# Themes
The `themes` directory in an extension should contain one or more theme files.
Each theme file should adhere to the JSON schema specified at [`https://zed.dev/schema/themes/v0.2.0.json`](https://zed.dev/schema/themes/v0.2.0.json).
See [this blog post](https://zed.dev/blog/user-themes-now-in-preview) for more details about creating themes.
## Theme JSON Structure
The structure of a Zed theme is defined in the [Zed Theme JSON Schema](https://zed.dev/schema/themes/v0.2.0.json).
A Zed theme consists of a Theme Family object including:
- `name`: The name for the theme family
- `author`: The name of the author of the theme family
- `themes`: An array of Themes belonging to the theme family
The core components a Theme object include:
1. Theme Metadata:
- `name`: The name of the theme
- `appearance`: Either "light" or "dark"
2. Style Properties under the `style`, such as:
- `background`: The main background color
- `foreground`: The main text color
- `accent`: The accent color used for highlighting and emphasis
3. Syntax Highlighting:
- `syntax`: An object containing color definitions for various syntax elements (e.g., keywords, strings, comments)
4. UI Elements:
- Colors for various UI components such as:
- `element.background`: Background color for UI elements
- `border`: Border colors for different states (normal, focused, selected)
- `text`: Text colors for different states (normal, muted, accent)
5. Editor-specific Colors:
- Colors for editor-related elements such as:
- `editor.background`: Editor background color
- `editor.gutter`: Gutter colors
- `editor.line_number`: Line number colors
6. Terminal Colors:
- ANSI color definitions for the integrated terminal
We recommend looking at our [existing themes](https://github.com/zed-industries/zed/tree/main/assets/themes) to get a more comprehensive idea of what can be styled.