[GH-ISSUE #1042] Form Input and Checkbox Colors Not Changing in tview Form #755

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opened 2026-03-04 01:07:30 +03:00 by kerem · 2 comments

kerem commented

2026-03-04 01:07:30 +03:00

Owner

Originally created by @0xJWLabs on GitHub (Oct 20, 2024).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/rivo/tview/issues/1042

Description

In my application using tview, I've created a login form with input fields for email, password, an optional code, and a checkbox. I am trying to set the background and text colors for these elements, but they don't seem to change, even though the code is correctly detecting the form items.

Extra Note: If I use lf.SetFieldBackgroundColor(...) and lf.SetFieldTextColor(...) it works, but it changes everything.

Code Snippet

Here's a snippet of the relevant part of the code:

func newLoginForm(done doneFn, cfg *config.Config) *loginForm {
	if done == nil {
		done = func(_ string, _ error) {}
	}

	lf := &loginForm{
		Form: tview.NewForm(),
		done: done,
	}

	lf.AddInputField("Email", "", 0, nil, nil)
	lf.AddPasswordField("Password", "", 0, 0, nil)
	lf.AddPasswordField("Code (optional)", "", 0, 0, nil)
	lf.AddCheckbox("Remember Me", false, nil)
	lf.AddButton("Login", lf.login)

	lf.SetButtonBackgroundColor(tcell.ColorGreen)

	lf.SetTitle("Login")
	lf.SetTitleColor(tcell.GetColor(cfg.Theme.TitleColor))
	lf.SetTitleAlign(tview.AlignLeft)

	p := cfg.Theme.BorderPadding
	lf.SetBorder(cfg.Theme.Border)
	lf.SetBorderColor(tcell.GetColor(cfg.Theme.BorderColor))
	lf.SetBorderPadding(p[0], p[1], p[2], p[3])

	lf.updateColor()

	return lf
}

func (lf *loginForm) updateColor() {
	emailInput := lf.GetFormItem(0).(*tview.InputField)
	passwordInput := lf.GetFormItem(1).(*tview.InputField)
	codeInput := lf.GetFormItem(2).(*tview.InputField)
	checkbox := lf.GetFormItem(3).(*tview.Checkbox)

	// Log checks for the form items
	backgroundColor := tcell.ColorBlack
	textColor := tcell.ColorWhite
	checkboxColor := tcell.ColorRed

	// Check if form items exist before updating
	if emailInput != nil {
		slog.Info("Email Input: exist")
		emailInput.SetFieldBackgroundColor(backgroundColor)
		emailInput.SetFieldTextColor(textColor)
	}
	if passwordInput != nil {
		slog.Info("Password: exist")
		passwordInput.SetFieldBackgroundColor(backgroundColor)
		passwordInput.SetFieldTextColor(textColor)
	}
	if codeInput != nil {
		slog.Info("Code Input: exist")
		codeInput.SetFieldBackgroundColor(backgroundColor)
		codeInput.SetFieldTextColor(textColor)
	}
	if checkbox != nil {
		slog.Info("Checkbox: exist")
		checkbox.SetFieldBackgroundColor(backgroundColor)
		checkbox.SetFieldTextColor(checkboxColor)
	}
}

Expected Behavior

Input fields for Email, Password, and Code should change to a black background with white text.
Checkbox should change to a black background with red text.

Actual Behavior

The form items exist and are detected (verified via logs), but the colors remain unchanged.

Originally created by @0xJWLabs on GitHub (Oct 20, 2024). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/rivo/tview/issues/1042 ## Description In my application using tview, I've created a login form with input fields for email, password, an optional code, and a checkbox. I am trying to set the background and text colors for these elements, but they don't seem to change, even though the code is correctly detecting the form items. > Extra Note: If I use `lf.SetFieldBackgroundColor(...)` and `lf.SetFieldTextColor(...)` it works, but it changes everything. ## Code Snippet Here's a snippet of the relevant part of the code: ```go func newLoginForm(done doneFn, cfg *config.Config) *loginForm { if done == nil { done = func(_ string, _ error) {} } lf := &loginForm{ Form: tview.NewForm(), done: done, } lf.AddInputField("Email", "", 0, nil, nil) lf.AddPasswordField("Password", "", 0, 0, nil) lf.AddPasswordField("Code (optional)", "", 0, 0, nil) lf.AddCheckbox("Remember Me", false, nil) lf.AddButton("Login", lf.login) lf.SetButtonBackgroundColor(tcell.ColorGreen) lf.SetTitle("Login") lf.SetTitleColor(tcell.GetColor(cfg.Theme.TitleColor)) lf.SetTitleAlign(tview.AlignLeft) p := cfg.Theme.BorderPadding lf.SetBorder(cfg.Theme.Border) lf.SetBorderColor(tcell.GetColor(cfg.Theme.BorderColor)) lf.SetBorderPadding(p[0], p[1], p[2], p[3]) lf.updateColor() return lf } func (lf *loginForm) updateColor() { emailInput := lf.GetFormItem(0).(*tview.InputField) passwordInput := lf.GetFormItem(1).(*tview.InputField) codeInput := lf.GetFormItem(2).(*tview.InputField) checkbox := lf.GetFormItem(3).(*tview.Checkbox) // Log checks for the form items backgroundColor := tcell.ColorBlack textColor := tcell.ColorWhite checkboxColor := tcell.ColorRed // Check if form items exist before updating if emailInput != nil { slog.Info("Email Input: exist") emailInput.SetFieldBackgroundColor(backgroundColor) emailInput.SetFieldTextColor(textColor) } if passwordInput != nil { slog.Info("Password: exist") passwordInput.SetFieldBackgroundColor(backgroundColor) passwordInput.SetFieldTextColor(textColor) } if codeInput != nil { slog.Info("Code Input: exist") codeInput.SetFieldBackgroundColor(backgroundColor) codeInput.SetFieldTextColor(textColor) } if checkbox != nil { slog.Info("Checkbox: exist") checkbox.SetFieldBackgroundColor(backgroundColor) checkbox.SetFieldTextColor(checkboxColor) } } ``` ## Expected Behavior - Input fields for Email, Password, and Code should change to a black background with white text. Checkbox should change to a black background with red text. ## Actual Behavior - The form items exist and are detected (verified via logs), but the colors remain unchanged.

kerem commented

2026-03-04 01:07:31 +03:00

Author

Owner

@jsumners-nr commented on GitHub (Oct 23, 2024):

Have you tried using https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/rivo/tview#InputField.SetFieldStyle? It should look something like:

table.SetSelectedStyle(
	tcell.Style{}.
		Background(tcell.GetColor("#40ea37")).
		Foreground(tcell.ColorBlack),
)

@jsumners-nr commented on GitHub (Oct 23, 2024): Have you tried using https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/rivo/tview#InputField.SetFieldStyle? It should look something like: ``` table.SetSelectedStyle( tcell.Style{}. Background(tcell.GetColor("#40ea37")). Foreground(tcell.ColorBlack), ) ```

kerem commented

2026-03-04 01:07:32 +03:00

Author

Owner

@rivo commented on GitHub (Nov 2, 2024):

The documentation for AddFormItem() explains this:

Note, however, that the Form class will override some of its attributes to make it work in the form context. Specifically, these are:

The label width

The label color

The background color

The field text color

The field background color

You'll want to use Form.SetFieldBackgroundColor() and Form.SetFieldTextColor(), or, even better, the new Form.SetFieldStyle() function if you want to change the appearance of the form elements.

@rivo commented on GitHub (Nov 2, 2024): The documentation for [`AddFormItem()`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/rivo/tview#Form.AddFormItem) explains this: > Note, however, that the Form class will override some of its attributes to make it work in the form context. Specifically, these are: > > - The label width > - The label color > - The background color > - The field text color > - The field background color You'll want to use [`Form.SetFieldBackgroundColor()`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/rivo/tview#Form.SetFieldBackgroundColor) and [`Form.SetFieldTextColor()`](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/rivo/tview#Form.SetFieldTextColor), or, even better, the new `Form.SetFieldStyle()` function if you want to change the appearance of the form elements.