Skins & Themes

Skins control the visual presentation of the Mibyan CLI: banner colors, spinner faces and verbs, response-box labels, branding text, and the tool activity prefix. Conversational style and visual style are separate concepts:

Personality changes the agent’s tone and wording.
Skin changes the CLI’s appearance.

Change skins

/skin                # show the current skin and list available skins
/skin ares           # switch to a built-in skin
/skin mytheme        # switch to a custom skin from ~/.mibyan/skins/mytheme.yaml

Or set the default skin in ~/.mibyan/config.yaml:

display:
  skin: default

Built-in skins

Skin	Description	Agent branding	Visual character
`default`	Classic Mibyan — gold and kawaii	`Mibyan`	Warm gold borders, cornsilk text, kawaii faces in spinners. The familiar caduceus banner. Clean and inviting.
`ares`	War-god theme — crimson and bronze	`Ares Agent`	Deep crimson borders with bronze accents. Aggressive spinner verbs (“forging”, “marching”, “tempering steel”). Custom sword-and-shield ASCII art banner.
`mono`	Monochrome — clean grayscale	`Mibyan`	All grays — no color. Borders are `#555555`, text is `#c9d1d9`. Ideal for minimal terminal setups or screen recordings.
`slate`	Cool blue — developer-focused	`Mibyan`	Royal blue borders (`#4169e1`), soft blue text. Calm and professional. No custom spinner — uses default faces.
`daylight`	Light theme for bright terminals with dark text and cool blue accents	`Mibyan`	Designed for white or bright terminals. Dark slate text with blue borders, pale status surfaces, and a light completion menu that stays readable in light terminal profiles.
`warm-lightmode`	Warm brown/gold text for light terminal backgrounds	`Mibyan`	Warm parchment tones for light terminals. Dark brown text with saddle-brown accents, cream-colored status surfaces. An earthy alternative to the cooler daylight theme.
`poseidon`	Ocean-god theme — deep blue and seafoam	`Poseidon Agent`	Deep blue to seafoam gradient. Ocean-themed spinners (“charting currents”, “sounding the depth”). Trident ASCII art banner.
`sisyphus`	Sisyphean theme — austere grayscale with persistence	`Sisyphus Agent`	Light grays with stark contrast. Boulder-themed spinners (“pushing uphill”, “resetting the boulder”, “enduring the loop”). Boulder-and-hill ASCII art banner.
`charizard`	Volcanic theme — burnt orange and ember	`Charizard Agent`	Warm burnt orange to ember gradient. Fire-themed spinners (“banking into the draft”, “measuring burn”). Dragon-silhouette ASCII art banner.

Complete list of configurable keys

Colors (`colors:`)

Controls all color values throughout the CLI. Values are hex color strings.

Key	Description	Default (`default` skin)
`banner_border`	Panel border around the startup banner	`#CD7F32` (bronze)
`banner_title`	Title text color in the banner	`#FFD700` (gold)
`banner_accent`	Section headers in the banner (Available Tools, etc.)	`#FFBF00` (amber)
`banner_dim`	Muted text in the banner (separators, secondary labels)	`#B8860B` (dark goldenrod)
`banner_text`	Body text in the banner (tool names, skill names)	`#FFF8DC` (cornsilk)
`ui_accent`	General UI accent color (highlights, active elements)	`#FFBF00`
`ui_label`	UI labels and tags	`#DAA520` (goldenrod)
`ui_ok`	Success indicators (checkmarks, completion)	`#4caf50` (green)
`ui_error`	Error indicators (failures, blocked)	`#ef5350` (red)
`ui_warn`	Warning indicators (caution, approval prompts)	`#ffa726` (orange)
`prompt`	Interactive prompt text color	`#FFF8DC`
`input_rule`	Horizontal rule above the input area	`#CD7F32`
`response_border`	Border around the agent’s response box (ANSI escape)	`#FFD700`
`session_label`	Session label color	`#DAA520`
`session_border`	Session ID dim border color	`#8B8682`
`status_bar_bg`	Background color for the TUI status / usage bar	`#1a1a2e`
`voice_status_bg`	Background color for the voice-mode status badge	`#1a1a2e`
`selection_bg`	Background color for the TUI mouse-selection highlighter. Falls back to `completion_menu_current_bg` when unset.	`#3a3a55`
`completion_menu_bg`	Background color for the completion menu list	`#1a1a2e`
`completion_menu_current_bg`	Background color for the active completion row	`#333355`
`completion_menu_meta_bg`	Background color for the completion meta column	`#1a1a2e`
`completion_menu_meta_current_bg`	Background color for the active completion meta column	`#333355`

Spinner (`spinner:`)

Controls the animated spinner shown while waiting for API responses.

Key	Type	Description	Example
`waiting_faces`	list of strings	Faces cycled while waiting for API response	`["(⚔)", "(⛨)", "(▲)"]`
`thinking_faces`	list of strings	Faces cycled during model reasoning	`["(⚔)", "(⌁)", "(<>)"]`
`thinking_verbs`	list of strings	Verbs shown in spinner messages	`["forging", "plotting", "hammering plans"]`
`wings`	list of [left, right] pairs	Decorative brackets around the spinner	`[["⟪⚔", "⚔⟫"], ["⟪▲", "▲⟫"]]`

When spinner values are empty (like in default and mono), hardcoded defaults from display.py are used.

Branding (`branding:`)

Text strings used throughout the CLI interface.

Key	Description	Default
`agent_name`	Name shown in banner title and status display	`Mibyan`
`welcome`	Welcome message shown at CLI startup	`Welcome to Mibyan! Type your message or /help for commands.`
`goodbye`	Message shown on exit	`Goodbye! ☤`
`response_label`	Label on the response box header	`☤ Mibyan`
`prompt_symbol`	Symbol before the user input prompt (bare token, renderers add a trailing space)	`❯`
`help_header`	Header text for the `/help` command output	`(^_^)? Available Commands`

Other top-level keys

Key	Type	Description	Default
`tool_prefix`	string	Character prefixed to tool output lines in the CLI	`┊`
`tool_emojis`	dict	Per-tool emoji overrides for spinners and progress (`{tool_name: emoji}`)	`{}`
`banner_logo`	string	Rich-markup ASCII art logo (replaces the default mibyan_AGENT banner)	`""`
`banner_hero`	string	Rich-markup hero art (replaces the default caduceus art)	`""`
`customCSS`	string	Raw CSS injected into the desktop app and web dashboard while the skin is active (GUI surfaces only; ignored by the CLI/TUI). Capped at 32 KiB.	`""`

Custom skins

Create YAML files under ~/.mibyan/skins/. User skins inherit missing values from the built-in default skin, so you only need to specify the keys you want to change.

Full custom skin YAML template

# ~/.mibyan/skins/mytheme.yaml
# Complete skin template — all keys shown. Delete any you don't need;
# missing values automatically inherit from the 'default' skin.

name: mytheme
description: My custom theme

colors:
  banner_border: "#CD7F32"
  banner_title: "#FFD700"
  banner_accent: "#FFBF00"
  banner_dim: "#B8860B"
  banner_text: "#FFF8DC"
  ui_accent: "#FFBF00"
  ui_label: "#4dd0e1"
  ui_ok: "#4caf50"
  ui_error: "#ef5350"
  ui_warn: "#ffa726"
  prompt: "#FFF8DC"
  input_rule: "#CD7F32"
  response_border: "#FFD700"
  session_label: "#DAA520"
  session_border: "#8B8682"
  status_bar_bg: "#1a1a2e"
  voice_status_bg: "#1a1a2e"
  selection_bg: "#333355"
  completion_menu_bg: "#1a1a2e"
  completion_menu_current_bg: "#333355"
  completion_menu_meta_bg: "#1a1a2e"
  completion_menu_meta_current_bg: "#333355"

spinner:
  waiting_faces:
    - "(⚔)"
    - "(⛨)"
    - "(▲)"
  thinking_faces:
    - "(⚔)"
    - "(⌁)"
    - "(<>)"
  thinking_verbs:
    - "processing"
    - "analyzing"
    - "computing"
    - "evaluating"
  wings:
    - ["⟪⚡", "⚡⟫"]
    - ["⟪●", "●⟫"]

branding:
  agent_name: "My Agent"
  welcome: "Welcome to My Agent! Type your message or /help for commands."
  goodbye: "See you later! ⚡"
  response_label: " ⚡ My Agent "
  prompt_symbol: "⚡"
  help_header: "(⚡) Available Commands"

tool_prefix: "┊"

# Per-tool emoji overrides (optional)
tool_emojis:
  terminal: "⚔"
  web_search: "🔮"
  read_file: "📄"

# Custom ASCII art banners (optional, Rich markup supported)
# banner_logo: |
#   [bold #FFD700] MY AGENT [/]
# banner_hero: |
#   [#FFD700]  Custom art here  [/]

Minimal custom skin example

Since everything inherits from default, a minimal skin only needs to change what’s different:

name: cyberpunk
description: Neon terminal theme

colors:
  banner_border: "#FF00FF"
  banner_title: "#00FFFF"
  banner_accent: "#FF1493"

spinner:
  thinking_verbs: ["jacking in", "decrypting", "uploading"]
  wings:
    - ["⟨⚡", "⚡⟩"]

branding:
  agent_name: "Cyber Agent"
  response_label: " ⚡ Cyber "

tool_prefix: "▏"

Raw `customCSS`

For selector-level styling that colors can’t express — font sizes, spacing, pseudo-elements, animations — drop raw CSS into customCSS. The desktop app and web dashboard inject it as a <style> tag while the skin is active and remove it when you switch to a skin without it.

name: myskin

colors:
  background: "#1a1030"
  ui_accent: "#ff5fd2"

customCSS: |
  .chat-input { font-size: 16px; }
  .status-bar { background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5); }

The field is capped at 32 KiB and applies to GUI surfaces only — the CLI and TUI ignore it. Because it lives in your skin YAML under ~/.mibyan/skins/, it survives app updates (no more hacking app.asar).

Mibyan Mod — Visual Skin Editor

Mibyan Mod is a community-built web UI for creating and managing skins visually. Instead of writing YAML by hand, you get a point-and-click editor with live preview. What it does:

Lists all built-in and custom skins
Opens any skin into a visual editor with all Mibyan skin fields (colors, spinner, branding, tool prefix, tool emojis)
Generates banner_logo text art from a text prompt
Converts uploaded images (PNG, JPG, GIF, WEBP) into banner_hero ASCII art with multiple render styles (braille, ASCII ramp, blocks, dots)
Saves directly to ~/.mibyan/skins/
Activates a skin by updating ~/.mibyan/config.yaml
Shows the generated YAML and a live preview

Install

Option 1 — Pinokio (1-click): Find it on pinokio.computer and install with one click. Option 2 — npx (quickest from terminal):

npx -y mibyan-mod

Option 3 — Manual:

git clone https://github.com/cocktailpeanut/hermes-mod.git
cd mibyan-mod/app
npm install
npm start

Usage

Start the app (via Pinokio or terminal).
Open Skin Studio.
Choose a built-in or custom skin to edit.
Generate a logo from text and/or upload an image for hero art. Pick a render style and width.
Edit colors, spinner, branding, and other fields.
Click Save to write the skin YAML to ~/.mibyan/skins/.
Click Activate to set it as the current skin (updates display.skin in config.yaml).

Mibyan Mod respects the mibyan_HOME environment variable, so it works with profiles too.

Operational notes

Built-in skins load from mibyan_cli/skin_engine.py.
Unknown skins automatically fall back to default.
/skin updates the active CLI theme immediately for the current session.
User skins in ~/.mibyan/skins/ take precedence over built-in skins with the same name.
Skin changes via /skin are session-only. To make a skin your permanent default, set it in config.yaml.
The banner_logo and banner_hero fields support Rich console markup (e.g., [bold #FF0000]text[/]) for colored ASCII art.

تطبيق ديسكتوب

البداية

استخدام مبيان

الميزات

منصات المراسلة

التكاملات

الأدلة والدروس

دليل المطوّر

المرجع

Change skins

Built-in skins

Complete list of configurable keys

Colors (`colors:`)

Spinner (`spinner:`)

Branding (`branding:`)

Other top-level keys

Custom skins

Full custom skin YAML template

Minimal custom skin example

Raw `customCSS`

Mibyan Mod — Visual Skin Editor

Install

Usage

Operational notes

​Change skins

​Built-in skins

​Complete list of configurable keys

​Colors (colors:)

​Spinner (spinner:)

​Branding (branding:)

​Other top-level keys

​Custom skins

​Full custom skin YAML template

​Minimal custom skin example

​Raw customCSS

​Mibyan Mod — Visual Skin Editor

​Install

​Usage

​Operational notes

Change skins

Built-in skins

Complete list of configurable keys

Colors (`colors:`)

Spinner (`spinner:`)

Branding (`branding:`)

Other top-level keys

Custom skins

Full custom skin YAML template

Minimal custom skin example

Raw `customCSS`

Mibyan Mod — Visual Skin Editor

Install

Usage

Operational notes