Feature Request: Custom color theme / palette support

Feature Request: Custom color theme / palette support

Problem

Claude Code hardcodes TrueColor (24-bit RGB) values for its TUI rendering (e.g., blue/purple for links, headings, filenames). This means:

• Terminal palette changes have zero effect on Claude Code's text colors
• NO_COLOR=1 does not suppress colors in the TUI
• COLORTERM / TERM environment variables are ignored
• There is no config key in ~/.claude.json or settings.json to customize colors

Users who carefully curate their terminal color scheme (e.g., Ghostty/iTerm2 themes) find that Claude Code's hardcoded blues clash with their chosen palette.

Use case

I use both Claude Code and OpenAI Codex CLI side by side. Codex respects the terminal's ANSI 16-color palette, so its appearance adapts to my terminal theme. Claude Code does not — it always renders blue/purple regardless of my terminal settings.

I want a unified, cohesive visual experience across my development tools.

Proposed solution

One or more of the following:

1. Respect the terminal's ANSI palette — use ANSI color indices (0–15) instead of hardcoded RGB, so terminal themes naturally apply
2. Add a colors config key in ~/.claude.json or settings.json allowing per-element color overrides (e.g., link, heading, code, emphasis)
3. Support NO_COLOR=1 (no-color.org) to strip all color from TUI output
4. Add named color themes (beyond just dark/light) that users can select or extend

Option 1 is the simplest and most Unix-philosophy-aligned. It would make Claude Code a good citizen in any terminal color scheme.

Environment

• Claude Code 2.1.87
• macOS (Ghostty terminal)
• Custom terminal theme with green/sage palette