Setting colors for ls in git bash on windows

Question

I have installed GitHub for Windows recently and am using the git bash prompt - the one thing that is bugging me right now is when I type LS all directories are listed in blue.

How do I change my git bash shell so that when I type LS the directories are listed in a different color to blue?

Crossover

Answer 1

This is not specifically a git issue but more the shell that you are using. On MINGW32 using Git 2.9+:

1. C:\Program Files\Git\etc\bash.bashrc

# Uncomment to use the terminal colours set in DIR_COLORS        
eval "$(dircolors -b /etc/DIR_COLORS)"

2. C:\Program Files\Git\etc\DIR_COLORS

DIR 01;37 # Attribute=bold; Text color=white

DIR_COLORS File:

# Below are the color init strings for the basic file types. A color init
# string consists of one or more of the following numeric codes:
# Attribute codes:
# 00=none 01=bold 04=underscore 05=blink 07=reverse 08=concealed
# Text color codes:
# 30=black 31=red 32=green 33=yellow 34=blue 35=magenta 36=cyan 37=white
# Background color codes:
# 40=black 41=red 42=green 43=yellow 44=blue 45=magenta 46=cyan 47=white
#NORMAL 00    # no color code at all
#FILE 00      # regular file: use no color at all 
RESET 0       # reset to "normal" color 
DIR 01;37     # directory 
LINK 01;36    # symbolic link.  (If you set this to 'target' instead of a
              # numerical value, the color is as for the file pointed to.)

Also see the following posts:

• http://linux-sxs.org/housekeeping/lscolors.html
• http://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/online/pages/man5/dir_colors.5.html
• http://linux.about.com/library/cmd/blcmdl1_dircolors.htm

For older version of Git, the bash_profile in Git_Installation\etc folder got the colors to change:

LS_COLORS='di=1:fi=0:ln=31:pi=5:so=5:bd=5:cd=5:or=31:mi=0:ex=35:*.rpm=90'
export LS_COLORS
alias ls='ls -F --color --show-control-chars'

Crossover

Answer 2

Check if you have the file: %USERPROFILE%\.minttyrc
In that file you can configure the RGB values for console colors.
I use the following to have colors easy to read in a dark background:

BoldBlack=128,128,128
Red=255,64,40
BoldRed=255,128,64
Green=64,200,64
BoldGreen=64,255,64
Yellow=190,190,0
BoldYellow=255,255,64
Blue=0,128,255
BoldBlue=128,160,255
Magenta=200,64,255
BoldMagenta=255,128,255
Cyan=64,190,190
BoldCyan=128,255,255
White=200,200,200
BoldWhite=255,255,255

Berlauda

Thanks man, I was confused between xterm and mintty. Also, to add, there is a tool to make this scheme: ciembor.github.io/4bit/# – Reprography

This is not what the OP asked but it did help me – Subjoin

Answer 3

I was able to modify DIR_COLORS under /c/Program\ Files/Git/etc just by adding ;47 to line 49:

was

DIR 01;34

and now is

DIR 01;34;47

So now the directories are listed with a white background and much easier to read.

Monique

Answer 4

I've never tried to use GIT on Windows ... but you should be able to adjust text colors with "git-config":

• http://git-scm.com/book/en/Customizing-Git-Git-Configuration

There is also a (hidden?) .gitconfig file you should be able to edit directly:

• http://mohundro.com/blog/2010/02/04/some-tips-on-using-git-with-windows/

Finally, this link has some good tips:

• In Git Bash on Windows 7, Colors display as code when running Cucumber or rspec

Haul