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Vim Colors Wrong in tmux

Workaround available Linux, macOS Updated October 21, 2026

Quick answer

tmux isn't passing true color through. Set tmux's default-terminal and Tc override, and add t_8f/t_8b lines before termguicolors in your vimrc.

Most likely fix: Configure tmux for true color.

Symptoms

Colorscheme looks fine in the terminal but washed out, wrong, or missing background inside tmux; or colors break only after set termguicolors.

Why it happens

  • tmux default-terminal is 'screen' (256 colors, no true color)
  • Missing terminal-overrides for true color (Tc/RGB)
  • Vim doesn't know the escape codes for 24-bit color under tmux's TERM
  • termguicolors set in a terminal that doesn't support true color

How to fix it

Try these in order — the most common fix is first.

  1. 1. Configure tmux for true color

    1. In ~/.tmux.conf add set -g default-terminal "tmux-256color"
    2. Add set -ga terminal-overrides ",xterm-256color:Tc"
    3. Kill all tmux sessions (tmux kill-server) and start again

  2. 2. Tell Vim the true-color escape codes

    1. Add let &t_8f = "\<Esc>[38;2;%lu;%lu;%lum" and let &t_8b = "\<Esc>[48;2;%lu;%lu;%lum" to ~/.vimrc (semicolons, not colons)
    2. Put set termguicolors before the colorscheme line

  3. 3. Test true color outside Vim

    1. Run a true-color test script in the terminal with and without tmux
    2. If it fails outside Vim too, remove set termguicolors and use a 256-color scheme

  4. 4. Rule out plugins

    1. Start Vim with a minimal vimrc containing only the colorscheme and termguicolors
    2. Add plugins back until colors break

This guide also covers

  • vim colors wrong tmux
  • vim termguicolors tmux
  • vim colorscheme not working in tmux

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