Colors

On many systems, NetHack can display monsters, objects and dungeon features in color, in ASCII mode. The exact appearance of these colors depends on many things, including the platform NetHack was compiled for, compile-time options, run-time options, your terminal settings and the monitor you're using. If your NetHack supports color output, it can be toggled on or off using the color option.

For the colors of the wiki itself, see function templates and ReplaceCharsBlock.

Monitor

Even the appearance of the RGB colors is not fixed, but can vary depending on your display hardware and software. Some issues that can affect color rendering include:

• Your computer may or may not apply gamma correction to colors (and, if it does, it may or may not be properly calibrated). Also, different monitors may have different natural gamma values, and on some monitors the gamma value may even be adjustable.
• CRT and LCD monitors have different color gamuts, affecting the colors they can display.
• The brightness, contrast and color temperature of the monitor can also vary, and are often subject to user adjustment.
• Finally, ambient lighting and variations in the human eye itself can affect the appearance of colors.

What all this comes down to is that colors which look nice and easily visible to one person may not look as good to another. Thus, picking a good color palette is ultimately a personal, subjective choice.

Changing terminal colors

When playing without tiles, you can adjust the colors used by your terminal/console. For example, if dark blue on black background is nearly invisible, try changing the dark blue color in your console color settings.

PuTTY

The colors for PuTTY can be changed in the putty settings, or you could use Windows Console colors editor which can also create a registry file for putty. Alternatively, the putty-color-themes repository has many color themes ready.

rxvt

From the command line: rxvt -color4 lightblue.

rxvt colors can also be set via the X11 resources as seen in the xterm configuration below by using Rxvt*color4: lightblue in ~/.Xdefaults

xterm

From the command line: xterm -xrm "XTerm*color4: lightblue"

Similar to setting X11 resources, you can change the colors used by xterm, by putting eg. the following in ~/.Xdefaults:

XTerm*color4: lightblue

And then doing xrdb -merge ~/.Xdefaults to set the resource. Starting xterm after that will use the lightblue color.

mintty (Cygwin)

Changing the ANSI terminal colors in mintty doesn't seem possible using the GUI color options; you can, however, specify color preferences by editing ~/.minttyrc.

The syntax is ColorName=R,G,B, putting each new entry on a new line.

For example:

 BoldBlue=202,169,250

Colors are referred to by their ANSI names - Black, Blue, Red, Magenta, Green, Cyan, Yellow and White; prefix these with Bold when referring to the secondary, highlighted version of the color.

Linux console

You can output an OSC control sequence to change a color. The format is: Esc]Pnrrggbb, where Esc means the escape character. nrrggbb is a sequence of 7 hexadecimal digits, where n is the color number, and rr, gg and bb are the red, green and blue parts of the color.

You can do this with the echo command, for example:

 echo -e '\e]P40000ff'

This will set the fourth color (dark blue) to the RGB values 0, 0, and 255. To reset all colors, use this sequence:

 echo -e '\e]R'

You might want to put this into a script so you don't have to do this manually every time you play.

Windows

You can edit the colors in the command prompt settings.

Internal NetHack color codes

Internally, most colors in NetHack are specified using the 16 CLR_* color codes (including NO_COLOR, a dark gray used as the default color) defined in the file includes/color.h.

color name	numeric value
CLR_BLACK	0
CLR_RED	1
CLR_GREEN	2
CLR_BROWN	3
CLR_BLUE	4
CLR_MAGENTA	5
CLR_CYAN	6
CLR_GRAY	7
NO_COLOR	8
CLR_ORANGE	9
CLR_BRIGHT_GREEN	10
CLR_YELLOW	11
CLR_BRIGHT_BLUE	12
CLR_BRIGHT_MAGENTA	13
CLR_BRIGHT_CYAN	14
CLR_WHITE	15
CLR_MAX	16

The same file also defines a number of "logical" colors for different materials and effects which map to these 16 colors: for example, both leather and wood are defined to be CLR_BROWN.

logical name	color name
HI_OBJ	CLR_MAGENTA
HI_METAL	CLR_CYAN
HI_COPPER	CLR_YELLOW
HI_SILVER	CLR_GRAY
HI_GOLD	CLR_YELLOW
HI_LEATHER	CLR_BROWN
HI_CLOTH	CLR_BROWN
HI_ORGANIC	CLR_BROWN
HI_WOOD	CLR_BROWN
HI_PAPER	CLR_WHITE
HI_GLASS	CLR_BRIGHT_CYAN
HI_MINERAL	CLR_GRAY
DRAGON_SILVER	CLR_BRIGHT_CYAN
HI_ZAP	CLR_BRIGHT_BLUE

Terminal color codes

On systems where NetHack outputs text to be displayed in a terminal (rather than handling text rendering by itself), the internal color codes defined in color.h are mapped to ANSI escape codes or equivalent codes defined in the system terminfo. This mapping is specified in win/tty/termcap.c, and (for a mapping of 16 to 16 colors) is surprisingly platform-dependent. Notable quirks include:

• On systems defining MICRO (which are these?), CLR_BLUE is mapped to the same color code as CLR_BRIGHT_BLUE, presumably because the default blue is considered too dark.
• On many (most?) systems (which?), no color codes are defined for CLR_BLACK, CLR_GRAY and NO_COLOR, leaving them all as the default text color (usually gray).
• On Unix systems using terminfo, CLR_BLACK is actually aliased to CLR_BLUE. There is a comment saying that this is done to avoid trying to display black text on a (presumed) black background, as it might not be visible.
• On the Atari TOS port, several of the darker colors are mapped to their bright counterparts. (Which ones? The code is kind of confusing...)

On some systems, the mapping from NetHack colors to terminal colors may be adjusted using the videocolors option.

RGB colors

On some systems, NetHack directly maps the 16 internal color codes to RGB colors. On others, this task is left for the terminal emulator — however, terminals may support, and the game can then use, more than the 16 basic colors. Finally, on some (mainly older) systems, the color choices may even be determined by the graphics hardware.

Since version 5.0.0, the game uses extended colors for walls in gnomish mines and Fort Ludios with Enhanced1 and Enhanced2 symsets. Any customizations made using OPTIONS=glyph statements in the configuration file can use extended colors, as well.

A user has suggested improving this page or section as follows:

"List some NetHack/terminal color palettes here."

mtty palette

Black

Red

Green

Brown

Blue

Magenta

Cyan

Gray

Orange

Bright green

Yellow

Bright blue

Bright magenta

Bright cyan

White

256 colors

Curses interface, popular for its ability to better utilize big screens, does not support RGB colors. However, in recent development version of NetHack 5.0.x (to be 5.0.1, currently playable on Hardfought server) this interface is able to use 256 colors on terminals that have a 256-color palette. Any RGB colors, such as those configured using OPTIONS=glyph, will be displayed as follows:

• the RGB color is mapped to the nearest (for some definition of color distance) extended color (i.e. color 16 to 255) from what NetHack expects this 256-color palette to be;
• the terminal is asked to display a color from its 256-color palette with the index resulting from this mapping;
• many terminals have the exact 256-color palette the game expects, resulting in colors rendering as intended.

The same mapping is performed when using TTY interface and the terminal supports 256 colors but not RGB colors.

The 240 extended colors from this palette, with their RGB codes, are the following:

Extended colors

000000	00005f	000087	0000af	0000d7	0000ff	005f00	005f5f
005f87	005faf	005fd7	005fff	008700	00875f	008787	0087af
0087d7	0087ff	00af00	00af5f	00af87	00afaf	00afd7	00afff
00d700	00d75f	00d787	00d7af	00d7d7	00d7ff	00ff00	00ff5f
00ff87	00ffaf	00ffd7	00ffff	5f0000	5f005f	5f0087	5f00af
5f00d7	5f00ff	5f5f00	5f5f5f	5f5f87	5f5faf	5f5fd7	5f5fff
5f8700	5f875f	5f8787	5f87af	5f87d7	5f87ff	5faf00	5faf5f
5faf87	5fafaf	5fafd7	5fafff	5fd700	5fd75f	5fd787	5fd7af
5fd7d7	5fd7ff	5fff00	5fff5f	5fff87	5fffaf	5fffd7	5fffff
870000	87005f	870087	8700af	8700d7	8700ff	875f00	875f5f
875f87	875faf	875fd7	875fff	878700	87875f	878787	8787af
8787d7	8787ff	87af00	87af5f	87af87	87afaf	87afd7	87afff
87d700	87d75f	87d787	87d7af	87d7d7	87d7ff	87ff00	87ff5f
87ff87	87ffaf	87ffd7	87ffff	af0000	af005f	af0087	af00af
af00d7	af00ff	af5f00	af5f5f	af5f87	af5faf	af5fd7	af5fff
af8700	af875f	af8787	af87af	af87d7	af87ff	afaf00	afaf5f
afaf87	afafaf	afafd7	afafff	afd700	afd75f	afd787	afd7af
afd7d7	afd7ff	afff00	afff5f	afff87	afffaf	afffd7	afffff
d70000	d7005f	d70087	d700af	d700d7	d700ff	d75f00	d75f5f
d75f87	d75faf	d75fd7	d75fff	d78700	d7875f	d78787	d787af
d787d7	d787ff	d7af00	d7af5f	d7af87	d7afaf	d7afd7	d7afff
d7d700	d7d75f	d7d787	d7d7af	d7d7d7	d7d7ff	d7ff00	d7ff5f
d7ff87	d7ffaf	d7ffd7	d7ffff	ff0000	ff005f	ff0087	ff00af
ff00d7	ff00ff	ff5f00	ff5f5f	ff5f87	ff5faf	ff5fd7	ff5fff
ff8700	ff875f	ff8787	ff87af	ff87d7	ff87ff	ffaf00	ffaf5f
ffaf87	ffafaf	ffafd7	ffafff	ffd700	ffd75f	ffd787	ffd7af
ffd7d7	ffd7ff	ffff00	ffff5f	ffff87	ffffaf	ffffd7	ffffff
080808	121212	1c1c1c	262626	303030	3a3a3a	444444	4e4e4e
585858	626262	6c6c6c	767676	808080	8a8a8a	949494	9e9e9e
a8a8a8	b2b2b2	bcbcbc	c6c6c6	d0d0d0	dadada	e4e4e4	eeeeee

Extended color names

In context where color is given as a string, such as OPTIONS=glyph entries in the configuration file, in addition to basic color names such as "red", "blue", etc. and RGB codes, the game recognizes following color names. Their values are not from the 256-color palette, so these colors are rendered slightly differently depending on whether RGB colors or 256 colors are used.

Extended color names (RGB colors)

maroon	dark-red	firebrick	crimson	tomato
coral	indian-red	light-coral	dark-salmon	salmon
light-salmon	orange-red	dark-orange	gold	dark-golden-rod
golden-rod	pale-golden-rod	dark-khaki	khaki	olive
yellow-green	dark-olive-green	olive-drab	lawn-green	chart-reuse
green-yellow	dark-green	forest-green	lime	lime-green
light-green	pale-green	dark-sea-green	medium-spring-green	spring-green
sea-green	medium-aqua-marine	medium-sea-green	light-sea-green	dark-slate-gray
teal	dark-cyan	aqua	dark-turquoise	turquoise
medium-turquoise	pale-turquoise	aqua-marine	powder-blue	cadet-blue
steel-blue	corn-flower-blue	deep-sky-blue	dodger-blue	light-blue
sky-blue	light-sky-blue	midnight-blue	navy	dark-blue
medium-blue	royal-blue	blue-violet	indigo	dark-slate-blue
slate-blue	medium-slate-blue	medium-purple	dark-magenta	dark-violet
dark-orchid	medium-orchid	purple	thistle	plum
violet	orchid	medium-violet-red	pale-violet-red	deep-pink
hot-pink	light-pink	pink	antique-white	beige
bisque	blanched-almond	wheat	corn-silk	lemon-chiffon
light-golden-rod-yellow	light-yellow	saddle-brown	sienna	chocolate
peru	sandy-brown	burly-wood	tan	rosy-brown
moccasin	navajo-white	peach-puff	misty-rose	lavender-blush
linen	old-lace	papaya-whip	sea-shell	mint-cream
slate-gray	light-slate-gray	light-steel-blue	lavender	floral-white
alice-blue	ghost-white	honeydew	ivory	azure
snow	dim-gray	dark-gray	silver	light-gray
gainsboro	white-smoke

Extended color names (mapped to 256 colors)

maroon	dark-red	firebrick	crimson	tomato
coral	indian-red	light-coral	dark-salmon	salmon
light-salmon	orange-red	dark-orange	gold	dark-golden-rod
golden-rod	pale-golden-rod	dark-khaki	khaki	olive
yellow-green	dark-olive-green	olive-drab	lawn-green	chart-reuse
green-yellow	dark-green	forest-green	lime	lime-green
light-green	pale-green	dark-sea-green	medium-spring-green	spring-green
sea-green	medium-aqua-marine	medium-sea-green	light-sea-green	dark-slate-gray
teal	dark-cyan	aqua	dark-turquoise	turquoise
medium-turquoise	pale-turquoise	aqua-marine	powder-blue	cadet-blue
steel-blue	corn-flower-blue	deep-sky-blue	dodger-blue	light-blue
sky-blue	light-sky-blue	midnight-blue	navy	dark-blue
medium-blue	royal-blue	blue-violet	indigo	dark-slate-blue
slate-blue	medium-slate-blue	medium-purple	dark-magenta	dark-violet
dark-orchid	medium-orchid	purple	thistle	plum
violet	orchid	medium-violet-red	pale-violet-red	deep-pink
hot-pink	light-pink	pink	antique-white	beige
bisque	blanched-almond	wheat	corn-silk	lemon-chiffon
light-golden-rod-yellow	light-yellow	saddle-brown	sienna	chocolate
peru	sandy-brown	burly-wood	tan	rosy-brown
moccasin	navajo-white	peach-puff	misty-rose	lavender-blush
linen	old-lace	papaya-whip	sea-shell	mint-cream
slate-gray	light-slate-gray	light-steel-blue	lavender	floral-white
alice-blue	ghost-white	honeydew	ivory	azure
snow	dim-gray	dark-gray	silver	light-gray
gainsboro	white-smoke

See Also

• Template:Monsters
• Options#color
• Options#MONSTERCOLOR

References

This page may need to be updated for the current version of NetHack.

It may contain text specific to NetHack 3.4.3. Information on this page may be out of date.

Editors: After reviewing this page and making necessary edits, please change the {{nethack-343}} tag to the current version's tag or {{noversion}} as appropriate.