diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/components/ColorsDisplay.test.tsx b/packages/cli/src/ui/components/ColorsDisplay.test.tsx
index 1cb9515896..9872f3ff2d 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ui/components/ColorsDisplay.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/components/ColorsDisplay.test.tsx
@@ -69,6 +69,9 @@ describe('ColorsDisplay', () => {
// Check for title and description
expect(output).toContain('/colors - Theme Colors Demo');
expect(output).toContain('visualize how colors are used');
+ expect(output).toContain('How themes and terminals interact');
+ expect(output).toContain('TrueColor (Hex)');
+ expect(output).toContain('ANSI Names');
// Check for active theme name
expect(output).toContain('Test Theme');
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/components/ColorsDisplay.tsx b/packages/cli/src/ui/components/ColorsDisplay.tsx
index 4c5fb2c307..d0845f7e2f 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ui/components/ColorsDisplay.tsx
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/components/ColorsDisplay.tsx
@@ -143,15 +143,31 @@ export const ColorsDisplay: React.FC = () => {
- Note on overrides:
- {' '}
- Hex values (TrueColor) are rendered exactly as shown and are
- generally not affected by your Terminal
- app's theme. Color names (like 'red',
- 'green', 'gray') used in the ANSI theme{' '}
- are overridden by your Terminal app's
- palette.
+ How themes and terminals interact:
+
+
+
+ • TrueColor (Hex): Modern terminals (iTerm2,
+ Ghostty, VSCode) render hex codes exactly. They are{' '}
+ not overridden by terminal app themes.
+
+
+ • ANSI Names: Colors like 'red' or
+ 'green' (used in our ANSI theme) are{' '}
+ mapped to your terminal app's specific palette.
+
+
+ • Default colors: When Name or Value is
+ '(blank)', the app uses your terminal's default
+ foreground/background.
+
+
+ • Compatibility: In terminals with limited color
+ (like older Mac Terminals), hex colors are automatically
+ approximated to the closest available ANSI color.
+
+
@@ -250,7 +266,7 @@ function renderBackgroundRow({ name, value }: BackgroundColorRow) {
const description = COLOR_DESCRIPTIONS[name] || '';
return (
-
+