",
            bright_purple = "#a68eba",

            accent               = "#ad523c",
            cursor               = "#a2aebb",
            foreground           = "#a2aebb",
            background           = "#1a1d24",
            selection             = "#2c3040",
            selection_foreground = "#dfe6eb",
            selection_background = "#4a5366",
        },
    },
    config = function(_, opts)
        require("aether").setup(opts)
        vim.cmd.colorscheme("aether")
    end,
}

LazyVim

Create ~/.config/nvim/lua/plugins/colorscheme.lua:

return {
    {
        "bjarneo/aether.nvim",
        branch = "v3",
        name = "aether",
        priority = 1000,
        opts = {},
        config = function(_, opts)
            require("aether").setup(opts)
            vim.cmd.colorscheme("aether")
        end,
    },
    {
        "LazyVim/LazyVim",
        opts = {
            colorscheme = "aether",
        },
    },
}

Configuration

All options and their defaults:

require("aether").setup({
    transparent = false,
    terminal_colors = true,
    dim_inactive = false,
    lualine_bold = false,

    styles = {
        comments = { italic = true },
        keywords = { italic = true },
        functions = {},
        variables = {},
        sidebars = "dark",     -- "dark", "transparent", or "normal"
        floats = "dark",       -- "dark", "transparent", or "normal"
    },

    colors = {},

    on_colors = function(colors) end,

    on_highlights = function(highlights, colors) end,

    plugins = {
        all = package.loaded.lazy == nil,
        auto = true,
    },
})

Color Palette

All 30 named variables in the default palette. Override any of them through the colors table.

Backgrounds

Name	Hex	Purpose
`bg`	`#1a1d24`	Editor background
`dark_bg`	`#13161c`	Sidebars, statusline
`darker_bg`	`#0e1015`	Darkest background
`lighter_bg`	`#242830`	Cursor line, highlights
`background`	`#1a1d24`	Background (terminal alias)

Foregrounds

Name	Hex	Purpose
`fg`	`#a2aebb`	Default text
`dark_fg`	`#6b7688`	Secondary text
`light_fg`	`#c0ccd5`	Light foreground
`bright_fg`	`#dfe6eb`	Brightest foreground
`muted`	`#4a5366`	Comments, line numbers
`foreground`	`#a2aebb`	Foreground (terminal alias)

Accents

Name	Hex	Purpose
`accent`	`#ad523c`	Primary accent
`red`	`#ad523c`	Errors, deletions
`yellow`	`#d4a05a`	Types, warnings
`orange`	`#c47a4e`	Constants, numbers
`green`	`#5e9a7e`	Strings, additions
`cyan`	`#5b9ea0`	Regex, hints
`blue`	`#5a8faa`	Keywords, info
`purple`	`#8b6e9e`	Storage, tags
`brown`	`#7d5440`	Escape sequences

Bright Variants

WCAG AA compliant versions used for text on the default background. Each meets a minimum 4.5:1 contrast ratio against bg.

Name	Hex
`bright_red`	`#c46e5a`
`bright_yellow`	`#e0b87a`
`bright_green`	`#7eb89a`
`bright_cyan`	`#7ebcbe`
`bright_blue`	`#7aaac2`
`bright_purple`	`#a68eba`

Selection

Name	Hex	Purpose
`cursor`	`#a2aebb`	Cursor color
`selection`	`#2c3040`	Visual selection
`selection_foreground`	`#dfe6eb`	Selection text
`selection_background`	`#4a5366`	Selection background

Derived Colors

These colors are computed from the palette at load time. They are not injectable directly but can be changed through on_colors.

Name	Derived from	Purpose
`error`	`red`	Diagnostic errors
`warning`	`yellow`	Diagnostic warnings
`info`	`blue`	Diagnostic info
`hint`	`cyan`	Diagnostic hints
`todo`	`bright_blue`	Todo highlights
`border`	`muted`	Window borders
`git.add`	`green`	Git additions
`git.delete`	`red`	Git deletions
`git.change`	`orange`	Git changes

Advanced Customization

Override derived colors

Use on_colors to modify any color after the palette is resolved:

require("aether").setup({
    on_colors = function(colors)
        colors.hint = colors.orange
        colors.error = "#ff0000"
    end,
})

Override highlight groups

Use on_highlights to change any highlight group directly:

require("aether").setup({
    on_highlights = function(hl, colors)
        hl.Comment = { fg = colors.muted, italic = true }
        hl.Function = { fg = colors.bright_blue, bold = true }
    end,
})

Transparent background

require("aether").setup({
    transparent = true,
    styles = {
        sidebars = "transparent",
        floats = "transparent",
    },
})

Disable italics

require("aether").setup({
    styles = {
        comments = {},
        keywords = {},
    },
})

Creating a Variant

Create your own named colorscheme by adding a file at ~/.config/nvim/colors/<name>.lua:

require("aether").load({
    name = "midnight",
    colors = {
        bg = "#000000",
        fg = "#c0c0c0",
        blue = "#6699cc",
    },
})

Then activate it:

:colorscheme midnight

Lualine

The lualine theme loads automatically when you set it:

require("lualine").setup({
    options = {
        theme = "aether",
    },
})

Hot Reload

Hot reload is enabled automatically when the plugin loads. It watches:

Edits to plugin files while developing aether itself
~/.config/aether/theme/neovim.lua (rewritten by the aether CLI when generating a theme)
~/.config/omarchy/current/theme/neovim.lua (when running under omarchy)
~/.local/state/omarchy/current/theme/neovim.lua (newer omarchy state layout)
LazyReload events from lazy.nvim

Manual commands:

:AetherReload         " reload colorscheme with current config
:AetherReloadStatus   " show which paths are being watched

Supported Plugins

Aether provides highlight groups for these plugins. All integrations load by default; set plugins[name] = false to opt out.

Blink.cmp, Comment.nvim, conform.nvim, Diffview, Fidget, Flash, Gitsigns, indent blankline, Mason, Mini.nvim, Neo tree, Noice, nvim dap, nvim lint, nvim tree, Snacks, Telescope, Trouble, Which Key

Core support is always loaded for LSP diagnostics, Treesitter, Markdown, and Git.

License

MIT

Author

Bjarne Øverli (@iamdothash)