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By default font-lock-variable-name-face is defined as follows:

'(font-lock-variable-name-face ((t (:foreground "black" :weight bold))))

Would it be possible to change its color for different modes such as for shell-mode:

I have tried the following, which did not have any effect:

(add-hook 'shell-mode-hook
          (lambda ()
            '(font-lock-variable-name-face ((t (:foreground "LightGoldenrod" :weight bold))))))

dracula-theme.el is located under ~/.emacs.d/themes: https://github.com/dracula/emacs/blob/master/dracula-theme.el

minimal.el:

(add-to-list 'custom-theme-load-path "~/.emacs.d/themes")
(load-theme 'dracula t)

(defun my-shell-mode-faces ()
  (face-remap-add-relative 'font-lock-variable-name-face '(:foreground "LightGoldenrod" :weight bold)))

(add-hook 'shell-mode-hook 'my-shell-mode-faces)
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  • Can you give us an example of a shell command that produces output in a shell-mode buffer with the font-lock-variable-name-face? I tried a few things like make, ls, grep, and vi of a few different files -- but none of those produce output with the font-lock-variable-name-face.
    – lawlist
    Aug 2, 2021 at 15:06
  • Ah I was just opening a file ending with sh like: test.sh . Its just a Shell-script file. Example file can contain something like: #!/bin/bash RED="\033[1;31m" where REDshould be in LightGoldenrod color
    – alper
    Aug 2, 2021 at 15:42
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    STEP #1: Create a file called test.sh, with the first line being #!/bin/bash RED="\033[1;31m" STEP #2: Open the file test.sh and place the cursor on the word RED in the first line and type C-u C-x = and a *Help* buffer pops up telling us that this is font-lock-comment-face. STEP #3: From the buffer containing the test.sh file, type C-h m, which is also known as M-x describe-mode -- this opens a *Help* buffer that tells us this is shell-script mode defined in sh-script.el -- follow the link for sh-script.el in the *Help* buffer ....
    – lawlist
    Aug 2, 2021 at 16:08
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    [... continued from previous comment] and we are transported to the definition for sh-mode. Based thereon, we conclude that the major-mode hook we are interested in is sh-mode-hook. CONCLUSION: From steps 1 to 3 above, we learned that the face is font-lock-comment-face and the major-mode hook is sh-mode-hook. Therefore, adjust the example in the answer below accordingly to suit your own needs using the relevant face and the relevant hook.
    – lawlist
    Aug 2, 2021 at 16:10

1 Answer 1

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My previous answer in this forum to a similar thread did not include an example using a major-mode hook How to modify-face for a specific buffer? , so I chose to write up this new answer.

The function face-remap-add-relative sets the variable face-remapping-alist (responsible for buffer-local faces), which the manual recommends be set using the aforementioned function:

https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/elisp/Face-Remapping.html

(defun my-shell-mode-faces ()
  (face-remap-add-relative 'font-lock-variable-name-face '(:foreground "LightGoldenrod" :weight bold)))

(add-hook 'shell-mode-hook 'my-shell-mode-faces)
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3
  • I have tried it but it did not make any color change in the shell-mode :-( Could something overwrite into it? I was loading another theme before (load-theme 'dracula t), seems like it prevents it ?
    – alper
    Aug 1, 2021 at 13:13
  • Before posting the answer, I tested it (Emacs 27, in a shell-mode buffer) with the default face to verify that it worked. If you can come up with a minimal working example that produces the particular face at issue within a shell-mode buffer, either myself or another forum participant might be able to see what the problem might be.
    – lawlist
    Aug 1, 2021 at 15:19
  • Thanks, I was not able to figure out the problem :-( I have updated my question with the minimal.el. Basically I am loading dracula-theme.el right before applying your answer. Please note that I am using emacs 26.3 but not sure its version will cause it
    – alper
    Aug 2, 2021 at 13:17

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