Cursor Workspace .ENV Themes - A guide to managing Cursor/VSCode workspace themes through environment variables

README.md

Cursor Workspace .ENV Themes

A guide to managing Cursor/VSCode workspace themes and settings through environment variables.

Overview

This guide shows how to configure your Cursor/VSCode workspace settings using .env files, allowing for:

• Dynamic theme management
• Project-specific configurations
• Shared workspace settings across team members

Setup Instructions

1. Environment Configuration

Add these variables to your .env file:

# Cursor Workspace Configuration
CURSOR_WORKSPACE="YourWorkspaceName"
CURSOR_PROJECT="Your Project Name"

# VSCode Theme Settings
VSCODE_COLOR_THEME="Default Dark+"
VSCODE_PREFERRED_DARK_THEME="Default Dark+"

2. Workspace Script

Create scripts/update-vscode-theme.ps1:

# Load .env file
$envContent = Get-Content -Path ".env" -Raw
$envLines = $envContent -split "`n" | Where-Object { $_ -match '^\s*[^#]' }

# Parse settings
$settings = @{}
foreach ($line in $envLines) {
    if ($line -match 'VSCODE_COLOR_THEME=(.+)') {
        $settings['workbench.colorTheme'] = $matches[1].Trim('"')
    }
    if ($line -match 'VSCODE_PREFERRED_DARK_THEME=(.+)') {
        $settings['workbench.preferredDarkColorTheme'] = $matches[1].Trim('"')
    }
    if ($line -match 'CURSOR_WORKSPACE=(.+)') {
        $workspaceName = $matches[1].Trim('"')
    }
}

# Determine workspace file name
$workspaceFile = "$workspaceName.code-workspace"

# Create workspace if it doesn't exist
if (-not (Test-Path $workspaceFile)) {
    @{
        folders = @(@{ path = "." })
        settings = @{}
        extensions = @{
            recommendations = @()
        }
        tasks = @{}
    } | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 100 | Set-Content -Path $workspaceFile
}

# Read workspace file
$workspace = Get-Content -Path $workspaceFile -Raw | ConvertFrom-Json

# Update theme settings
$workspace.settings.'workbench.colorTheme' = $settings['workbench.colorTheme']
$workspace.settings.'workbench.preferredDarkColorTheme' = $settings['workbench.preferredDarkColorTheme']

# Save workspace file
$workspace | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 100 | Set-Content -Path $workspaceFile

Write-Host "VSCode theme settings updated from .env file for workspace: $workspaceFile"

3. Workspace Configuration

Your workspace file (e.g., YourWorkspace.code-workspace) will be automatically created/updated with:

{
  "folders": [
    {
      "path": "."
    }
  ],
  "settings": {
    "workbench.colorTheme": "Default Dark+",
    "workbench.preferredDarkColorTheme": "Default Dark+",
    "workbench.colorCustomizations": {
      "statusBar.background": "#1a1a1a",
      "statusBar.foreground": "#00ff00",
      "activityBar.background": "#1a1a1a",
      "activityBar.foreground": "#33FF66",
      "titleBar.activeBackground": "#1a1a1a",
      "titleBar.activeForeground": "#33FF66",
      "editorCursor.foreground": "#33FF66",
      "editorCursor.background": "#1a1a1a",
      "terminalCursor.foreground": "#33FF66",
      "terminalCursor.background": "#1a1a1a"
    }
  },
  "tasks": {
    "update-theme": {
      "label": "Update Theme from ENV",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "${workspaceFolder}/scripts/update-vscode-theme.ps1",
      "problemMatcher": []
    }
  }
}

4. Usage

1. Update theme settings in .env
2. Run the update task:
   • From Command Palette: Tasks: Run Task > Update Theme from ENV
   • Or run ./scripts/update-vscode-theme.ps1 directly

Supported Themes

You can use any installed VSCode theme. Popular options include:

• "Default Dark+"
• "GitHub Dark"
• "One Dark Pro"
• "Dracula"
• "Night Owl"
• "Material Theme"

Tips

1. Keep .env in your .gitignore to allow team members to use their preferred themes
2. Create an .env.example with default theme settings
3. Use the task runner for easy theme switching
4. Combine with other workspace settings for a complete development environment

Contributing

Feel free to contribute improvements or report issues on GitHub!