VS Code Dark Modern Theme for Ghidra

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A VS Code Dark Modern-inspired theme for Ghidra 12.1.2 PUBLIC.

This package is made from a Ghidra theme file and external icon assets. It installs into the Ghidra user settings directory and does not modify Ghidra's application directory, jar files, or signed binaries.

Contents

• themes/vscode-dark-modern.theme
• images/vscode/codicons/
• install.ps1
• install.sh
• tools/ (icon mapping and generation scripts; not needed to install)

images/vscode/codicons/ contains the PNG icons referenced by the theme through [EXTERNAL]images/vscode/codicons/..., plus the Codicons license files.

Install (Recommended): Import One Theme File

The quickest, cross-platform way — no manual copying, no shell scripts:

1. Download dist/vscode-dark-modern.theme.zip from this repository.
2. In Ghidra, open Edit -> Theme -> Import....
3. Select the downloaded vscode-dark-modern.theme.zip.

Ghidra extracts the bundled icons into your user settings directory and registers the theme in one step. Restart Ghidra if some UI parts do not update immediately.

This zip is a native Ghidra theme bundle (a .theme file plus its icons). Rebuild it after editing the theme with:

./tools/build-theme-zip.sh

The script installers below remain available if you prefer copying the files yourself.

Install On Windows

For Windows and Ghidra 12.1.2 PUBLIC, run PowerShell from this repository directory:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process -ExecutionPolicy Bypass
.\install.ps1

The installer copies the theme into:

%APPDATA%\ghidra\ghidra_12.1.2_PUBLIC

Manual Windows installation:

$GhidraUserDir = Join-Path $env:APPDATA 'ghidra\ghidra_12.1.2_PUBLIC'

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path "$GhidraUserDir\themes" | Out-Null
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path "$GhidraUserDir\images\vscode\codicons" | Out-Null

Copy-Item .\themes\vscode-dark-modern.theme -Destination "$GhidraUserDir\themes\" -Force
Copy-Item .\images\vscode\codicons\* -Destination "$GhidraUserDir\images\vscode\codicons\" -Recurse -Force

If you use a different Ghidra version, replace ghidra_12.1.2_PUBLIC with your Ghidra user directory name.

To install into a custom Ghidra user settings directory:

.\install.ps1 -GhidraUserDir '<Ghidra user settings directory>'

Install On macOS Or Linux

On macOS, the installer defaults to:

$HOME/Library/ghidra/ghidra_12.1.2_PUBLIC

On Linux, the installer defaults to:

${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/ghidra/ghidra_12.1.2_PUBLIC

git clone https://github.com/pinksawtooth/VS_Code_dark_modern_theme.git
cd VS_Code_dark_modern_theme
./install.sh

You can also override the target directory when running the installer:

GHIDRA_USER_DIR="<Ghidra user settings directory>" ./install.sh

Enable The Theme

1. Start or restart Ghidra.
2. Open Edit -> Theme.
3. Select VS Code Dark Modern.
4. Restart Ghidra if some UI parts do not update immediately.

Update

Pull the latest version and run the installer again:

Windows:

git pull
.\install.ps1

macOS or Linux:

git pull
./install.sh

Uninstall On Windows

$GhidraUserDir = Join-Path $env:APPDATA 'ghidra\ghidra_12.1.2_PUBLIC'

Remove-Item "$GhidraUserDir\themes\vscode-dark-modern.theme" -Force
Remove-Item "$GhidraUserDir\images\vscode\codicons" -Recurse -Force

Restart Ghidra and choose another theme afterward.

Uninstall On macOS Or Linux

Use the same Ghidra user settings directory that was used during installation.

macOS:

GHIDRA_USER_DIR="$HOME/Library/ghidra/ghidra_12.1.2_PUBLIC"

rm -f "$GHIDRA_USER_DIR/themes/vscode-dark-modern.theme"
rm -rf "$GHIDRA_USER_DIR/images/vscode/codicons"

Linux:

GHIDRA_USER_DIR="${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/ghidra/ghidra_12.1.2_PUBLIC"

rm -f "$GHIDRA_USER_DIR/themes/vscode-dark-modern.theme"
rm -rf "$GHIDRA_USER_DIR/images/vscode/codicons"

Restart Ghidra and choose another theme afterward.

Notes

• Ghidra stores user-installed themes under the user settings directory. On Windows, Ghidra's default settings directory is %APPDATA%\ghidra\ghidra_<version>.
• On macOS, Ghidra's default settings directory is $HOME/Library/ghidra/ghidra_<version>.
• On Linux, Ghidra's default settings directory is ${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/ghidra/ghidra_<version>.
• Even if Ghidra itself is installed in a separate application directory, copy this theme to the user settings directory so Ghidra can discover it.
• This theme intentionally stays within Ghidra's theme system.
• It does not modify Ghidra jars, application files, or signed files.
• It was tested with Ghidra 12.1.2 PUBLIC. It also covers the theme keys new in 12.1.x (debugger breakpoint timeline, split active/inactive docking tabs, byte viewer edit cursors) while keeping the older 12.0.x keys, so it still loads on Ghidra 12.0.4.
• Colors follow the official VS Code Dark Modern palette: #1F1F1F editor, #181818 chrome, #2B2B2B borders, #313131 inputs, and #0078D4 accent.
• Icons are mapped by meaning, not by guesswork. tools/icon-map.py pairs each Ghidra concept with the codicon VS Code itself uses for the same thing — e.g. the debugger toolbar shows the real debug-continue / debug-pause / debug-step-* glyphs, an enabled breakpoint is a filled red dot, and Version Tracking accept/reject are a green check / red cross.
• To regenerate the assets: python3 tools/build-theme.py rewrites the theme's icon.* lines and the render manifest, then CODICONS_SRC=<codicons>/src/icons ./tools/generate-icons.sh renders the PNGs from the @vscode/codicons SVG sources (requires ImageMagick with librsvg).