Creating My First VS Code Color Theme: A Journey Through Code, Design, and Documentation

Have you ever wondered how the colorful themes in your Visual Studio Code editor are created? I did earlier today. I recently embarked on a journey to create my very own VS Code color theme called “Rose Colored Glasses” and it was a mix of creativity, problem-solving, and learning. Here’s how it went.

My inspiration came from the idea of looking at the world through “rose-colored glasses” which is a cheery vibe to bring to my coding environment. Besides I wanted an excuse to use pastel toned, rose themed hues.

Step 1: Setting Up

To begin, I needed to create the fundamental structure of a VS Code theme. After some research and referencing the VS Code Extension API documentation, I learned that a theme is essentially a combination of a package.json file and a JSON file that defines the colors.

Here’s what I did:
1. Created a new directory for my theme.
2. Initialized a new project using:
```bash
npm init
```
3. Installed the Yeoman generator for VS Code extensions:
```bash
npm install -g yo generator-code
```
4. Ran the generator to scaffold a new color theme:
```bash
yo code
```

Step 2: Designing Theme

Using the generated theme.json file, I began defining colors for syntax highlighting, the UI, and other elements. To get a feel for how colors interact, I constantly reloaded my theme in VS Code using the built-in developer tools.
I had some challenges with balancing out the feel and general outlook of the theme, honestly I don’t believe I am done “tinkering”, but it was important for me to push through any feelings of “perfection” so the theme could be out in the wild and have some feedback from users. I referenced the color theme documentation heavily.

Step 3: Prepping for Publishing

I needed to create an account on VS Code Marketplace, and make an organization in Azure DevOps portal. Glad I completed my DevOps course with Code Platoon, which made it much faster and way more familiar to me though this was a new platform I hadn’t used before.

Publishing extensions requires authentication via a Personal Access Token (PAT). Here's what I did:
1. Went to the Azure DevOps portal. 2. Created a new organization.
3. Generated a PAT with the necessary scopes for publishing.
4. Safely stored the PAT in a secure location.

There is a really helpful guide here: https://code.visualstudio.com/api/working-with-extensions/publishing-extension

Step 4: Publishing the Theme

With my PAT ready, I installed the vsce tool (Visual Studio Code Extension Manager):
```bash
npm install -g vsce
```

To publish my extension:
1. I logged in with my publisher account.
2. Packaged the extension:
```bash
vsce package
```
3. Published it:
```bash
vsce publish
```

Lessons Learned-

1. Documentation is Key: The official VS Code docs were my primary resource. I also relied on community blogs and forums when stuck.
2. Planning Saves Time: Having a clear idea of the theme's aesthetics upfront made implementation smoother.
3. Security Matters: Storing sensitive credentials like a PAT securely is crucial.

Reflection and Future Plans

The Rose Colored Glasses theme is now live on the VS Code Marketplace! This experience not only taught me about VS Code theming but also about the broader aspects of publishing extensions. I’m thinking of exploring how to create icon themes and integrating cursive fonts.

You can check out the Rose Colored Glasses theme here. I would love your helpful feedback seeing how this was my first time doing this and I would love to make it better. I hope it brings a fresh perspective to your coding sessions!