What are Claude themes?

There are two kinds. A backdrop sits behind the chat in the Claude desktop app, with frosted glass panels on top: either an animated scene or a still picture. A color theme is a small JSON file that recolors Claude Code in the terminal: the accent, the diff colors, the message backgrounds and so on.

How do I turn on a backdrop?

Copy the install prompt on any backdrop and paste it into Claude Code. Claude installs Anthropic's theme-examples plugin if you do not have it, then tells you the command to type, for example /custom-theme night-reef . Backdrops need a version of the Claude desktop app that draws them. In a new session the backdrop appears after you send your first message.

How do I install a terminal color theme?

Open Terminal color themes , copy the install prompt on any theme and paste it into Claude Code. Claude saves one JSON file into ~/.claude/themes/ . Then run /theme in Claude Code and pick it from the list. If that folder did not exist before, restart Claude Code once.

Does a backdrop apply to everything I have open?

It applies to the current project. Add session to the end of the command to keep it to one session, and use /custom-theme off to clear it.

Why are some backdrops marked light and some dark?

Each scene is drawn for a light or a dark window so the text on top stays readable. Eight of the twenty come as a light and dark pair. Pick one that matches the appearance setting of your app.

Can I turn the motion off?

The scenes stop moving when your system asks for reduced motion. That is how the plugin is built, and the previews on this page behave the same way.

Yes. The theme-examples plugin is published as an example to read, copy and change, under the Apache 2.0 license. For terminal colors, a theme is a JSON file with a name, a base and a list of color overrides. The Claude Code terminal guide lists every color you can set.

Is this an official Anthropic site?

No. This is an independent directory and is not affiliated with Anthropic. The backdrops shown here are Anthropic's own examples, reproduced unchanged under the Apache 2.0 license. The terminal color themes were built for this site from each palette's published colors. The Omarchy backgrounds come from the Omarchy repository under its MIT license, and this site is not affiliated with Omarchy either.

Yes. Everything here is free to use, and the full list is available as one file: themes.json .

Agent Themes

Backdrops for the Claude desktop app. Try any of them on this page, then copy its install prompt and paste it into Claude Code. Terminal color themes for Claude Code are under Categories.

Install the Night Reef theme for the Claude desktop app from bestagentthemes.com. If the theme-examples plugin is not installed yet, run "claude plugin install theme-examples@claude-plugins-official". Then tell me to type /reload-plugins and /custom-theme night-reef to turn it on. Steps: https://bestagentthemes.com/guides/backdrops.md

Paste the prompt into Claude Code and Claude installs the theme for you.

This page is wearing Night Reef. Click any backdrop below, or use the bar at the bottom of the screen, and the page tries it on.

Desktop backdrops

20 animated scenes that sit behind the chat in the Claude desktop app. Made by Anthropic and shipped in the theme-examples plugin, version 0.4.3.

Honu Lagoon
Animated, light
A live ASCII lagoon from above: a tile turtle swims by a sand island.
- Made by: Anthropic
- License: Apache-2.0
Koi Mosaic
Animated, light
A tiled koi pond from above: two koi, lily pads, slow ripples.
- Made by: Anthropic
- License: Apache-2.0
Halftone Dawn
Animated, light
A two-ink riso sunrise: halftone dots that breathe outward.
- Made by: Anthropic
- License: Apache-2.0
Halftone Dusk
Animated, dark
The riso sunrise on night-blue stock: an ember sun in breathing dots.
- Made by: Anthropic
- License: Apache-2.0
Plotter Tide
Animated, light
Pen-plotter tide lines drawing themselves on warm paper.
- Made by: Anthropic
- License: Apache-2.0
Plotter Tide, Night
Animated, dark
The plotter's tide chart in pale ink on blue-black night paper.
- Made by: Anthropic
- License: Apache-2.0
Dither Dunes
Animated, light
One-bit dunes on sand paper, shaded in dots, under a terracotta sun.
- Made by: Anthropic
- License: Apache-2.0
Dither Dunes Night
Animated, dark
The same dunes after dark: pale dots on umber, an ember sun.
- Made by: Anthropic
- License: Apache-2.0
Paper Garden
Animated, light
Cut-paper leaves at the edges of a warm white sheet, one coral bloom.
- Made by: Anthropic
- License: Apache-2.0
Paper Garden, Kraft
Animated, dark
Cut-paper leaves at the edges of dark kraft paper, one coral bloom.
- Made by: Anthropic
- License: Apache-2.0
Night Reef
Animated, dark
The lagoon after dark: a turtle and a ray that glow as they swim.
- Made by: Anthropic
- License: Apache-2.0
Snow Pines
Animated, dark
An ASCII pine forest at dusk, snow drifting down through the trees.
- Made by: Anthropic
- License: Apache-2.0
Braille Stars
Animated, dark
A slow night sky drawn dot by dot on a braille grid.
- Made by: Anthropic
- License: Apache-2.0
Block Clouds
Animated, dark
Night clouds built from blocks on a teletext grid, drifting in.
- Made by: Anthropic
- License: Apache-2.0
Vector Range
Animated, dark
Phosphor mountains on black; an amber beam keeps retracing them.
- Made by: Anthropic
- License: Apache-2.0
Departure Board
Animated, dark
An amber LED board re-lettering itself, row by row.
- Made by: Anthropic
- License: Apache-2.0
Blueprint
Animated, dark
A cyanotype sheet; a comet goes round its plotted orbit in the corner.
- Made by: Anthropic
- License: Apache-2.0
Deep Water
Animated, dark
Light falling through deep water, and one quiet turtle.
- Made by: Anthropic
- License: Apache-2.0
Aurora
Animated, dark
Northern lights swaying over a dark ridge.
- Made by: Anthropic
- License: Apache-2.0
Ember
Animated, dark
A warm glow in the corners and a few embers rising.
- Made by: Anthropic
- License: Apache-2.0

Holidays

4 animated scenes for the season: Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year. Drawn for this site. Try one on this page, or copy its install prompt. The prompt installs the agentthemes plugin, which holds them, and names the command. Checked on 2026-11-14: installed from a folder, and the command applied a scene and a picture on the version of Claude Code inside the desktop app (2.1.325). Not checked: the install from this address, and how each backdrop looks in the window.

Harvest Dusk
Animated, light
Thanksgiving. Warm fields under a pale gold sky, pumpkins in the corner and a bare tree letting go of its last leaves.
- Made by: bestagentthemes.com
Download SVG
Eight Lights
Animated, dark
Hanukkah. A menorah with every candle lit on a deep blue night: the flames flicker and gold motes drift up.
- Made by: bestagentthemes.com
Download SVG
Winter Lights
Animated, dark
Christmas. Snow falls in three layers between pines strung with colored bulbs, under a full moon.
- Made by: bestagentthemes.com
Download SVG
Midnight Fireworks
Animated, dark
New Year. Fireworks open and fade over a city skyline while windows blink and the river catches the colors.
- Made by: bestagentthemes.com
Download SVG

Games

2 animated scenes in the look of a kind of game. Drawn for this site: no characters, logos or art from any game. Try one on this page, or copy its install prompt. The prompt installs the agentthemes plugin, which holds them, and names the command. Checked on 2026-11-14: installed from a folder, and the command applied a scene and a picture on the version of Claude Code inside the desktop app (2.1.325). Not checked: the install from this address, and how each backdrop looks in the window.

Neon Coast
Animated, dark
Eighties crime games. An eighties beach city at sunset: a striped sun, swaying palms, a blinking skyline and pink and teal light on the water.
- Made by: bestagentthemes.com
Download SVG
Pixel Overworld
Animated, light
Pixel platformers. Blocky green hills, floating grass ledges, bobbing gems and square clouds, all on a 20 pixel grid.
- Made by: bestagentthemes.com
Download SVG

Omarchy backgrounds

74 backgrounds from the 23 themes that ship with Omarchy. They are pictures, not animated scenes. Copied from the Omarchy repository at commit 723072a (2026-11-14) under the MIT License and resized for this page. Omarchy does not record who made each picture. Try one on this page, download it, or copy its install prompt: the agentthemes plugin holds all of them. Checked on 2026-11-14: installed from a folder, and the command applied a scene and a picture on the version of Claude Code inside the desktop app (2.1.325). Not checked: the install from this address, and how each backdrop looks in the window.

Color Fade
Picture, light
A light background from Omarchy's Catppuccin Latte theme.
- From: Omarchy
- License: MIT
Download
Waves
Picture, dark
A dark background from Omarchy's Catppuccin theme.
- From: Omarchy
- License: MIT
Download
Blue Eye
Picture, dark
A dark background from Omarchy's Catppuccin theme.
- From: Omarchy
- License: MIT
Download
Cosmic
Picture, dark
A dark background from Omarchy's Ethereal theme.
- From: Omarchy
- License: MIT
Download
Meadow
Picture, dark
A dark background from Omarchy's Ethereal theme.
- From: Omarchy
- License: MIT
Download
Roadster Starlight
Picture, dark
A dark background from Omarchy's Ethereal theme.
- From: Omarchy
- License: MIT
Download
Tree Tops
Picture, dark
A dark background from Omarchy's Everforest theme.
- From: Omarchy
- License: MIT
Download
Orb
Picture, light
A light background from Omarchy's Flexoki Light theme.
- From: Omarchy
- License: MIT
Download
The Backwater
Picture, dark
A dark background from Omarchy's Gruvbox theme.
- From: Omarchy
- License: MIT
Download
Flower Basket
Picture, dark
A dark background from Omarchy's Gruvbox theme.
- From: Omarchy
- License: MIT
Download
Village Square
Picture, dark
A dark background from Omarchy's Gruvbox theme.
- From: Omarchy
- License: MIT
Download
Idyllic Procession
Picture, dark
A dark background from Omarchy's Gruvbox theme.
- From: Omarchy
- License: MIT
Download

Browse every category

Community themes

192 terminal color themes for Claude Code that people have published on GitHub, plus 12 desktop mod projects. Here are the first 8.

See all 192 Submit yours

> add a dark mode toggle
● I'll update the settings page.
settings.tsx
- const theme = 'light'
+ const theme = usePreference()
✓ 12 passed ✗ 1 failed ! 2 warnings
plan mode accept edits permission
aurora
Dark terminal
- By: nicknisi
- License: MIT
- GitHub stars: 3004
View the file
> add a dark mode toggle
● I'll update the settings page.
settings.tsx
- const theme = 'light'
+ const theme = usePreference()
✓ 12 passed ✗ 1 failed ! 2 warnings
plan mode accept edits permission
moonstone
Dark terminal
- By: nicknisi
- License: MIT
- GitHub stars: 3004
View the file
> add a dark mode toggle
● I'll update the settings page.
settings.tsx
- const theme = 'light'
+ const theme = usePreference()
✓ 12 passed ✗ 1 failed ! 2 warnings
plan mode accept edits permission
orchid-dusk
Dark terminal
- By: nicknisi
- License: MIT
- GitHub stars: 3004
View the file
> add a dark mode toggle
● I'll update the settings page.
settings.tsx
- const theme = 'light'
+ const theme = usePreference()
✓ 12 passed ✗ 1 failed ! 2 warnings
plan mode accept edits permission
seaglass
Dark terminal
- By: nicknisi
- License: MIT
- GitHub stars: 3004
View the file
> add a dark mode toggle
● I'll update the settings page.
settings.tsx
- const theme = 'light'
+ const theme = usePreference()
✓ 12 passed ✗ 1 failed ! 2 warnings
plan mode accept edits permission
tokyo-night
Dark terminal
- By: nicknisi
- License: MIT
- GitHub stars: 3004
View the file
> add a dark mode toggle
● I'll update the settings page.
settings.tsx
- const theme = 'light'
+ const theme = usePreference()
✓ 12 passed ✗ 1 failed ! 2 warnings
plan mode accept edits permission
Penumbra Dark+
Dark terminal
- By: nealmckee
- License: MIT
- GitHub stars: 1420
View the file
> add a dark mode toggle
● I'll update the settings page.
settings.tsx
- const theme = 'light'
+ const theme = usePreference()
✓ 12 passed ✗ 1 failed ! 2 warnings
plan mode accept edits permission
Penumbra Dark++
Dark terminal
- By: nealmckee
- License: MIT
- GitHub stars: 1420
View the file
> add a dark mode toggle
● I'll update the settings page.
settings.tsx
- const theme = 'light'
+ const theme = usePreference()
✓ 12 passed ✗ 1 failed ! 2 warnings
plan mode accept edits permission
Penumbra Light
Light terminal
- By: nealmckee
- License: MIT
- GitHub stars: 1420
View the file

Commands

Everything you type to install, switch and clear a theme.

Desktop backdrops

claude plugin install theme-examples@claude-plugins-official

Run once in a terminal. It adds the plugin that holds all twenty backdrops.

/reload-plugins

Run in Claude Code after installing, or start a new session.

/custom-theme

Opens a card with every backdrop and a preview button for each.

/custom-theme list

Names all twenty, grouped by light and dark windows.

/custom-theme night-reef

Applies a backdrop to the current project.

/custom-theme night-reef session

Applies it to this session only.

/custom-theme off

Clears the project's backdrop.

/fireworks

Sets off a short fireworks show over the backdrop.

Terminal colors

/theme

Opens the theme picker. Saved themes show up as custom:<name>.

~/.claude/themes/

The folder Claude Code reads color themes from. One JSON file per theme.

Ctrl+E

In the picker, edits the highlighted custom theme.

Agent Themes

Desktop backdrops

Honu Lagoon

Koi Mosaic

Halftone Dawn

Halftone Dusk

Plotter Tide

Plotter Tide, Night

Dither Dunes

Dither Dunes Night

Paper Garden

Paper Garden, Kraft

Night Reef

Snow Pines

Braille Stars

Block Clouds

Vector Range

Departure Board

Blueprint

Deep Water

Aurora

Ember

Holidays

Harvest Dusk

Eight Lights

Winter Lights

Midnight Fireworks

Games

Neon Coast

Pixel Overworld

Omarchy backgrounds

Color Fade

Waves

Blue Eye

Cosmic

Meadow

Roadster Starlight

Tree Tops

Orb

The Backwater

Flower Basket

Village Square

Idyllic Procession

Community themes

aurora

moonstone

orchid-dusk

seaglass

tokyo-night

Penumbra Dark+

Penumbra Dark++

Penumbra Light

Commands

Desktop backdrops

Terminal colors

Questions

What are Claude themes?

How do I turn on a backdrop?

How do I install a terminal color theme?

Does a backdrop apply to everything I have open?

Why are some backdrops marked light and some dark?

Can I turn the motion off?

Can I make my own?

Is this an official Anthropic site?

Is it free?