# Changing the cursor colour in Insert mode **URL:** \ **Category:** Recipes & Guides\ **Tags:** face\ **Created:** [March 23, 2019, 1:30am UTC](https://discuss.kakoune.com/t/changing-the-cursor-colour-in-insert-mode/394 "2019-03-23T01:30:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Screwtapello](https://discuss.kakoune.com/user_avatar/discuss.kakoune.com/screwtapello/32/12_2.png) [@Screwtapello](https://discuss.kakoune.com/u/Screwtapello)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2019, 1:30am UTC](https://discuss.kakoune.com/t/changing-the-cursor-colour-in-insert-mode/394/1 "2019-03-23T01:30:11Z")
Inspired by [a recent GitHub issue](https://github.com/mawww/kakoune/issues/2798), I figured I’d try changing the cursor colour scheme between insert and normal mode. It was trickier than I expected, because I prefer to stick to the basic 16 terminal colours. It’s difficult to come up with a set of faces that distinguishes primary vs. secondary and cursor vs. selection in a logical way with only the basic 16 colours, and adding the normal vs. insert distinction on top makes it even harder. Here’s what I came up with: ``` set-face global PrimarySelection white,blue+F set-face global SecondarySelection black,blue+F set-face global PrimaryCursor black,bright-cyan+F set-face global SecondaryCursor black,bright-blue+F set-face global PrimaryCursorEol black,bright-cyan set-face global SecondaryCursorEol black,bright-blue hook global ModeChange .*:insert %{ set-face window PrimarySelection white,green+F set-face window SecondarySelection black,green+F set-face window PrimaryCursor black,bright-yellow+F set-face window SecondaryCursor black,bright-green+F set-face window PrimaryCursorEol black,bright-yellow set-face window SecondaryCursorEol black,bright-green } hook global ModeChange insert:.* %{ unset-face window PrimarySelection unset-face window SecondarySelection unset-face window PrimaryCursor unset-face window SecondaryCursor unset-face window PrimaryCursorEol unset-face window SecondaryCursorEol } ``` Basically: - White text on colour for primary selections, black text on colour for secondary - Black text on very bright colour for primary cursors, black text on slightly brighter colour for secondary cursors - Normal mode uses blue, bright-blue, and bright-cyan as its dark, bright and very-bright colours, while insert mode uses green, bright-green, and bright-yellow - No special colors for the Eol cursor variants, because I have a `show-whitespace` highlighter to make them visible instead. It’s awkward that this scheme needs three shades of colour; if it were two, the standard 16-colour palette has plenty, and if it were four, I could maybe use a pair of two-shade cool colours and a pair of two-shade warm colours. Ah, well. I’ll use this scheme for a bit and see how I feel about it. ---
**Author:** ![alexherbo2](https://discuss.kakoune.com/user_avatar/discuss.kakoune.com/alexherbo2/32/1140_2.png) [@alexherbo2](https://discuss.kakoune.com/u/alexherbo2)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 1:13pm UTC](https://discuss.kakoune.com/t/changing-the-cursor-colour-in-insert-mode/394/2 "2019-03-25T13:13:04Z")
Can you show us a GIF or [asciicast](https://asciinema.org)? ---
**Author:** ![Screwtapello](https://discuss.kakoune.com/user_avatar/discuss.kakoune.com/screwtapello/32/12_2.png) [@Screwtapello](https://discuss.kakoune.com/u/Screwtapello)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2019, 11:45am UTC](https://discuss.kakoune.com/t/changing-the-cursor-colour-in-insert-mode/394/3 "2019-03-26T11:45:12Z")
Hilariously, the asciicast website doesn’t seem to support the `bright-blue` or `bright-green` colours that I use for secondary cursors (it works when played back in the terminal), but you can still get the general idea: [https://asciinema.org/a/1zeMpIvVEvvRF46tqQqZWNkO8](https://asciinema.org/a/1zeMpIvVEvvRF46tqQqZWNkO8) ---
**Author:** ![Screwtapello](https://discuss.kakoune.com/user_avatar/discuss.kakoune.com/screwtapello/32/12_2.png) [@Screwtapello](https://discuss.kakoune.com/u/Screwtapello)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 7:36am UTC](https://discuss.kakoune.com/t/changing-the-cursor-colour-in-insert-mode/394/4 "2021-06-22T07:36:55Z")
Since I made this post years ago, Kakoune has changed the syntax of the `ModeChange` hook parameter, and the example I gave above no longer works. Here’s a fixed version: ```auto # Shades of blue/cyan for normal mode set-face global PrimarySelection white,blue+F set-face global SecondarySelection black,blue+F set-face global PrimaryCursor black,bright-cyan+F set-face global SecondaryCursor black,bright-blue+F set-face global PrimaryCursorEol black,bright-cyan set-face global SecondaryCursorEol black,bright-blue # Shades of green/yellow for insert mode. hook global ModeChange (push|pop):.*:insert %{ set-face window PrimarySelection white,green+F set-face window SecondarySelection black,green+F set-face window PrimaryCursor black,bright-yellow+F set-face window SecondaryCursor black,bright-green+F set-face window PrimaryCursorEol black,bright-yellow set-face window SecondaryCursorEol black,bright-green } # Undo colour changes when we leave insert mode. hook global ModeChange (push|pop):insert:.* %{ unset-face window PrimarySelection unset-face window SecondarySelection unset-face window PrimaryCursor unset-face window SecondaryCursor unset-face window PrimaryCursorEol unset-face window SecondaryCursorEol } ``` ---
**Author:** ![paaloeye](https://discuss.kakoune.com/user_avatar/discuss.kakoune.com/paaloeye/32/1646_2.png) [@paaloeye](https://discuss.kakoune.com/u/paaloeye)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 5:23pm UTC](https://discuss.kakoune.com/t/changing-the-cursor-colour-in-insert-mode/394/5 "2026-05-21T17:23:29Z")
Curly underline is even better! ![Scherm­afbeelding 2026-05-21 om 19.21.00](https://discuss.kakoune.com/uploads/default/original/2X/3/3f2bb5c75be1668191b80c4d9320ba9987495ea9.png)