diff --git a/book/src/editor.md b/book/src/editor.md
index 8f3e2845..5e99ad2c 100644
--- a/book/src/editor.md
+++ b/book/src/editor.md
@@ -364,12 +364,12 @@ tabpad = "·" # Tabs will look like "→···" (depending on tab width)
 
 Options for rendering vertical indent guides.
 
-| Key              | Description                                               | Default |
-| ---              | ---                                                       | ---     |
-| `render`         | Whether to render indent guides                           | `false` |
-| `character`      | Literal character to use for rendering the indent guide   | `"│"`   |
-| `skip-levels`    | Number of indent levels to skip                           | `0`     |
-| `rainbow-indent` | Enum to set rainbow indentations. `normal`, `dim`, `none` | `none`  |
+| Key           | Description                                             | Default |
+| ---           | ---                                                     | ---     |
+| `render`      | Whether to render indent guides                         | `false` |
+| `character`   | Literal character to use for rendering the indent guide | `"│"`   |
+| `skip-levels` | Number of indent levels to skip                         | `0`     |
+| `rainbow`     | Whether to render indent guides in rainbow colors       | `false` |
 
 Example:
 
@@ -378,7 +378,7 @@ Example:
 render = true
 character = "╎" # Some characters that work well: "▏", "┆", "┊", "⸽"
 skip-levels = 1
-rainbow-indent = "normal"
+rainbow = true
 ```
 
 ### `[editor.gutters]` Section
diff --git a/book/src/themes.md b/book/src/themes.md
index 0edcbf05..2f91c8bb 100644
--- a/book/src/themes.md
+++ b/book/src/themes.md
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ berry = "#2A2A4D"
 
 ### Rainbow
 
-The `rainbow` key is used for rainbow highlight for matching brackets and indentation.
+The `rainbow` key is used for rainbow highlighting for matching brackets and indentation guides.
 The key is a list of styles.
 
 ```toml
@@ -158,6 +158,20 @@ rainbow = ["#ff0000", "#ffa500", "#fff000", { fg = "#00ff00", modifiers = ["bold
 
 Colors from the palette and modifiers may be used.
 
+The `rainbow-brackets` and `rainbow-indents` keys are used for rainbow highlights for matching brackets and indentation guides, respectively.
+They inherit their default value from the `rainbow` key, but may be specified to provide different highlighting patterns for brackets and indentation.
+For example, it may be desirable for indentation markers to be dimmer than brackets. (This is the default, when these are left unspecified.)
+
+```toml
+rainbow-brackets = ["#ff0000", "#ffa500", "#fff000", "#00ff00"]
+rainbow-indents = [
+  { fg = "#ff0000", modifiers = ["dim"] },
+  { fg = "#ffa500", modifiers = ["dim"] },
+  { fg = "#fff000", modifiers = ["dim"] },
+  { fg = "#00ff00", modifiers = ["dim"] }
+]
+```
+
 ### Scopes
 
 The following is a list of scopes available to use for styling:
diff --git a/helix-term/src/ui/document.rs b/helix-term/src/ui/document.rs
index 2aa13953..21717606 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/ui/document.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/ui/document.rs
@@ -7,9 +7,9 @@ use helix_core::syntax::{self, HighlightEvent, Highlighter, OverlayHighlights};
 use helix_core::text_annotations::TextAnnotations;
 use helix_core::{visual_offset_from_block, Position, RopeSlice};
 use helix_stdx::rope::RopeSliceExt;
-use helix_view::editor::{RainbowIndent, WhitespaceConfig, WhitespaceRenderValue};
+use helix_view::editor::{WhitespaceConfig, WhitespaceRenderValue};
 use helix_view::graphics::Rect;
-use helix_view::theme::{Modifier, Style};
+use helix_view::theme::Style;
 use helix_view::view::ViewPosition;
 use helix_view::{Document, Theme};
 use tui::buffer::Buffer as Surface;
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ pub struct TextRenderer<'a> {
     pub whitespace_style: Style,
     pub indent_guide_char: String,
     pub indent_guide_style: Style,
-    pub indent_guide_rainbow: RainbowIndent,
+    pub indent_guide_rainbow: bool,
     pub theme: &'a Theme,
     pub newline: String,
     pub nbsp: String,
@@ -245,7 +245,7 @@ impl<'a> TextRenderer<'a> {
         };
 
         let text_style = theme.get("ui.text");
-        let basic_style = text_style.patch(
+        let indent_guide_style = text_style.patch(
             theme
                 .try_get("ui.virtual.indent-guide")
                 .unwrap_or_else(|| theme.get("ui.virtual.whitespace")),
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@ impl<'a> TextRenderer<'a> {
         TextRenderer {
             surface,
             indent_guide_char: editor_config.indent_guides.character.into(),
-            indent_guide_rainbow: editor_config.indent_guides.rainbow_indent.clone(),
+            indent_guide_rainbow: editor_config.indent_guides.rainbow,
             theme,
             newline,
             nbsp,
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ impl<'a> TextRenderer<'a> {
             starting_indent: offset.col / indent_width as usize
                 + !offset.col.is_multiple_of(indent_width as usize) as usize
                 + editor_config.indent_guides.skip_levels as usize,
-            indent_guide_style: basic_style,
+            indent_guide_style,
             text_style,
             draw_indent_guides: editor_config.indent_guides.render,
             viewport,
@@ -422,16 +422,14 @@ impl<'a> TextRenderer<'a> {
                 as u16;
             let y = self.viewport.y + row;
             debug_assert!(self.surface.in_bounds(x, y));
-            let style = match self.indent_guide_rainbow {
-                RainbowIndent::None => self.indent_guide_style,
-                RainbowIndent::Dim => self
-                    .indent_guide_style
-                    .patch(self.theme.get_rainbow(i))
-                    .add_modifier(Modifier::DIM),
-                RainbowIndent::Normal => self.indent_guide_style.patch(self.theme.get_rainbow(i)),
+            let indent_guide_style = if self.indent_guide_rainbow {
+                self.indent_guide_style
+                    .patch(self.theme.get_indent_rainbow(i))
+            } else {
+                self.indent_guide_style
             };
             self.surface
-                .set_string(x, y, &self.indent_guide_char, style)
+                .set_string(x, y, &self.indent_guide_char, indent_guide_style)
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/helix-term/src/ui/editor.rs b/helix-term/src/ui/editor.rs
index 3bd66f94..3be57e9e 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/ui/editor.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/ui/editor.rs
@@ -343,7 +343,7 @@ impl EditorView {
         .map_or(visible_range.start as u32, |node| node.start_byte());
         let range = start..visible_range.end as u32;
 
-        Some(syntax.rainbow_highlights(text, theme.rainbow_length(), loader, range))
+        Some(syntax.rainbow_highlights(text, theme.rainbow_bracket_length(), loader, range))
     }
 
     /// Get highlight spans for document diagnostics
diff --git a/helix-view/src/editor.rs b/helix-view/src/editor.rs
index 38c67137..8e7277ca 100644
--- a/helix-view/src/editor.rs
+++ b/helix-view/src/editor.rs
@@ -1089,21 +1089,13 @@ impl Default for WhitespaceCharacters {
     }
 }
 
-#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq, Serialize, Deserialize)]
-#[serde(rename_all = "kebab-case")]
-pub enum RainbowIndent {
-    None,
-    Dim,
-    Normal,
-}
-
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq, Serialize, Deserialize)]
 #[serde(default, rename_all = "kebab-case")]
 pub struct IndentGuidesConfig {
     pub render: bool,
     pub character: char,
     pub skip_levels: u8,
-    pub rainbow_indent: RainbowIndent,
+    pub rainbow: bool,
 }
 
 impl Default for IndentGuidesConfig {
@@ -1112,7 +1104,7 @@ impl Default for IndentGuidesConfig {
             skip_levels: 0,
             render: false,
             character: '│',
-            rainbow_indent: RainbowIndent::None,
+            rainbow: false,
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/helix-view/src/theme.rs b/helix-view/src/theme.rs
index 6ed71dcd..0fbc369d 100644
--- a/helix-view/src/theme.rs
+++ b/helix-view/src/theme.rs
@@ -280,7 +280,8 @@ pub struct Theme {
     /// Reverse map from scope string to its `Highlight` index. `find_highlight_exact`
     /// is called many times per frame, so we optimize lookups.
     scope_index: HashMap<String, Highlight>,
-    rainbow_length: usize,
+    rainbow_bracket_length: usize,
+    rainbow_indent_length: usize,
 }
 
 impl From<Value> for Theme {
@@ -315,12 +316,14 @@ fn build_theme_values(
     Vec<String>,
     Vec<Style>,
     usize,
+    usize,
     Vec<String>,
 ) {
     let mut styles = HashMap::new();
     let mut scopes = Vec::new();
     let mut highlights = Vec::new();
-    let mut rainbow_length = 0;
+    let mut rainbow_bracket_length = 0;
+    let mut rainbow_indent_length = 0;
 
     let mut warnings = Vec::new();
 
@@ -340,8 +343,10 @@ fn build_theme_values(
     scopes.reserve(values.len());
     highlights.reserve(values.len());
 
+    let rainbow = values.remove("rainbow");
     for (i, style) in values
-        .remove("rainbow")
+        .remove("rainbow-brackets")
+        .or(rainbow.clone())
         .and_then(|value| match palette.parse_style_array(value) {
             Ok(styles) => Some(styles),
             Err(err) => {
@@ -353,11 +358,32 @@ fn build_theme_values(
         .into_iter()
         .enumerate()
     {
-        let name = format!("rainbow.{i}");
+        let name = format!("rainbow-bracket.{i}");
         styles.insert(name.clone(), style);
         scopes.push(name);
         highlights.push(style);
-        rainbow_length += 1;
+        rainbow_bracket_length += 1;
+    }
+    for (i, style) in values
+        .remove("rainbow-indents")
+        .or(rainbow.clone())
+        .and_then(|value| match palette.parse_style_array(value) {
+            Ok(styles) => Some(styles),
+            Err(err) => {
+                warnings.push(err);
+                None
+            }
+        })
+        // indent guides should be dimmer than brackets, by default.
+        .unwrap_or_else(|| dim(default_rainbow()))
+        .into_iter()
+        .enumerate()
+    {
+        let name = format!("rainbow-indent.{i}");
+        styles.insert(name.clone(), style);
+        scopes.push(name);
+        highlights.push(style);
+        rainbow_indent_length += 1;
     }
 
     for (name, style_value) in values {
@@ -372,7 +398,14 @@ fn build_theme_values(
         highlights.push(style);
     }
 
-    (styles, scopes, highlights, rainbow_length, warnings)
+    (
+        styles,
+        scopes,
+        highlights,
+        rainbow_bracket_length,
+        rainbow_indent_length,
+        warnings,
+    )
 }
 
 fn default_rainbow() -> Vec<Style> {
@@ -385,6 +418,14 @@ fn default_rainbow() -> Vec<Style> {
         Style::default().fg(Color::Magenta),
     ]
 }
+
+fn dim(styles: Vec<Style>) -> Vec<Style> {
+    styles
+        .into_iter()
+        .map(|s| s.add_modifier(Modifier::DIM))
+        .collect()
+}
+
 impl Theme {
     /// To allow `Highlight` to represent arbitrary RGB colors without turning it into an enum,
     /// we interpret the last 256^3 numbers as RGB.
@@ -472,12 +513,16 @@ impl Theme {
         })
     }
 
-    pub fn rainbow_length(&self) -> usize {
-        self.rainbow_length
+    pub fn rainbow_bracket_length(&self) -> usize {
+        self.rainbow_bracket_length
+    }
+
+    pub fn get_bracket_rainbow(&self, index: usize) -> Style {
+        self.highlights[index % self.rainbow_bracket_length]
     }
 
-    pub fn get_rainbow(&self, index: usize) -> Style {
-        self.highlights[index % self.rainbow_length]
+    pub fn get_indent_rainbow(&self, index: usize) -> Style {
+        self.highlights[(index % self.rainbow_indent_length) + self.rainbow_bracket_length]
     }
 
     fn from_toml(value: Value) -> (Self, Vec<String>) {
@@ -490,8 +535,14 @@ impl Theme {
     }
 
     fn from_keys(toml_keys: Map<String, Value>) -> (Self, Vec<String>) {
-        let (styles, scopes, highlights, rainbow_length, load_errors) =
-            build_theme_values(toml_keys);
+        let (
+            styles,
+            scopes,
+            highlights,
+            rainbow_bracket_length,
+            rainbow_indent_length,
+            load_errors,
+        ) = build_theme_values(toml_keys);
 
         let scope_index = scopes
             .iter()
@@ -504,7 +555,8 @@ impl Theme {
             scopes,
             highlights,
             scope_index,
-            rainbow_length,
+            rainbow_bracket_length,
+            rainbow_indent_length,
             ..Default::default()
         };
         (theme, load_errors)