Why I Highlight My Code Based on How Much I Care
Highlighting My Code Based on How Much I Care
After reading Nikita Prokopov's critique of syntax highlighting, the author realizes they've been blind to their default VSCode theme. Experimenting with a minimal, grayscale-only theme, they discover that color isn't necessary—what matters is selectively highlighting elements that aid scanning: comments, definitions, and control flow. They also downplay common keywords and punctuation to reduce visual noise. The result is a functional, tonally-based highlighting system that prioritizes semantic understanding over syntactic decoration.
It should be distinct enough to offer real value, but subtle enough that parts I am not trying to look at don’t distract from what I am.