zsh-syntax-highlighting/docs/highlighters.md

zsh-syntax-highlighting / highlighters
======================================

Syntax highlighting is done by pluggable highlighters:

* `main` - the base highlighter, and the only one [active by default][main].
* `brackets` - [matches brackets][brackets] and parenthesis.
* `pattern` - matches [user-defined patterns][pattern].
* `regexp` - matches [user-defined regular expressions][regexp].
* `cursor` - matches [the cursor position][cursor].
* `root` - highlights the whole command line [if the current user is root][root].
* `line` - applied to [the whole command line][line].

[main]: highlighters/main.md
[brackets]: highlighters/brackets.md
[pattern]: highlighters/pattern.md
[regexp]: highlighters/regexp.md
[cursor]: highlighters/cursor.md
[root]: highlighters/root.md
[line]: highlighters/line.md


Highlighter-independent settings
--------------------------------

By default, all command lines are highlighted.  However, it is possible to
prevent command lines longer than a fixed number of characters from being
highlighted by setting the variable `${ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_MAXLENGTH}` to the maximum
length (in characters) of command lines to be highlighter.  This is useful when
editing very long command lines (for example, with the [`fned`][fned] utility
function).  Example:

[fned]: https://zsh.sourceforge.io/Doc/Release/User-Contributions.html#index-zed

```zsh
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_MAXLENGTH=512
```


How to activate highlighters
----------------------------

To activate an highlighter, add it to the `ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_HIGHLIGHTERS` array in
`~/.zshrc`, for example:

```zsh
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_HIGHLIGHTERS=(main brackets pattern cursor)
```

By default, `$ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_HIGHLIGHTERS` is unset and only the `main`
highlighter is active.


How to tweak highlighters
-------------------------

Highlighters look up styles from the `ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_STYLES` associative array.
Navigate into the [individual highlighters' documentation](highlighters/) to
see what styles (keys) each highlighter defines; the syntax for values is the
same as the syntax of "types of highlighting" of the zsh builtin
`$zle_highlight` array, which is documented in [the `zshzle(1)` manual
page][zshzle-Character-Highlighting].

[zshzle-Character-Highlighting]: https://zsh.sourceforge.io/Doc/Release/Zsh-Line-Editor.html#Character-Highlighting

Some highlighters support additional configuration parameters; see each
highlighter's documentation for details and examples.


How to implement a new highlighter
----------------------------------

To create your own `acme` highlighter:

* Create your script at
    `highlighters/acme/acme-highlighter.zsh`.

* Implement the `_zsh_highlight_highlighter_acme_predicate` function.
  This function must return 0 when the highlighter needs to be called and
  non-zero otherwise, for example:

    ```zsh
    _zsh_highlight_highlighter_acme_predicate() {
      # Call this highlighter in SVN working copies
      [[ -d .svn ]]
    }
    ```

* Implement the `_zsh_highlight_highlighter_acme_paint` function.
  This function does the actual syntax highlighting, by calling
  `_zsh_highlight_add_highlight` with the start and end of the region to
  be highlighted and the `ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_STYLES` key to use. Define the default
  style for that key in the highlighter script outside of any function with
  `: ${ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_STYLES[key]:=value}`, being sure to prefix
  the key with your highlighter name and a colon. For example:

    ```zsh
    : ${ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_STYLES[acme:aurora]:=fg=green}

    _zsh_highlight_highlighter_acme_paint() {
      # Colorize the whole buffer with the 'aurora' style
      _zsh_highlight_add_highlight 0 $#BUFFER acme:aurora
    }
    ```

  If you need to test which options the user has set, test `zsyh_user_options`
  with a sensible default if the option is not present in supported zsh
  versions. For example:

    ```zsh
    [[ ${zsyh_user_options[ignoreclosebraces]:-off} == on ]]
    ```

  The option name must be all lowercase with no underscores and not an alias.

* Name your own functions and global variables `_zsh_highlight_acme_*`.

    - In zsh-syntax-highlighting 0.4.0 and earlier, the entrypoints 
        `_zsh_highlight_highlighter_acme_predicate` and
        `_zsh_highlight_highlighter_acme_paint`
        were named
        `_zsh_highlight_acme_highlighter_predicate` and
        `_zsh_highlight_highlighter_acme_paint` respectively.

        These names are still supported for backwards compatibility;
        however, support for them will be removed in a future major or minor release (v0.x.0 or v1.0.0).

* Activate your highlighter in `~/.zshrc`:

    ```zsh
    ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_HIGHLIGHTERS+=(acme)
    ```

* [Write tests](../tests/README.md).