diff --git a/functions/__fish_palette.fish b/functions/__fish_palette.fish
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7097f39
--- /dev/null
+++ b/functions/__fish_palette.fish
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+# Copyright (C) 2026 Rootiest
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later
+
+# SYNOPSIS
+#   __fish_palette
+#
+# DESCRIPTION
+#   Defines the shared terminal-output colour roles used by the
+#   user-facing functions in this configuration. Declared
+#   --no-scope-shadowing and using a bare `set`, so the variables are
+#   created in the CALLER's scope -- a consumer just calls it and then
+#   interpolates $c_head, $c_err and friends exactly as it did when the
+#   declarations were inline.
+#
+#   Call it where the local declarations used to sit, once per contiguous
+#   block that needs the palette. set_color runs at call time, so the
+#   values track $TERM exactly as inline declarations did. (Measured:
+#   set_color output is identical across every TERM tested except
+#   TERM=dumb, which yields empty strings, and is unaffected by whether
+#   stdout is a tty or a pipe.)
+#
+#   A role is a semantic slot, not a colour. c_flag and c_warn are both
+#   yellow but stay separate, as do c_ok and c_accent (both green) --
+#   merging either pair would foreclose ever restyling one without the
+#   other. c_accent is the command name in logs and smart_exit, which
+#   style it green where the rest of the config styles it bold.
+#
+# ARGUMENTS
+#   none
+#
+# EXIT STATUS
+#   0  always
+#
+# EXAMPLE
+#   function mytool
+#       __fish_palette
+#       echo "$c_head""Usage:$c_reset $c_cmd""mytool$c_reset"
+#   end
+#
+# NOTES
+#   Calling this at top level (outside any function) creates GLOBAL
+#   variables. Every consumer calls it from inside a function, where the
+#   variables stay function-local and do not leak.
+#
+#   functions/fish_prompt.fish deliberately does NOT use this palette. Its
+#   c_* values are Catppuccin hex strings passed as ARGUMENTS to set_color
+#   (`set_color --bold $c_green`), not captured escape sequences -- colour
+#   inputs rather than rendered output, a different concern.
+
+function __fish_palette --no-scope-shadowing --description 'Define the shared output colour palette in the caller scope'
+    set c_reset (set_color normal)
+    set c_head (set_color --bold cyan)
+    set c_cmd (set_color --bold)
+    set c_arg (set_color cyan)
+    set c_flag (set_color yellow)
+    set c_warn (set_color yellow)
+    set c_err (set_color red)
+    set c_ok (set_color green)
+    set c_accent (set_color green)
+    set c_dim (set_color brblack)
+    set c_sel (set_color --bold magenta)
+    set c_hi (set_color --bold white)
+end
diff --git a/tests/functional.fish b/tests/functional.fish
index e4d1651..68c64e8 100644
--- a/tests/functional.fish
+++ b/tests/functional.fish
@@ -97,6 +97,33 @@ function test_vault_dir_honors_override
     test "$got" = /tmp/vault-override-check
 end
 
+function test_palette_roles_defined
+    functions -q __fish_palette
+    or begin
+        echo "    __fish_palette is not defined"
+        return 1
+    end
+    # Called from inside a function, the palette must land in THIS scope.
+    __fish_palette
+    set -l missing
+    for role in c_reset c_head c_cmd c_arg c_flag c_warn c_err c_ok \
+        c_accent c_dim c_sel c_hi
+        if not set -q $role; or test -z "$$role"
+            set -a missing $role
+        end
+    end
+    if test (count $missing) -gt 0
+        echo "    palette roles empty or unset: $missing"
+        return 1
+    end
+    # Nothing may leak to global scope.
+    if set -q -g c_reset
+        echo "    __fish_palette leaked c_reset into global scope"
+        return 1
+    end
+    return 0
+end
+
 function functional_test_main
     set -l names (functions -a | string match 'test_*' | sort)
     set -l failed 0