MOTELFor your IDE, terminal, Chrome, and more

Brass room key on an oxblood diamond Motel 01 fob.

Weathered red. Pool-tile blue. The warmth of walnut and brass. Fifteen colors inspired by the great American roadside Motel and vernacular.

Locals only.

Marquee

The weathered red of the sign out front.

Keywords · errors · cursor

Color names & technical roles

Names describe the place. Role keys describe the job. The keys and hex values stay compatible with existing Motel ports.

Color	Role key	Hex	Use
Asphalt	`base`	`#18110d`	Backgrounds · sidebars · editor
Walnut	`surface`	`#211814`	Status bars · inputs
Formica	`overlay`	`#2c211d`	Popovers · menus · dialogs
Ash	`muted`	`#7d6c64`	Comments · disabled controls
Sandstone	`subtle`	`#9f8c82`	Punctuation · secondary labels
Bone	`text`	`#e2d3c1`	Body text · variables · functions
Marquee	`rust`	`#ba5152`	Keywords · errors · cursor
Brass	`brass`	`#b99868`	Strings · warnings · terminal yellow
Adobe	`copper`	`#b19080`	Numbers · constants · git changes
Agave	`moss`	`#809378`	Success · terminal green
Pool Tile	`dusk`	`#7690a1`	Types · keys · git additions
Rosewood	`wine`	`#a98081`	Links · hints · terminal magenta
Shadow	`highlightLow`	`#1d1511`	Current line · hover
Tobacco	`highlightMed`	`#403029`	Selections · find matches
Umber	`highlightHigh`	`#5c4840`	Borders · guides · dividers

Three supporting colors round out the system: Nightfall for inactive chrome, Pool Glass for terminal cyan, and Oxide for dark red fills.

Motel / dark

reservations.ts TypeScript

// A room for the night.
type Reservation = {
  guest: string;
  room: number;
  checkedIn: boolean;
};

export function checkIn(guest: string = "Guest"): Reservation {
  return {
    guest,
    room: 12,
    checkedIn: true,
  };
}

main No problemsUTF-8 · TypeScript

zsh Terminal specimen

~/motel main $ ls
assets/   ports/   palette.json   README.md

~/motel main $ git diff --stat
 ports/warp.yaml   |  4 ++--
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

~/motel main $ printf 'Good evening.\n'
Good evening.

~/motel main $

Body text and functions share Bone. Color marks meaning, rather than every word.

Download the palette

Available ports.

Cursor & VS Code

Editor theme

Download the extension source, unzip it, and package it with VS Code’s extension tool. Install the resulting VSIX in your editor, then choose Motel in the color theme picker.

npx @vscode/vsce package --allow-missing-repository --skip-license

For Cursor’s IDE. Its separate Agents window does not use VS Code themes.

Download extension source

Warp

Terminal theme

Save the theme as ~/.warp/themes/motel.yaml. Select Motel in Warp’s appearance settings.

Download Warp theme

Chrome

Browser theme

Unzip the theme. Open chrome://extensions, enable Developer mode, and choose Load unpacked. Select the unzipped folder.

Download Chrome theme

zsh

Shell colors

Save the file somewhere permanent, then source it from ~/.zshrc. It provides Motel colors for file listings through LS_COLORS and EZA_COLORS.

Download shell colors

More places to stay

Additional files

The same palette, generated for other tools. Download a port below and follow its install note. The full guide is included in the complete bundle.

GhosttyDownload

Copy to ~/.config/ghostty/themes/motel, then theme = motel

AlacrittyDownload

Import from alacritty.toml

KittyDownload

Include from kitty.conf, or kitten themes

WezTermDownload

Merge as a color scheme

iTerm2Download

Profiles → Colors → Color Presets → Import

Windows TerminalDownload

Paste the scheme into settings

tmuxDownload

source-file from ~/.tmux.conf

NeovimDownload

Load as a colorscheme

HelixDownload

theme = "motel"

ZedDownload

Install as a theme

Sublime TextDownload

Packages user folder

ObsidianDownload

Extra CSS, or a theme folder

SlackDownload

Preferences → Themes → Custom

fishDownload

~/.config/fish/conf.d/

fzfDownload

Source from your shell rc

batDownload

See bat themes

StarshipDownload

palette = "motel"

CSSDownload

Import in a page