As one of the most used IDEs globally, Eclipse is pretty accommodating out of the box. However, it shouldn’t make us lenient when it comes to upgrading our productivity.
Several factors influence our ability to code effectively. From AI-driven code completion assistants to a plethora of useful plugins, one feature that many developers often overlook is the theme they use in the Eclipse editor.
How to change Eclipse color themes
To change your Eclipse IDE’s color and the code you see to a different theme, use the Eclipse Color Theme plugin. First, you need to install it. To install Eclipse Color Theme, go to Help > Install New Software in your top menu bar:
You will get a screen that looks like this:
Next, click on Add. You’ll get another popup that looks like this:
Fill in the form with the following details:
| Name: Eclipse Color Theme Location: http://eclipse-color-theme.github.io/update/ |
Once done, press OK. To install Eclipse Color Theme, select it and press Next. Accept the license when prompted. You might get a security warning, so press OK to proceed.
This will set up everything you need. To change your color theme, go to your top menu bar and select Window > Preference.
On the left sidebar, select General > Appearance > Color Theme. This will take you to the next panel, where all the themes are available. All you have to do now is select the theme you want:
You can also create or import your own custom theme using the Import a theme… button.
Keep up with the evolution of software development
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Top 12 Color Themes for Eclipse
1. Oblivion
Oblivion is a predominantly lime green color theme for Eclipse, with specks of blue and red for highlights. This Eclipse theme and its color application are split between variable types and method-related parameters. Oblivion is a dark coding theme by Roger Dudler and is the most popular color theme on Eclipse, with over 600k downloads.
2. Obsidian
Obsidian is similar to Oblivion with its green predominance. However, Obsidian approaches Eclipse color theming with a softer palette, leering on the pastel side. This makes it not as bright as Oblivion, which can be good if you prefer muted tones.
3. Vibrant Ink
Vibrant Ink is a color theme that balances creating a hierarchy of data types with aesthetically bold schemes. It’s a dark theme with high contrast for maximum focus, with lime green highlights for easy variable scanning.
4. Zenburn
Zenburn is a dark theme with pastel vibes. The usage of greens, blues, and browns is equally balanced to produce a softened IDE. Zenburn is an excellent alternative for your Eclipse IDE if you’re not into stark contrasts in dark themes.
5. NightLion Aptana
When it comes to dark themes, they come in all shades of darkness. NightLion Aptana is a dark theme that’s ported over to Eclipse IDE. The color palette is a series of calming blues that gently transition into green tones.
6. Monokai
Monokai is a trendy theme that developers use on Sublime Text and VS Code. Its availability on Eclipse IDE means that switching context reduces the cognitive load because you’re not required to adjust to a different color scheme mentally.
The palette is optimized for Java, PHP, and HTML, making it a versatile color theme that you can use across different editors.
7. Retta
If you like pumpkin spice, Retta is the color theme for you. Set against a dark black background, the different shades of orange exude a funky fall vibe. Retta is also a fun theme that keeps everything tightly highlighted within the same color spectrum, apart from the seasonal feel. Unlike other themes listed here, the color transition is not as stark. This increases your ability to immerse yourself into the flow state of coding.
8. Inkpot
Inkpot is a pleasant dark blue theme with more than 33k downloads. This color theme is a series of blues and light salmon pink highlights for variable assignments. The colors in this theme are limited to just class, interface, method, methodDeclartion, number, string, operator, and annotations. The palette is tightly centralized and only highlights large blocks rather than every possible variation. Through this, Inkpot can localize information and create groupings through color.
9. Black Pastel
Black Pastel was originally a Vim color theme that was later transferred over to Eclipse IDE. The palette for Black Pastel is a gradient of purples that gently move towards a tinted white on the color spectrum. The color theme evokes a calming vibe and is excellent for those chill coding moments where you become fully immersed in what you’re doing.
10. frontenddev
If you’re using Eclipse IDE for frontend development, then frontenddev is a fantastic theme to check out and use. The choice of highlights emphasizes parts of the code that frontend developers mainly use. The way frontenddev supports HTML also comes in handy when you’re switching between your models, views, and controllers.
11. Dracula
Dracula is a dark theme that’s able to make its way onto almost every available text editor and IDE. Eclipse is no exception when it comes to Dracula’s color theme support.
Made for developers and by a developer, the Dracula color theme considers the need for a cohesive palette that works well with its choice of saturation for each color.
12. Vim dark
Vim is an editor that you either love or hate. Regardless, the color palette for Vim is undeniably funky. It’s predominantly green but configured in a way that feels balanced with its highlights and choice of information to bring to the forefront through color. There’s a vintage feel when using this color theme in Eclipse, which can be fun to work with if you’re into retro themes.
Picking the best theme for productivity
Choosing the suitable color theme for your Eclipse IDE workflow balances aesthetic preferences and the type of code you’re writing. Every project has a predominant kind and style of code required, so the choice of highlights matters.
In addition to color themes, the right plugins for Eclipse IDE can also increase your productivity and help improve your ability to stay in the flow state.
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