Change Log of the Ef Themes

This document contains the release notes for each tagged commit on the project's main git repository: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes.

The newest release is at the top. For further details, please consult the manual: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/ef-themes.

Table of Contents

• Version 1.10.0 on 2025-04-29
• Version 1.9.0 on 2024-11-16
• Version 1.8.0 on 2024-08-27
• Version 1.7.0 on 2024-04-28
• Version 1.6.0 on 2024-03-11
• Version 1.5.0 on 2024-01-11
• Version 1.4.0 on 2023-10-26
• Version 1.3.0 on 2023-08-09
• Version 1.2.0 on 2023-06-30
• Version 1.1.0 on 2023-06-08
• Version 1.0.0 on 2023-05-16
• Version 0.11.0 on 2023-03-13
• Version 0.10.0 on 2022-12-02
• Version 0.9.0 on 2022-10-28
• Version 0.8.0 on 2022-10-17
• Version 0.7.0 on 2022-10-08
• Version 0.6.0 on 2022-09-23
• Version 0.5.0 on 2022-09-11
• Version 0.4.0 on 2022-08-29
• Version 0.3.0 on 2022-08-20
• Version 0.2.0 on 2022-08-18
• Version 0.1.0 on 2022-08-17

Version 1.10.0 on 2025-04-29

This version introduces minor refinements to an already stable package.

The palette preview uses a tabulated interface

The commands ef-themes-preview-colors and ef-themes-preview-colors-current produce a preview of the given theme's palette. In the past, we were using a bespoke buffer for this task, just how the built-in command list-colors-display does it.

Now we rely on the built-in tabulated-list-mode to get a cleaner tabulated view. Plus, users can sort by column.

Support for more faces or face groups

• Added support for my tmr package. This will be especially noticeable in its tabulated view (used to show timers, with the command tmr-tabulated-view (alias tmr-list-timers)).

• Added explicit support for my spacious-padding package. Specifically, this is for the faces spacious-padding-subtle-mode-line-active and spacious-padding-subtle-mode-line-inactive. Those can be configured as part of the user option spacious-padding-subtle-mode-line.

    (setq spacious-padding-subtle-mode-line
          '( :mode-line-active spacious-padding-subtle-mode-line-active
             :mode-line-inactive spacious-padding-subtle-mode-line-inactive))
  

• Made the helpful headings use whatever the style of level 1 headings is, as defined by the user option ef-themes-heading. Thanks to John Haman for applying the relevant code we have for the modus-themes. The change is small (and comes from my modus-themes, anyway), meaning that John does not need to assign copyright to the Free Software Foundation.
• Added support for the howm package.
• Extended support for the auto-dim-other-buffers package to include its auto-dim-other-buffers-hide-face.

• Made sure that all new transient faces conform with the design priorities of the themes. Concretely, this means that they do not support any colour-coding: all keys look the same, regardless of whether they mean "continue", "exit", or anything else. Colour-coding with a full spectrum of colours cannot be accessible (and I do not believe colour-coding alone even works because the colours have nothing else to be associated with, like how a red line in a diff buffer also goes together with the minus sign).

  Thanks to Kevin Fleming for including the transient-key-stack face that I had originally missed. This was done in pull request 54: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes/pull/54. The change is small, meaning that Kevin does not need to assign copyright to the Free Software Foundation

• Extended support for adoc-mode courtesy of Leilei332. This was done in pull request 52: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes/pull/52.

  The change is within the ~15-line limit, meaning that its author does not need to assign copyright to the Free Software Foundation.

Version 1.9.0 on 2024-11-16

This version introduces several small refinements to an already comprehensive basis.

No interference with org-modern

The org-modern package is not meant to be touched by a theme. This is what I am doing with the modus-themes, but I forgot to remove the changes made by the ef-themes.

Thanks to Daniel Mendler, author of org-modern, for bringing this matter to my attention. This was done in issue 48: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes/issues/48.

Colour refinements for several themes

I document those, though most of them will not be noticeable, unless on a side-by-side comparison.

• The ef-day palette value for green-warmer has a marginally greater contribution from the red channel of light, making it a tiny bit "warmer". The green-faint is made less warm. In context, these tweaks make certain elements easier to tell apart, while retaining the character of the theme.
• The ef-reverie value for blue-faint is less saturated, so its blue impression is diminished. It still performs its role in all the relevant contexts, only now it does it better by not competing with other shades of blue.
• The ef-light value for fg-dim is much less intense, though still within the desired contrast range. This way, it works better in context. The "added" background colours (used in diff-mode, Ediff, Magit, etc.) are a little bit more intense to be more harmonious with other elements in a diff output. The blue-faint has lower contribution from the blue channel of light in the interest of not interfering with other blue hues, while still looking alright itself. The semantic palette mapping for links now uses the blue-warmer colour instead of blue, as the former is less ambiguous in context. The fg-alt is recalibrated to be closer to a grey value, improving its use in several places. The red-cooler value is redone to not be conflated with magenta: it now delivers a rosy red impression. Lastly, the rainbow-2 mapping uses magenta instead of magenta-warmer for consistency in all relevant situations.
• The ef-night semantic colour mapping of preprocessor is toned down in intensity to remove what was a stylistic exaggeration. The variable mapping is tweaked to use cyan-warmer instead of the cyan colour, as the former is slightly more suited to the role due to how it combines with other colours. The type semantic mapping is bound to a less intense shade of magenta, making it not overpower other constructs in a competition for attention. Finally, the value of the magenta-faint colour has a greater contribution from the blue channel of light to shift its hue slightly closer to purple.

• The ef-deuteranopia-light palette entry for red-faint is more yellow to be discernible where needed. Similarly, the cyan-cooler has a reduced contribution from the red channel of light.

  [ Note that the "deuteranopia" and "tritanopia" themes define all colours in the palette to be consistent with the overall project, but only use hues that are appropriate for red-green and blue-yellow colour deficiency, respectively. ]

• The "subtle" backgrounds of all themes (e.g. bg-red-subtle) are redone to feel more natural in the context of their respective theme. Before, some values were a bit exaggerated and/or not aligned with the overall aesthetic. Still, the changes are small: do not expect your preferred theme to be refashioned.

More accurate faces for Org agenda dates

The faces used by Org agenda to style events with a scheduled date or deadline are redesigned to better complement the semantics of what is on display. Pressing tasks stand out more, while those that do not require immediate attention are rendered in a more subtle style.

Thanks to Adam Porter (aka GitHub alphapapa) for suggesting this revision and discussing the technicalities with me. This was done in issue 102 of the Modus themes repository (but the principles apply to the Ef themes as well): https://github.com/protesilaos/modus-themes/issues/102.

The forge package is fully supported

All of its faces will now look consistent in context as they get the appropriate colours of the active Ef theme.

Thanks to Len Trigg for reporting that some attributes were not suitable for the intended purpose of certain Forge faces. I fixed those accordingly. This was done in issue 47: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes/issues/47.

Support for the tldr package

This makes it look consistent with the rest of the theme.

Support for the built-in window-tool-bar-mode

This is a mode available in Emacs 30. Its faces will look right at all times.

Support for the built-in hexl-mode

Instead of using shades of grey backgrounds, the themes use carefully chosen foreground values that are easier to spot.

The embark faces are brought up-to-date

Old symbols are removed and the current ones are added in their stead.

Miscellaneous

• The :background-mode property of the ef-melissa-dark theme is set to the correct symbol. Thanks to Pedro Cunha for making the change in pull request 46: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes/pull/46. The change is small, so Pedro does not need to assign copyright to the Free Software Foundation.
• Graphical buttons inherit the ef-themes-button face, which makes it easier to ensure theme-wide consistency for all relevant faces.
• The all-the-icons faces for Ibuffer use different colours that refine how everything looks in context.
• The popup produced by the corfu and company packages will use a monospaced font (inherit from fixed-pitch) if the user option ef-themes-mixed-fonts is set to a non-nil value.
• The annotation function used by the command ef-themes-select or related now uses the completions-annotations face, as it should.

Version 1.8.0 on 2024-08-27

The ef-themes package is in a stable state. The collection covers a wide spectrum of tastes while maintaining a high standard of legibility. I have made a few quality-of-life refinements and added two exciting new themes.

Enjoy the ef-eagle and ef-owl themes

These are the two new members of the collection. Both draw inspiration from the large predatory birds I encounter in my mountains. Both themes avoid the use of highly saturated colours.

• ef-eagle is a light theme with varying shades of brown and complementary colours.
• ef-owl is a dark theme with varying shades of silverblue and complementary colours.

The announcement I made on my blog about these two themes includes pictures of them: https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2024-08-19-ef-eagle-and-owl-themes/.

The "midnight" mode of pdf-tools is supported

The pdf-tools package provides the pdf-view-midnight-minor-mode, which applies dark colours to the document. Those colours will now be taken from the active theme, resulting in a more consistent reading experience.

Org checkboxes are monospaced if needed

When the user sets the option ef-themes-mixed-fonts to a non-nil value, the Org checkboxes will be rendered in a monospaced font (technically, they inherit the fixed-pitch face). This is done to preserve the alignment of items when variable-pitch-mode is enabled (or the user sets a proportionately spaced font as their default).

Remember that the point of "mixed fonts" is to use monospacing for those elements that are space-sensitive, like code blocks and tables.

Thanks to Gautier Ponsinet for making the Org checkboxes conform with this design. The change is small and thus does not require copyright assignment to the Free Software Foundation.

The elisp-shorthand-font-lock-face is now easier to spot

This is a way for Emacs packages to define so-called "shorthands" of short prefixes in symbols that are aliases for longer ones. For example, my-long-package-name-prefix may be expressed as mlp in the source code. These shorthands will now use a style that is not found anywhere else in Elisp code, making them stand out more.

A better "alt" foreground for ef-melissa-light and ef-melissa-dark

The themes define an alternative foreground colour which is used for ancillary elements such as Org property drawers. For ef-melissa-light and ef-melissa-dark this colour is easier to tell apart from the colour used for comments. It still retains the same pleasant quality of being easy-to-read without calling too much attention to itself.

The new bg-search-match semantic colour mapping

Each theme has a palette that defines named colours and semantic mappings. These are useful for my purposes while developing the themes, but also for users who have the option to override the palette (check the manual for further details).

The bg-search-match is used for "matches" that are persistent in search results, such as in Occur and Grep buffers. The colour in use is the same as it was before, except that the user can now modify it directly.

Version 1.7.0 on 2024-04-28

This version contains minor refinements for many of the themes in the collection. It also introduces two new themes which, according to private feedback I have received, are already well received.

Experience the ef-dream and ef-reverie themes

Both themes revolve around the use of gold tones and subtle complementary colours.

I announced them here: https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2024-04-09-emacs-ef-dream-reverie-themes/.

The ef-themes now cover a wide range of tastes, all while conforming with a high legibility standard (minimum WCAG AA, though many qualify for WCAG AAA).

Refinements for some themes

These are small changes that improve the consistency of the given theme.

ef-bio

The preprocessor semantic palette mapping uses a cyan-green colour instead of a vibrant green. This is to better differentiate elements in code, while remaining faithful to the style of the theme.

ef-cyprus

The preprocessor semantic palette mapping is redefined from a faint yellow to a firebrick red. This is to ensure that the various combinations of elements in code are easy to tell apart while remaining pleasant to look at.

ef-day

The green-faint value has reduced contribution from the blue channel of light, making it more green-yellow as a result. This colour is only used for comments: it achieves the two-fold goal of (i) applying subtle colouration to comments while (ii) making them sufficiently distinct from their context.

ef-dark

The value of the preprocessor is a bit darker red than its former brighter variant. This is to improve the visuals in files that include a high concentration of preprocessor constructs.

ef-duo-light

• The cyan-warmer entry in the palette is a bit less blue and more green. The change is imperceptible on its own (from #3f6faf to #3f70a0). The effect is more noticeable in the context of other constructs, such as in an Org document that combines headings of varying levels, with code and verbatim inline elements, as well as links.
• The comment semantic palette mapping uses a slightly more orange value. This is done for stylistic consistency with the rest of the theme, while making comments a bit easier to spot.

ef-duo-dark

As with its light counterpart, the comment entry in the palette uses a slightly different colour value. The effect is subtle and only appreciated in context.

ef-frost

The yellow-faint palette entry is considerably more yellow than its previous value. The reason for this change is to make comments and tags in Org headings stand out more when compared to some other subtle elements. The exact value of this yellow still feels ice-cold, like the rest of the theme.

ef-kassio

The comment semantic palette mapping uses a slightly more cyan value. Comments are easier to tell apart from their context, while retaining the spirit of their original design.

ef-light

• The blue entry in the palette is darker than before. This makes the links it is applied to easier to spot in their context.
• The blue-faint is a bit less purple/indigo than before. It is now applied to level 1 headings (such as in Org) instead of the previous blue value. Combined with the above it makes it easier to differentiate various elements that are rendered in some shade of blue (like Org verbatim and links).
• The preprocessor semantic palette mapping uses a slightly darker red than before, to better fit in with the rest of the theme.

ef-melissa-light

The red-warmer, red-cooler, and yellow palette entries are revised in concert to (i) retain the overall balance of the theme while (ii) making those colours easier to tell apart.

ef-rosa

• Links use a different shade of green. It makes for a slightly better fit in the context of other elements.
• The green value is less saturated. It better complements the colours it is combined with, such as pink and magenta.
• The mail-subject semantic palette mapping uses the aforementioned green, as it makes for a better fit in that context.
• The comment semantic palette mapping has a faint green value. Comments are a bit easier to spot, while they better contribute to the aesthetics of the theme.

ef-summer

The preprocessor semantic palette mapping has a shade of green that has greater contribution from the blue channel of light. The first impression is the same as before, though the exact value is a better fit for the theme.

ef-symbiosis

The preprocessor semantic palette mapping is less intense than before to make sure there is no impression of exaggeration when there is a high concentration of it on the screen.

All light themes use slightly different graph colours

This is a subset of the palette that is used in some special cases such as the org-habit consistency graph. The change covers the lighter green and blue values, which are now easier to spot in their context.

The doom-modeline no longer uses bold-italic

There were two instances where the bold-italic face was applied. This could break icons, by clipping their top. We revert to only using the bold face.

Thanks to Filippo Argiolas for bringing this matter to my attention in issue 42: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes/issues/42.

Version 1.6.0 on 2024-03-11

This version adds some minor refinements and extends support for more packages or faces.

Support for the built-in ERC feature

The erc is one of the IRC clients built into Emacs. The other is rcirc, which the Ef themes have supported for a long time.

All ERC buffers should now be consistent with the themes.

Note that in the interest of simplicity I am not covering the niche feature of IRC to pass hardcoded colour values to some input. Those will not be consistent with the themes and it is up to the user to pick a legible colour combination (or, you know, just keep it simple).

Better colours for the ztree package

With ztree the user can check the differences between two directories. All relevant colour-coding is now consistent with the Ef themes and will use the palette mappings of the active theme.

Support for the built-in window-divider-mode

This mode controls the style of window dividers. Those now are using a grey value instead of the one applied to the main foreground. In other words, they are more subtle.

The highlight-indentation package is covered

Thanks to Oleksii (Alex) Koval for the contribution. This was done in pull request 38: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes/pull/38. The change is well below the ~15 line limit, meaning that Oleksii does not need to assign copyright to the Free Software Foundation.

Some active region background colours are a bit more prominent

The active region background colour of the ef-autumn, ef-night, ef-symbiosis, and ef-tritanopia-dark themes is slightly more noticeable now. Before is was too subtle and thus hard to spot in some scenaria.

An easier to spot magenta value for ef-tritanopia-dark

Due to the requirements of blue-yellow colour deficiency (tritanomaly or tritanopia), this theme uses a more restricted set of colours, with carefully picked shades of magenta representing a neutral midpoint between red and cyan. One of the magenta values that was used in many parts of this theme is now recalibrated to better perform its function as a third and finer accent in relevant interfaces.

Refined colours for colour-coded backgrounds in dark themes

In many interfaces the themes apply colour-coded styles to communicate meaning. For example, in Dired buffers items that are flagged for deletion have a red background while those that are merely selected use a green hue (deuteranopia and tritanopia themes have different colour-coding schemes). In almost all the dark Ef themes, the applicable values are now slightly more intense to (i) better complement the foreground they are combined with and (ii) perform their intended function of providing visual feedback.

The gnus-button face is no longer underlined

This is because it applies in places where an underline is either misleadingly styled like a link or is the kind of extra emphasis we do not need (one of my design principles is to avoid exaggerations).

The message-separator has a less intense background

This is about the text found in message/email composition buffers that separates the headers from the body and by default reads --text follows this line--. Its grey background is more subtle now and remains easy to spot without being needlessly intense.

The org-document-info-keyword inherits ef-themes-fixed-pitch

This means that the text is rendered in a monospaced font if the user option ef-themes-mixed-fonts is set to a non-nil value.

Semantic mappings for terminals

The Ef themes do not hardcode colour values. Instead, they define named colours and semantic mappings. The latter are applied to all the relevant faces. The user can thus override the palette to apply changes across the supported packages. The manual explains the technicalities.

To extend this facility, all Ef themes now include semantic mappings that are used by terminals or anything that reads ANSI escape sequences. Most users should not have to touch these, but those who want to do it can either use the ef-themes-common-palette-overrides or the equivalent user option of each individual theme (e.g. ef-summer-palette-overrides).

The commands ef-themes-preview-colors and ef-themes-preview-colors-current are relevant to identify the names of the mappings or colours to-be-overridden.

The code underpinning the ef-themes-heading user option is improved

Thanks to Gautier Ponsinet for porting the implementation from my modus-themes (I thought I had done it long ago). Gautier's contribution was sent to me as a patch via email.

Version 1.5.0 on 2024-01-11

The new ef-arbutus and ef-rosa themes

The ef-arbutus theme combines red and green colours against a mild light red-pink background. The announcement article contains screenshots: https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2023-12-29-ef-arbutus/.

The ef-rosa theme has a deep dark red-brown background with a blend of magenta and green foregrounds. Check the blog post for pictures: https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2024-01-06-emacs-ef-rosa/.

These two new entries bring the total count of the collection to 30.

Remember that you can set the user option ef-themes-to-toggle to two themes in the collection and switch between them with the command ef-themes-toggle. For example:

(setq ef-themes-to-toggle '(ef-arbutus ef-rosa))

Otherwise, use the command ef-themes-load-random (call it with a C-u prefix argument to limit the result to either dark or light themes, else call it from Lisp, like (ef-themes-load-random 'dark)).

Stopped the transient buffers from trying semantic key colouration

In a recent version of transient.el, there is a new user option that applies colour-coding to keys (e.g. we see those while using magit): transient-semantic-coloring. This option is enabled by default, changing the previous style that was used as a reference for all my designs.

The idea with such colour coding is to indicate when a key continues to display the transient, exits with a given action, and the like. For our purposes this interface cannot work:

• We need some place to teach users what each colour means, as there are no indicators of any sort to help them (whereas, say, in diff buffers we have the plus and minus signs).
• Not all hues are suitable for highlighting a single character. In light themes, for example, green and yellow colours are TERRIBLE choices for the requirements of this interface where the key must be clearly visible. But when we introduce multiple colours, each with their own meaning, we will not be able to avoid those hues.
• The style of key bindings is not limited to transient.el. We find them when we invoke M-x, do M-x describe-bindings, while using the which-key package, and many more. If we are to change how transient.el shows key bindings, then we have to retain the same visual cues for other contexts. Otherwise, everything is inconsistent.
• All themes must use the same colours to preserve the colour coding, thus removing an important aspect of their presentation.
• This whole paradigm does not work for themes that are optimised for users with colour deficiency, due to the reduced number of suitable hues. With deuteranopia, for example, we can only rely on yellow and blue: since yellow is not optimal for single key highlights against a light backdrop, blue is the only hue that works in such a context.

The ef-themes will not support this user option. All relevant faces use the style of standard key bindings.

Themes can enforce user option values, but I have decided to change the faces instead to better communicate my intent. If a user wants semantic colouring, they can change the faces to whatever they like.

The evil prompts now show the correct colours

While using evil-mode, the ex prompts no longer use their generic hardcoded red value. They take an appropriate colour from the active Ef theme.

The imenu-list package is now supported

This package uses the built-in imenu infrastructure to produce a sidebar with points of interest in the buffer. Those headings now use the correct colour values.

Thanks to newhallroad for bringing this matter to my attention in issue 35 on the GitHub mirror: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes/issues/35.

The nerd-icons-completion package is covered

This package defines a single face for directories/folders. It looks like all the other nerd-icons packages that use that icon, such as nerd-icons-dired.

Thanks to Ryan Kaskel for the contribution: https://lists.sr.ht/~protesilaos/ef-themes/patches/47379. The change is small. Ryan does not need to assign copyright to the Free Software Foundation.

Completed the coverage of the denote faces

The new style ensures better thematic consistency.

These faces are found in Dired buffers when denote-dired-mode is enabled. Same for the default style of the backlinks buffer.

Changed highlights to avoid conflating "flagged" and "trashed" emails

This is for email clients such as mu4e and notmuch. Flagged ad trashed emails used to have the same colour, which was a problem when the user would try to filter in such a way as to show both at the same time.

Thanks to Adam Porter (GitHub user alphapapa) for bringing this matter to my attention in issue 32 on the GitHub mirror: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes/issues/32.

Support for more specialised faces

blink-matching-paren-offscreen

Defined in the built-in simple.el to highlight the matching parenthesis in the echo area when it is off screen (Emacs 30).

mct-highlight-candidate

Part of the mct package to highlight the currently selected completion candidate in the *Completions* buffer.

shr-mark

Used by the built-in shr library (Simple HTML Renderer) to highlight <mark> tags (Emacs 29).

Expanded the semantic colour mappings

Each theme defines colours and then maps them to semantic constructs. The idea is to not hardcode colour values, but to have an indirection that enforces consistency, while keeping things flexible/customisable. Users can override palette entries as explained in the manual: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/ef-themes#h:4b923795-4b23-4345-81e5-d1c108a84b6a.

New semantic colour mappings are:

bg-search-current

Background colour of the currently matched term of search interfaces, like isearch.

bg-search-lazy

This background is used in the same contexts as the above, but for matches other than the current one.

bg-search-replace

Background of the currently targeted replacement in query-replace operations or related.

bg-search-rx-group-{0..3},

Backgrounds for regular expression groups, such as while using M-x re-builder.

bg-fringe and fg-fringe

Applies to the background of the fringe area in Emacs frames. By default, the Ef themes do not use a distinct background there, so this is for those who need it.

prose-table-formula

Used for formula entries in plain text tables, such as with Org, to distinguish them from the other contents of the table.

Miscellaneous

• Used the updated modus-themes formula for the contrast tables of all the Ef themes (stored in the file contrast-ratios.org in the project's root directory).

  I made this change in commit b410fcc in the modus-themes repo. The idea is to avoid the use of the cl-loop and other cl- functions that we don't really need (and which also have their own mini language that I find hard to remember/use).

• Tweaked the value of a few accented backgrounds to better fit with each theme's style. These colours may not be spotted anywhere right now, but are nonetheless available to those who use palette overrides (run the command ef-themes-preview-colors or ef-themes-preview-colors-current to visualise them).

Version 1.4.0 on 2023-10-26

Experience the "Melissa" variants

The ef-melissa-dark and ef-melissa-light are the new members of the Ef themes collection. They form a pair of warmly coloured palettes that have a strong emphasis on yellow hues against a soft background. In my opinion, these themes (as well as the "Elea" and "Maris" variants) are best used when environmental light is neither too intense nor too dim.

The blog post where I announced these new themes and showed screen shots of them: https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2023-10-04-ef-melissa-dark-light/.

Screen shots for the entire collection are available on my website: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/ef-themes-pictures.

There now are 28 themes in the ef-themes package, covering a broad range of preferences and needs. They all are highly legible (typically well above the WCAG AA standard) and very customisable (consult their manual).

Use palette overrides instead of ef-themes-region

The user option ef-themes-region is no more. It used to provide an intense variant to the region highlight colour. I am discontinuing this as the themes have a powerful mechanism of overriding any entry in their palette, with the benefit of semantic colour mappings, to affect the style of the theme.

Palette overrides exist for each theme, but also as a common variable, with the former taking precedence. A theme-specific variable looks like ef-summer-palette-overrides while the common variable is ef-themes-common-palette-overrides. Preview palette entries with the command ef-themes-preview-colors or ef-themes-preview-colors-current.

The manual describes all the details, though here is a simple snippet to change the region of all themes to an intense yellow colour with an equally pronounced foreground (i.e. overriding the colour of any underlying text):

;; Evaluate and then reload the theme for changes to take effect.  Use
;; the command `ef-themes-preview-colors' to discover the names of
;; palette entries to override/remap.
(setq ef-themes-common-palette-overrides
      '((bg-region bg-yellow-intense)
        (fg-region fg-intense)))

Git commit messages have more refined warnings

While composing a Git commit message with either the magit package or the built-in vc-git, the summary line can display text in a different colour to denote that it exceeds a certain character limit. Such a limit is a convention to keep logs readable, though it is not an error per se.

The Ef themes used to apply a background to those warnings, though they now use only a foreground. The reason is that the styles I have picked are carefully designed to be unambiguous, without needing to exaggerate their mutual differences.

The breadcrumb package uses appropriate styles

breadcrumb is a new contribution by João Távora: https://elpa.gnu.org/packages/breadcrumb.html. It displays information about the context of the current code form or document heading in either the mode line or the header line. The styles it uses are now consistent with the aesthetics of each of the Ef themes.

Theme metadata for new Emacs versions is as intended

This is about the very definition of each theme item, in order to support new features in Emacs where themes can specify the set they belong to, as well as whether they are light or dark. The built-in command that leverages this facility theme-choose-variant. Though users of the Ef themes may prefer the commands ef-themes-select, ef-themes-toggle (if the user option ef-themes-to-toggle is configured), ef-themes-load-random, ef-themes-select-dark, ef-themes-select-light.

This is in response to Emacs bug#65468: https://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=65468. Thanks to Mauro Aranda for bringing this matter to my attention.

Version 1.3.0 on 2023-08-09

Try the aquatic "Maris" variants

The ef-maris-dark and ef-maris-light are a pair of themes with a grey-blue background, combined with blue, cyan, and green accents. Much like the "Elea" variants that were published in version 1.2.0 of the ef-themes, the "Maris" variants are optimal for those times where environmental lighting is neither too bright nor too dim.

The blog post announcing and demonstrating the new themes: https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2023-07-22-ef-maris-dark-light/.

Screen shots for the entire collection here: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/ef-themes-pictures.

There now are 26 themes in the ef-themes package, covering a broad range of preferences and needs. They all are highly legible and customisable (consult their manual).

Shortdoc has consistent typography

The default built-in shortdoc face inherit the variable-pitch face, which renders the text in the buffer proportionately spaced. To me, this feels out of place. If the user wants Help and related ancillary material to be typeset thus, they can enable variable-pitch-mode (e.g. via a hook).

Thanks to Bruno Boal for pointing out that the Ef themes did not cover Shortdoc. The message was conveyed via a private channel and the information is shared with permission.

Key bindings in minibuffer prompts stand out

Steve Molinor informed me about a case where a key binding was shown as part of the minibuffer prompt. For some Ef themes, the result was suboptimal due to the proximity of the colours involved. I made all the requisite tweaks, such that key bindings in prompts will stand out (always in accordance with the principle of avoiding exaggerations). Affected themes are:

• ef-bio-theme
• ef-deuteranopia-dark-theme
• ef-duo-light-theme
• ef-elea-dark-theme
• ef-elea-light-theme
• ef-frost-theme
• ef-night-theme

This was done in issue 24 on the GitHub mirror: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes/issues/24.

The ace-window package is supported

The ace-window package now uses colours that are aligned with the active Ef theme. This is mostly a stylistic consideration, except for the deuteranopia- and tritanopia- optimised themes, where the hue matters greatly.

The Ef commands with completion use a "completion table"

[ This is for advanced users or developers. ]

Commands such as ef-themes-select and ef-themes-preview-colors use the minibuffer to pick a theme among the collection. In the past, the set of candidates did not have any metadata associated with it, so Emacs could not tell what it was completing against.

The collection is now annotated with the completion category theme. Packages that can use this data include consult, embark, and marginalia, while the built-in completion-category-overrides may be involved. For example, one may define a custom annotation function for Marginalia, such that the alignment of the doc strings is at column 40 instead of the generic default (I do not add any alignment at the theme level to keep it agnostic of the completion front-end).

General refinements

• The ef-elea-light theme's palette entry of bg-changed-refine is marginally toned down. This makes it consistent with its context (e.g. in Ediff buffers).
• The ef-deuteranopia-light theme's palette entry of magenta-faint is desaturated to fit better in its context. The M-x calendar as well as Org agenda buffers that show weekends will now look more consistent.
• The ef-bio theme's semantic colour mapping of link-alt is further differentiated from link. The previous value could be conflated with that of link in Info buffers.

Version 1.2.0 on 2023-06-30

Enjoy the new "Elea" variants

The ef-elea-light and ef-elea-dark take inspiration from olives and olive trees. Their background is noticeably more subdued than that of other Ef themes, making Elea optimal for times where environmental light is neither too high nor too low.

Blog post that announced the new themes and presented their screen shots: https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2023-06-18-ef-elea-dark-light/.

Those who like primarily green-tinted themes can also try ef-spring (light) and ef-bio (dark).

The ef-themes collection now consists of 24 items, covering a broad range of preferences and legibility needs. Each theme is tested extensively for stylistic consistency, as well as overall effectiveness across the full spectrum of interfaces encountered in Emacs.

Support for the avy package

The avy package is now fully supported by the themes. This was not a trivial task, due to Avy's unique requirement for sufficiently high contrast between adjacent coloured background in addition to the goal of the themes for comfortably high contrast between each given combination of foreground and background. To make the task even more demanding, we have to account for colour deficiency, as in the case of the tritanopia-optimised themes: ef-tritanopia-light, ef-tritanopia-dark (tritanopia is blue-yellow colour deficiency).

Support for other Avy-like elements

The corfu and vertico packages provide Avy-like commands to select a candidate in their respective completion interface. Those are now fully supported, benefitting from the aforementioned work.

Explicit support for which-key

The popular which-key package was already implicitly supported by the themes. Its faces inherit from standard font-lock faces. I decided to add explicit support in order to override its overall style, as its default is too busy, although it technically works. This hints at the unseen, yet non-trivial, effort themes require to avoid exaggerations (in short: when everything is emphasised, nothing stands out; when something indicates a familiar element of the interface, it must have an equally familiar styling to minimise friction/uncertainty).

Support for csv-mode

The csv-mode defines the face of a separator character for the tabular entries. Its colour should now be easier to spot.

Revised the Git summary line

The colour of the Git commit summary line, both for Magit and VC, is now drawn from each theme's semantic info colour, whereas before it was another accent colour. The reason for this change is to make the summary line always contrast nicely with the overlong summary warning (the warning is visible when the length of the summary exceeds the specified limit (check each package's configurations)).

Miscellaneous

• Completion annotations are not shown for yet-to-be-loaded Ef themes. This avoids errors in modus-themes-select and related commands that use minibuffer completion. Thanks to Christopher League for the patch. The change is small and falls within the limits of what is allowed without assigning copyright to the Free Software Foundation. This case was discussed in issue 22 on the GitHub mirror: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes/issues/22.
• The documentation of ef-themes-headings uses simpler list constructs. There is no user-facing change. Thanks to Eshel Yaron for the patch, which is within the boundaries of what is possible with copyright assignment to the Free Software Foundation: https://lists.sr.ht/~protesilaos/ef-themes/patches/42030.
• The manual of the themes, as well as the contrast-ratios.org file that is part of the project's Git repository, are reviewed to reflect the current state of the ef-themes.

Version 1.1.0 on 2023-06-08

This release introduces several minor refinements to the project, while adding support for more third-party packages or built-in face groups.

Tabs have their own semantic colour mappings

The Ef themes are designed to abstract away common patterns based on the semantics of the elements involved. For example, all strings in programming modes use the string colour that each theme defines in its palette. This allows the themes to share the same code base yet remain distinct from each other.

Colours used for tab-bar-mode, tab-line-mode, and related are now part of this design. The new semantic mappings are bg-tab-bar, bg-tab-current, bg-tab-other.

[ A theme palette can have user-defined overrides (e.g. tweak the main background). Consult the manual for the technicalities or contact me if there is any doubt. ]

Added support for the centaur-tabs package

The aforementioned semantic colours are applied to the faces of the centaur-tabs. Using it with the themes now works as expected, instead of defaulting to its own dark background colour (a default that doesn't work with most themes, anyway).

Thanks to Amo DelBello for bringing this matter to my attention in issue 21 on the GitHub mirror: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes/issues/21.

Covered the nerd-icons, nerd-icons-dired, nerd-icons-ibuffer packages

These are a new family of packages that are gaining traction in the Emacs milieu (for instance, the doom-modeline now uses the Nerd icons, which must be installed with M-x nerd-icons-install-fonts).

Their colours are now consistent with all the Ef themes.

Tweaked the colouration of the all-the-icons glyphs

I refined some of the colours in use to introduce greater variety and amplify certain values while avoiding exaggerations. In short, they should look nice and pretty.

The whitespace-mode indicators are much more subtle

The previous style involved the use of a dim grey background. While this is good to spot invisible characters quickly, it is bad for users who want to run whitespace-mode at all times (e.g. for Python which is space-sensitive).

We thus remove the backgrounds by default but provide the option to reinstate them via palette overrides (as documented at length in the manual). To this end, we have new semantic colour mappings for ordinary negative space and its invisible characters:

• bg-space
• fg-space
• bg-space-err

Ediff faces no longer have an implicit dependency on diff-mode

I made a mistake where the Ediff faces would inherit the styles of their diff-mode counterparts. This usually works, such as when ediff is invoked from magit, though it will not do the right thing if the user invokes some Ediff command directly without first loading diff-mode.

This no longer happens. Ediff always works. Stylistically, everything looks the same.

The git-gutter and git-gutter-fr packages are supported

These now use the appropriate colours defined by the Ef themes. This is especially important for themese that do not use the generic red-green colour coding scheme.

image-dired marked items are easier to spot

With image-dired the user can apply selection or deletion marks to image thumbnails. Those marks are colour-coded the same way they are in Dired (the exact hues depend on the theme to account for accessibility, e.g. for deuteranopia or tritanopia). Sometimes the colour of the mark is obscured by the same colour found in the thumbnail. To make the mark stand out, a border is drawn around it, making the selection unambiguous.

Holidays and diary entries are more distinct and have no background

The holidays and diary entries that are found in the M-x calendar or M-x diary buffers no longer use a subtle background colour. The old design was not consistent with similar patterns established by the themes, such as how a date/timestamp should be represented.

Furthermore, the given constructs are assigned to contrasting hues to stand apart from each other and also be easy spot in their context (especially holidays in the Calendar view).

The mood-line is covered by the themes

This is a package that refashions the Emacs mode line. It is conceptually similar to the doom-modeline.

Miscellaneous

• Added links in the Custom User Interface to the ef-themes web pages for the manual and sample pictures, respectively. Those links are visible when perusing the various M-x customize buffers where entries related to the Ef themes are present.
• Made ef-themes--load-theme return the THEME argument it operates on. The intent is to allow other functions that call this one to capture the return value for their purposes.
• Extended support for the built-in ERT faces, which are used in regression tests of Emacs Lisp code.

Version 1.0.0 on 2023-05-16

This is the first major release of the ef-themes. The project is in a stable state. I continue to make refinements to it, especially for the sort of details that are hard to spot.

Try the two new themes

The ef-kassio and ef-symbiosis provide yet more stylistic variation to an already wide collection:

• ef-kassio is a light theme that harmoniously combines blue and red hues in an overall design that feels earthly and measured. Its name is a cryptic reference to a place in Greece.
• ef-symbiosis is a dark theme that balances contrasting cool and warm hues. Deep and lighter browns blend with vivid greens and neutral blues. The name of the theme is a reference to the coexistence of hues that could belong to two separate themes, yet feel natural in tandem.

Picture of all the themes: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/ef-themes-pictures.

Commands to switch between only dark or light themes

The ef-themes-select-dark and ef-themes-select-light provide minibuffer completion that limits the candidates to the respective subset. This makes it easier for users to discover another theme they may like.

Helpful completion annotations

All Ef commands that use minibuffer completion now produce annotations that describe in a few words what each theme is about. For example, ef-deuteranopia-dark is presented as a "Legible dark theme, optimized for red-green color deficiency".

Palette overrides

All variables that allow the user to override named colours and semantic colour mappings are now declared as user options. Concretely, these can now be discovered from the Custom interface.

Palette overrides are not new to this version, though they are henceforth considered stable for widespread use. Consult the manual for how to make use of them and how to preview the entries of any given theme palette.

To ensure consistency, some symbols in the palette have been renamed. For example, graph colours follow the pattern bg-graph-red-0 instead of red-graph-0-bg. Same for intensely coloured backgrounds, which are now named like bg-red-intense rather than bg-red.

Improved graph colours

All themes have a refined palette subset for graph-related purposes. These are encountered, for example, in the org-habit consistency graph. The differences are subtle, yet important in context to improve the usability of the given interfaces.

Improved graph colours for deuteranopia, tritanopia

I also recalibrated the graph-related colours for the deuteranopia- and tritanopia- optimized themes. This is related to the above, but I am writing it separately as it has its own requirements.

The default design of org-habit expects a colour coding of red, yellow, green, blue. This cannot work for users with either red-green or blue-yellow colour deficiency. The relevant Ef themes have long accounted for this requirement, though they now are even better at it.

Support for new faces and changes to existing ones

• Newly supported packages are: jinx, rst-mode, vundo, vterm. Consult the manual for the full list of supported packages. Some packages are implicitly covered, because they have reasonable defaults, such as my sxhkdrc-mode.
• The built-in menu, scroll-bar, and tool-bar faces are now covered. These only come into effect in certain scenaria, such as an Emacs build done with the Lucid toolkit or a text session that involves usage of the menu bar.
• The built-in flymake linter has several new faces in Emacs 29 and Emacs 30, which are now fully supported by the themes and styled in the interest of harmony (flymake is available from GNU ELPA for those who want to benefit from the latest features in older versions of Emacs).
• The built-in proced has several new faces. All are supported, adding optional extra colour to those buffers without overdoing it.
• Org mode has a new org-agenda-calendar-daterange face. It is covered and there also are semantic colour mappings for date ranges.
• Clickable buttons, such as in Custom buffers, are now shown with a three-dimensional effect. The flat style creates ambiguity between the button and the text fields. This happens, for example, with M-x customize-variable for org-capture-templates which has lots of button and text field combinations. The added sense of depth helps with the usability of these buttons because it makes them unambiguous.
• All relevant faces correspond to the semantic colour mappings for prose-code and prose-verbatim (useful for palette overrides).

Version 0.11.0 on 2023-03-13

New options to override the colour palette

It is now possible to tweak the colour values of each theme's palette and to change how named colours are mapped to semantic constructs. Concretely, each theme's palette consists of two subsets: (i) named colours that associate an arbitrary symbol, like blue-warmer to a colour value such as #5250ef, and (ii) semantic colour mappings that assign a named colour to constructs like date-weekend.

[ For a video demo of the same idea that I implemented in the modus-themes, check mutatis mutandis: https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2022-12-17-modus-themes-v4-demo/. ]

The feature is not as fully fledged as in my modus-themes because the latter have a broader scope than the ef-themes. Still, it is comprehensive and will likely cover the needs of users who want to tinker with colours.

The "preview palette" commands have new aliases

The command ef-themes-preview-colors can now also be called with ef-themes-list-colors. Same for ef-themes-preview-colors-current which is also known as ef-themes-list-colors-current.

These new names make it easier to "preview" or "list" the given palette entries.

Palette preview commands can show semantic colour mappings

When called with a prefix argument (C-u with default key bindings), the commands ef-themes-preview-colors, ef-themes-preview-colors-current will produce a buffer with the mappings specified in the given palette and in user-defined overrides. Whereas their normal behaviour without the prefix argument is to list all the named colours.

In this context, "named colours" are associations between a symbol and a colour value like (blue-warmer "#5250ef"), whereas "semantic colour mappings" describe associations between an abstract construct of the interface and a named colour, such as (variable blue-warmer).

Automatically disable other themes when loading an Ef theme

The user option ef-themes-disable-other-themes makes the commands that load an Ef theme run disable-theme on anything that is not part of the collection. These commands are ef-themes-select, ef-themes-toggle, ef-themes-load-random.

The user option is enabled by default. The reason is that Emacs will blithely blend multiple themes that a user loads, leading to a design that ranges from mildly annoying to outright unusable. It is a bad default behaviour that hinders accessibility.

Expert users who know what they are doing when blending themes can simply disable this user option (or not use the Ef commands for loading a theme).

Stylistic changes

Refined deuteranopia warning colours

[ "Deuteranopia" is the technical term for red-green colour deficiency. ]

This concerns the themes ef-deuteranopia-dark and ef-deuteranopia-light. The slightly adjusted colours help further differentiate certain constructs in various contexts, such as the Org agenda buffer where SCHEDULED and DEADLINE items need to be told apart.

Implemented appropriate colour-coded foregrounds in Magit/diff-mode

diff-mode and Magit diff buffers now affect the text colour of the added/removed/changed lines to improve their usability. Before, the combination was of a colour-coded background with the main foreground, which could make it a bit harder to track lines.

Removed the bold weight from Magit diff hunk headings

Inactive diff hunk headings do not need to be bold, as they are already easy to tell apart from their context. The added bold is useful for the currently selected diff hunk, as it draws attention to it.

Revised all mail-related semantic colour mappings

Buffers such as those of viewing messages with Notmuch, Mu4e, Gnus have more appropriate colour combinations in the interest of avoiding exaggerations. Same for the message composition buffers (e.g. what we get with the compose-mail command and its email-client-specific counterparts).

The background of Notmuch message headers is more noticeable

The notmuch email client for Emacs has a thread-based view of messages where each email starts with its own header. The slightly more noticeable background makes it easier to discern where a new message starts.

Added support for the powerline package

I added support for this package because other packages depend on it. Note though that I have encountered visual glitches with powerline. Those occur while switching themes and require a re-run of the Powerline setup with M-x powerline-reset.

Removed the background colour from consult lines

The default value of consult-line-number-prefix inherits from the line-number face. The Ef themes make the latter inherit from default in order to have the lines increase/decrease in font size when the user calls the text-scale-adjust command. This arrangement meant that Consult was implicitly getting the main background which caused commands like consult-line to not be highlighted from their absolute beginning but only after the line number.

Thanks to Daniel Mendler for bringing this matter to my attention: https://lists.sr.ht/~protesilaos/ef-themes/%3Cb03413a6-cb77-615d-145d-db4eb710bfca%40daniel-mendler.de%3E.

Defined consult-file to look the same as file names in Grep buffers

This face is used when the user option vertico-group-format is set to nil. With this change, we keep things consistent in the common workflow of using consult-grep and exporting to a grep buffer via embark-export. The packages involved are vertico, consult, embark.

Thanks to Daniel Mendler for bringing this matter to my attention: https://lists.sr.ht/~protesilaos/ef-themes/%3Cb03413a6-cb77-615d-145d-db4eb710bfca%40daniel-mendler.de%3E#%3C37f01118-1102-d0a9-ce8d-5101f3d44679@daniel-mendler.de%3E.

Made eglot-diagnostic-tag-unnecessary-face a warning

By default it inherits the shadow face, which makes it counter-intuitive as it dims the text instead of bringing it to our attention. The intent of eglot-diagnostic-tag-unnecessary-face is to highlight unused symbols, so this is better presented as an informational warning.

Thanks to Augusto Stoffel for bringing this matter to my attention. This was done via a private channel and the information is shared with permission.

Configured dashboard icons to retain their underlying colour

The default value of the dashboard-items-face made all icons use the same colour, detracting from their distinctiveness. Thanks to Thanos Apollo for bringing this matter to my attention. It was done via a private channel and the information is shared with permission.

Removed the bold weight from Org agenda deadline/scheduled

This makes agenda buffers less noisy. The original intent was to differentiate current/imminent from past/future items, though I feel that was the wrong design. We first want to deal with current tasks and do not want to feel overwhelmed by the design.

Removed the bold weight from regular expression constructs

This was used for escaped parentheses and the like. It was making certain strings harder to read, such as:

"\\(?:\\.\\(?:m\\(?:kv\\|p4\\)\\|ogg\\|webm\\)\\)"

Retrieve any colour value from the palette

[ This is for do-it-yourself users who need to apply colours in custom code they maintain. As such, it is a bit technical. Skip to the next heading if you are not such a user. ]

The fuction ef-themes-get-color-value can be called from Lisp to return the value of a color from the active Ef theme palette. It takea a COLOR argument and an optional OVERRIDES.

COLOR is a symbol that represents a named color entry in the palette.

https://protesilaos.com/emacs/ef-themes#h:8dd67bf5-879e-46e5-b277-5bac141f53d1

If the value is the name of another color entry in the palette (so a mapping), this function recurs until it finds the underlying color value.

With an optional OVERRIDES argument as a non-nil value, it accounts for palette overrides. Else it reads only the default palette.

https://protesilaos.com/emacs/ef-themes#h:4b923795-4b23-4345-81e5-d1c108a84b6a

With optional THEME as a symbol among ef-themes-collection, use the palette of that item. Else use the current Ef theme.

If COLOR is not present in the palette, this function returns the unspecified symbol, which is safe when used as a face attribute's value.

An example with ef-summer to show how this function behaves with/without overrides and when recursive mappings are introduced.

;; Here we show the recursion of palette mappings.  In general, it is
;; better for the user to specify named colors to avoid possible
;; confusion with their configuration, though those still work as
;; expected.
(setq ef-themes-common-palette-overrides
      '((cursor red)
        (prompt cursor)
        (variable prompt)))

;; Ignore the overrides and get the original value.
(ef-themes-get-color-value 'variable)
;; =>
 "#5250ef"

;; Read from the overrides and deal with any recursion to find the
;; underlying value.
(ef-themes-get-color-value 'variable :overrides)
;; => "#d3303a"

Miscellaneous

• Recalibrated the mouse hover background of the ef-frost theme to stand out a bit more than before. This is a minor usability enhancement.
• Revised the keycast-key face for easier use and thematic consistency. It has a faint border around it but is otherwise consistent with what was present before.
• Improved how the palette preview is rendered.
• Made several internal tweaks that keep the code clean and reusable.
• Clarified the wording of various statements in the manual.
• Expanded the outline headings of all theme files.

Version 0.10.0 on 2022-12-02

New user option for highlighted region

The ef-themes-region accepts a list of symbols that affect how the region looks. The manual or the variable's doc string describe the technicalities. Here is a sample:

(setq ef-themes-region '(intense no-extend))

Remember that changes to theme user options must be done before loading a theme. For any subsequent customisation, a theme re-load is required.

The ef-themes-headings now affects the Org agenda

Before, the Org agenda headings would inherit from the generic heading levels 0 and 1. This had undesired effects, as users often need a taller typeface for prose (e.g. regular Org files), though not necessarily for viewing their already well-structured Org agenda.

The ef-themes-headings can now control the Org agenda date and structure headings directly. A complete example:

(setq ef-themes-headings ; read the manual's entry or the doc string
      '((0 . (variable-pitch light 1.9))
        (1 . (variable-pitch light 1.8))
        (2 . (variable-pitch light 1.7))
        (3 . (variable-pitch semilight 1.6))
        (4 . (variable-pitch semilight 1.5))
        (5 . (variable-pitch regular 1.4))
        (6 . (variable-pitch regular 1.3))
        (7 . (variable-pitch 1.2))    ; absence of weight means `bold'
        (agenda-date . (semilight 1.5))
        (agenda-structure . (variable-pitch light 1.9))
        (t . (variable-pitch 1.1))))

In Org agenda buffers, the "structure" is the type of heading that describes the current block of content. In the generic agenda, it is the first line, which reads something like Week-agenda (W48):.

Note that Org re-uses heading levels past 8. This is not the theme's work, so heading 9 looks the same as 1. Check the user options org-level-faces, org-n-level-faces for ways to change this.

Support for more packages

• cider
• clojure-mode
• eglot
• perspective. Thanks to Walheimat for the contribution. This was done in pull request 18 on the GitHub mirror: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes/pull/18. The change is below the ~15 line limit. It does not require copyright assignment to the Free Software Foundation.
• tree-sitter

Lots of small tweaks to colour values

All themes have enjoyed attention to their details. The general idea is that some colours are fine-tuned to look better in their context. In most cases, the change is subtle and can only be noticed when comparing samples side-by-side. Some more noticeable effects:

• All neutral backgrounds that are used for elements such as the tab-bar-mode, the header-line, the mode lines, and the like, are all amplified. They should now be easier to discern, especially on monitors with inaccurate reproduction of grey values.
• The match face, which is used by Grep, Occur, and related, now uses a coloured background instead of a neutral grey. This makes it easier to stand out. The choice of colour is consistent with the backgrounds used by Isearch for the current and other matches: they do not clash (e.g. a user may perform a search inside an Occur buffer).
• The M-x calendar weekdays and weekends are rendered in distinct colours. Weekends stand out the same way they do in physical calendars and common apps.
• The Org agenda date headings follow the same style as those of the M-x calendar. THIS IS EXPERIMENTAL in the hope of receiving feedback about weekends standing out. If the community thinks the effect is inappropriate, I will revert this change or, anyhow, adapt accordingly. Though please give it a fair chance.
• Magit diff hunk headings now use more appropriate shades of grey. The active/current diff hunk heading stands out better, while inactive hunk headings are distinguishable from the diff's context.
• Git/VC commit hashes have a tinted foreground instead of a dim grey. They are thus easier to spot in various contexts, such as Magit rebase operations and M-x vc-print-root-log.
• The yellow used for strings in the ef-cherie theme is now a bit more gold. This helps strings stand out when placed beside functions.
• The ef-night heading 4 no longer uses the same red as that of the TODO Org keyword. The previous design was a mistake on my part. Heading levels 6 and 8 are tweaked accordingly.
• The heading level 6 of ef-summer and ef-spring are also disambiguated from Org's TODO, while retaining their character.

Miscellaneous

• Refined various faces in the interest of consistency and usability.
• Applied the new theme properties that Emacs 29 can read. These tell Emacs whether the theme is light or dark and the family it belongs to.
• Clarified some statements in the manual and/or the various doc strings in the source code.

Version 0.9.0 on 2022-10-28

Introduced the 'ef-cherie' and 'ef-cyprus' themes

ef-cherie is a dark theme with mostly pink, magenta, and gold colours. ef-cyprus is a light theme characterised by green, yellow, teal, and red colours.

Read the announcements, which also include screen shots:

• https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2022-10-25-ef-cherie/.
• https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2022-10-24-ef-cyprus-theme/.

These themes bring the total number of the collection to 20, split into an equal number of light and dark themes.

Note that some themes in the collection are designed as pairs. Those have -light or -dark in their name. The others are standalone. Regardless, the user can specify any two themes in the value of the user option ef-themes-to-toggle and then switch between them with the command ef-themes-toggle. Or just use the other available commands: ef-themes-select for minibuffer completion and the ef-themes-load-random to load one from the collection (with a C-u prefix argument to limit the set to light or dark themes). The official manual explains more.

Will there be more themes? Time will tell. Though I think that between those and the modus-themes, I have covered a very broad range of preferences and requirements for accessibility.

The 'ef-themes-select' optionally limits to light or dark

The command ef-themes-select can now accept a prefix argument (C-u with the default key bindings). It prompts for a selection between light or dark themes and then uses minibuffer completion that only includes the items of the given set.

Inspect the value of the variables ef-themes-dark-themes, ef-themes-light-themes for what is included in each set.

[ Note that the command ef-themes-load-random has the same behaviour of limiting to a set when it reads a prefix argument. ]

The 'ef-themes-load-random' reports the theme it loaded

The command ef-themes-load-random has received a quality-of-life improvement to its functionality. It now prints a message in the echo area that includes the name of the theme it loaded. The user can review echo area messages by invoking the view-echo-area-messages command, which is bound to C-h e by default.

This change makes it easier for the user to remember a theme they liked.

Thanks to Federico Stilman for sharing with me the idea of reporting the name of the randomly loaded theme. This information is shared with permission, as it was done via a private channel.

Stylistic refinements

• All themes have palette entries for colour-coded underlines. Those are used by packages like flymake and flyspell to highlight errors and warnings. All dark Ef themes had a bit too intense colours applied to those constructs. These have now been toned down in order to avoid potential distractions. They still perform their intended function, without drawing too much attention to themselves.
• Almost all themes have a slightly more pronounced border colour. This is used to underline links and to draw the vertical line that separates Emacs windows (among others). It still is a subtle grey, though it works better than before.
• The warning mapping of many themes has been revised to be a more neutral yellow (I define hues as triplets of neutral, warmer, colder). The previous style was a warmer shade of yellow, which brought it closer to red. This, in turn, had the unintended effect of making the Org agenda potentially confusing.
• The mail-3 mapping of some themes has been tweaked to better stand out in its context, without prejudice to the overall character of its theme. This colour is used by email clients that leverage the built-in message.el library (such as Gnus, Mu4e, Notmuch). In short, if you edit messages with deeply nested quotes, you will have an easier time telling apart those inner levels.

Support for packages, face groups, or faces

auto-dim-other-buffers

Added support for this package. It applies a grey background to inactive windows.

consult-separator

This is the border that divides previews of registers when the user evaluates the following form and then invokes C-x r i: (advice-add #'register-preview :override #'consult-register-window)

embark-collect-zebra-highlight

The default value of this face is technically okay, though it is a neutral grey which does not look right with some of the Ef themes.

flycheck

Added support for this package and covered all its faces. It looks like flymake as it leverages the same set of colour-coding that the themes define.

flymake

Expanded support to its fringe indicators. Those are bitmaps that bring attention to in-buffer colour-coded underlines. They use an appropriate colour coding, like errors being red (depending on the theme—see the deuteranopia and tritanopia implementations).

help-key-binding

This face is now rendered in fixed-pitch (monospaced font) when the user option ef-themes-mixed-fonts is non-nil. This user option basically makes spacing-sensitive constructs retain their mono spacing, while all the rest can use a proportionately spaced font (e.g. enable variable-pitch-mode in Org buffers to see the effect—changes to theme user options require a theme reload).

ibuffer

Added support for this built-in package. Its marks look the same as those of Dired.

image-dired

Expanded support to two new faces it has for the header-line. Those are part of Emacs 29.

mm-command-output

This is a built-in face we encounter on occasion in Gnus buffers.

olivetti

Made its olivetti-fringe face invisible. We do not want to see the fringes when we enter olivetti-mode (it centres the contents of the buffer). Note that the Ef themes do not have visible fringes, anyway, though a user may tweak the fringe face in their local setup.

org-agenda-current-time

Made this face use the main foreground colour. It applies to the line that shows the current time in today's Org agend time grid. The previous mapping to variable was giving us decent results, though this was a matter of serendipity: there is a chance that a theme maps an inappropriate colour to variable (e.g. red, which will interfere with deadlines). This new design is just as legible, while it has the upside of reducing colouration where it is not needed, letting other elements get the attention they deserve.

trashed

Added support for this package. It marks lines like Dired and follows the same stylistic patterns. Unlike Dired, it has an extra "mark" type (select, delete, restore), which uses appropriate colouration.

tty-menu

This is the set of faces that are used in a text terminal when the menu-bar-mode is enabled and the user interacts with it via the command menu-bar-open. Note, however, that the Ef themes are meant to be used either in a graphical Emacs frame or in a text terminal with very good support for colour reproduction. The themes do not look good in a generic terminal.

writegood-mode

Added support for this package. Its style is consistent with flyspell as it uses the same colour-coding scheme.

Faces defined by the Ef themes

The themes define some faces to make it possible to achieve consistency between various groups of faces. For example, all "marks for selection" use the ef-themes-mark-select face. If, say, the user wants to edit this face to include an underline, the change will apply to lots of packages, like Dired, Trashed, Ibuffer.

All the faces defined by the themes:

• ef-themes-fixed-pitch
• ef-themes-heading-0
• ef-themes-heading-1
• ef-themes-heading-2
• ef-themes-heading-3
• ef-themes-heading-4
• ef-themes-heading-5
• ef-themes-heading-6
• ef-themes-heading-7
• ef-themes-heading-8
• ef-themes-key-binding
• ef-themes-mark-delete
• ef-themes-mark-other
• ef-themes-mark-select
• ef-themes-ui-variable-pitch
• ef-themes-underline-error
• ef-themes-underline-info
• ef-themes-underline-warning

Version 0.8.0 on 2022-10-17

Introduced themes for tritanopia

The ef-tritanopia-dark and ef-tritanopia-light are optimised to use red and cyan hues consistently throughout all interfaces. This means that users with blue-yellow colour deficiency or blindness are empowered to use Emacs without compromising on usability.

Read the announcement: https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2022-10-11-ef-themes-tritanopia/.

These two themes complement what I already provide for users with red-green colour deficiency (deuteranopia): ef-deuteranopia-dark, ef-deuteranopia-light. Together with the rest of the set (and my modus-themes), they cover a broad spectrum of preferences and needs for legibility.

The deuteranopia or tritanopia themes can be used by anyone, simply on the basis of their aesthetics: they look fine and work well (when I develop a theme, I use it full-time).

Pictures of all ef-themes: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/ef-themes-pictures.

Bespoke colours for underlines

Each theme has a new subset of colours which are optimised for colour-coded underlines. Think about spell checking and code linting. These colours are specific to each theme's requirements so that, for example, deueteranopia does not use red and green, while tritanopia does not rely on yellow and blue.

Support for new packages or face groups

• corfu
• hi-lock (M-x highlight-regexp)
• flymake
• flyspell
• neotree

Tweaks to already supported faces

• The tagging operations of notmuch which underline added tags and strike through deleted ones, now use the new colours for underlines. The effect is small, but still constitutes an improvement.
• The background colour of the company popup is a bit lighter than before. This helps the foreground colours be easier to discern. It also makes it look consistent with corfu.

Use our communication channels

This is not a "change log" per se, but it is worth mentioning. A few days ago I was informed of a post on Reddit asking something related to my themes. Please understand that I cannot go around the Internet hoping to provide tech support. Each project of mine has a mailing list and two (!) mirrors on GitHub and GitLab. All are actively maintained and supported. In addition, you are always welcome to email me directly. I reply in a timely fashion and in full (check the mailing lists and issue trackers, if you have any doubt). What I will not do is go searching for you on random websites.

Version 0.7.0 on 2022-10-08

Introduced the ef-bio and ef-frost themes

These two new themes bring the total count to 16.

• ef-bio is a dark theme with green, teal, blue, and purple colours. Read the announcement, which also includes screen shots: https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2022-10-02-ef-themes-bio-theme/.
• ef-frost is a light theme with blue, cyan, teal, and purple colours. Check the announcement on my website (with screenshots): https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2022-10-03-ef-themes-frost-theme/.

You may have noticed that some themes in this collection have a -dark or -light suffix in their name. This means that they are stylistically close to each other (NOT identical colour mappings though). For example the ef-trio-dark and ef-trio-light follow the same idea of using three main hues across almost all interfaces (magenta, blue, teal). Whereas all other themes are designed to stand on their own and have no obvious counterpart. Nevertheless, one can pick whichever two themes they prefer to switch between. Refer to the user option ef-themes-to-toggle and then invoke the command ef-themes-toggle. Else use the command ef-themes-load-random, optionally with a prefix argument (C-u) to limit the choice to dark or light themes.

Thanks to Sven Seebeck for reminding me to register the ef-frost as part of the collection. I forgot to do it the day I published the theme. This information is shared with permission, as it was done via a private channel.

General refinements

• Changed the dates in org-agenda buffers to use the same style as headings level 1 instead of 3. This ensures that they are always sufficiently distinct from the title of the agenda structure (there can be many titles for those who use block agendas). In the agenda, the block titles use the equivalent of the Org #+title construct, i.e. heading level 0.

  The style of all heading levels is subject to the user option ef-themes-headings: it affects their height, weight, and whether they have a proportionately spaced font, on a per-level basis.

• Tweaked the background colour which is used by Org (among others) to highlight the calculated date in its relevant prompts or when rescheduling an item in the agenda. The changes are subtle in most cases, with the intent to make the colour fit better with the rest of the theme.

  This background is also used to highlight in its original context an Org source block that is shown in its own buffer following the use of C-c ' (org-edit-special).

• Adjusted the style of the filter that is used in the header of Org agenda searches. It now always complements the rest of the text on that line. To understand what I am referring to, do M-x org-agenda, then type s, and search for, say, TODO. In the resulting buffer, the header reads: Search words: TODO. The final part is this filter.
• Changed the applicable colours of org-agenda-clocking to use a combination of yellow foreground and yellow-tinted background. This face is used to highlight in the agenda the currently clocked in task. The element is easier to spot, without being too intense.
• Reduced the overall colouration in the vc-dir buffer. It should now look appropriate across all the Ef themes, while remaining usable.
• Aligned the style of the gnus-summary-low-unread face with that of all the other "low" scoring messages to use italicised fonts (by inheriting from the italic face).
• Added support for the log-edit-headers-separator (which I added to Emacs 29) and child-frame-border (Emacs 28) faces. They basically add an appropriately coloured border in relevant contexts.

• Removed the background colour from the line-number-major-tick, line-number-minor-tick faces. These are used by the display-line-numbers-mode with something like:

    (setq display-line-numbers-major-tick 20
          display-line-numbers-minor-tick 5)
  

• Wrote a Do-It-Yourself guide to make the style of the mode lines emulate the default of my modus-themes: shades of grey with a border around them.
• Answered a frequently asked question about the availability of too many options. In short: pick ef-light and/or ef-dark and take it slow.
• Finally, the most important entry in the list thus far… The new backronym for EF THEMES is: Extremely Fatigued of Themes Having Exaggerated Markings, Embellishments, and Sparkles. 🙃

Changed the email colours of the ef-trio-dark, ef-trio-light

These are two themes that were introduced in the previous version of the project (0.6.0). In message.el buffers, which are used by Gnus, Mu4e, and Notmuch, the quote levels now have colour combinations that are closer in spirit to the rest of the theme's aesthetic.

The "trio" themes use magenta, blue, and teal hues. The previous design prioritised teal, which broke the established patterns. It was not terrible per se, but it did not feel right when switching through the various contexts.

[ If you think that something "does not feel right" in a given theme, please let me know. I make mistakes and there is always scope for refinements or even the creation of a new theme. ]

Intensified the diff colours of ef-spring

The greens, in particular, were too subtle and could be missed against the green-tinted light background of the theme. The new colour values are consistent with the overall character of the theme, while improving on the usability of the relevant interfaces.

Revised the "rainbow" colours for ef-winter

Each theme's palette has a subset of colour mappings that apply to constructs such as Org headings. For ef-winter, those were somewhat inconsistent with the theme's character, in that they had certain hues or sequences thereof that stood out more than they should. The new design has more harmonious colour combinations.

Changes to ef-deuteranopia-dark, ef-deuteranopia-light

• Revised the subset of each theme's palette that applies to graphs or related. These are much better than before, in that they account for red-green colour deficiency, but they will never be perfect in practice because whatever mode displays graphs needs to be designed from the outset with deuteranopia in mind. For example, the org-habit graph is BY DESIGN unsuitable for colour blindness because of the colour coding it introduces combined with the way it displays its information. We cannot fix that at the theme level.
• Tweaked the colour of the backgrounds used in dired marked items, org-modern TODO or DONE keywords, and related. These backgrounds now stand out a bit more, while retaining their original character.

Miscellaneous

There are lots of other fine tweaks to individual themes and the manual. If you think something is missing or does not look right, please let me know.

Lastly, I copy an excerpt of a discussion on the emacs-devel mailing list with the participation of Philip Kaludercic. It is about my plans with the ef-themes and how maintainable the project is: https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2022-10/msg00060.html.

From: Protesilaos Stavrou <info@protesilaos.com>
To: Philip Kaludercic <philipk@posteo.net>, emacs-devel@gnu.org
Subject: Re: [elpa] externals/ef-themes b6fc326946: Add ef-bio theme
Date: Sun, 02 Oct 2022 15:18:28 +0300

> From: Philip Kaludercic <philipk@posteo.net>
> Date: Sun,  2 Oct 2022 11:50:52 +0000
>
> ELPA Syncer <elpasync@gnu.org> writes:
>
>> branch: externals/ef-themes
>> commit b6fc32694646c65adbf1ed6d3d7bfddf55e16273
>> Author: Protesilaos Stavrou <info@protesilaos.com>
>> Commit: Protesilaos Stavrou <info@protesilaos.com>
>>
>>     Add ef-bio theme
>>
>>     Read the announcement, which also includes screen shots:
>>     <https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2022-10-02-ef-themes-bio-theme/>.
>>
>>     Enjoy your new theme :)
>
> Out of curiosity, what is your long-term plan for ef-themes?  Do you
> plan to add more and more variations, or is there some upper bound you
> plan to approach?  It seems to me that maintenance will become more and
> more difficult, and it would be a shame to see the nice themes
> abandoned, because of it becoming infeasible to properly test all the
> changes.

This is why the principle is to not add customisation options that
introduce colour permutations (e.g. change the intensity of the
'region').  Those will indeed make the project unmaintainable.

Without customisation options, the maintenance is manageable.  It is
basically limited to the occasional tweak to the supported faces.
Granted, now I am still iterating on the individual colour palettes
because we have not yet reached version 1.0.0 (maybe before the end of
the year).

The supported packages are also curated.  Unlike the modus-themes, not
every package is meant to be covered.

In terms of total number of themes, I started working on another light
theme to bring the total number to 16.  I will probably finalise it
tonight or tomorrow.  Then I MIGHT develop two more themes specifically
for tritanopia (blue-yellow colour deficiency), which will be the final
ones.

> Also, do you think that splitting up the theme into multiple packages
> would be a good idea?

I am not against it per se, if there is some practical reason to do it
(e.g. to bundle two of the themes with some other project).  Though now
I feel it is easier to keep them all in one package.

I don't know if the possible tritanopia-optimised themes will be "the final ones", as there may be scope for more entries. But this is the idea for the time being.

Version 0.6.0 on 2022-09-23

New tri-chrome themes

The collection now includes two themes which apply shades of magenta, blue, and teal in most contexts. They are named ef-trio-dark and ef-trio-light. I think some of you will like their aesthetics.

The announcement includes screenshots (and it also links to the page with all the pictures of the themes): https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2022-09-16-ef-themes-trio/.

As part of the development, I initially forgot to register the "trio" themes as part of the collection. Thanks to Sven Seebeck for informing me about it. (This is shared with permission, as it was done via a private channel.)

Changes to faces or face groups

• Removed the override for the org-modern-label face. We used to affect its properties, which had the unintended effect of breaking the functionality of the user option org-modern-label-border. Users of the org-modern package may thus notice a difference in the effective typography that org-modern-mode produces.

  For the alignment of tables with timestamps (e.g. clocktables), it is recommended to set the user option org-modern-timestamp to nil. The manual covers this information in the section titled "Tweak org-modern timestamps".

  Users who still need help with this are welcome to contact me in private or via the development channels of the Ef themes (mailing list or GitHub/GitLab mirrors).

  Thanks to Daniel Mendler (the org-modern developer) for explaining the technicalities and correcting errors I made in the previous version of that entry in the manual: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes/commit/79bb1436f2fd8ab07e850c247c5616490f619f52.

• Refined the backgrounds of regexp groupings. Commands such as re-builder and isearch-forward-regexp apply distinct colours to matching regexp groups. Those are now optimised to stand out more when seen side-by-side.

  Part of this work involved a thorough review of the applicable hues used by the ef-deuteranopia-dark and ef-deuteranopia-light (the two themes which are designed for users with red-green colour deficiency). The announcement on my website shows screenshots, including those which simulate deuteranopia: https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2022-09-18-ef-themes-deuteranopia-regexp/.

• Added support for display-fill-column-indicator-mode. Thanks to Daniel Mendler for informing me about it (this is shared with permission, as it was done via a private channel).
• Covered two faces that are available on Emacs 29 (current development target) for Version Control: vc-git-log-edit-summary-max-warning, and vc-git-log-edit-summary-target-warning.

Making use of ef-themes-select in init files

The manual includes improved language on how to use the function ef-themes-select in user init files. This is for users who need to leverage the ef-themes-post-load-hook at startup (using that hook is also explained in the manual). Basically, one loads a theme in their init file with something like:

;; like `load-theme' but also call `ef-themes-post-load-hook'
(ef-themes-select 'ef-summer)

Miscellaneous refinements

• Simplified how the variable ef-themes-collection gets its value. Thanks to Philip Kaludercic for suggesting the use of seq-union over at the emacs-devel mailing list: https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2022-09/msg01053.html.

  I could not use seq-union because it introduces a dependency on Emacs 28, whereas we support Emacs 27. I went with append instead.

• Ensured that the background colour of matching delimiters in show-paren-mode is no longer red-tinted. We thus avoid the potential problem of mistaking those highlights for errors of some sort. This affects the themes ef-autumn, ~ef-light, and ef-night.
• Recorded the colour distance and colour contrast between the base background values across all themes. The data is incorporated in the file contrast-ratios.org, which is part of the Git repository and is basically intended for my own use as part of this project's development (though you are welcome to consult it).

What you do not see but still need to know about

I worked on two major changes but refrained from implementing them in this version. Whether I will do so in the future remains to be determined. The first is an option to apply "intense" colouration to the region face. The second pertains to a review of the base backgrounds across all dark themes in order to improve their contrast relative to the main background.

The following sections delve into the specifics. To cut the long story short: changing colours is not trivial work.

Considerations for the "intense" region

The following patch is deceptively simple. It defines some new colour values, adds a tiny function, and a user option. Why not add this to the themes, then? The reason is that colours are never that simple. Any new value for the region must (i) work with hl-line-mode, (ii) respect the highlights of show-paren-mode, (iii) complement or otherwise not interfere with isearch and its lazy highlights or any other search utility that can extend the active region highlight, (iv) keep the cursor visible, and (v) remain thematically consistent with the rest of the theme. Running those checks for 14 themes is no mean feat and there is always the chance that the new colours will still have a negative effect in places that are not expected. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the number of Ef themes will stay at 14 (I have some more ideas, yes).

It is for such reasons that one of the principles of this project is to NOT offer customisation options that influence colours. They do not scale and will make things unmaintainable.

From 30506843a9692c6539de79d819b63f328dbb5638 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
Message-Id: <30506843a9692c6539de79d819b63f328dbb5638.1663662345.git.info@protesilaos.com>
From: Protesilaos Stavrou <info@protesilaos.com>
Date: Tue, 20 Sep 2022 11:25:15 +0300
Subject: [PATCH] Add user option for intense region

---
 ef-autumn-theme.el             |  1 +
 ef-dark-theme.el               |  1 +
 ef-day-theme.el                |  1 +
 ef-deuteranopia-dark-theme.el  |  1 +
 ef-deuteranopia-light-theme.el |  1 +
 ef-duo-dark-theme.el           |  1 +
 ef-duo-light-theme.el          |  1 +
 ef-light-theme.el              |  1 +
 ef-night-theme.el              |  1 +
 ef-spring-theme.el             |  1 +
 ef-summer-theme.el             |  1 +
 ef-themes.el                   | 20 +++++++++++++++++++-
 ef-trio-dark-theme.el          |  1 +
 ef-trio-light-theme.el         |  1 +
 ef-winter-theme.el             |  1 +
 15 files changed, 33 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/ef-autumn-theme.el b/ef-autumn-theme.el
index e4b6e02..cd18137 100644
--- a/ef-autumn-theme.el
+++ b/ef-autumn-theme.el
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ (eval-and-compile
       (bg-hover-alt  "#6f345a")
       (bg-hl-line    "#302a3a")
       (bg-region     "#3f1020")
+      (bg-region-intense "#3f5030")
       (bg-paren      "#7f2d40")
       (bg-err        "#361400") ; check with err
       (bg-warning    "#332800") ; check with warning
diff --git a/ef-dark-theme.el b/ef-dark-theme.el
index 2377178..3ff49aa 100644
--- a/ef-dark-theme.el
+++ b/ef-dark-theme.el
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ (eval-and-compile
       (bg-hover-alt  "#551f5a")
       (bg-hl-line    "#002435")
       (bg-region     "#25164a")
+      (bg-region-intense "#4f3f3f")
       (bg-paren      "#20577a")
       (bg-err        "#330d09") ; check with err
       (bg-warning    "#332600") ; check with warning
diff --git a/ef-day-theme.el b/ef-day-theme.el
index c27fd63..7faecb9 100644
--- a/ef-day-theme.el
+++ b/ef-day-theme.el
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ (eval-and-compile
       (bg-hover-alt  "#febcaf")
       (bg-hl-line    "#f9e2b2")
       (bg-region     "#f0d2df")
+      (bg-region-intense "#d2aaaf")
       (bg-paren      "#8fcfdf")
       (bg-err        "#ffddee") ; check with err
       (bg-warning    "#ffe0aa") ; check with warning
diff --git a/ef-deuteranopia-dark-theme.el b/ef-deuteranopia-dark-theme.el
index 084b11c..816019a 100644
--- a/ef-deuteranopia-dark-theme.el
+++ b/ef-deuteranopia-dark-theme.el
@@ -130,6 +130,7 @@ (eval-and-compile
       (bg-hover-alt  "#003a7f")
       (bg-hl-line    "#2e2e1b")
       (bg-region     "#202d3f")
+      (bg-region-intense "#50557f")
       (bg-paren      "#0f4f9a")
       (bg-err        "#232d09") ; check with err
       (bg-warning    "#332600") ; check with warning
diff --git a/ef-deuteranopia-light-theme.el b/ef-deuteranopia-light-theme.el
index 06d091a..fac544f 100644
--- a/ef-deuteranopia-light-theme.el
+++ b/ef-deuteranopia-light-theme.el
@@ -130,6 +130,7 @@ (eval-and-compile
       (bg-hover-alt  "#afafff")
       (bg-hl-line    "#f3e0d5")
       (bg-region     "#dadadf")
+      (bg-region-intense "#bbaacf")
       (bg-paren      "#8fc0cf")
       (bg-err        "#f0e0aa") ; check with err
       (bg-warning    "#ffe0aa") ; check with warning
diff --git a/ef-duo-dark-theme.el b/ef-duo-dark-theme.el
index bbb25be..148c668 100644
--- a/ef-duo-dark-theme.el
+++ b/ef-duo-dark-theme.el
@@ -130,6 +130,7 @@ (eval-and-compile
       (bg-hover-alt  "#265f4a")
       (bg-hl-line    "#301a4f")
       (bg-region     "#042a50")
+      (bg-region-intense "#4f423f")
       (bg-paren      "#2f608e")
       (bg-err        "#330d09") ; check with err
       (bg-warning    "#332600") ; check with warning
diff --git a/ef-duo-light-theme.el b/ef-duo-light-theme.el
index 423f803..ceaba92 100644
--- a/ef-duo-light-theme.el
+++ b/ef-duo-light-theme.el
@@ -131,6 +131,7 @@ (eval-and-compile
       (bg-hover-alt  "#aaeccf")
       (bg-hl-line    "#f9e8c0")
       (bg-region     "#caeafa")
+      (bg-region-intense "#d0a99f")
       (bg-paren      "#afbfef")
       (bg-err        "#ffdfe6") ; check with err
       (bg-warning    "#ffe5ba") ; check with warning
diff --git a/ef-light-theme.el b/ef-light-theme.el
index 8cf425a..8389dba 100644
--- a/ef-light-theme.el
+++ b/ef-light-theme.el
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ (eval-and-compile
       (bg-hover-alt  "#b4cfff")
       (bg-hl-line    "#e4efd8")
       (bg-region     "#bfefff")
+      (bg-region-intense "#c0c0ef")
       (bg-paren      "#efa09f")
       (bg-err        "#ffd5ea") ; check with err
       (bg-warning    "#ffeabb") ; check with warning
diff --git a/ef-night-theme.el b/ef-night-theme.el
index f54689c..f17330c 100644
--- a/ef-night-theme.el
+++ b/ef-night-theme.el
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ (eval-and-compile
       (bg-hover-alt  "#664f4a")
       (bg-hl-line    "#002255")
       (bg-region     "#222f40")
+      (bg-region-intense "#2f4b4f")
       (bg-paren      "#703350")
       (bg-err        "#331419") ; check with err
       (bg-warning    "#332613") ; check with warning
diff --git a/ef-spring-theme.el b/ef-spring-theme.el
index 63927a2..3c77ebc 100644
--- a/ef-spring-theme.el
+++ b/ef-spring-theme.el
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ (eval-and-compile
       (bg-hover-alt  "#feb5ff")
       (bg-hl-line    "#f9e0e5")
       (bg-region     "#d0e6ff")
+      (bg-region-intense "#cabaef")
       (bg-paren      "#7fddd0")
       (bg-err        "#ffe8e0") ; check with err
       (bg-warning    "#ffecba") ; check with warning
diff --git a/ef-summer-theme.el b/ef-summer-theme.el
index f8d6a7a..664046d 100644
--- a/ef-summer-theme.el
+++ b/ef-summer-theme.el
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ (eval-and-compile
       (bg-hover-alt  "#aaeccf")
       (bg-hl-line    "#ffd6e5")
       (bg-region     "#eecfff")
+      (bg-region-intense "#e0b29f")
       (bg-paren      "#9fc0ef")
       (bg-err        "#ffd0e6") ; check with err
       (bg-warning    "#ffe5ba") ; check with warning
diff --git a/ef-themes.el b/ef-themes.el
index 53ae1c6..8eb90dc 100644
--- a/ef-themes.el
+++ b/ef-themes.el
@@ -230,6 +230,18 @@ (defcustom ef-themes-variable-pitch-ui nil
   :type 'boolean
   :link '(info-link "(ef-themes) UI typeface"))

+(defcustom ef-themes-intense-region nil
+  "When non-nil, make the `region' more intense.
+Increase the overall coloration of the `region' background and
+make it override any foreground colors within its boundaries.
+
+If nil (the default), use a more subtle background for the region
+and refrain from overriding foregrounds."
+  :group 'ef-themes
+  :package-version '(ef-themes . "0.6.0")
+  :type 'boolean
+  :link '(info-link "(ef-themes) Intense region"))
+
 ;;; Helpers for user options

 (defun ef-themes--fixed-pitch ()
@@ -242,6 +254,12 @@ (defun ef-themes--variable-pitch-ui ()
   (when ef-themes-variable-pitch-ui
     (list :inherit 'variable-pitch)))

+(defun ef-themes--region (bg bg-intense fg-intense)
+  "Conditional application of `ef-themes-intense-region'."
+  (if ef-themes-intense-region
+      (list :background bg-intense :foreground fg-intense)
+    (list :background bg)))
+
 (defun ef-themes--key-cdr (key alist)
   "Get cdr of KEY in ALIST."
   (cdr (assoc key alist)))
@@ -535,7 +553,7 @@ ;;;;; absolute essentials
     `(cursor ((,c :background ,cursor)))
     `(default ((,c :background ,bg-main :foreground ,fg-main)))
     `(italic ((,c :slant italic)))
-    `(region ((,c :background ,bg-region)))
+    `(region ((,c ,@(ef-themes--region bg-region bg-region-intense fg-intense))))
     `(vertical-border ((,c :foreground ,border)))
 ;;;;; all other basic faces
     `(button ((,c :foreground ,link :underline ,border)))
diff --git a/ef-trio-dark-theme.el b/ef-trio-dark-theme.el
index 0a1b5f4..76df54e 100644
--- a/ef-trio-dark-theme.el
+++ b/ef-trio-dark-theme.el
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ (eval-and-compile
       (bg-hover-alt  "#551f5a")
       (bg-hl-line    "#34223f")
       (bg-region     "#16304f")
+      (bg-region-intense "#514438")
       (bg-paren      "#2f605e")
       (bg-err        "#300f06") ; check with err
       (bg-warning    "#332910") ; check with warning
diff --git a/ef-trio-light-theme.el b/ef-trio-light-theme.el
index 015188d..37fb6ae 100644
--- a/ef-trio-light-theme.el
+++ b/ef-trio-light-theme.el
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ (eval-and-compile
       (bg-hover-alt  "#b4cfff")
       (bg-hl-line    "#cfe6ff")
       (bg-region     "#eed0ff")
+      (bg-region-intense "#d2b6ff")
       (bg-paren      "#dfadaf")
       (bg-err        "#ffdfe6") ; check with err
       (bg-warning    "#ffe5bf") ; check with warning
diff --git a/ef-winter-theme.el b/ef-winter-theme.el
index e552471..b68275b 100644
--- a/ef-winter-theme.el
+++ b/ef-winter-theme.el
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ (eval-and-compile
       (bg-hover-alt  "#600f5a")
       (bg-hl-line    "#003045")
       (bg-region     "#342464")
+      (bg-region-intense "#54363f")
       (bg-paren      "#2f608e")
       (bg-err        "#330d06") ; check with err
       (bg-warning    "#332610") ; check with warning
--
2.37.3

Revising the dark backgrounds

As with the "intense" region, any change to the base backgrounds has far-reaching implications. The following patch is, again, a matter of making small tweaks to colours values whose effect is far greater than what meets the eye. I mean, what can possibly go wrong by changing the colour #1a1a1a to #232323, right? This marginal adjustment requires, among others, that we also adjust (i) the foregrounds in header lines, (ii) the background colours of added and removed lines in Magit focused diff hunks as well as the backgrounds of word-wise, aka "refined", diff highlights, (iii) the foregrounds of inactive mode lines, (iv) the legibility of inactive tabs in tab-bar-mode, tab-line-mode, (v) the legibility of elements such as the #+begin_src line in Org buffers, and probably many others. A change to one background necessarily needs a change to all others.

This topic is discussed with Alan Schmitt who has one monitor that does not reproduce black properly: https://lists.sr.ht/~protesilaos/ef-themes/%3C87leqe2tji.fsf%40m4x.org%3E.

My suggestion is to calibrate hardware, if possible, such as by relying on those resources:

1. http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/black.php
2. http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/white.php

[ Yes, I once did spend 8 hours calibrating my monitor. It was crazy. ]

From 35f3ee6b9c5a8f15615be1ef75e58c8b27e3b633 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
Message-Id: <35f3ee6b9c5a8f15615be1ef75e58c8b27e3b633.1663904476.git.info@protesilaos.com>
From: Protesilaos Stavrou <info@protesilaos.com>
Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2022 06:07:12 +0300
Subject: [PATCH] Revise base backgrounds in all dark themes (DRAFT)

---
 contrast-ratios.org           | 420 +++++++++++++++++-----------------
 ef-autumn-theme.el            |   8 +-
 ef-dark-theme.el              |   8 +-
 ef-deuteranopia-dark-theme.el |   8 +-
 ef-duo-dark-theme.el          |   8 +-
 ef-night-theme.el             |   8 +-
 ef-trio-dark-theme.el         |   8 +-
 ef-winter-theme.el            |   8 +-
 8 files changed, 238 insertions(+), 238 deletions(-)

diff --git a/contrast-ratios.org b/contrast-ratios.org
index 0860495..bef9817 100644
--- a/contrast-ratios.org
+++ b/contrast-ratios.org
@@ -47,35 +47,35 @@ ** Base colours
 :CUSTOM_ID: h:85f29c2d-ae5c-4bb8-94bf-ac43543c8539
 :END:

-| Name           |         | #0f0e06 | #1f1b19 | #36322f | #14130a |
+| Name           |         | #0f0e06 | #262422 | #342e2a | #17150f |
 |----------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------|
-| fg-main        | #cfbcba |   10.64 |    9.40 |    6.99 |   10.25 |
-| fg-dim         | #887c8a |    4.88 |    4.31 |    3.20 |    4.70 |
-| fg-alt         | #70a89f |    7.18 |    6.34 |    4.71 |    6.91 |
-| red            | #ef656a |    6.21 |    5.48 |    4.07 |    5.98 |
-| red-warmer     | #f26f25 |    6.52 |    5.76 |    4.28 |    6.28 |
-| red-cooler     | #f07f7f |    7.41 |    6.55 |    4.86 |    7.14 |
-| red-faint      | #d08f72 |    7.23 |    6.39 |    4.75 |    6.97 |
-| green          | #2fa526 |    6.02 |    5.31 |    3.95 |    5.79 |
-| green-warmer   | #64aa0f |    6.72 |    5.94 |    4.41 |    6.47 |
-| green-cooler   | #00b066 |    6.82 |    6.02 |    4.47 |    6.57 |
-| green-faint    | #5f9f6f |    6.15 |    5.43 |    4.04 |    5.92 |
-| yellow         | #c48702 |    6.28 |    5.54 |    4.12 |    6.04 |
-| yellow-warmer  | #d0730f |    5.66 |    5.00 |    3.71 |    5.45 |
-| yellow-cooler  | #df8f6f |    7.64 |    6.75 |    5.02 |    7.36 |
-| yellow-faint   | #cf9f7f |    8.21 |    7.26 |    5.39 |    7.91 |
-| blue           | #379cf6 |    6.68 |    5.90 |    4.38 |    6.43 |
-| blue-warmer    | #6a88ff |    6.06 |    5.35 |    3.98 |    5.84 |
-| blue-cooler    | #029fff |    6.82 |    6.03 |    4.48 |    6.57 |
-| blue-faint     | #6a84af |    5.10 |    4.50 |    3.34 |    4.91 |
-| magenta        | #d570af |    6.23 |    5.50 |    4.09 |    6.00 |
-| magenta-warmer | #e580ea |    7.93 |    7.00 |    5.20 |    7.64 |
-| magenta-cooler | #af8aff |    7.28 |    6.43 |    4.78 |    7.01 |
-| magenta-faint  | #c590af |    7.35 |    6.49 |    4.83 |    7.08 |
-| cyan           | #4fb0cf |    7.78 |    6.87 |    5.10 |    7.49 |
-| cyan-warmer    | #6fafff |    8.52 |    7.53 |    5.59 |    8.21 |
-| cyan-cooler    | #3dbbb0 |    8.23 |    7.27 |    5.40 |    7.92 |
-| cyan-faint     | #82a0af |    7.00 |    6.18 |    4.59 |    6.74 |
+| fg-main        | #cfbcba |   10.64 |    8.51 |    7.36 |   10.04 |
+| fg-dim         | #887c8a |    4.88 |    3.90 |    3.37 |    4.60 |
+| fg-alt         | #70a89f |    7.18 |    5.74 |    4.96 |    6.77 |
+| red            | #ef656a |    6.21 |    4.96 |    4.29 |    5.86 |
+| red-warmer     | #f26f25 |    6.52 |    5.21 |    4.51 |    6.15 |
+| red-cooler     | #f07f7f |    7.41 |    5.93 |    5.12 |    6.99 |
+| red-faint      | #d08f72 |    7.23 |    5.78 |    5.00 |    6.83 |
+| green          | #2fa526 |    6.02 |    4.81 |    4.16 |    5.68 |
+| green-warmer   | #64aa0f |    6.72 |    5.38 |    4.65 |    6.34 |
+| green-cooler   | #00b066 |    6.82 |    5.45 |    4.71 |    6.43 |
+| green-faint    | #5f9f6f |    6.15 |    4.92 |    4.25 |    5.80 |
+| yellow         | #c48702 |    6.28 |    5.02 |    4.34 |    5.92 |
+| yellow-warmer  | #d0730f |    5.66 |    4.52 |    3.91 |    5.34 |
+| yellow-cooler  | #df8f6f |    7.64 |    6.11 |    5.28 |    7.21 |
+| yellow-faint   | #cf9f7f |    8.21 |    6.57 |    5.68 |    7.75 |
+| blue           | #379cf6 |    6.68 |    5.34 |    4.62 |    6.30 |
+| blue-warmer    | #6a88ff |    6.06 |    4.84 |    4.19 |    5.72 |
+| blue-cooler    | #029fff |    6.82 |    5.45 |    4.72 |    6.44 |
+| blue-faint     | #6a84af |    5.10 |    4.07 |    3.52 |    4.81 |
+| magenta        | #d570af |    6.23 |    4.98 |    4.31 |    5.88 |
+| magenta-warmer | #e580ea |    7.93 |    6.34 |    5.48 |    7.48 |
+| magenta-cooler | #af8aff |    7.28 |    5.82 |    5.03 |    6.87 |
+| magenta-faint  | #c590af |    7.35 |    5.88 |    5.08 |    6.94 |
+| cyan           | #4fb0cf |    7.78 |    6.22 |    5.38 |    7.34 |
+| cyan-warmer    | #6fafff |    8.52 |    6.81 |    5.89 |    8.04 |
+| cyan-cooler    | #3dbbb0 |    8.23 |    6.58 |    5.69 |    7.76 |
+| cyan-faint     | #82a0af |    7.00 |    5.59 |    4.84 |    6.60 |
 #+TBLFM: $3='(Λ $2 @1$3);%.2f :: $4='(Λ $2 @1$4);%.2f :: $5='(Λ $2 @1$5);%.2f :: $6='(Λ $2 @1$6);%.2f

 ** Special colours against the modeline
@@ -95,8 +95,8 @@ ** Distance and contrast between main backgrounds
 # bg-main / bg-dim, bg-main / bg-alt
 | #0f0e06 | distance | contrast |
 |---------+----------+----------|
-| #1f1b19 |     2279 |     1.13 |
-| #36322f |    13351 |     1.52 |
+| #262422 |     5361 |     1.25 |
+| #342e2a |    10815 |     1.45 |
 #+TBLFM: $2='(Δ $1 @1$1) :: $3='(Λ $1 @1$1);%.2f

 * ef-dark
@@ -109,35 +109,35 @@ ** Base colours
 :CUSTOM_ID: h:bdc5d5b7-4d1a-4e3d-8333-01a96164f4d8
 :END:

-| Name           |         | #000000 | #1a1a1a | #2b2b2b | #0c0c0c |
+| Name           |         | #000000 | #232323 | #2e2e2e | #101010 |
 |----------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------|
-| fg-main        | #d0d0d0 |   13.62 |   11.28 |    9.18 |   12.68 |
-| fg-dim         | #807f9f |    5.45 |    4.52 |    3.68 |    5.08 |
-| fg-alt         | #89afef |    9.44 |    7.83 |    6.37 |    8.80 |
-| red            | #ef6560 |    6.70 |    5.55 |    4.52 |    6.24 |
-| red-warmer     | #f47360 |    7.47 |    6.19 |    5.04 |    6.96 |
-| red-cooler     | #ff5a7a |    7.00 |    5.80 |    4.72 |    6.52 |
-| red-faint      | #d56f72 |    6.35 |    5.26 |    4.28 |    5.91 |
-| green          | #0faa26 |    6.80 |    5.63 |    4.58 |    6.33 |
-| green-warmer   | #6aad0f |    7.60 |    6.30 |    5.12 |    7.08 |
-| green-cooler   | #00a692 |    6.87 |    5.69 |    4.63 |    6.40 |
-| green-faint    | #61a06c |    6.75 |    5.60 |    4.55 |    6.29 |
-| yellow         | #c48032 |    6.48 |    5.37 |    4.37 |    6.04 |
-| yellow-warmer  | #d1843f |    7.08 |    5.87 |    4.78 |    6.60 |
-| yellow-cooler  | #df8f5a |    8.21 |    6.81 |    5.54 |    7.65 |
-| yellow-faint   | #cf9f8f |    9.01 |    7.47 |    6.07 |    8.39 |
-| blue           | #3f95f6 |    6.84 |    5.67 |    4.61 |    6.37 |
-| blue-warmer    | #6a9fff |    8.02 |    6.64 |    5.40 |    7.47 |
-| blue-cooler    | #029fff |    7.41 |    6.14 |    4.99 |    6.90 |
-| blue-faint     | #7a94df |    7.13 |    5.91 |    4.81 |    6.64 |
-| magenta        | #d369af |    6.41 |    5.31 |    4.32 |    5.97 |
-| magenta-warmer | #e580ea |    8.61 |    7.13 |    5.80 |    8.02 |
-| magenta-cooler | #af85ff |    7.62 |    6.32 |    5.14 |    7.10 |
-| magenta-faint  | #c57faf |    7.03 |    5.83 |    4.74 |    6.55 |
-| cyan           | #4fbaef |    9.60 |    7.96 |    6.47 |    8.94 |
-| cyan-warmer    | #6fafff |    9.25 |    7.67 |    6.24 |    8.62 |
-| cyan-cooler    | #1dbfcf |    9.41 |    7.80 |    6.34 |    8.76 |
-| cyan-faint     | #8aa0df |    8.17 |    6.77 |    5.51 |    7.61 |
+| fg-main        | #d0d0d0 |   13.62 |   10.19 |    8.80 |   12.34 |
+| fg-dim         | #807f9f |    5.45 |    4.08 |    3.53 |    4.94 |
+| fg-alt         | #89afef |    9.44 |    7.07 |    6.11 |    8.56 |
+| red            | #ef6560 |    6.70 |    5.01 |    4.33 |    6.07 |
+| red-warmer     | #f47360 |    7.47 |    5.59 |    4.83 |    6.77 |
+| red-cooler     | #ff5a7a |    7.00 |    5.24 |    4.52 |    6.34 |
+| red-faint      | #d56f72 |    6.35 |    4.75 |    4.10 |    5.75 |
+| green          | #0faa26 |    6.80 |    5.09 |    4.40 |    6.16 |
+| green-warmer   | #6aad0f |    7.60 |    5.69 |    4.91 |    6.88 |
+| green-cooler   | #00a692 |    6.87 |    5.14 |    4.44 |    6.22 |
+| green-faint    | #61a06c |    6.75 |    5.05 |    4.37 |    6.12 |
+| yellow         | #c48032 |    6.48 |    4.85 |    4.19 |    5.87 |
+| yellow-warmer  | #d1843f |    7.08 |    5.30 |    4.58 |    6.42 |
+| yellow-cooler  | #df8f5a |    8.21 |    6.15 |    5.31 |    7.44 |
+| yellow-faint   | #cf9f8f |    9.01 |    6.74 |    5.83 |    8.16 |
+| blue           | #3f95f6 |    6.84 |    5.12 |    4.42 |    6.20 |
+| blue-warmer    | #6a9fff |    8.02 |    6.00 |    5.18 |    7.26 |
+| blue-cooler    | #029fff |    7.41 |    5.54 |    4.79 |    6.71 |
+| blue-faint     | #7a94df |    7.13 |    5.34 |    4.61 |    6.46 |
+| magenta        | #d369af |    6.41 |    4.80 |    4.14 |    5.81 |
+| magenta-warmer | #e580ea |    8.61 |    6.44 |    5.57 |    7.80 |
+| magenta-cooler | #af85ff |    7.62 |    5.70 |    4.93 |    6.91 |
+| magenta-faint  | #c57faf |    7.03 |    5.26 |    4.55 |    6.37 |
+| cyan           | #4fbaef |    9.60 |    7.19 |    6.21 |    8.70 |
+| cyan-warmer    | #6fafff |    9.25 |    6.92 |    5.98 |    8.38 |
+| cyan-cooler    | #1dbfcf |    9.41 |    7.04 |    6.08 |    8.52 |
+| cyan-faint     | #8aa0df |    8.17 |    6.12 |    5.29 |    7.41 |
 #+TBLFM: $3='(Λ $2 @1$3);%.2f :: $4='(Λ $2 @1$4);%.2f :: $5='(Λ $2 @1$5);%.2f :: $6='(Λ $2 @1$6);%.2f

 ** Special colours against the modeline
@@ -157,8 +157,8 @@ ** Distance and contrast between main backgrounds
 # bg-main / bg-dim, bg-main / bg-alt
 | #000000 | distance | contrast |
 |---------+----------+----------|
-| #1a1a1a |     6131 |     1.21 |
-| #2b2b2b |    16771 |     1.48 |
+| #232323 |    11111 |     1.34 |
+| #2e2e2e |    19193 |     1.55 |
 #+TBLFM: $2='(Δ $1 @1$1) :: $3='(Λ $1 @1$1);%.2f

 * ef-day
@@ -237,35 +237,35 @@ ** Base colours
 yellows.  We just define the entire palette to make it work with the
 overall design of the project.

-| Name           |         | #000a1f | #0f1c2d | #19263a | #071225 |
+| Name           |         | #000a1f | #1a2332 | #2c2c3f | #101625 |
 |----------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------|
-| fg-main        | #ddddee |   14.72 |   12.78 |   11.34 |   13.95 |
-| fg-dim         | #7f8797 |    5.47 |    4.75 |    4.21 |    5.18 |
-| fg-alt         | #90afef |    9.00 |    7.81 |    6.93 |    8.52 |
-| red            | #cf8560 |    6.75 |    5.86 |    5.20 |    6.40 |
-| red-warmer     | #e47360 |    6.51 |    5.65 |    5.02 |    6.17 |
-| red-cooler     | #cf7a7a |    6.32 |    5.49 |    4.87 |    5.99 |
-| red-faint      | #b57f82 |    5.95 |    5.16 |    4.58 |    5.63 |
-| green          | #3faa26 |    6.57 |    5.71 |    5.07 |    6.23 |
-| green-warmer   | #7aad0f |    7.35 |    6.38 |    5.66 |    6.96 |
-| green-cooler   | #3fa672 |    6.50 |    5.64 |    5.01 |    6.16 |
-| green-faint    | #61a06c |    6.35 |    5.52 |    4.89 |    6.02 |
-| yellow         | #aa9f32 |    7.26 |    6.30 |    5.59 |    6.87 |
-| yellow-warmer  | #cfaf00 |    9.20 |    7.99 |    7.09 |    8.72 |
-| yellow-cooler  | #bfaf7a |    9.06 |    7.86 |    6.98 |    8.58 |
-| yellow-faint   | #af9a6a |    7.20 |    6.25 |    5.55 |    6.82 |
-| blue           | #3f90f0 |    6.07 |    5.28 |    4.68 |    5.76 |
-| blue-warmer    | #6a9fff |    7.54 |    6.55 |    5.81 |    7.14 |
-| blue-cooler    | #009fff |    6.96 |    6.05 |    5.37 |    6.60 |
-| blue-faint     | #7a94df |    6.71 |    5.82 |    5.17 |    6.35 |
-| magenta        | #b379bf |    6.02 |    5.23 |    4.64 |    5.71 |
-| magenta-warmer | #af80ea |    6.68 |    5.80 |    5.15 |    6.33 |
-| magenta-cooler | #9f95ff |    7.73 |    6.71 |    5.96 |    7.32 |
-| magenta-faint  | #c59fcf |    8.69 |    7.54 |    6.69 |    8.23 |
-| cyan           | #5faaef |    7.98 |    6.93 |    6.15 |    7.56 |
-| cyan-warmer    | #7fafff |    8.91 |    7.74 |    6.87 |    8.45 |
-| cyan-cooler    | #0db0ff |    8.16 |    7.08 |    6.28 |    7.73 |
-| cyan-faint     | #8aa0df |    7.69 |    6.68 |    5.92 |    7.28 |
+| fg-main        | #ddddee |   14.72 |   11.76 |   10.17 |   13.45 |
+| fg-dim         | #7f8797 |    5.47 |    4.37 |    3.78 |    5.00 |
+| fg-alt         | #90afef |    9.00 |    7.19 |    6.21 |    8.22 |
+| red            | #cf8560 |    6.75 |    5.39 |    4.66 |    6.17 |
+| red-warmer     | #e47360 |    6.51 |    5.20 |    4.50 |    5.95 |
+| red-cooler     | #cf7a7a |    6.32 |    5.05 |    4.36 |    5.77 |
+| red-faint      | #b57f82 |    5.95 |    4.75 |    4.11 |    5.43 |
+| green          | #3faa26 |    6.57 |    5.25 |    4.54 |    6.01 |
+| green-warmer   | #7aad0f |    7.35 |    5.87 |    5.08 |    6.71 |
+| green-cooler   | #3fa672 |    6.50 |    5.19 |    4.49 |    5.94 |
+| green-faint    | #61a06c |    6.35 |    5.08 |    4.39 |    5.80 |
+| yellow         | #aa9f32 |    7.26 |    5.80 |    5.01 |    6.63 |
+| yellow-warmer  | #cfaf00 |    9.20 |    7.36 |    6.36 |    8.41 |
+| yellow-cooler  | #bfaf7a |    9.06 |    7.24 |    6.26 |    8.28 |
+| yellow-faint   | #af9a6a |    7.20 |    5.75 |    4.97 |    6.58 |
+| blue           | #3f90f0 |    6.07 |    4.85 |    4.20 |    5.55 |
+| blue-warmer    | #6a9fff |    7.54 |    6.03 |    5.21 |    6.89 |
+| blue-cooler    | #009fff |    6.96 |    5.56 |    4.81 |    6.36 |
+| blue-faint     | #7a94df |    6.71 |    5.36 |    4.63 |    6.13 |
+| magenta        | #b379bf |    6.02 |    4.81 |    4.16 |    5.50 |
+| magenta-warmer | #af80ea |    6.68 |    5.34 |    4.61 |    6.10 |
+| magenta-cooler | #9f95ff |    7.73 |    6.18 |    5.34 |    7.06 |
+| magenta-faint  | #c59fcf |    8.69 |    6.94 |    6.00 |    7.94 |
+| cyan           | #5faaef |    7.98 |    6.38 |    5.51 |    7.29 |
+| cyan-warmer    | #7fafff |    8.91 |    7.12 |    6.16 |    8.15 |
+| cyan-cooler    | #0db0ff |    8.16 |    6.52 |    5.63 |    7.45 |
+| cyan-faint     | #8aa0df |    7.69 |    6.14 |    5.31 |    7.03 |
 #+TBLFM: $3='(Λ $2 @1$3);%.2f :: $4='(Λ $2 @1$4);%.2f :: $5='(Λ $2 @1$5);%.2f :: $6='(Λ $2 @1$6);%.2f

 ** Special colours against the modeline
@@ -285,8 +285,8 @@ ** Distance and contrast between main backgrounds
 # bg-main / bg-dim, bg-main / bg-alt
 | #000a1f | distance | contrast |
 |---------+----------+----------|
-| #0f1c2d |     2353 |     1.15 |
-| #19263a |     6619 |     1.30 |
+| #1a2332 |     4989 |     1.25 |
+| #2c2c3f |    11737 |     1.45 |
 #+TBLFM: $2='(Δ $1 @1$1) :: $3='(Λ $1 @1$1);%.2f

 * ef-deuteranopia-light
@@ -372,35 +372,35 @@ ** Base colours
 blue/cyan and yellow hues.  We just define the entire palette to make it
 work with the overall design of the project.

-| Name           |         | #070019 | #1c1926 | #262230 | #140e1c |
+| Name           |         | #070019 | #211c2b | #2c2836 | #181322 |
 |----------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------|
-| fg-main        | #d0d0d0 |   13.31 |   11.19 |   10.06 |   12.27 |
-| fg-dim         | #857f8f |    5.31 |    4.46 |    4.01 |    4.89 |
-| fg-alt         | #89afef |    9.23 |    7.76 |    6.97 |    8.51 |
-| red            | #ef656a |    6.59 |    5.54 |    4.98 |    6.08 |
-| red-warmer     | #f47360 |    7.30 |    6.14 |    5.52 |    6.73 |
-| red-cooler     | #ef798f |    7.63 |    6.41 |    5.76 |    7.03 |
-| red-faint      | #d08f72 |    7.68 |    6.46 |    5.80 |    7.08 |
-| green          | #1fa526 |    6.32 |    5.32 |    4.78 |    5.83 |
-| green-warmer   | #50a22f |    6.40 |    5.38 |    4.84 |    5.90 |
-| green-cooler   | #00b982 |    8.08 |    6.79 |    6.10 |    7.45 |
-| green-faint    | #61a06c |    6.60 |    5.55 |    4.99 |    6.09 |
-| yellow         | #c48702 |    6.66 |    5.60 |    5.03 |    6.14 |
-| yellow-warmer  | #d0730f |    6.00 |    5.05 |    4.54 |    5.54 |
-| yellow-cooler  | #df805f |    7.22 |    6.08 |    5.46 |    6.66 |
-| yellow-faint   | #9f8f6a |    6.46 |    5.44 |    4.88 |    5.96 |
-| blue           | #379cf6 |    7.09 |    5.96 |    5.35 |    6.53 |
-| blue-warmer    | #6f80ff |    6.07 |    5.10 |    4.58 |    5.60 |
-| blue-cooler    | #029fff |    7.24 |    6.09 |    5.47 |    6.68 |
-| blue-faint     | #8a9fdf |    7.92 |    6.66 |    5.99 |    7.31 |
-| magenta        | #d369af |    6.26 |    5.27 |    4.73 |    5.78 |
-| magenta-warmer | #e580ea |    8.41 |    7.08 |    6.36 |    7.76 |
-| magenta-cooler | #af85ff |    7.45 |    6.27 |    5.63 |    6.87 |
-| magenta-faint  | #c57faf |    6.87 |    5.78 |    5.19 |    6.34 |
-| cyan           | #5faaef |    8.29 |    6.97 |    6.27 |    7.65 |
-| cyan-warmer    | #7fafff |    9.26 |    7.79 |    7.00 |    8.54 |
-| cyan-cooler    | #0dafdf |    8.03 |    6.75 |    6.07 |    7.41 |
-| cyan-faint     | #8aa0df |    7.99 |    6.72 |    6.04 |    7.37 |
+| fg-main        | #d0d0d0 |   13.31 |   10.76 |    9.30 |   11.79 |
+| fg-dim         | #857f8f |    5.31 |    4.29 |    3.71 |    4.70 |
+| fg-alt         | #89afef |    9.23 |    7.46 |    6.45 |    8.17 |
+| red            | #ef656a |    6.59 |    5.33 |    4.60 |    5.83 |
+| red-warmer     | #f47360 |    7.30 |    5.90 |    5.10 |    6.47 |
+| red-cooler     | #ef798f |    7.63 |    6.16 |    5.33 |    6.75 |
+| red-faint      | #d08f72 |    7.68 |    6.21 |    5.37 |    6.80 |
+| green          | #1fa526 |    6.32 |    5.11 |    4.42 |    5.60 |
+| green-warmer   | #50a22f |    6.40 |    5.18 |    4.47 |    5.67 |
+| green-cooler   | #00b982 |    8.08 |    6.53 |    5.64 |    7.15 |
+| green-faint    | #61a06c |    6.60 |    5.34 |    4.61 |    5.85 |
+| yellow         | #c48702 |    6.66 |    5.38 |    4.65 |    5.90 |
+| yellow-warmer  | #d0730f |    6.00 |    4.85 |    4.20 |    5.32 |
+| yellow-cooler  | #df805f |    7.22 |    5.84 |    5.05 |    6.40 |
+| yellow-faint   | #9f8f6a |    6.46 |    5.22 |    4.52 |    5.72 |
+| blue           | #379cf6 |    7.09 |    5.73 |    4.95 |    6.28 |
+| blue-warmer    | #6f80ff |    6.07 |    4.90 |    4.24 |    5.37 |
+| blue-cooler    | #029fff |    7.24 |    5.85 |    5.06 |    6.41 |
+| blue-faint     | #8a9fdf |    7.92 |    6.40 |    5.54 |    7.02 |
+| magenta        | #d369af |    6.26 |    5.06 |    4.38 |    5.55 |
+| magenta-warmer | #e580ea |    8.41 |    6.80 |    5.88 |    7.45 |
+| magenta-cooler | #af85ff |    7.45 |    6.02 |    5.21 |    6.60 |
+| magenta-faint  | #c57faf |    6.87 |    5.55 |    4.80 |    6.09 |
+| cyan           | #5faaef |    8.29 |    6.70 |    5.79 |    7.34 |
+| cyan-warmer    | #7fafff |    9.26 |    7.49 |    6.47 |    8.21 |
+| cyan-cooler    | #0dafdf |    8.03 |    6.49 |    5.61 |    7.11 |
+| cyan-faint     | #8aa0df |    7.99 |    6.46 |    5.58 |    7.08 |
 #+TBLFM: $3='(Λ $2 @1$3);%.2f :: $4='(Λ $2 @1$4);%.2f :: $5='(Λ $2 @1$5);%.2f :: $6='(Λ $2 @1$6);%.2f

 ** Special colours against the modeline
@@ -420,8 +420,8 @@ ** Distance and contrast between main backgrounds
 # bg-main / bg-dim, bg-main / bg-alt
 | #070019 | distance | contrast |
 |---------+----------+----------|
-| #1c1926 |     3938 |     1.19 |
-| #262230 |     8235 |     1.32 |
+| #211c2b |     5530 |     1.24 |
+| #2c2836 |    11805 |     1.43 |
 #+TBLFM: $2='(Δ $1 @1$1) :: $3='(Λ $1 @1$1);%.2f

 * ef-duo-light
@@ -562,35 +562,35 @@ ** Base colours
 :CUSTOM_ID: h:2e0d0312-3984-48d8-9adc-1d132c1ab651
 :END:

-| Name           |         | #000e17 | #0f1b29 | #1a2a2f | #0f121f |
+| Name           |         | #000e17 | #18242f | #262e36 | #121522 |
 |----------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------|
-| fg-main        | #afbcbf |   10.02 |    8.91 |    7.60 |    9.56 |
-| fg-dim         | #70819f |    4.96 |    4.41 |    3.76 |    4.73 |
-| fg-alt         | #b0a0a0 |    7.80 |    6.93 |    5.92 |    7.44 |
-| red            | #ef656a |    6.27 |    5.57 |    4.76 |    5.98 |
-| red-warmer     | #f47360 |    6.95 |    6.18 |    5.27 |    6.63 |
-| red-cooler     | #ef798f |    7.26 |    6.45 |    5.51 |    6.92 |
-| red-faint      | #d56f72 |    5.90 |    5.25 |    4.48 |    5.63 |
-| green          | #1fa526 |    6.02 |    5.35 |    4.57 |    5.74 |
-| green-warmer   | #50a22f |    6.09 |    5.42 |    4.63 |    5.81 |
-| green-cooler   | #00b672 |    7.38 |    6.56 |    5.60 |    7.04 |
-| green-faint    | #61a06c |    6.28 |    5.59 |    4.77 |    5.99 |
-| yellow         | #c48502 |    6.23 |    5.54 |    4.73 |    5.95 |
-| yellow-warmer  | #e6832f |    7.12 |    6.33 |    5.40 |    6.79 |
-| yellow-cooler  | #df8f6f |    7.72 |    6.86 |    5.86 |    7.36 |
-| yellow-faint   | #cf9f7f |    8.30 |    7.38 |    6.30 |    7.92 |
-| blue           | #379cf6 |    6.74 |    6.00 |    5.12 |    6.43 |
-| blue-warmer    | #6a88ff |    6.12 |    5.44 |    4.65 |    5.84 |
-| blue-cooler    | #029fff |    6.89 |    6.13 |    5.23 |    6.57 |
-| blue-faint     | #7a94df |    6.63 |    5.90 |    5.03 |    6.33 |
-| magenta        | #d570af |    6.29 |    5.60 |    4.78 |    6.01 |
-| magenta-warmer | #e580ea |    8.01 |    7.12 |    6.08 |    7.64 |
-| magenta-cooler | #af8aff |    7.35 |    6.54 |    5.58 |    7.01 |
-| magenta-faint  | #c59faf |    8.33 |    7.40 |    6.32 |    7.95 |
-| cyan           | #4fb0cf |    7.85 |    6.98 |    5.96 |    7.49 |
-| cyan-warmer    | #6fafff |    8.60 |    7.65 |    6.53 |    8.21 |
-| cyan-cooler    | #3dc0b0 |    8.71 |    7.75 |    6.61 |    8.31 |
-| cyan-faint     | #92b4df |    9.13 |    8.12 |    6.93 |    8.71 |
+| fg-main        | #afbcbf |   10.02 |    8.08 |    7.05 |    9.31 |
+| fg-dim         | #70819f |    4.96 |    4.00 |    3.49 |    4.61 |
+| fg-alt         | #b0a0a0 |    7.80 |    6.29 |    5.49 |    7.25 |
+| red            | #ef656a |    6.27 |    5.06 |    4.42 |    5.83 |
+| red-warmer     | #f47360 |    6.95 |    5.61 |    4.89 |    6.46 |
+| red-cooler     | #ef798f |    7.26 |    5.86 |    5.11 |    6.75 |
+| red-faint      | #d56f72 |    5.90 |    4.76 |    4.16 |    5.49 |
+| green          | #1fa526 |    6.02 |    4.86 |    4.24 |    5.60 |
+| green-warmer   | #50a22f |    6.09 |    4.92 |    4.29 |    5.67 |
+| green-cooler   | #00b672 |    7.38 |    5.96 |    5.20 |    6.86 |
+| green-faint    | #61a06c |    6.28 |    5.07 |    4.42 |    5.84 |
+| yellow         | #c48502 |    6.23 |    5.03 |    4.39 |    5.80 |
+| yellow-warmer  | #e6832f |    7.12 |    5.74 |    5.01 |    6.62 |
+| yellow-cooler  | #df8f6f |    7.72 |    6.23 |    5.43 |    7.18 |
+| yellow-faint   | #cf9f7f |    8.30 |    6.69 |    5.84 |    7.71 |
+| blue           | #379cf6 |    6.74 |    5.44 |    4.75 |    6.27 |
+| blue-warmer    | #6a88ff |    6.12 |    4.94 |    4.31 |    5.69 |
+| blue-cooler    | #029fff |    6.89 |    5.56 |    4.85 |    6.41 |
+| blue-faint     | #7a94df |    6.63 |    5.35 |    4.67 |    6.17 |
+| magenta        | #d570af |    6.29 |    5.08 |    4.43 |    5.85 |
+| magenta-warmer | #e580ea |    8.01 |    6.46 |    5.64 |    7.45 |
+| magenta-cooler | #af8aff |    7.35 |    5.93 |    5.18 |    6.84 |
+| magenta-faint  | #c59faf |    8.33 |    6.72 |    5.86 |    7.74 |
+| cyan           | #4fb0cf |    7.85 |    6.34 |    5.53 |    7.30 |
+| cyan-warmer    | #6fafff |    8.60 |    6.94 |    6.06 |    8.00 |
+| cyan-cooler    | #3dc0b0 |    8.71 |    7.03 |    6.14 |    8.10 |
+| cyan-faint     | #92b4df |    9.13 |    7.37 |    6.43 |    8.49 |
 #+TBLFM: $3='(Λ $2 @1$3);%.2f :: $4='(Λ $2 @1$4);%.2f :: $5='(Λ $2 @1$5);%.2f :: $6='(Λ $2 @1$6);%.2f

 ** Special colours against the modeline
@@ -610,8 +610,8 @@ ** Distance and contrast between main backgrounds
 # bg-main / bg-dim, bg-main / bg-alt
 | #000e17 | distance | contrast |
 |---------+----------+----------|
-| #0f1b29 |     2111 |     1.12 |
-| #1a2a2f |     6269 |     1.32 |
+| #18242f |     4853 |     1.24 |
+| #262e36 |     9980 |     1.42 |
 #+TBLFM: $2='(Δ $1 @1$1) :: $3='(Λ $1 @1$1);%.2f

 * ef-spring
@@ -748,35 +748,35 @@ ** Base colours
 :CUSTOM_ID: h:db8a51f5-a28f-422c-a046-b44bc0fdfb24
 :END:

-| Name           |         | #160f0f | #251a23 | #33252d | #1c1416 |
+| Name           |         | #160f0f | #2b2328 | #3a2b35 | #1f171a |
 |----------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------|
-| fg-main        | #d8cfd5 |   12.44 |   11.04 |    9.57 |   11.89 |
-| fg-dim         | #908890 |    5.51 |    4.89 |    4.23 |    5.26 |
-| fg-alt         | #afdacf |   12.40 |   11.00 |    9.53 |   11.85 |
-| red            | #f48359 |    7.43 |    6.59 |    5.71 |    7.09 |
-| red-warmer     | #ff7560 |    7.18 |    6.37 |    5.52 |    6.86 |
-| red-cooler     | #ff85aa |    8.28 |    7.35 |    6.37 |    7.91 |
-| red-faint      | #e47f72 |    6.83 |    6.06 |    5.25 |    6.53 |
-| green          | #60b444 |    7.31 |    6.48 |    5.62 |    6.98 |
-| green-warmer   | #a0c27f |    9.48 |    8.41 |    7.29 |    9.06 |
-| green-cooler   | #60bf88 |    8.39 |    7.44 |    6.45 |    8.01 |
-| green-faint    | #61a06c |    6.09 |    5.40 |    4.68 |    5.82 |
-| yellow         | #d4a052 |    8.07 |    7.16 |    6.20 |    7.71 |
-| yellow-warmer  | #ef926f |    8.12 |    7.21 |    6.24 |    7.76 |
-| yellow-cooler  | #ef9680 |    8.42 |    7.47 |    6.47 |    8.05 |
-| yellow-faint   | #c7a07f |    7.90 |    7.01 |    6.07 |    7.55 |
-| blue           | #7fa5f6 |    7.77 |    6.89 |    5.97 |    7.42 |
-| blue-warmer    | #8895ff |    7.02 |    6.23 |    5.40 |    6.71 |
-| blue-cooler    | #72afff |    8.38 |    7.43 |    6.44 |    8.00 |
-| blue-faint     | #7a94df |    6.43 |    5.70 |    4.94 |    6.14 |
-| magenta        | #d37faf |    6.69 |    5.94 |    5.14 |    6.39 |
-| magenta-warmer | #e772df |    7.09 |    6.29 |    5.45 |    6.78 |
-| magenta-cooler | #a698ef |    7.54 |    6.68 |    5.79 |    7.20 |
-| magenta-faint  | #c9addf |    9.49 |    8.42 |    7.29 |    9.07 |
-| cyan           | #8fbaff |    9.59 |    8.50 |    7.37 |    9.16 |
-| cyan-warmer    | #9ac2ff |   10.40 |    9.22 |    7.99 |    9.93 |
-| cyan-cooler    | #8fcfdf |   10.96 |    9.72 |    8.42 |   10.47 |
-| cyan-faint     | #8ac0ef |    9.80 |    8.69 |    7.53 |    9.36 |
+| fg-main        | #d8cfd5 |   12.44 |   10.05 |    8.76 |   11.55 |
+| fg-dim         | #908890 |    5.51 |    4.45 |    3.87 |    5.11 |
+| fg-alt         | #afdacf |   12.40 |   10.01 |    8.72 |   11.50 |
+| red            | #f48359 |    7.43 |    6.00 |    5.22 |    6.89 |
+| red-warmer     | #ff7560 |    7.18 |    5.80 |    5.05 |    6.66 |
+| red-cooler     | #ff85aa |    8.28 |    6.69 |    5.83 |    7.68 |
+| red-faint      | #e47f72 |    6.83 |    5.52 |    4.81 |    6.34 |
+| green          | #60b444 |    7.31 |    5.90 |    5.14 |    6.78 |
+| green-warmer   | #a0c27f |    9.48 |    7.66 |    6.67 |    8.80 |
+| green-cooler   | #60bf88 |    8.39 |    6.77 |    5.90 |    7.78 |
+| green-faint    | #61a06c |    6.09 |    4.92 |    4.28 |    5.65 |
+| yellow         | #d4a052 |    8.07 |    6.51 |    5.68 |    7.48 |
+| yellow-warmer  | #ef926f |    8.12 |    6.56 |    5.71 |    7.54 |
+| yellow-cooler  | #ef9680 |    8.42 |    6.80 |    5.93 |    7.81 |
+| yellow-faint   | #c7a07f |    7.90 |    6.38 |    5.56 |    7.33 |
+| blue           | #7fa5f6 |    7.77 |    6.27 |    5.46 |    7.20 |
+| blue-warmer    | #8895ff |    7.02 |    5.67 |    4.94 |    6.51 |
+| blue-cooler    | #72afff |    8.38 |    6.76 |    5.89 |    7.77 |
+| blue-faint     | #7a94df |    6.43 |    5.19 |    4.52 |    5.96 |
+| magenta        | #d37faf |    6.69 |    5.40 |    4.71 |    6.21 |
+| magenta-warmer | #e772df |    7.09 |    5.73 |    4.99 |    6.58 |
+| magenta-cooler | #a698ef |    7.54 |    6.08 |    5.30 |    6.99 |
+| magenta-faint  | #c9addf |    9.49 |    7.66 |    6.68 |    8.80 |
+| cyan           | #8fbaff |    9.59 |    7.74 |    6.74 |    8.89 |
+| cyan-warmer    | #9ac2ff |   10.40 |    8.40 |    7.31 |    9.65 |
+| cyan-cooler    | #8fcfdf |   10.96 |    8.85 |    7.71 |   10.17 |
+| cyan-faint     | #8ac0ef |    9.80 |    7.91 |    6.89 |    9.09 |
 #+TBLFM: $3='(Λ $2 @1$3);%.2f :: $4='(Λ $2 @1$4);%.2f :: $5='(Λ $2 @1$5);%.2f :: $6='(Λ $2 @1$6);%.2f

 ** Special colours against the modeline
@@ -796,8 +796,8 @@ ** Distance and contrast between main backgrounds
 # bg-main / bg-dim, bg-main / bg-alt
 | #160f0f | distance | contrast |
 |---------+----------+----------|
-| #251a23 |     2130 |     1.13 |
-| #33252d |     6358 |     1.30 |
+| #2b2328 |     4367 |     1.24 |
+| #3a2b35 |    10115 |     1.42 |
 #+TBLFM: $2='(Δ $1 @1$1) :: $3='(Λ $1 @1$1);%.2f

 * ef-trio-light
@@ -872,35 +872,35 @@ ** Base colours
 :CUSTOM_ID: h:76e0b621-7872-4597-8bdc-6c007e43aff5
 :END:

-| Name           |         | #0f0b15 | #161926 | #202234 | #14121a |
+| Name           |         | #0f0b15 | #1d2030 | #292b3d | #18151d |
 |----------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------|
-| fg-main        | #b8c6d5 |   11.19 |   10.05 |    9.01 |   10.68 |
-| fg-dim         | #807c9f |    4.91 |    4.41 |    3.96 |    4.69 |
-| fg-alt         | #bf8f8f |    6.99 |    6.28 |    5.63 |    6.67 |
-| red            | #f47359 |    6.90 |    6.20 |    5.56 |    6.58 |
-| red-warmer     | #ef6560 |    6.21 |    5.58 |    5.00 |    5.92 |
-| red-cooler     | #ff6a7a |    7.04 |    6.32 |    5.67 |    6.71 |
-| red-faint      | #d56f72 |    5.88 |    5.28 |    4.74 |    5.61 |
-| green          | #29a444 |    6.01 |    5.40 |    4.84 |    5.74 |
-| green-warmer   | #6aad0f |    7.04 |    6.32 |    5.67 |    6.72 |
-| green-cooler   | #00a392 |    6.17 |    5.54 |    4.97 |    5.88 |
-| green-faint    | #61a06c |    6.26 |    5.62 |    5.04 |    5.97 |
-| yellow         | #c48052 |    6.08 |    5.46 |    4.89 |    5.80 |
-| yellow-warmer  | #d1803f |    6.37 |    5.72 |    5.13 |    6.07 |
-| yellow-cooler  | #df8a88 |    7.53 |    6.77 |    6.07 |    7.19 |
-| yellow-faint   | #c0a38a |    8.20 |    7.37 |    6.60 |    7.82 |
-| blue           | #3f95f6 |    6.34 |    5.70 |    5.11 |    6.05 |
-| blue-warmer    | #6a9fff |    7.43 |    6.67 |    5.98 |    7.09 |
-| blue-cooler    | #029fff |    6.86 |    6.17 |    5.53 |    6.55 |
-| blue-faint     | #7a94df |    6.61 |    5.94 |    5.32 |    6.30 |
-| magenta        | #d369af |    5.94 |    5.34 |    4.78 |    5.67 |
-| magenta-warmer | #e580e0 |    7.87 |    7.07 |    6.34 |    7.51 |
-| magenta-cooler | #af85ea |    6.83 |    6.13 |    5.50 |    6.51 |
-| magenta-faint  | #c57faf |    6.51 |    5.85 |    5.25 |    6.21 |
-| cyan           | #4fbaef |    8.90 |    7.99 |    7.17 |    8.49 |
-| cyan-warmer    | #6fafdf |    8.22 |    7.39 |    6.62 |    7.84 |
-| cyan-cooler    | #35afbf |    7.45 |    6.69 |    6.00 |    7.10 |
-| cyan-faint     | #8aa0df |    7.58 |    6.81 |    6.10 |    7.23 |
+| fg-main        | #b8c6d5 |   11.19 |    9.28 |    8.01 |   10.38 |
+| fg-dim         | #807c9f |    4.91 |    4.07 |    3.52 |    4.56 |
+| fg-alt         | #bf8f8f |    6.99 |    5.79 |    5.00 |    6.48 |
+| red            | #f47359 |    6.90 |    5.72 |    4.94 |    6.40 |
+| red-warmer     | #ef6560 |    6.21 |    5.15 |    4.45 |    5.76 |
+| red-cooler     | #ff6a7a |    7.04 |    5.84 |    5.04 |    6.53 |
+| red-faint      | #d56f72 |    5.88 |    4.88 |    4.21 |    5.45 |
+| green          | #29a444 |    6.01 |    4.98 |    4.30 |    5.57 |
+| green-warmer   | #6aad0f |    7.04 |    5.84 |    5.04 |    6.53 |
+| green-cooler   | #00a392 |    6.17 |    5.11 |    4.41 |    5.72 |
+| green-faint    | #61a06c |    6.26 |    5.19 |    4.48 |    5.80 |
+| yellow         | #c48052 |    6.08 |    5.04 |    4.35 |    5.63 |
+| yellow-warmer  | #d1803f |    6.37 |    5.28 |    4.56 |    5.90 |
+| yellow-cooler  | #df8a88 |    7.53 |    6.25 |    5.39 |    6.98 |
+| yellow-faint   | #c0a38a |    8.20 |    6.80 |    5.87 |    7.60 |
+| blue           | #3f95f6 |    6.34 |    5.26 |    4.54 |    5.88 |
+| blue-warmer    | #6a9fff |    7.43 |    6.16 |    5.32 |    6.89 |
+| blue-cooler    | #029fff |    6.86 |    5.69 |    4.91 |    6.36 |
+| blue-faint     | #7a94df |    6.61 |    5.48 |    4.73 |    6.13 |
+| magenta        | #d369af |    5.94 |    4.92 |    4.25 |    5.51 |
+| magenta-warmer | #e580e0 |    7.87 |    6.53 |    5.64 |    7.30 |
+| magenta-cooler | #af85ea |    6.83 |    5.66 |    4.89 |    6.33 |
+| magenta-faint  | #c57faf |    6.51 |    5.40 |    4.66 |    6.04 |
+| cyan           | #4fbaef |    8.90 |    7.38 |    6.37 |    8.25 |
+| cyan-warmer    | #6fafdf |    8.22 |    6.82 |    5.89 |    7.62 |
+| cyan-cooler    | #35afbf |    7.45 |    6.17 |    5.33 |    6.90 |
+| cyan-faint     | #8aa0df |    7.58 |    6.28 |    5.42 |    7.02 |
 #+TBLFM: $3='(Λ $2 @1$3);%.2f :: $4='(Λ $2 @1$4);%.2f :: $5='(Λ $2 @1$5);%.2f :: $6='(Λ $2 @1$6);%.2f

 ** Special colours against the modeline
@@ -920,6 +920,6 @@ ** Distance and contrast between main backgrounds
 # bg-main / bg-dim, bg-main / bg-alt
 | #0f0b15 | distance | contrast |
 |---------+----------+----------|
-| #161926 |     1745 |     1.11 |
-| #202234 |     5558 |     1.24 |
+| #1d2030 |     4330 |     1.21 |
+| #292b3d |    10225 |     1.40 |
 #+TBLFM: $2='(Δ $1 @1$1) :: $3='(Λ $1 @1$1);%.2f
diff --git a/ef-autumn-theme.el b/ef-autumn-theme.el
index e4b6e02..e82e363 100644
--- a/ef-autumn-theme.el
+++ b/ef-autumn-theme.el
@@ -43,13 +43,13 @@ (eval-and-compile
     '(;; Basic tones
       (bg-main     "#0f0e06")
       (fg-main     "#cfbcba")
-      (bg-dim      "#1f1b19")
+      (bg-dim      "#262422")
       (fg-dim      "#887c8a")
-      (bg-alt      "#36322f")
+      (bg-alt      "#342e2a")
       (fg-alt      "#70a89f")

-      (bg-active   "#46423f")
-      (bg-inactive "#14130a")
+      (bg-active   "#443e3a")
+      (bg-inactive "#17150f")

       ;; Basic hues for foreground values
       (red             "#ef656a")
diff --git a/ef-dark-theme.el b/ef-dark-theme.el
index 15c85a8..043553b 100644
--- a/ef-dark-theme.el
+++ b/ef-dark-theme.el
@@ -43,13 +43,13 @@ (eval-and-compile
     '(;; Basic tones
       (bg-main     "#000000")
       (fg-main     "#d0d0d0")
-      (bg-dim      "#1a1a1a")
+      (bg-dim      "#232323")
       (fg-dim      "#857f8f")
-      (bg-alt      "#2b2b2b")
+      (bg-alt      "#2e2e2e")
       (fg-alt      "#89afef")

-      (bg-active   "#3b3b3b")
-      (bg-inactive "#0c0c0c")
+      (bg-active   "#3d3d3d")
+      (bg-inactive "#101010")

       ;; Basic hues for foreground values
       (red             "#ef6560")
diff --git a/ef-deuteranopia-dark-theme.el b/ef-deuteranopia-dark-theme.el
index 084b11c..238d696 100644
--- a/ef-deuteranopia-dark-theme.el
+++ b/ef-deuteranopia-dark-theme.el
@@ -46,13 +46,13 @@ (eval-and-compile
     '(;; Basic tones
       (bg-main     "#000a1f")
       (fg-main     "#ddddee")
-      (bg-dim      "#0f1c2d")
+      (bg-dim      "#1a2332")
       (fg-dim      "#7f8797")
-      (bg-alt      "#19263a")
+      (bg-alt      "#2c2c3f")
       (fg-alt      "#90afef")

-      (bg-active   "#30354f")
-      (bg-inactive "#071225")
+      (bg-active   "#3c3c4f")
+      (bg-inactive "#101625")

       ;; Basic hues for foreground values
       (red             "#cf8560")
diff --git a/ef-duo-dark-theme.el b/ef-duo-dark-theme.el
index bbb25be..fcda486 100644
--- a/ef-duo-dark-theme.el
+++ b/ef-duo-dark-theme.el
@@ -46,13 +46,13 @@ (eval-and-compile
     '(;; Basic tones
       (bg-main     "#070019")
       (fg-main     "#d0d0d0")
-      (bg-dim      "#1c1926")
+      (bg-dim      "#211c2b")
       (fg-dim      "#857f8f")
-      (bg-alt      "#262230")
+      (bg-alt      "#2c2836")
       (fg-alt      "#89afef")

-      (bg-active   "#363240")
-      (bg-inactive "#140e1c")
+      (bg-active   "#3c3846")
+      (bg-inactive "#181322")

       ;; Basic hues for foreground values
       (red             "#ef656a")
diff --git a/ef-night-theme.el b/ef-night-theme.el
index f54689c..91a98b6 100644
--- a/ef-night-theme.el
+++ b/ef-night-theme.el
@@ -43,13 +43,13 @@ (eval-and-compile
     '(;; Basic tones
       (bg-main     "#000e17")
       (fg-main     "#afbcbf")
-      (bg-dim      "#0f1b29")
+      (bg-dim      "#18242f")
       (fg-dim      "#70819f")
-      (bg-alt      "#1a2a2f")
+      (bg-alt      "#262e36")
       (fg-alt      "#b0a0a0")

-      (bg-active   "#28353f")
-      (bg-inactive "#0f121f")
+      (bg-active   "#363e46")
+      (bg-inactive "#121522")

       ;; Basic hues for foreground values
       (red             "#ef656a")
diff --git a/ef-trio-dark-theme.el b/ef-trio-dark-theme.el
index aaa4eba..8e00d68 100644
--- a/ef-trio-dark-theme.el
+++ b/ef-trio-dark-theme.el
@@ -43,13 +43,13 @@ (eval-and-compile
     '(;; Basic tones
       (bg-main      "#160f0f")
       (fg-main      "#d8cfd5")
-      (bg-dim       "#251a23")
+      (bg-dim       "#2b2328")
       (fg-dim       "#908890")
-      (bg-alt       "#33252d")
+      (bg-alt       "#3a2b35")
       (fg-alt       "#afdacf")

-      (bg-active    "#43353d")
-      (bg-inactive  "#1c1416")
+      (bg-active    "#4a3b45")
+      (bg-inactive  "#1f171a")

       ;; Basic hues for foreground values
       (red             "#f48359")
diff --git a/ef-winter-theme.el b/ef-winter-theme.el
index e552471..02451c5 100644
--- a/ef-winter-theme.el
+++ b/ef-winter-theme.el
@@ -43,13 +43,13 @@ (eval-and-compile
     '(;; Basic tones
       (bg-main      "#0f0b15")
       (fg-main      "#b8c6d5")
-      (bg-dim       "#161926")
+      (bg-dim       "#1d2030")
       (fg-dim       "#807c9f")
-      (bg-alt       "#202234")
+      (bg-alt       "#292b3d")
       (fg-alt       "#bf8f8f")

-      (bg-active    "#353554")
-      (bg-inactive  "#14121a")
+      (bg-active    "#393b4d")
+      (bg-inactive  "#18151d")

       ;; Basic hues for foreground values
       (red             "#f47359")
--
2.37.3

Version 0.5.0 on 2022-09-11

New duo-chrome themes

The collection now includes two items which apply shades of blue and yellow in most interfaces. The themes are named ef-duo-dark and ef-duo-light.

Read the announcement: https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2022-09-06-ef-themes-duo/.

View all image samples: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/ef-themes-pictures.

The choice of blue and yellow is largely stylistic: it is not done to accommodate users with red-green colour deficiency. For that case, the Ef themes provide ef-deuteranopia-dark and ef-deuteranopia-light.

Bespoke accent colours for the mode line

Each theme now includes a subset of foreground values optimised for use against the active mode line's background. The active mode line's background is accented, meaning that we cannot use colours that are otherwise decent against the main background.

These new entries are meant to style warnings, errors, and other notifications that appear on the mode line. They empower us to extend support for packages that make use of such colour-coding (more further below).

"Subtle" accented backgrounds

Each theme's palette now contains six accented backgrounds that are not very intense. These are used by packages that need to (i) highlight a line or region, (ii) preserve a modicum of legibility without overriding existing foreground values (more below about new packages).

Refined the colour of prompts, where necessary

Each theme's palette now includes a dedicated prompt mapping. This gives us full control over what colour we use for prompts. In some themes the prompt will look the same as before, though I made a few changes to have stylistic consistency in each theme. Specifically:

Theme	Old prompt	New prompt
ef-deuteranopia-dark	cyan-warmer	yellow
ef-deuteranopia-light	cyan	blue
ef-duo-dark	green-cooler	yellow
ef-duo-light	green-cooler	blue
ef-spring	blue	green
ef-summer	cyan-cooler	magenta-warmer
ef-winter	green-cooler	magenta-warmer

In short: we don't want prompts to look blue/green all the time. Some themes have a different character.

Newly supported packages

In general, if a package does not look right, it is not supported by the Ef themes. What we have for this release:

auctex

Thanks to Philip Kaludercic for providing the sample file that let me view the relevant faces, as well as for helping me correct some mistakes of mine: https://lists.sr.ht/~protesilaos/ef-themes/%3C87h71t97hl.fsf%40posteo.net%3E.

company

Thanks to Alan Schmitt for reminding me about it: https://lists.sr.ht/~protesilaos/ef-themes/%3C87pmgjw3j9.fsf%40m4x.org%3E.

dirvish

Thanks to Alex Lu (dirvish developer) for the contribution. This was done in pull request 14 at the GitHub mirror: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes/pull/14. The change is below the ~15 line threshold and thus does not require copyright assignment to the Free Software Foundation.

doom-modeline

Expanded support for almost all the faces it provides. The only exception is some debugging-related indicators that I do not know how to trigger (contact me, if you encounter them). This support is made possible by the new accented foregrounds that are designed specifically for the mode line.

gnus

Expanded support for all the faces it defines. I had used Gnus for several months before and am familiar with its interfaces. Though I never made use of its scoring system. I think the relevant faces look okay, though please let me know if we can refine them further.

image-dired

This is made possible by the new "subtle" coloured backgrounds that I added to each theme.

lin (my package)

Made possible by the new subtle backgrounds.

pulsar (my package)

Same as above.

pulse

Same.

recursion-indicator

Same

selectrum

Made it look like the already supported vertico.

tempel

Same as lin and friends.

Refinements to existing faces

• Lots of small tweaks affect mode line indicators, per the new foreground colours I introduced. Expect to see a bit more colour in the mode line when using magit, compilation buffers, appointment reminders, keyboard macros, Org agenda filters, and more.

• All the rcirc faces have been revised in the interest of thematic consistency.

  • Rcirc uses the new foregrounds for the mode line, where relevant.
  • Indicators that track/highlight the user's nick use the same paradigm.
  • IRC server messages look like comments in code buffers.

  Thanks to Philip Kaludercic for telling me about the downsides of using the italic in the rcirc-nick-in-message-full-line face: https://lists.sr.ht/~protesilaos/ef-themes/%3C87edwphahl.fsf%40posteo.net%3E.

  Please note that I am not a regular/experienced IRC user. If there are improvements to be made, I am happy to implement them but will likely need your help (I will ask the relevant questions).

New fallback behaviour for ef-themes-toggle

The command ef-themes-toggle will switch between two themes specified in the user option ef-themes-to-toggle. For example:

;; Toggle between `ef-summer' and `ef-winter' using `ef-themes-toggle'.
(setq ef-themes-to-toggle '(ef-summer ef-winter))

By default, ef-themes-to-toggle is nil. In the past, this meant that ef-themes-toggle would do nothing out-of-the-box. To improve the initial user experience, the command will now fall back to minibuffer completion to load a theme if ef-themes-to-toggle does not have the expected value. The completion candidates are the items of the Ef themes collection. This fallback behaviour is essentially the same as what the user gets by invoking the ef-themes-select command.

When ef-themes-to-toggle is set properly, the corresponding command will perform the switch, as intended.

This is based on the discussion with Philip Kaludercic about revising the ef-themes-toggle command to have a more Do-What-I-Mean behaviour: https://lists.sr.ht/~protesilaos/ef-themes/%3C878rmwfs0e.fsf%40posteo.net%3E.

Improved how ef-themes-load-random picks subsets

The ef-themes-load-random command accepts a prefix argument (C-u, by default): it prompts the user for a dark or light subset out of the collection. Once that is selected, the command loads a theme at random.

Before, the prompt was using minibuffer completion, but this has now changed to a read-multiple-choice function, meaning that d selects dark and l selects light. Basically, we skip possible extra key presses.

Thanks to Philip Kaludercic for the patch: https://lists.sr.ht/~protesilaos/ef-themes/patches/35089.

Internal changes

• Fixed the initial colors' list in the ef-themes-with-colors macro. Thanks to Steve Molitor for telling me that the previous design would not work if ef-light was not loaded. This was done in issue 11 at the GitHub mirror: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes/issues/11.
• Simplified the helper function ef-themes--current-theme. Thanks to Jonas Collberg for the feedback in issue 12 over at the GitHub mirror: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes/issues/12. Also thanks to Jonas for the subsequent patch in pull request 13: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes/pull/13. The change is below the ~15 line threshold and thus does not require copyright assignment to the Free Software Foundation.

• Refined the colour mapping of some themes to improve overall aesthetics and/or usability, without deviating from the theme's established character. For example, in the ef-dark I adjusted the mappings for dates, links, and names. This helps distinguish all elements, while retaining the overall looks of the design. Some contexts where that is relevant:

  • Notmuch search buffers
  • Magit commit log
  • Org clocktables
  • Org documents with links, to-do, etc.

  I will not cover all such technicalities. Please consult the Git commit log. If, however, some new combination of colours feels awkward, you are welcome to tell me about it.

• Made improvements to the manual and implemented other internal changes.

Version 0.4.0 on 2022-08-29

New deuteranopia-friendly themes

Designed two bespoke themes for users with red-green colour deficiency or blindness (deuteranopia). They rely on blue and yellow hues. Their names are:

• ef-deuteranopia-dark
• ef-deuteranopia-light

Announcement with sample pictures: https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2022-08-19-ef-themes-deuteranopia/.

User options

• Introduced the variable ef-themes-mixed-fonts. When it is set to a non-nil (t) value, it makes spacing-sensitive elements use a monospaced font. For example, Org tables and code blocks will always look properly aligned. This is useful for those who either use a proportionately spaced font as their default or enable the built-in variable-pitch-mode.
• Implemented the variable ef-themes-variable-pitch-ui. When it is set to a non-nil (t) value, it renders the mode-line, tab-bar-mode, and tab-line-mode in a proportionately spaced font.

User options must be set before the theme is loaded. If an option changes, its value will be read upon a theme re-load.

For font configurations, refer to my fontaine package.

Newly supported packages

Built into Emacs:

• eww
• shell-script-mode (sh-mode)
• shr

External packages:

• consult
• embark

Refinements to faces

• Fixed the scaling of current line of display-line-numbers-mode when text-scale-adjust was invoked. Basically I forgot to include the line-number face, while all others were covered. Thanks to Anthony Chavez for the feedback in issue 7 over at the GitHub mirror: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/issues/7.
• Covered all faces that define group titles in completion contexts. These are headings which are used by various commands, such as consult-buffer, consult-imenu, and consult-grep. As they denote a group name, we apply the name colour mapping (the hue differs for each theme). And since they are titles, we inherit from bold to make them look like headings. Thanks to Summer Emacs for the feedback which amounted to:
  1. Treating group titles as headings.
  2. Using a more consistent colour theme-wide.
• Revised the compilation-info face from a colour-coded "success" face to a value that is consistent with the semantics of its application in file names or related (as seen in the emacs.git repository). For example, file names in Grep or Xref buffers will now look like they belong to the theme, whereas before they were predominantly green, even when that did not make sense. This point is connected to the above, such as in workflows that go from the minibuffer to a Grep buffer (e.g. with the use of the embark package).
• Toned down the vertical border between windows by explicitly supporting the vertical-border face. The previous design would use the main foreground which generally led to a disproportionately intense result.

• Adjusted all spacing-sensitive faces to accommodate the user option ef-themes-mixed-fonts, as noted above. Also thanks to Christopher League for spotting that I had missed the line-number face and for providing the relevant patch (I do the same in the modus-themes): https://lists.sr.ht/~protesilaos/ef-themes/%3C871qt2x4wi.fsf%40nita.mail-host-address-is-not-set%3E

  The patch is well below the ~15 line threshold and thus does not require copyright assignment to the Free Software Foundation.

• Enforced mono spacing for the org-indent face. This is essential for org-indent-mode to align entries correctly. Thanks to Steve Molitor for reporting this in the issue 9 over at the GitHub mirror: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes/issues/9. Steve tested a sample file with modus-vivendi and got the desired results. It reminded me how I handle this face in the modus-themes.
• Added explicit support for the bold and italic faces. The default definition of italic has conditionality which we do not want, such as drawing an underline if the font does not have italics (e.g. Fira Code). Styling it at the theme level prevents that from happening: the font without italics will simply use the upright/roman glyphs. Adding bold is just for clarity. Its default definition is fine.
• Made the tabs of the built-in tab-bar-mode and tab-line-mode stand out more. The difference between the current tab and the rest was too subtle. Depending on the lighting conditions, their respective backgrounds were indistinguishable. Thanks to Summer Emacs for reporting this issue and for helping me decide on the final design.
• Applied tinted backgrounds to values and arguments in transient.el buffers (e.g. Magit). They now stand out better.

Documentation

• Created a page with screenshots of all the Ef themes: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/ef-themes-pictures.

• Answered the Frequently Asked Question of letting Org tags inherit the foreground colour of the heading they belong to. The gist (though note that the entry also mentions the option for the non-alignment of tags):

  Upstream Org defines tags in headings to have the same color as the rest of the heading's text. However, tags are a distinct component of the heading as noted in the doc string of the org-get-heading function. Tags also are functionally different than the ordinary text of the heading: they are a clickable link/button. It thus is a matter of usability to render this distinction clear at the visual level: I do not agree with upstream Org's design decision.

• Addressed another Frequently Asked Question on whether we can have Ef-style themes inspired by the Nord or Zenburn themes. The short version is that this is technically difficult and undesirable. Each palette in the Ef themes collection is original and is designed around the normative and aesthetic principles of this project.
• Wrote an entire section on Do-It-Yourself customisations. These generally are for advanced users, though the manual provides concrete examples of using the ef-themes-with-colors macro in tandem with the ef-themes-post-load-hook.

• Elaborated on the list of packages that I will most likely NOT support in the Ef themes. The reasons vary though. Quote:

  These are difficult to support due to their (i) incompatibility with the design of the ef-themes, (ii) complexity or multiple points of entry, (iii) external dependencies, (iv) existence of better alternatives in my opinion, or (v) inconsiderate use of color out-of-the-box and implicit unwillingness to be good Emacs citizens

  If a certain package does not look right, then it is not supported (yet).

The manual can be read from Emacs, if the ef-themes package is installed. Evaluate:

(info "(ef-themes) Top")

Else visit: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/ef-themes.

Internal refinements

• Recalibrated diff colours or the context of diff buffers, especially in Magit, to improve usability.
• Adjusted or otherwise tweaked the hues that apply to key bindings and links in order to reinforce the stylistic consistency of each theme.
• Introduced a yellow-tinted background which is used in various contexts that (i) should be styled with a coloured background but (ii) should not be colour-coded as either red or green/blue.
• Made the ef-themes-with-colors macro always reify the current Ef theme's palette. This macro is for advanced users. Its utility is documented in the themes' manual.
• Fixed how themes become "known" at startup. Before, they were not registered correctly for immediate use with the ef-themes-select command. Thanks to Jean-Philippe Gagné Guay for the feedback in issue 6 over at the GitHub mirror: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/issues/6.
• Tweaked some face attributes to work with Emacs 27.
• Tinkered with the colour mapping or precise values of practically all the themes. Better consult the Git log for the minutiae. I think the identity of each theme is largely defined, though there may still be tweaks to be done here and there until we eventually reach version 1.0.0.

Version 0.3.0 on 2022-08-20

User-facing changes

• Revised the minimum Emacs version of the ef-themes package. It now depends on Emacs 27.1 instead of Emacs 28.1. Relevant internal adjustments were made, some of which are courtesy of Philip Kaludercic: https://lists.sr.ht/~protesilaos/ef-themes/patches/34787.

  [ Philip has assigned copyright to the Free Software Foundation. This is necessary for all non-trivial patches. ]

• Added two new themes to the collection which are designed for users with red-green colour deficiency/blindness (deuteranopia). In simple terms, their effective palette consists of blue, yellow, and the base tones. The themes are named descriptively: ef-deuteranopia-dark and ef-deuteranopia-light. Announcement with screenshots: https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2022-08-19-ef-themes-deuteranopia/.
• Reconsidered the principle of what kind of user options are acceptable. Those which affect colours directly will never be a part of the project. Others are subject to consideration with a preference for simplicity. Detailed documentation to do-it-yourself will still be preferred over user options.

• Implemented the ef-themes-headings user option which provides the mechanism to change the weight and height of each heading level, as well as set it to variable-pitch (i.e. a proportionately spaced font). The doc string of that variable or the relevant entry in the manual explain the particularities and provided code samples.

  To accommodate this variable, the default style of all headings has been revised to remove the added height they once had. Users who preferred the previous style must add the following to their configuration BEFORE the code that actually loads the theme (e.g. a load-theme call):

    ;; Restore height of each heading level to its previous value.
    (setq ef-themes-headings
          '((0 . (1.9))
            (1 . (1.8))
            (2 . (1.7))
            (3 . (1.6))
            (4 . (1.5))
            (5 . (1.4))
            (6 . (1.3))
            (7 . (1.2))
            (t . (1.1))))
  
    ;; First set the above configuration, then load the theme (changes to
    ;; user options require a theme re-load).
    (load-theme 'ef-summer :no-confirm)
  

• Introduced the command ef-themes-toggle and the companion user option ef-themes-to-toggle. To use the command, one must first set their two preferred Ef themes, such as with this:

    (setq ef-themes-to-toggle '(ef-summer ef-winter))
  

  The names of all the themes are included in the ef-themes-collection variable. Though recall that the commands ef-themes-select and ef-themes-load-random still use the entire collection (read their doc strings or consult the manual).

• Fixed how themes are made available at startup. Before, there was a mistake to how items were registered as "known" and were thus not recognised by our commands, even though the standard load-theme worked as expected. Thanks to Iris Garcia for reporting the problem in issue 2 on the GitHub mirror: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes/issues/2. It was propagated to users as version 0.2.1 of the ef-themes.

• Added support for these packages:

  • chart
  • doom-modeline (tentative)
  • info
  • org-habit
  • rcirc
  • smerge

  Thanks to Spike-Leung for reminding me about org-habit in issue 5 over at the GitHub mirror: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes/issues/5.

  [ Remember that if a package looks awfully out of place, it is not support (yet). ]

• Expanded and/or clarified the manual, including an answer to the question of what "Ef" means:

  "Ef" is a Greek word (ευ), commonly used as a prefix to denote that something is good, nice, and/or easy. For example, eftopia (ευτοπία) is the opposite of dystopia (δυστοπία): a good place as opposed to a bad place.

• Helped Adam Sherwood figure out why zsh-autosuggestions did not look right. In short: this has nothing to do with Emacs. Try to avoid termcolor{0,7,8,15} as a default. Prefer the remaining nominal accent colours, as every theme is more likely to work with those, whereas, say, termcolor0 ("black") will not be legible with dark themes. This was done in issue 3 on the GitHub mirror: https://github.com/protesilaos/ef-themes/issues/3.

Internal refinements

• Recalibrated lots of colour values and mappings across several themes. The changes are small and help with the internal consistency of each theme. Consult the Git commit log for the minutiae.
• The internal faces for headings are now done with a dotimes call on custom-declare-face instead of a bespoke macro. Thanks to Philip Kaludercic for the patch: https://lists.sr.ht/~protesilaos/ef-themes/patches/34791.
• Applied file-equal-p for the registration of the themes in the relevant path. Doing so is generally more resilient than equal and might avoid an unexpected edge case in the future. Thanks to Philip Kaludercic for the patch: https://lists.sr.ht/~protesilaos/ef-themes/patches/34789.
• Opted for {if,when}-let* over {if,when}-let. The former do not support the obsolete single-binding syntax, and make clear that both macros operate more like let* than let by evaluating and binding variables sequentially. Thanks to Philip Kaludercic for the patch: https://lists.sr.ht/~protesilaos/ef-themes/patches/34787.

Acknowledgement for the first version of the project

Thanks to user Summer Emacs whose feedback helped define the identity of the ef-summer theme. Summer's comments pertained to the need to increase the occurence of yellow as the theme used to be predominantly magenta and purple. I thus implemented the revised colour mapping and made the relevant adjustments. Without Summer's comments, ef-summer wouldn't have been as pretty.

Version 0.2.0 on 2022-08-18

[ Added after the fact on 2022-08-20 ]

No release notes were produced at the time. This version included various stylistic refinements and added commands for (i) loading a theme and (ii) previewing a theme's colour palette.

The commands which load a theme call the ef-themes-post-load-hook. Advanced and/or do-it-yourself users may have a use for it. The manual will eventually provide specific code samples.

Version 0.1.0 on 2022-08-17

[ Added after the fact on 2022-08-20 ]

There were no release notes for it. It established the foundations of the project: the main macros, the character of each theme, etc. Check the Git commit log for more.