Retro & nostalgia · 1970s – present
Terminal
Monospace green or amber text on black, scanline texture, blinking cursor — the aesthetic of command-line computing before the GUI.
Live preview base style — press Wear
$2,100
Revenue, up 12% from last month.
| Customer | Plan | Status | MRR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwind | Studio | Active | $1,240 |
| Acme Labs | Team | Trial | $0 |
| Kaldi Coffee | Studio | Active | $860 |
Use this style 16 tokens
- --bg
oklch(7% 0.02 145) - --fg
oklch(76% 0.26 145) - --muted
oklch(48% 0.16 145) - --surface
oklch(10% 0.025 145) - --surface-2
oklch(13% 0.03 145) - --border
oklch(30% 0.14 145) - --accent
oklch(76% 0.26 145) - --accent-fg
oklch(7% 0.02 145) - --focus
oklch(76% 0.26 145)
| Token | Value |
|---|---|
| --font-body | ui-monospace, 'SFMono-Regular', 'Fira Code', 'Courier New', monospace |
| --font-display | ui-monospace, 'SFMono-Regular', 'Courier New', monospace |
| --font-mono | ui-monospace, 'SFMono-Regular', 'Courier New', monospace |
| --radius | 0px |
| --radius-sm | 0px |
| --shadow | 0 0 8px oklch(76% 0.26 145 / 0.2) |
| --shadow-lg | 0 0 24px oklch(76% 0.26 145 / 0.3) |
:root {
--bg: oklch(7% 0.02 145);
--fg: oklch(76% 0.26 145);
--muted: oklch(48% 0.16 145);
--surface: oklch(10% 0.025 145);
--surface-2: oklch(13% 0.03 145);
--border: oklch(30% 0.14 145);
--accent: oklch(76% 0.26 145);
--accent-fg: oklch(7% 0.02 145);
--focus: oklch(76% 0.26 145);
--font-body: ui-monospace, 'SFMono-Regular', 'Fira Code', 'Courier New', monospace;
--font-display: ui-monospace, 'SFMono-Regular', 'Courier New', monospace;
--font-mono: ui-monospace, 'SFMono-Regular', 'Courier New', monospace;
--radius: 0px;
--radius-sm: 0px;
--shadow: 0 0 8px oklch(76% 0.26 145 / 0.2);
--shadow-lg: 0 0 24px oklch(76% 0.26 145 / 0.3);
}Where it came from
Origin: Unix terminals, MS-DOS, and VT100 CRT displays
Before graphical interfaces, all computing happened in text. The VT100 terminal, the IBM PC's monochrome display, and Unix workstations established a visual vocabulary of glowing phosphor text on black glass. That look never disappeared — developers still spend hours inside it — and it has become the shorthand for hacking, technical power, and uncompromising seriousness.
How to spot it
- Monospace font at fixed size
- Phosphor green or amber on near-black
- CRT scanline texture overlay
- Block cursor, prompt characters, minimal punctuation decoration
Trade-offs
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Maximum technical credibility | Niche — can feel inaccessible to non-technical audiences |
| High contrast makes key text extremely readable | Limited colour vocabulary restricts visual hierarchy |
| Unique and unmistakable visual voice | Novelty fades quickly without deep content |
In the wild
- Unix and Linux terminal emulators
- Hacker film computer-screen aesthetics
- Command-line developer tools and CLIs
Use it when
Developer tools, security products, or technical brands where the command-line aesthetic adds credibility.