How do I change the color scheme in Vim?

Explanation

The :colorscheme command changes the visual theme of Vim. Color schemes control the colors for syntax highlighting, UI elements, and more.

How it works

• :colorscheme desert switches to the desert theme
• :colorscheme without arguments shows the current scheme
• Tab completion works to show available schemes

Example

:colorscheme desert
:colorscheme slate
:colorscheme elflord

Tips

• :colorscheme <Tab> lists all available schemes
• Built-in schemes include: default, desert, elflord, evening, slate, etc.
• Download additional schemes and put them in ~/.vim/colors/
• Use set background=dark or set background=light to help the scheme
• Put colorscheme name in your vimrc for permanent use