LinuxQuestions.org - controlling terminal colors

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controlling terminal colors

In a terminal window there are various colors for different file types. No matter which scheme I select, there is always one color that doesn't sufficiently contrast with the background color when I do an ls.

I would either like to specify which color each file type uses or simply turn off the use of colors to represent file types. Can I simply make all filenames show up as black on a white background?

Depending on the distro you use, this may or may not be applicable. On my system there is a Bash startup file called /etc/profile.d/50-dircolors.sh. The contents of this script, with comments added for this post, are

Code:

#Color codes are output only if standard output is connected to a terminal.  Other options are --color=none or --color=always.

alias ls='ls -l --color=auto'



#Look for color definition file in user's $HOME directory.

#If there isn't one there, use the system-wide file.

if [ -f "$HOME/.dircolors" ]; then

  eval `dircolors -b "$HOME/.dircolors"`

else

  if [ -f "/etc/dircolors" ]; then

    eval `dircolors -b "/etc/dircolors"`

  fi

fi

You could add these lines to your $HOME/.bashrc file as well. There is, then, a file called /etc/dircolors created by

Code:

dircolors -p /etc/dircolors

This file is then used to define the colors used in Bash (or terminal emulator). I can edit /etc/profile to set the colors as I see fit.

For the simple black on white scheme, put this in your .bashrc

Code:

alias ls='ls --color=none'

Hey, thanks for the valuable explanation. I can't believe everyone doesn't have the same problem I am having. I have seen this both with debian and now with ubuntu (which, of course, is a derivative of debian). It seems like debian needs to be little smarter about matching dircolors with backgrounds.

I'll play with setting up the right colors and backgrounds.

Thanks.