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Quick Start: Themes

Change your workspace theme, explore built-in options, and understand how themes cascade through your development hierarchy.

Overview

DevOpsMaestro ships with 34+ built-in themes embedded directly in the binary — no installation, no network access required. You can apply any of them instantly.

The three things you need to know:

  1. Browse — dvm library get themes lists all 34+ built-in themes
  2. Apply — dvm set theme <name> sets a theme (global by default, or scoped with flags)
  3. Inspect — dvm get nvim themes shows all themes in use; dvm get nvim theme <name> shows details

Step 1: See What Themes Are Available

# List all built-in themes (34+)
dvm library get themes

# Short alias
dvm lib ls nt

Example output:

NAME                      DESCRIPTION
coolnight-ocean           Default blue ocean theme
coolnight-arctic          Ice-cold blue variant
coolnight-synthwave       Cyberpunk purple aesthetic
coolnight-matrix          Matrix-inspired green
tokyonight-night          Tokyo Night — dark blue
catppuccin-mocha          Catppuccin mocha flavor
gruvbox-dark              Warm retro dark theme
...

See the full list with descriptions in the Themes Reference.

Step 2: View a Theme's Details

# Show theme details
dvm library describe theme coolnight-ocean

# Short alias (deprecated: use 'describe')
dvm library show theme coolnight-ocean

Output:

Name:         coolnight-ocean
Description:  Default blue ocean theme
Author:       devopsmaestro
Category:     dark
Style:        ocean
Repository:   rmkohlman/coolnight.nvim

Step 3: Set Your Theme

Set a Global Default

No scope flags = global default. Every workspace inherits this unless overridden.

dvm set theme coolnight-ocean

Set for a Specific Workspace

dvm set theme coolnight-synthwave --workspace dev
# or short form
dvm set theme coolnight-synthwave -w dev

Set for an Entire App

All workspaces in the app inherit this theme.

dvm set theme tokyonight-night --app my-api
# or short form
dvm set theme tokyonight-night -a my-api

Set at Domain or Ecosystem Level

# Domain level (all apps in that domain)
dvm set theme gruvbox-dark --domain backend

# Ecosystem level (everything in that ecosystem)
dvm set theme catppuccin-mocha --ecosystem my-platform

Step 4: See What Theme Is Active

# Show effective theme for current context with resolution path
dvm get nvim themes

# Show details for a specific theme
dvm get nvim theme coolnight-ocean

The dvm get nvim themes command shows both built-in (library) and user-defined themes with color swatches when your terminal supports true color.

Step 5: Apply a Theme via YAML (IaC)

Themes are full YAML resources. You can apply them declaratively:

# Apply from a local file
dvm apply -f my-theme.yaml

# Apply from a URL
dvm apply -f https://example.com/themes/my-theme.yaml

# Apply from GitHub
dvm apply -f github:user/repo/themes/my-theme.yaml

Clearing a Theme Override

Pass an empty string to clear the theme at a level, inheriting from the parent:

# Clear workspace override (inherits from app)
dvm set theme "" --workspace dev

# Clear app override (inherits from domain)
dvm set theme "" --app my-api

# Clear global default (falls back to hardcoded default: coolnight-ocean)
dvm set theme "" --global

Preview the Cascade Effect

See how a theme propagates through your hierarchy before applying:

# Set theme and show the cascade tree
dvm set theme coolnight-synthwave --app my-api --show-cascade

Example output:

global          → coolnight-ocean
└─ dev-platform → (inherit from global)
   └─ backend   → (inherit from ecosystem)
      └─ my-api → coolnight-synthwave ← SET HERE
         └─ dev → (inherit from app)

Common Workflows

Change Theme for a Single Session (workspace only)

dvm set theme coolnight-matrix -w dev
dvm build dev --app my-api   # Rebuild to apply
dvm attach

Set a Company-Wide Default

# All workspaces use this unless overridden at a lower level
dvm set theme coolnight-ocean --ecosystem my-company

Try a Theme Without Committing

# Dry-run shows what would change
dvm set theme dracula --workspace dev --dry-run

Use Different Themes per Domain

# Security team: high-contrast
dvm set theme coolnight-matrix --domain security

# Frontend team: modern feel
dvm set theme catppuccin-mocha --domain frontend

# Data team: warm and comfortable
dvm set theme gruvbox-dark --domain data

Export Current Theme to Share with Team

dvm get nvim theme coolnight-synthwave -o yaml > team-theme.yaml

# Team members apply it
dvm apply -f team-theme.yaml

Theme Hierarchy Summary

Themes cascade from most specific to least specific:

Workspace → App → Domain → Ecosystem → Global Default

The first theme found walking up the hierarchy is used. Setting a theme at a higher level affects all children that haven't set their own override.

Scope Flag What It Sets
--workspace/-w <name> One workspace
--app/-a <name> All workspaces in that app
--domain/-d <name> All apps and workspaces in that domain
--ecosystem/-e <name> Everything in that ecosystem
--global Global fallback for everything
(no flags) Global fallback (same as --global)

Next Steps