morhetz/gruvbox

Analysis updated 2026-06-24

★ 15,491Vim ScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 1/5LicenseSetup · easy

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((gruvbox))
    Inputs
      Your Vim install
      Optional config flags
    Outputs
      Recolored editor UI
      Recolored syntax
    Use Cases
      Style Vim for daily coding
      Match terminal and editor theme
      Switch between dark and light
    Tech Stack
      Vim Script
      Vim plugin system

mindmap root((gruvbox)) Inputs Your Vim install Optional config flags Outputs Recolored editor UI Recolored syntax Use Cases Style Vim for daily coding Match terminal and editor theme Switch between dark and light Tech Stack Vim Script Vim plugin system

Click or tap to explore — scroll the page freely

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Theme your Vim or Neovim with a warm retro palette

USE CASE 2

Match your terminal colors to your editor for a consistent look

USE CASE 3

Toggle between dark and light modes for day and night coding

What is it built with?

Vim ScriptVim

How does it compare?

	morhetz/gruvbox	fatih/vim-go	jbranchaud/til
Stars	15,491	16,228	14,087
Language	Vim Script	Vim Script	Vim Script
Setup difficulty	easy	moderate	easy
Complexity	1/5	2/5	1/5
Audience	developer	developer	developer

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Terminal colors need a matching palette or the theme can look off, see the wiki for setup.

MIT license: you can use, copy, modify and ship it freely as long as you keep the copyright notice.

In plain English

Gruvbox is a color scheme for Vim, the text editor, meaning it changes the colors used to display your code and interface. The design is described as a bright theme with pastel "retro groove" colors, and it supports both dark and light modes, following a similar approach to another well-known theme called Solarized. The goal was to make colors easily distinguishable and maintain enough contrast while staying pleasant to look at for long coding sessions. The scheme was inspired by three other Vim themes: badwolf, jellybeans, and solarized. It provides extended syntax highlighting (the color-coding of different code elements) for a wide range of programming languages including HTML, XML, Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Ruby, Go, Java, Markdown, Haskell, and more. It also integrates with a large number of popular Vim plugins such as NERDTree, Airline, Lightline, GitGutter, Syntastic, CtrlP, and others, ensuring the colors stay consistent across the entire editor experience. Customization is a core feature, you can adjust contrast levels, toggle italics, invert colors, and configure other visual options. Separate community contributions, ports to other editors, and extras are collected in a companion repository called gruvbox-contrib. The theme is released under the MIT license, allowing free use and modification. Installation details and terminal-specific setup instructions are available in the project's wiki.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

Show me how to install gruvbox with vim-plug and enable the dark mode by default

Prompt 2

Give me a .vimrc snippet that turns on italics, sets high contrast, and integrates gruvbox with Airline

Prompt 3

Walk me through making my terminal colors match gruvbox so Vim does not look washed out

Prompt 4

Write a config that switches gruvbox between light and dark based on the system appearance

Frequently asked questions

What is gruvbox?

A warm retro color scheme for Vim with dark and light modes, tuned for long coding sessions and wide language coverage.

What language is gruvbox written in?

Mainly Vim Script. The stack also includes Vim Script, Vim.

What license does gruvbox use?

MIT license: you can use, copy, modify and ship it freely as long as you keep the copyright notice.

How hard is gruvbox to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is gruvbox for?

Mainly developer.

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