Color API Design: the `red` `yellow` API name seems confusing

[linrongbin16]

Did you check the docs and existing issues?

• [X] I am using latest nougat.nvim
• [X] I have read all the nougat.nvim docs
• [X] I have searched the existing issues of nougat.nvim

Problem

This is not a bug, much more relate to system design.

But I think it's worth to discuss, when people use (for example) color.yellow config/API, I believe this API is going to try to retrieve color from a syntax highlighting group (for example 'Visual'), if failed it's going to use yellow color as fallback.

But people will not know what highlighting it's going to use.

We could either document it explicitly, or change the API to color.yellow('Visual') to be more explicit, and even people can customize the highlighting group name by themselves.

Solution

Already in Problem section.

Alternatives

No response

Additional Context

No response

[linrongbin16]

BTW, colors must be one of the most important component to statusline plugin. People have all kinds of requirements to customize what they want.

I suggest provide colors as API library.

We could even provide an API, say render(text:string, fg_color:string?, fg_hl:string?, bg_color:string?, bg_hl:string?) to allow people render a text with either/both fg and bg color, or retrieve color codes from vim's syntax highlighting group.

Then people could render text in their own content function.

[MunifTanjim]

when people use (for example) color.yellow config/API, I believe this API is going to try to retrieve color from a syntax highlighting group (for example 'Visual')

It's actually the vim.g.terminal_color_11 variable: https://github.com/MunifTanjim/nougat.nvim/blob/700708b73c037e7800cbb27209247fdd1b6a122f/lua/nougat/color.lua#L216

There are actually multiple fallback mechanism.

• First of all, it looks for nougat.color.<colorscheme> module: https://github.com/MunifTanjim/nougat.nvim/blob/700708b73c037e7800cbb27209247fdd1b6a122f/lua/nougat/color.lua#L209
• If it doesn't exist, or if the returned value from require("nougat.color.<colorscheme>").get() is missing a color, it looks for the vim.g.terminal_color_* variable: https://github.com/MunifTanjim/nougat.nvim/blob/700708b73c037e7800cbb27209247fdd1b6a122f/lua/nougat/color.lua#L214
• And if even that's missing, it fallbacks to the hardcoded color.

---

change the API to color.yellow('Visual') to be more explicit

That's not actually explicit tho. Visual can be yellow in a colorscheme and can be a completely different color in another colorscheme.

even people can customize the highlighting group name by themselves.

They already can. Create a nougat/color/<colorscheme>.lua file in your config and put in the exact value you want for that theme. nougat.nvim only suggests a few names: https://github.com/MunifTanjim/nougat.nvim/blob/700708b73c037e7800cbb27209247fdd1b6a122f/lua/nougat/color/README.md?plain=1#L25-L54 , but you can add additional colors too. For example: https://github.com/MunifTanjim/dotfiles/blob/a9cee0576ce0a853affc133a7812951ef3387493/private_dot_config/nvim/lua/nougat/color/gruvbox.lua. Here orange is an extra color provided by my gruvbox theme for nougat.nvim.

---

If you use multiple colorschemes (e.g. gruvbox, tokyonight etc.), you can define the theme for nougat.nvim either in your own config or in the colorscheme's repo (if they're willing to provide theme for nougat.nvim).

I'd suggest to try the system for a bit with multiple colorschemes and switch between them to see if everything works as expected.

[MunifTanjim]

BTW, colors must be one of the most important component to statusline plugin. People have all kinds of requirements to customize what they want.

Yes, absolutely.

I suggest provide colors as API library.

We could even provide an API, say render(text:string, fg_color:string?, fg_hl:string?, bg_color:string?, bg_hl:string?) to allow people render a text with either/both fg and bg color, or retrieve color codes from vim's syntax highlighting group.

We do have a similar API tho.

local get_hl_name = require("nougat.color").get_hl_name

--

local hl_def = { bg = bg_color, fg = fg_color }
local fallback_hl_def = item.hl or ctx.hl
local text = "TEXT"

return core.highlight(get_hl_name(hl_def, fallback_hl_def)) .. text

And if you want to extract color from a highlight group, that is possible too.

local get_hl_def = require("nougat.color").get_hl_def

--

local bg = get_hl_def("Visual").bg

[linrongbin16]

thanks!