Troubleshooting Guide

Running into issues with Shades of Purple? This guide will help you resolve the most common problems.

Theme Not Applying

If you’ve installed the theme but it’s not showing up or applying correctly:

Verify installation

Open the Extensions panel (Cmd+Shift+X or Ctrl+Shift+X) and search for “Shades of Purple”. Make sure it shows as installed and enabled.

Select the theme

Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P or Ctrl+Shift+P), type “Color Theme”, and select Preferences: Color Theme. Choose Shades of Purple from the list.

Reload VSCode

If the theme still doesn’t apply, reload VSCode:

Open Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P or Ctrl+Shift+P)
Type “Reload Window”
Select Developer: Reload Window

Restart VSCode completely

If reloading doesn’t work, fully quit VSCode and restart it. Sometimes a complete restart is needed for theme changes to take effect.

If the theme still doesn’t apply after these steps, try uninstalling and reinstalling the extension.

Colors Not Showing Correctly

Semantic Highlighting Conflicts

VSCode’s semantic highlighting can sometimes override theme colors, causing unexpected appearance. Solution: Disable semantic highlighting by adding this to your settings.json:

{
  "editor.semanticHighlighting.enabled": false
}

This is included in the Recommended Settings for optimal theme appearance.

Workbench Color Customizations Conflict

If you have custom workbench color settings, they may override the theme’s colors. Solution: Check your settings.json for these settings:

{
  "workbench.colorCustomizations": {},
  "editor.tokenColorCustomizations": {}
}

If these exist and contain values, they may be overriding Shades of Purple. Try removing or commenting them out temporarily to test.

Font Rendering Issues

Some fonts may not render colors as vibrantly as others. Solution: Try these font settings from the recommended configuration:

{
  "editor.fontFamily": "Operator Mono, Menlo, Monaco, 'Courier New', monospace",
  "editor.fontLigatures": true,
  "workbench.fontAliasing": "auto"
}

Theme Not Appearing in Theme List

If Shades of Purple doesn’t show up in the Color Theme picker:

Check extension is enabled

Go to Extensions panel and make sure the theme isn’t disabled. Look for a “Disabled” label.

Reload extensions

Open Command Palette and run Developer: Reload Window

Check for conflicts

Disable other theme extensions temporarily to see if there’s a conflict

Reinstall the extension

Uninstall Shades of Purple completely, reload VSCode, then reinstall it from the marketplace

Font Ligature Issues

If font ligatures aren’t working with the theme:

Ligatures Not Showing

Cause: Font ligatures need to be explicitly enabled in VSCode. Solution: Add this to your settings.json:

{
  "editor.fontLigatures": true
}

Make sure you’re using a font that supports ligatures, such as Fira Code, JetBrains Mono, Cascadia Code, or Operator Mono.

Ligatures Look Wrong

Some ligature combinations may not look right with certain fonts. Solution: Try configuring specific ligature rules:

{
  "editor.fontLigatures": "'calt', 'liga', 'dlig', 'ss01', 'ss02', 'ss03', 'ss04', 'ss05', 'ss06', 'zero'"
}

Adjust the features based on what your font supports.

Italics Issues

Don’t Want Italics

Shades of Purple uses italics for certain syntax elements. If you prefer no italics: Solution: See the FAQ on disabling italics for detailed configuration.

Italics Not Showing

If you want italics but they’re not appearing: Cause: Your font may not support italic variants. Solution: Use a font with italic support like Operator Mono, Fira Code, or JetBrains Mono:

{
  "editor.fontFamily": "'Fira Code', 'JetBrains Mono', Menlo, Monaco, monospace"
}

Extension Compatibility Issues

Highlight Matching Tag

If the Highlight Matching Tag extension looks off with the theme: Solution: Use the recommended settings:

{
  "highlight-matching-tag.styles": {
    "opening": {
      "full": {
        "highlight": "rgba(165, 153, 233, 0.3)"
      }
    }
  }
}

See GitHub Issue #20 for more details.

Indent Rainbow

For better Indent Rainbow compatibility: Solution: Configure colors that match the theme:

{
  "indentRainbow.colors": [
    "rgba(165, 153, 233, 0.1)",
    "rgba(165, 153, 233, 0.2)",
    "rgba(165, 153, 233, 0.3)",
    "rgba(165, 153, 233, 0.4)",
    "rgba(165, 153, 233, 0.5)",
    "rgba(165, 153, 233, 0.6)"
  ]
}

See GitHub Issue #37 for the full discussion.

Import Cost

To make Import Cost extension colors match Shades of Purple: Solution:

{
  "importCost.largePackageColor": "#EC3A37F5",
  "importCost.mediumPackageColor": "#B362FF",
  "importCost.smallPackageColor": "#B362FF"
}

Terminal Colors Issues

If the integrated terminal colors look wrong:

Terminal Using Different Theme

Cause: VSCode terminal may have separate color settings. Solution: Make sure you don’t have terminal color overrides:

{
  // Remove or comment out if present:
  // "workbench.colorCustomizations": {
  //   "terminal.background": "...",
  //   "terminal.foreground": "..."
  // }
}

Want Shades of Purple in External Terminals

The VSCode theme only affects the integrated terminal. Solution: Install Shades of Purple for your external terminal:

iTerm2
Hyper
Alacritty
Konsole
Ghostty (pre-installed, just enable it)

Performance Issues

Themes typically don’t cause performance issues, but if you experience slowness:

Check for conflicting extensions

Disable other theme-related extensions temporarily

Reduce tokenization load

Disable semantic highlighting:

{
  "editor.semanticHighlighting.enabled": false
}

Check VSCode performance

Open Command Palette and run Developer: Startup Performance to identify slow extensions

Still Having Issues?

If none of these solutions work:

Check existing issues: Browse GitHub Issues to see if others have reported the same problem
Create a new issue: If your problem isn’t listed, open a new issue with:
- Your VSCode version
- Your operating system
- Screenshots of the issue
- Your relevant settings from settings.json
- List of other installed extensions
Get help from the community: Join the discussion on GitHub Discussions

When reporting issues, providing detailed information helps maintainers solve your problem faster.

Quick Fixes Checklist

Before opening an issue, try these quick fixes:

Reload VSCode window
Restart VSCode completely
Check theme is selected in Color Theme picker
Disable semantic highlighting
Remove custom color overrides
Update to latest version of Shades of Purple
Update VSCode to latest version
Check for conflicting extensions

Always backup your settings.json before making significant changes!

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Troubleshooting Guide