Colored Boxes in LaTeX: tcolorbox Complete Guide
Date Published
Colored Boxes with tcolorbox
The tcolorbox package creates beautiful, customizable boxes for callouts, theorems, and highlights.
Getting Started
\usepackage{tcolorbox}
For more features:
\tcbuselibrary{skins, breakable, theorems}
Basic Box
\begin{tcolorbox} This is a basic colored box. \end{tcolorbox}
Box with Title
\begin{tcolorbox}[title=My Title] Content goes here. \end{tcolorbox}
Colors
Background Color
\begin{tcolorbox}[colback=blue!10] Light blue background. \end{tcolorbox}
Frame Color
\begin{tcolorbox}[colframe=red] Red frame. \end{tcolorbox}
Title Colors
\begin{tcolorbox}[ title=Title, colbacktitle=green!50, coltitle=black ] Content. \end{tcolorbox}
Shadows
Drop Shadow
\begin{tcolorbox}[enhanced, drop shadow] Box with shadow. \end{tcolorbox}
Shadow Options
\begin{tcolorbox}[ enhanced, drop shadow={opacity=0.5, shadow xshift=2mm, shadow yshift=-2mm} ] Customized shadow. \end{tcolorbox}
Fuzzy Shadow
\begin{tcolorbox}[enhanced, fuzzy shadow] Soft blurred shadow. \end{tcolorbox}
Box Styles
Rounded Corners
\begin{tcolorbox}[arc=4mm] Rounded corners. \end{tcolorbox}
Sharp Corners
\begin{tcolorbox}[sharp corners] Sharp corners. \end{tcolorbox}
No Frame
\begin{tcolorbox}[frame hidden] No visible frame. \end{tcolorbox}
Theorem-like Boxes
Create numbered theorems:
\newtcbtheorem{theorem}{Theorem}{colback=blue!5, colframe=blue!50}{th}
\begin{theorem}{Pythagorean}{pyth} In a right triangle, $a^2 + b^2 = c^2$. \end{theorem}
Breakable Boxes
For boxes that span pages:
\begin{tcolorbox}[breakable] Long content that may span multiple pages. \end{tcolorbox}
Predefined Styles
Warning Box
\begin{tcolorbox}[ colback=yellow!10, colframe=orange, title=Warning ] Warning message. \end{tcolorbox}
Info Box
\begin{tcolorbox}[ colback=blue!5, colframe=blue!50, title=Note ] Informational note. \end{tcolorbox}
Success Box
\begin{tcolorbox}[ colback=green!5, colframe=green!50, title=Success ] Success message. \end{tcolorbox}
Error Box
\begin{tcolorbox}[ colback=red!5, colframe=red!50, title=Error ] Error message. \end{tcolorbox}
Custom Styles
Define reusable styles:
\tcbset{mystyle/.style={ colback=gray!10, colframe=gray!50, fonttitle=\bfseries, arc=2mm, enhanced, drop shadow }}
\begin{tcolorbox}[mystyle, title=Custom] Using the custom style. \end{tcolorbox}
Sidebars and Margins
Left Bar
\begin{tcolorbox}[ blanker, borderline west={3pt}{0pt}{blue} ] Box with left border only. \end{tcolorbox}
Inline Boxes
\tcbox{inline box} — small inline colored box
Create Boxes with Octree
Octree simplifies tcolorbox:
- Visual box builder - Preview styles instantly - AI suggests color schemes - Export polished documents
Try it at https://useoctree.com