Random iterm profile colors

[T]

Without using an applescript, is there a way upon iterm2 launching to just generate/use a random profile color scheme?

[George Nachman]

Do you want to change a profile or just assign random colors?

Changing profiles is a little more complex - probably you’d want to use the Python API - but if you just want random colors then you can do it by printing some control sequences and put that in your shell’s dotfile.

Here’s a sample script you can use:

#!/bin/bash

# Randomizes terminal colors for ANSI colors 0-15 plus foreground and background

# Function to generate a random hex color

random_color() {

    printf "rgb:%02x/%02x/%02x" $((RANDOM % 256)) $((RANDOM % 256)) $((RANDOM % 256))

}

# Set ANSI colors 0-15

for i in {0..15}; do

    color=$(random_color)

    printf "\033]4;%d;%s\007" "$i" "$color"

done

# Set default foreground (OSC 10)

fg_color=$(random_color)

printf "\033]10;%s\007" "$fg_color"

# Set default background (OSC 11)

bg_color=$(random_color)

printf "\033]11;%s\007" "$bg_color"

On Feb 17, 2026 at 3:59:54 PM, T <tthamm...@gmail.com> wrote:

Without using an applescript, is there a way upon iterm2 launching to just generate/use a random profile color scheme?

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[T]

Hi George,

Ideally, being able to launch a random profile directly would have been great, but your script is a solid workaround. Thank you for putting it together.

The only downside is that if it generates a really good color combination, it is a bit tricky to save it as a profile afterward. That said, having some randomness in the colors has definitely been brightening my day.

Appreciate the help on this.