diff --git a/aesel/bin/easel b/aesel/bin/easel
index 8c531581fd..b286a64e6c 100755
--- a/aesel/bin/easel
+++ b/aesel/bin/easel
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ Usage: ac [directory] [--runtime mjs|lisp|processing]
        aesthetic doctor
        aesthetic login | logout | whoami
        aesthetic publish <file> [slug]
+       aesthetic colors <colour…>
 
 Open the aesel terminal interface in a workspace, or manage the
 shared Aesthetic Computer sign-in (~/.ac-token) and publish a piece under
@@ -136,7 +137,7 @@ case "${1:-}" in
         shift
         exec node "$PROJECT_DIR/src/history-cli.mjs" "$@"
         ;;
-    login|logout|whoami|publish)
+    login|logout|whoami|publish|colors)
         has_command node || fail "Node.js is required"
         exec node "$PROJECT_DIR/src/cli.mjs" "$@"
         ;;
diff --git a/aesel/src/cli.mjs b/aesel/src/cli.mjs
index 13940cee7a..63eaef510f 100644
--- a/aesel/src/cli.mjs
+++ b/aesel/src/cli.mjs
@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env node
-// cli.mjs — account and publish subcommands behind `aesthetic`.
+// cli.mjs — account, publish and handle-colour subcommands behind `aesthetic`.
 import "./env.mjs";
 import process from "node:process";
 import { ACSession } from "./ac-session.mjs";
 import { planPublish, publishPiece } from "./publish.mjs";
+import { handleColorPlan } from "./handle-colors.mjs";
+import { SITE } from "./ac-session.mjs";
 
 const [command = "", ...rest] = process.argv.slice(2);
 const session = new ACSession();
@@ -37,6 +39,26 @@ try {
       out(result.route);
       if (!result.verified) note("published, but the live file did not read back yet");
     }
+  } else if (command === "colors") {
+    // Your @handle's letters, painted: one colour repeats, several cycle.
+    // Names (orange, teal, …) or hex. The site keeps them; everything that
+    // draws your handle — the prompt, Aesel, Slab's rocks — reads them back.
+    const handle = session.handle;
+    if (!handle) fail("sign in first: ac login");
+    if (!rest.length) fail("usage: ac colors <colour…>   e.g. ac colors orange teal");
+    const colors = handleColorPlan(`@${handle}`, rest);
+    if (process.env.AESEL_DRY_RUN === "1") out(JSON.stringify(colors));
+    else {
+      const token = await session.token();
+      const response = await fetch(`${SITE}/api/handle-colors`, {
+        method: "POST",
+        headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json", Authorization: `Bearer ${token}` },
+        body: JSON.stringify({ handle, colors }),
+      });
+      const body = await response.json().catch(() => ({}));
+      if (!response.ok) fail(body.message || `the site answered ${response.status}`);
+      out(`@${handle} · ${rest.join(" ")}`);
+    }
   } else {
     fail(`unknown command: ${command || "(none)"}`);
   }
diff --git a/aesel/src/handle-colors.mjs b/aesel/src/handle-colors.mjs
index 79b0ef7e67..61cf05d9b7 100644
--- a/aesel/src/handle-colors.mjs
+++ b/aesel/src/handle-colors.mjs
@@ -2,3 +2,24 @@
 const colors=[[255,105,97],[255,170,80],[255,225,90],[150,225,90],[90,220,140],[90,215,210],[95,180,255],[150,150,255],[200,140,255],[255,140,210]];
 export function handleCharacterColors(handle,saved){return Array.from(handle).map((character,index)=>{const custom=saved?.[index];if(custom&&[custom.r,custom.g,custom.b].every(n=>Number.isFinite(n)&&n>=0&&n<=255))return[custom.r,custom.g,custom.b].map(Math.round);const ch=character.toLowerCase();return ch>='a'&&ch<='z'?colors[(ch.charCodeAt(0)-97)%10]:ch>='0'&&ch<='9'?colors[Number(ch)]:[220,180,255];});}
 export async function fetchHandleColors(handle,{fetch=globalThis.fetch}={}){const r=await fetch('https://aesthetic.computer/api/handle-colors?handle='+encodeURIComponent(handle.replace(/^@/,'')),{signal:AbortSignal.timeout(5000)});if(!r.ok)throw new Error('Handle colors unavailable');const data=await r.json();return handleCharacterColors(handle,data.colors);}
+
+// Colour words a person would type, as the site stores them.
+const NAMED = {
+  red: [230, 50, 50], orange: [255, 140, 0], yellow: [250, 210, 40], lime: [150, 220, 50],
+  green: [40, 180, 80], teal: [0, 160, 160], cyan: [40, 200, 230], blue: [50, 110, 230],
+  purple: [140, 80, 210], magenta: [220, 60, 200], pink: [255, 120, 180], white: [245, 245, 245],
+  gray: [150, 150, 150], grey: [150, 150, 150], black: [20, 20, 20], brown: [140, 90, 50], gold: [230, 180, 40],
+};
+function parseColor(word) {
+  const w = String(word).trim().toLowerCase();
+  if (NAMED[w]) return NAMED[w];
+  const hex = /^#?([0-9a-f]{3}|[0-9a-f]{6})$/.exec(w)?.[1];
+  if (!hex) throw new Error(`not a colour: ${word} (try a name like orange or a hex like #ff8800)`);
+  const full = hex.length === 3 ? [...hex].map((c) => c + c).join("") : hex;
+  return [0, 2, 4].map((i) => parseInt(full.slice(i, i + 2), 16));
+}
+// One colour per character of `@handle`, cycling through the words given.
+export function handleColorPlan(handle, words) {
+  const palette = words.map(parseColor);
+  return Array.from(handle).map((_, i) => { const [r, g, b] = palette[i % palette.length]; return { r, g, b }; });
+}
diff --git a/aesel/src/workspace-tools.mjs b/aesel/src/workspace-tools.mjs
index 76715e5814..84ca94572a 100644
--- a/aesel/src/workspace-tools.mjs
+++ b/aesel/src/workspace-tools.mjs
@@ -93,7 +93,11 @@ const TOOLBOX = [
   ["puppet", "act on a Mac or browser: click, type, keys (`puppet --help`)"],
   ["slab-ledger", "the fleet's live sessions"],
   ["ac-os", "AC Native OS builds"],
-  ["gh", "GitHub"],
+  ["ac", "the person's AC account: `ac whoami`, `ac publish <file> [slug]`, `ac colors orange teal` (their @handle's letter colours, names or hex, cycling)"],
+  ["rg", "ripgrep, for searching code — never grep -r"],
+  ["fd", "find files by name, fast"],
+  ["jq", "JSON"],
+    ["gh", "GitHub"],
 ];
 
 export function toolboxInstructions(env = process.env) {