> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/ghostty-org/ghostty/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# list-themes

> Preview or list all available themes for Ghostty

The `list-themes` command displays or previews all available themes for Ghostty, with an interactive TUI when run from a terminal.

## Usage

```bash theme={null}
ghostty +list-themes [options]
```

## Description

When run from a TTY, this command launches an interactive TUI that allows you to preview themes with live color palettes and examples. When output is piped or `--plain` is specified, it outputs a simple list of theme names.

Ghostty searches for themes in two directories:

1. **User themes directory**: `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/ghostty/themes` or `~/.config/ghostty/themes`
2. **System themes directory**: Ghostty's resources directory (shipped themes)
   * macOS: `Ghostty.app/Contents/Resources/ghostty/themes`
   * Linux: `share/ghostty/themes` (installation-dependent)
   * From source: `zig-out/share/ghostty/themes`

You can override the resources directory with the `GHOSTTY_RESOURCES_DIR` environment variable.

## Options

<ParamField path="--path" type="boolean">
  Show the full path to each theme file alongside the theme name.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--plain" type="boolean">
  Force plain listing mode even when running in a TTY. Disables the interactive TUI preview.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--color" type="string" default="all">
  Specify the color scheme of themes to include in the list:

  * `all` - Show all themes (default)
  * `dark` - Show only dark themes
  * `light` - Show only light themes
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="-h, --help" type="flag">
  Display help information for this command.
</ParamField>

## Interactive TUI Keys

When running in interactive mode (TTY), use these keys:

<CodeGroup>
  ```text Navigation theme={null}
  j, ↓, +          Move down 1 theme
  k, ↑, -          Move up 1 theme
  ScrollDown       Move down 1 theme
  ScrollUp         Move up 1 theme
  PgDown           Move down 20 themes
  PgUp             Move up 20 themes
  Home             Go to start of list
  End              Go to end of list
  ```

  ```text Actions theme={null}
  /                Start search
  Esc, ⏎           Close search/save window
  ^X, ^/           Clear search
  f                Cycle theme filters (all/dark/light)
  c                Copy theme name to clipboard
  C                Copy theme path to clipboard
  ⏎                Show save instructions
  w                Write theme to auto config file
  ```

  ```text Display theme={null}
  h, x             Show palette numbers in hexadecimal
  d                Show palette numbers in decimal
  F1, ?, ^H        Toggle help window
  q, Esc, ^C       Quit
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Examples

### Launch Interactive Preview

```bash theme={null}
ghostty +list-themes
```

Opens the interactive TUI with theme previews, color palettes, and navigation.

### List All Themes (Plain)

```bash theme={null}
ghostty +list-themes --plain
```

<CodeGroup>
  ```text Output theme={null}
  3024-day (builtin)
  3024-night (builtin)
  aesthetic (builtin)
  afternoon (builtin)
  alien-blood (builtin)
  alucard (builtin)
  argonaut (builtin)
  atom (builtin)
  ...
  ```
</CodeGroup>

### List with Paths

```bash theme={null}
ghostty +list-themes --path --plain
```

<CodeGroup>
  ```text Output theme={null}
  3024-day (builtin) /usr/share/ghostty/themes/3024-day
  3024-night (builtin) /usr/share/ghostty/themes/3024-night
  custom-theme (user) /home/user/.config/ghostty/themes/custom-theme
  ```
</CodeGroup>

### List Only Dark Themes

```bash theme={null}
ghostty +list-themes --color=dark --plain
```

Filters to show only themes designed for dark mode.

### Pipe to Grep

```bash theme={null}
ghostty +list-themes --plain | grep -i nord
```

Find themes matching "nord" in the name.

## Applying Themes

To apply a theme from the preview:

1. Navigate to the desired theme
2. Press `⏎` to view save instructions
3. Either:
   * Press `w` to write to `auto/theme.ghostty` and add `config-file = ?auto/theme.ghostty` to your main config
   * Manually add `theme = <theme-name>` to your config file

## Notes

<Note>
  The TUI preview shows the actual color palette, foreground/background colors, and example terminal output with syntax highlighting to help you see how the theme looks in practice.
</Note>

<Note>
  User themes in your config directory take precedence over built-in themes with the same name.
</Note>

## See Also

* [Theme Configuration](/config/themes)
* [list-fonts](/cli/list-fonts)
* [show-config](/cli/show-config)