Dank16

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The dms dank16 command generates complete Base16 color palettes from a single input color. It creates harmonious 16-color terminal themes with proper contrast ratios for both light and dark modes.

Overview

Dank16 takes a single hex color and generates a full Base16-compatible palette suitable for terminals, editors, and other applications. The algorithm intelligently derives complementary colors while ensuring all colors meet contrast requirements for readability.

Key Features:

• Generate complete 16-color palettes from one color
• Support for both dark and light themes
• Advanced contrast algorithms (Delta Phi Star or WCAG)
• Multiple output formats (terminal configs, JSON, VSCode)
• Custom background color support

Quick Start

Generate a dark theme palette:

dms dank16 "#8b5cf6"

Output:

palette = 0=#1a1a1a
palette = 1=#e25443
palette = 2=#6ed675
palette = 3=#dbd97b
palette = 4=#9a65fd
palette = 5=#9173d2
palette = 6=#9565ff
palette = 7=#abb2bf
palette = 8=#5c6370
palette = 9=#e06a5f
palette = 10=#86e08b
palette = 11=#e8e697
palette = 12=#e5c7ff
palette = 13=#8269d9
palette = 14=#9069c0
palette = 15=#ffffff

Generate a light theme palette:

dms dank16 "#8b5cf6" --light

Base16 Color Mapping

The generated palette follows the standard Base16 specification:

Index	Purpose	Dark Theme	Light Theme
0	Background	Dark gray	Light gray
1	Red	Saturated red	Dark red
2	Green	Saturated green	Dark green
3	Yellow	Saturated yellow	Dark yellow
4	Blue	Derived from input	Derived from input
5	Magenta	Derived from input	Derived from input
6	Cyan	Derived from input	Derived from input
7	Foreground	Light gray	Dark gray
8	Bright Black	Medium gray	Dark gray
9	Bright Red	Lighter red	Medium red
10	Bright Green	Lighter green	Medium green
11	Bright Yellow	Lighter yellow	Medium yellow
12	Bright Blue	Lighter variant	Lighter variant
13	Bright Magenta	Lighter variant	Lighter variant
14	Bright Cyan	Lighter variant	Lighter variant
15	Bright White	White	Black

Output Formats

Default Format

The default output is a simple palette format:

dms dank16 "#8b5cf6"

Kitty Terminal

dms dank16 "#8b5cf6" --kitty

Output:

color0   #1a1a1a
color1   #e25443
color2   #6ed675
color3   #dbd97b
...

Copy the output directly to your ~/.config/kitty/kitty.conf.

Foot Terminal

dms dank16 "#8b5cf6" --foot

Generates color configuration for the Foot terminal emulator.

Alacritty Terminal

dms dank16 "#8b5cf6" --alacritty

Generates YAML configuration for Alacritty's color scheme.

Ghostty Terminal

dms dank16 "#8b5cf6" --ghostty

Generates configuration for the Ghostty terminal emulator.

JSON Format

dms dank16 "#8b5cf6" --json

Outputs the palette as a JSON array for programmatic use.

VSCode Theme Enrichment

Enrich an existing VSCode theme file with terminal colors:

dms dank16 "#8b5cf6" --vscode-enrich /path/to/theme.json

This adds terminal color definitions to your VSCode theme while preserving all other settings.

Contrast Algorithms

Dank16 supports two contrast algorithms to ensure readability:

Delta Phi Star (DPS) - Default

The default algorithm uses Delta Phi Star contrast, which provides perceptually uniform contrast based on the golden ratio (phi). This algorithm:

• Uses CIELAB color space for perceptual accuracy
• Applies golden ratio (φ ≈ 1.618) calculations for harmonious contrast
• Targets minimum Lc (lightness contrast) values of 40 for normal text and 35 for secondary text
• Adjusts for negative polarity in dark themes

dms dank16 "#8b5cf6" --contrast dps

How it works:

1. Converts colors to CIELAB space (L*, a*, b*)
2. Calculates lightness contrast using: Lc = (|Lb^φ - Lf^φ|)^(1/φ) × 1.414 - 40
3. Adjusts for polarity (+5 for dark mode)
4. Ensures minimum contrast thresholds are met

WCAG Contrast

Uses the standard WCAG 2.1 contrast ratio algorithm:

• Targets minimum ratios of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3.0:1 for secondary text
• Based on relative luminance calculations
• Industry standard for accessibility compliance

dms dank16 "#8b5cf6" --contrast wcag

Advanced Options

Custom Background

Specify a custom background color instead of the default:

# Dark theme with custom background
dms dank16 "#8b5cf6" --background "#0d1117"

# Light theme with custom background
dms dank16 "#8b5cf6" --light --background "#ffffff"

Combining Options

All options can be combined:

dms dank16 "#8b5cf6" \
  --light \
  --background "#fafafa" \
  --contrast wcag \
  --kitty > ~/.config/kitty/dank-light.conf

Algorithm Overview

The palette generation process follows these steps:

1. Container Derivation: Derives a container color from the input by adjusting saturation and value based on theme mode

2. Color Generation: Creates the core palette colors:

   • Red, green, yellow: Generated with hue shifts and saturation adjustments
   • Blue, magenta, cyan: Derived from the input color with variations
   • Foreground/background: Set based on theme mode

3. Contrast Enforcement: Each color is adjusted to meet minimum contrast requirements:

   • Converts to HSV or CIELAB color space
   • Incrementally adjusts lightness/value until contrast threshold is met
   • Preserves hue to maintain color identity

4. Bright Variants: Generates brighter versions for colors 9-14:

   • Dark mode: Uses L* retoning to ensure high visibility
   • Light mode: Reduces saturation and adjusts value for subtle contrast

Use Cases

Terminal Theming

Generate consistent color schemes for your terminal:

# Kitty
dms dank16 "#your-color" --kitty >> ~/.config/kitty/kitty.conf

# Foot
dms dank16 "#your-color" --foot >> ~/.config/foot/foot.ini

# Alacritty
dms dank16 "#your-color" --alacritty >> ~/.config/alacritty/alacritty.yml

Editor Themes

Create matching VSCode themes:

dms dank16 "#8b5cf6" --vscode-enrich ~/.vscode/extensions/my-theme/theme.json

Dynamic Theming

Generate themes based on wallpaper colors or system accents:

#!/bin/bash
# Extract dominant color from wallpaper
dominant_color=$(your-color-extraction-tool ~/wallpaper.jpg)

# Generate and apply terminal theme
dms dank16 "$dominant_color" --kitty > ~/.config/kitty/auto-theme.conf
kitty @ set-colors -a ~/.config/kitty/auto-theme.conf

Light/Dark Mode Automation

Create matching light and dark variants:

#!/bin/bash
COLOR="#8b5cf6"

# Generate both variants
dms dank16 "$COLOR" --kitty > ~/.config/kitty/dank-dark.conf
dms dank16 "$COLOR" --light --kitty > ~/.config/kitty/dank-light.conf

# Switch based on time or system setting
if is_dark_mode; then
    kitty @ set-colors -a ~/.config/kitty/dank-dark.conf
else
    kitty @ set-colors -a ~/.config/kitty/dank-light.conf
fi

Tips & Best Practices

Choosing Input Colors

Choose an input color that you want to be prominent in your terminal. The input color will be most directly represented as the blue/cyan colors (palette indices 4, 6, 12, 14) in the output, with other colors derived as complementary hues. True red, green, and yellow will still be represented in the appropriate position.

Testing Contrast

After generating a palette, test it with actual terminal applications:

# Generate palette
dms dank16 "#8b5cf6" --kitty > /tmp/test-theme.conf

# Open new kitty window with theme
kitty -o include=/tmp/test-theme.conf

Iterating on Themes

Try slight variations of your input color to find the perfect palette:

# Try different shades
dms dank16 "#8b5cf6"  # Original
dms dank16 "#9b6cf6"  # Slightly lighter
dms dank16 "#7b4ce6"  # Slightly darker

Command Reference

dms dank16 <hex_color> [flags]

Arguments:

• hex_color (required): Input color in hex format (e.g., "#8b5cf6" or "8b5cf6")

Flags:

• --light: Generate light theme variant (default: dark)
• --background <hex>: Custom background color
• --contrast <algorithm>: Contrast algorithm - "dps" or "wcag" (default: "dps")
• --kitty: Output in Kitty terminal format
• --foot: Output in Foot terminal format
• --alacritty: Output in Alacritty terminal format
• --ghostty: Output in Ghostty terminal format
• --json: Output in JSON format
• --vscode-enrich <path>: Enrich VSCode theme file with terminal colors
• -h, --help: Show help