How to add Colors to VIM (syntax highlighting)

Background about ~/vimrc file

In order to apply color schemes to VIM you would need to update the .vimrc file which is a configuration file that is read when Vim starts up. Using this file you can customize Vim's behavior and settings to suit your preferences. The file is a plain text file that you will find under the home directory.

% vim ~/.vimrc
Note: If this file does not exist, this file will be created as you make use of the command vim ~/.vimrc i.e. Vim will create the file if it does not already exist.

Steps: Setting Custom Color Schema (Syntax Highlighting)

• Open Terminal/Bash Console.
• Type the below command to open the .vimrc file.

  vim ~/.vimrc

• Now add the following line at the end of the file (if the file is blank at the beginning)

  syntax on
  colorscheme <color-scheme-name>

  Some of the colorschemes available by default to choose from:

  desert: A low-contrast colorscheme with warm, earthy tones.
  molokai: A high-contrast colorscheme with a dark background and bright colors.
  gruvbox: A retro-inspired colorscheme with muted colors and a warm background.
  solarized: A popular colorscheme with a light and dark variant, designed to reduce eye strain.
  monokai: A high-contrast colorscheme with bright, saturated colors.
• Make sure to save and quit the file using :wq
• Now when you will open VIM again you will see the color scheme has been applied.

As you would see in the below example, we created a file Hello.java and as we type the code and syntax get highlighted in colors based on the keyword and string.

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Author Info:

Rakesh is a seasoned developer with over 10 years of experience in web and app development, and a deep knowledge of operating systems. Author of insightful How-To articles for Code2care.

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