diff --git a/rc/base/fish.kak b/rc/base/fish.kak
index d8987188a..f6b5d6b77 100644
--- a/rc/base/fish.kak
+++ b/rc/base/fish.kak
@@ -11,20 +11,19 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](fish) %{
 # Highlighters
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
 
-add-highlighter shared/ regions -default code fish \
-    double_string '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"  '' \
-    single_string "'" "'"              '' \
-    comment       '#' '$'              ''
+add-highlighter shared/fish regions
+add-highlighter shared/fish/code default-region group
+add-highlighter shared/fish/double_string '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"  '' group
+add-highlighter shared/fish/single_string "'" "'"              '' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/fish/comment       '#' '$'              '' fill comment
 
-add-highlighter shared/fish/double_string fill string
-add-highlighter shared/fish/double_string regex (\$\w+)|(\{\$\w+\}) 0:variable
-add-highlighter shared/fish/single_string fill string
-add-highlighter shared/fish/comment       fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/fish/double_string/ fill string
+add-highlighter shared/fish/double_string/ regex (\$\w+)|(\{\$\w+\}) 0:variable
 
-add-highlighter shared/fish/code regex (\$\w+)|(\{\$\w+\}) 0:variable
+add-highlighter shared/fish/code/ regex (\$\w+)|(\{\$\w+\}) 0:variable
 
 # Command names are collected using `builtin --names` and 'eval' from `functions --names`
-add-highlighter shared/fish/code regex \b(and|begin|bg|bind|block|break|breakpoint|builtin|case|cd|command|commandline|complete|contains|continue|count|echo|else|emit|end|eval|exec|exit|fg|for|function|functions|history|if|jobs|not|or|printf|pwd|random|read|return|set|set_color|source|status|switch|test|ulimit|while)\b 0:keyword
+add-highlighter shared/fish/code/ regex \b(and|begin|bg|bind|block|break|breakpoint|builtin|case|cd|command|commandline|complete|contains|continue|count|echo|else|emit|end|eval|exec|exit|fg|for|function|functions|history|if|jobs|not|or|printf|pwd|random|read|return|set|set_color|source|status|switch|test|ulimit|while)\b 0:keyword
 
 # Commands
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
@@ -71,7 +70,7 @@ define-command -hidden fish-insert-on-new-line %{
 # Initialization
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
 
-hook -group fish-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=fish %{ add-highlighter window ref fish }
+hook -group fish-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=fish %{ add-highlighter window/fish ref fish }
 
 hook global WinSetOption filetype=fish %{
     hook window InsertChar .* -group fish-indent fish-indent-on-char
diff --git a/rc/base/git.kak b/rc/base/git.kak
index 34ee0cba8..140e27172 100644
--- a/rc/base/git.kak
+++ b/rc/base/git.kak
@@ -3,10 +3,10 @@ hook global BufCreate .*(COMMIT_EDITMSG|MERGE_MSG) %{
 }
 
 hook -group git-commit-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=git-commit %{
-    add-highlighter window group git-commit-highlight
-    add-highlighter window/git-commit-highlight regex "^\h*#[^\n]*\n" 0:cyan,default
-    add-highlighter window/git-commit-highlight regex "\b(?:(modified)|(deleted)|(new file)|(renamed|copied)):([^\n]*)\n" 1:yellow 2:red 3:green 4:blue 5:magenta
-    add-highlighter window/git-commit-highlight ref diff # highlight potential diffs from the -v option
+    add-highlighter window/git-commit-highlight group
+    add-highlighter window/git-commit-highlight/ regex "^\h*#[^\n]*\n" 0:cyan,default
+    add-highlighter window/git-commit-highlight/ regex "\b(?:(modified)|(deleted)|(new file)|(renamed|copied)):([^\n]*)\n" 1:yellow 2:red 3:green 4:blue 5:magenta
+    add-highlighter window/git-commit-highlight/ ref diff # highlight potential diffs from the -v option
 }
 
 hook -group git-commit-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=(?!git-commit).* %{ remove-highlighter window/git-commit-highlight }
@@ -16,9 +16,9 @@ hook global BufCreate .*git-rebase-todo %{
 }
 
 hook -group git-rebase-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=git-rebase %{
-    add-highlighter window group git-rebase-highlight
-    add-highlighter window/git-rebase-highlight regex "#[^\n]*\n" 0:cyan,default
-    add-highlighter window/git-rebase-highlight regex "^(pick|edit|reword|squash|fixup|exec|delete|[persfxd]) (\w+)" 1:green 2:magenta
+    add-highlighter window/git-rebase-highlight group
+    add-highlighter window/git-rebase-highlight/ regex "#[^\n]*\n" 0:cyan,default
+    add-highlighter window/git-rebase-highlight/ regex "^(pick|edit|reword|squash|fixup|exec|delete|[persfx]) (\w+)" 1:green 2:magenta
 }
 
 hook -group git-rebase-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=(?!git-rebase).* %{ remove-highlighter window/git-rebase-highlight }
diff --git a/rc/base/haskell.kak b/rc/base/haskell.kak
index ba30430be..80b7e20da 100644
--- a/rc/base/haskell.kak
+++ b/rc/base/haskell.kak
@@ -11,24 +11,20 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](hs) %{
 # Highlighters
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
 
-add-highlighter shared/ regions -default code haskell \
-    string   (?<!'\\)(?<!')"                (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" ''   \
-    macro   ^\h*?\K#                        (?<!\\)\n       ''   \
-    pragma  \{-#                            '#-\}'          \{-  \
-    comment \{-                               -\}           \{-  \
-    comment --(?:[^!#$%&*+./<>?@\\\^|~=]|$) $               ''
+add-highlighter shared/haskell regions
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/code default-region group
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/string       region (?<!'\\)(?<!')"                 (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" ''  fill string
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/macro        region ^\h*?\K#                        (?<!\\)\n       ''  fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/pragma       region \{-#                            '#-\}'          \{- fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/comment      region \{-                               -\}           \{- fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/line_comment region -- --(?:[^!#$%&*+./<>?@\\\^|~=]|$) $               ''  fill comment
 
-add-highlighter shared/haskell/string  fill string
-add-highlighter shared/haskell/comment fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/haskell/pragma  fill meta
-add-highlighter shared/haskell/macro   fill meta
-
-add-highlighter shared/haskell/code regex (?<!')\b0x+[A-Fa-f0-9]+ 0:value
-add-highlighter shared/haskell/code regex (?<!')\b\d+([.]\d+)? 0:value
-add-highlighter shared/haskell/code regex (?<!')\b(import|hiding|qualified|module)(?!')\b 0:keyword
-add-highlighter shared/haskell/code regex (?<!')\b(import)(?!')\b[^\n]+(?<!')\b(as)(?!')\b 2:keyword
-add-highlighter shared/haskell/code regex (?<!')\b(class|data|default|deriving|infix|infixl|infixr|instance|module|newtype|pattern|type|where)(?!')\b 0:keyword
-add-highlighter shared/haskell/code regex (?<!')\b(case|do|else|if|in|let|mdo|of|proc|rec|then)(?!')\b 0:attribute
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/code/ regex (?<!')\b0x+[A-Fa-f0-9]+ 0:value
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/code/ regex (?<!')\b\d+([.]\d+)? 0:value
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/code/ regex (?<!')\b(import|hiding|qualified|module)(?!')\b 0:keyword
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/code/ regex (?<!')\b(import)(?!')\b[^\n]+(?<!')\b(as)(?!')\b 2:keyword
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/code/ regex (?<!')\b(class|data|default|deriving|infix|infixl|infixr|instance|module|newtype|pattern|type|where)(?!')\b 0:keyword
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/code/ regex (?<!')\b(case|do|else|if|in|let|mdo|of|proc|rec|then)(?!')\b 0:attribute
 
 # The complications below is because period has many uses:
 # As function composition operator (possibly without spaces) like "." and "f.g"
@@ -39,32 +35,32 @@ add-highlighter shared/haskell/code regex (?<!')\b(case|do|else|if|in|let|mdo|of
 
 # matches uppercase identifiers:  Monad Control.Monad
 # not non-space separated dot:    Just.const
-add-highlighter shared/haskell/code regex \b([A-Z]['\w]*\.)*[A-Z]['\w]*(?!['\w])(?![.a-z]) 0:variable
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/code/ regex \b([A-Z]['\w]*\.)*[A-Z]['\w]*(?!['\w])(?![.a-z]) 0:variable
 
 # matches infix identifier: `mod` `Apa._T'M`
-add-highlighter shared/haskell/code regex `\b([A-Z]['\w]*\.)*[\w]['\w]*` 0:operator
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/code/ regex `\b([A-Z]['\w]*\.)*[\w]['\w]*` 0:operator
 # matches imported operators: M.! M.. Control.Monad.>>
 # not operator keywords:      M... M.->
-add-highlighter shared/haskell/code regex \b[A-Z]['\w]*\.[~<=>|:!?/.@$*&#%+\^\-\\]+ 0:operator
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/code/ regex \b[A-Z]['\w]*\.[~<=>|:!?/.@$*&#%+\^\-\\]+ 0:operator
 # matches dot: .
 # not possibly incomplete import:  a.
 # not other operators:             !. .!
-add-highlighter shared/haskell/code regex (?<![\w~<=>|:!?/.@$*&#%+\^\-\\])\.(?![~<=>|:!?/.@$*&#%+\^\-\\]) 0:operator
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/code/ regex (?<![\w~<=>|:!?/.@$*&#%+\^\-\\])\.(?![~<=>|:!?/.@$*&#%+\^\-\\]) 0:operator
 # matches other operators: ... > < <= ^ <*> <$> etc
 # not dot: .
 # not operator keywords:  @ .. -> :: ~
-add-highlighter shared/haskell/code regex (?<![~<=>|:!?/.@$*&#%+\^\-\\])[~<=>|:!?/.@$*&#%+\^\-\\]+ 0:operator
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/code/ regex (?<![~<=>|:!?/.@$*&#%+\^\-\\])[~<=>|:!?/.@$*&#%+\^\-\\]+ 0:operator
 
 # matches operator keywords: @ ->
-add-highlighter shared/haskell/code regex (?<![~<=>|:!?/.@$*&#%+\^\-\\])(@|~|<-|->|=>|::|=|:|[|])(?![~<=>|:!?/.@$*&#%+\^\-\\]) 1:keyword
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/code/ regex (?<![~<=>|:!?/.@$*&#%+\^\-\\])(@|~|<-|->|=>|::|=|:|[|])(?![~<=>|:!?/.@$*&#%+\^\-\\]) 1:keyword
 # matches: forall [..variables..] .
 # not the variables
-add-highlighter shared/haskell/code regex \b(forall)\b[^.\n]*?(\.) 1:keyword 2:keyword
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/code/ regex \b(forall)\b[^.\n]*?(\.) 1:keyword 2:keyword
 
 # matches 'x' '\\' '\'' '\n' '\0'
 # not incomplete literals: '\'
 # not valid identifiers:   w' _'
-add-highlighter shared/haskell/code regex \B'([^\\]|[\\]['"\w\d\\])' 0:string
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/code/ regex \B'([^\\]|[\\]['"\w\d\\])' 0:string
 # this has to come after operators so '-' etc is correct
 
 # Commands
@@ -95,7 +91,7 @@ define-command -hidden haskell-indent-on-new-line %{
 # Initialization
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
 
-hook -group haskell-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=haskell %{ add-highlighter window ref haskell }
+hook -group haskell-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=haskell %{ add-highlighter window/haskell ref haskell }
 
 hook global WinSetOption filetype=haskell %{
     set-option window extra_word_chars "'"
diff --git a/rc/base/html.kak b/rc/base/html.kak
index b7b792ac5..5cdc2660e 100644
--- a/rc/base/html.kak
+++ b/rc/base/html.kak
@@ -15,26 +15,19 @@ hook global BufCreate .*\.xml %{
 # Highlighters
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
 
-add-highlighter shared/ regions html                  \
-    comment <!--     -->                  '' \
-    tag     <          >                  '' \
-    style   <style\b.*?>\K  (?=</style>)  '' \
-    script  <script\b.*?>\K (?=</script>) ''
+add-highlighter shared/html regions
+add-highlighter shared/html/comment region <!--     -->                  '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/html/tag     region <          >                  '' regions
+add-highlighter shared/html/style   region <style\b.*?>\K  (?=</style>)  '' ref css
+add-highlighter shared/html/script  region <script\b.*?>\K (?=</script>) '' ref javascript
 
-add-highlighter shared/html/comment fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/html/tag/base default-region group
+add-highlighter shared/html/tag/ region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"      '' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/html/tag/ region "'" "'"                  '' fill string
 
-add-highlighter shared/html/style  ref css
-add-highlighter shared/html/script ref javascript
-
-add-highlighter shared/html/tag regex \b([a-zA-Z0-9_-]+)=? 1:attribute
-add-highlighter shared/html/tag regex </?(\w+) 1:keyword
-add-highlighter shared/html/tag regex <(!DOCTYPE(\h+\w+)+) 1:meta
-
-add-highlighter shared/html/tag regions content \
-    string '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"      '' \
-    string "'" "'"                  ''
-
-add-highlighter shared/html/tag/content/string fill string
+add-highlighter shared/html/tag/base/ regex \b([a-zA-Z0-9_-]+)=? 1:attribute
+add-highlighter shared/html/tag/base/ regex </?(\w+) 1:keyword
+add-highlighter shared/html/tag/base/ regex <(!DOCTYPE(\h+\w+)+) 1:meta
 
 # Commands
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
@@ -65,7 +58,7 @@ define-command -hidden html-indent-on-new-line %{
 # Initialization
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
 
-hook -group html-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=(?:html|xml) %{ add-highlighter window ref html }
+hook -group html-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=(?:html|xml) %{ add-highlighter window/html ref html }
 
 hook global WinSetOption filetype=(?:html|xml) %{
     hook window ModeChange insert:.* -group html-hooks  html-filter-around-selections
diff --git a/rc/base/lua.kak b/rc/base/lua.kak
index 568708b7a..b6a2c25d5 100644
--- a/rc/base/lua.kak
+++ b/rc/base/lua.kak
@@ -11,18 +11,15 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](lua) %{
 # Highlighters
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
 
-add-highlighter shared/ regions -default code -match-capture lua \
-    string  '"'           (?<!\\)(?:\\\\)*" '' \
-    string  "'"          (?<!\\)(?:\\\\)*'  '' \
-    string  '\[(=*)\['   '\](=*)\]'       '' \
-    comment '--\[(=*)\[' '\](=*)\]'       '' \
-    comment '--'         '$'              '' \
+add-highlighter shared/lua regions
+add-highlighter shared/lua/code default-region group
+add-highlighter shared/lua/double_string region '"'   (?<!\\)(?:\\\\)*" '' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/lua/single_string region "'"   (?<!\\)(?:\\\\)*' '' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/lua/comment       region -- '--'  $                 '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/lua/raw_string  region -match-capture '\[(=*)\['   '\](=*)\]'       '' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/lua/raw_comment region -match-capture -- '--\[(=*)\[' '\](=*)\]'       '' fill comment
 
-add-highlighter shared/lua/string fill string
-
-add-highlighter shared/lua/comment fill comment
-
-add-highlighter shared/lua/code regex \b(and|break|do|else|elseif|end|false|for|function|goto|if|in|local|nil|not|or|repeat|return|then|true|until|while)\b 0:keyword
+add-highlighter shared/lua/code/ regex \b(and|break|do|else|elseif|end|false|for|function|goto|if|in|local|nil|not|or|repeat|return|then|true|until|while)\b 0:keyword
 
 # Commands
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
@@ -87,7 +84,7 @@ define-command -hidden lua-insert-on-new-line %[
 # Initialization
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
 
-hook -group lua-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=lua %{ add-highlighter window ref lua }
+hook -group lua-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=lua %{ add-highlighter window/lua ref lua }
 
 hook global WinSetOption filetype=lua %{
     hook window InsertChar .* -group lua-indent lua-indent-on-char
diff --git a/rc/base/markdown.kak b/rc/base/markdown.kak
index 154d76a22..160b34c34 100644
--- a/rc/base/markdown.kak
+++ b/rc/base/markdown.kak
@@ -11,6 +11,10 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](markdown|md|mkd) %{
 # Highlighters
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
 
+add-highlighter shared/markdown regions
+add-highlighter shared/markdown/content default-region group
+add-highlighter shared/markdown/code region ``` ``` '' fill meta
+
 evaluate-commands %sh{
   languages="
     c cabal clojure coffee cpp css cucumber d diff dockerfile fish gas go
@@ -18,42 +22,33 @@ evaluate-commands %sh{
     lisp lua makefile markdown moon objc perl pug python ragel ruby rust
     sass scala scss sh swift tupfile typescript yaml
   "
-  echo 'add-highlighter shared/ regions -default content markdown \'
-  for lang in ${languages}; do
-    printf '%s    ```\h*%s\\b   ```   "" ' "${lang}" "${lang}"
-  done
-  echo     'code  ```            ```   ""'
   for lang in ${languages}; do
+    printf 'add-highlighter shared/markdown/%s region ```\h*%s\\b   ```   "" regions\n' "${lang}" "${lang}"
+    printf 'add-highlighter shared/markdown/%s/ default-region fill meta\n' "${lang}"
     ref=$([ "${lang}" = kak ] && echo kakrc || echo "${lang}")
-    printf '
-      add-highlighter shared/markdown/%s/ regions -default fence outer inner \A```[^\\n]*\K (?=```) ""
-      add-highlighter shared/markdown/%s/outer/fence fill meta
-      add-highlighter shared/markdown/%s/outer/inner ref %s
-    ' "${lang}" "${lang}" "${lang}" "${ref}"
+    printf 'add-highlighter shared/markdown/%s/inner region \A```[^\\n]*\K (?=```) "" ref %s\n' "${lang}" "${ref}"
   done
 }
 
-add-highlighter shared/markdown/code fill meta
-
 # Setext-style header
-add-highlighter shared/markdown/content regex (\A|\n\n)[^\n]+\n={2,}\h*\n\h*$ 0:title
-add-highlighter shared/markdown/content regex (\A|\n\n)[^\n]+\n-{2,}\h*\n\h*$ 0:header
+add-highlighter shared/markdown/content/ regex (\A|\n\n)[^\n]+\n={2,}\h*\n\h*$ 0:title
+add-highlighter shared/markdown/content/ regex (\A|\n\n)[^\n]+\n-{2,}\h*\n\h*$ 0:header
 
 # Atx-style header
-add-highlighter shared/markdown/content regex ^(#+)(\h+)([^\n]+) 1:header
+add-highlighter shared/markdown/content/ regex ^(#+)(\h+)([^\n]+) 1:header
 
-add-highlighter shared/markdown/content regex ^\h?((?:[\s\t]+)?[-\*])\h+[^\n]*(\n\h+[^-\*]\S+[^\n]*\n)*$ 0:list 1:bullet
-add-highlighter shared/markdown/content regex \B\+[^\n]+?\+\B 0:mono
-add-highlighter shared/markdown/content regex [^`](`([^\s`]|([^\s`](\n?[^\n`])*[^\s`]))`)[^`] 1:mono
-add-highlighter shared/markdown/content regex [^`](``([^\s`]|([^\s`](\n?[^\n`])*[^\s`]))``)[^`] 1:mono
-add-highlighter shared/markdown/content regex [^*](\*([^\s*]|([^\s*](\n?[^\n*])*[^\s*]))\*)[^*] 1:italic
-add-highlighter shared/markdown/content regex [^_](_([^\s_]|([^\s_](\n?[^\n_])*[^\s_]))_)[^_] 1:italic
-add-highlighter shared/markdown/content regex [^*](\*\*([^\s*]|([^\s*](\n?[^\n*])*[^\s*]))\*\*)[^*] 1:bold
-add-highlighter shared/markdown/content regex [^_](__([^\s_]|([^\s_](\n?[^\n_])*[^\s_]))__)[^_] 1:bold
-add-highlighter shared/markdown/content regex <(([a-z]+://.*?)|((mailto:)?[\w+-]+@[a-z]+[.][a-z]+))> 0:link
-add-highlighter shared/markdown/content regex ^\[[^\]\n]*\]:\h*([^\n]*) 1:link
-add-highlighter shared/markdown/content regex ^\h*(>\h*)+ 0:comment
-add-highlighter shared/markdown/content regex \H\K\h\h$ 0:PrimarySelection
+add-highlighter shared/markdown/content/ regex ^\h?((?:[\s\t]+)?[-\*])\h+[^\n]*(\n\h+[^-\*]\S+[^\n]*\n)*$ 0:list 1:bullet
+add-highlighter shared/markdown/content/ regex \B\+[^\n]+?\+\B 0:mono
+add-highlighter shared/markdown/content/ regex [^`](`([^\s`]|([^\s`](\n?[^\n`])*[^\s`]))`)[^`] 1:mono
+add-highlighter shared/markdown/content/ regex [^`](``([^\s`]|([^\s`](\n?[^\n`])*[^\s`]))``)[^`] 1:mono
+add-highlighter shared/markdown/content/ regex [^*](\*([^\s*]|([^\s*](\n?[^\n*])*[^\s*]))\*)[^*] 1:italic
+add-highlighter shared/markdown/content/ regex [^_](_([^\s_]|([^\s_](\n?[^\n_])*[^\s_]))_)[^_] 1:italic
+add-highlighter shared/markdown/content/ regex [^*](\*\*([^\s*]|([^\s*](\n?[^\n*])*[^\s*]))\*\*)[^*] 1:bold
+add-highlighter shared/markdown/content/ regex [^_](__([^\s_]|([^\s_](\n?[^\n_])*[^\s_]))__)[^_] 1:bold
+add-highlighter shared/markdown/content/ regex <(([a-z]+://.*?)|((mailto:)?[\w+-]+@[a-z]+[.][a-z]+))> 0:link
+add-highlighter shared/markdown/content/ regex ^\[[^\]\n]*\]:\h*([^\n]*) 1:link
+add-highlighter shared/markdown/content/ regex ^\h*(>\h*)+ 0:comment
+add-highlighter shared/markdown/content/ regex \H\K\h\h$ 0:PrimarySelection
 
 # Commands
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
@@ -72,7 +67,7 @@ define-command -hidden markdown-indent-on-new-line %{
 # Initialization
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
 
-hook -group markdown-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=markdown %{ add-highlighter window ref markdown }
+hook -group markdown-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=markdown %{ add-highlighter window/markdown ref markdown }
 
 hook global WinSetOption filetype=markdown %{
     hook window InsertChar \n -group markdown-indent markdown-indent-on-new-line
diff --git a/rc/base/ruby.kak b/rc/base/ruby.kak
index ae753ae13..d85a8b198 100644
--- a/rc/base/ruby.kak
+++ b/rc/base/ruby.kak
@@ -11,43 +11,34 @@ hook global BufCreate .*(([.](rb))|(irbrc)|(pryrc)|(Capfile|[.]cap)|(Gemfile|[.]
 # Highlighters
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
 
-add-highlighter shared/ regions -default code -match-capture ruby       \
-    double_string '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"        '' \
-    single_string "'" (?<!\\)(\\\\)*'        '' \
-    backtick      '`' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*`        '' \
-    regex         '/' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*/[imox]* '' \
-    comment       '#' '$'                    '' \
-    comment       ^begin= ^=end              '' \
-    literal       '%[iqrswxIQRSWX]\(' \)     \( \
-    literal       '%[iqrswxIQRSWX]\{' \}     \{ \
-    literal       '%[iqrswxIQRSWX]\[' \]     \[ \
-    literal       '%[iqrswxIQRSWX]<'   >      < \
-    heredoc '<<[-~]?(\w+)'      '^\h*(\w+)$' '' \
-    division '[\w\)\]](/|(\h+/\h+))' '\w' '' # Help Kakoune to better detect /…/ literals
+add-highlighter shared/ruby regions
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/code default-region group
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/double_string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"        '' regions
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/single_string region "'" (?<!\\)(\\\\)*'        '' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/backtick      region '`' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*`        '' regions
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/regex         region '/' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*/[imox]* '' regions
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/              region '#' '$'                    '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/              region ^begin= ^=end              '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/              region '%[iqrswxIQRSWX]\(' \)     \( fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/              region '%[iqrswxIQRSWX]\{' \}     \{ fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/              region '%[iqrswxIQRSWX]\[' \]     \[ fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/              region '%[iqrswxIQRSWX]<'   >      < fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/heredoc region '<<[-~]?(\w+)'      '^\h*(\w+)$' '' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/division region '[\w\)\]](/|(\h+/\h+))' '\w' '' group # Help Kakoune to better detect /…/ literals
 
 # Regular expression flags are: i → ignore case, m → multi-lines, o → only interpolate #{} blocks once, x → extended mode (ignore white spaces)
 # Literals are: i → array of symbols, q → string, r → regular expression, s → symbol, w → array of words, x → capture shell result
 
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/double_string fill string
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/double_string regions regions interpolation \Q#{ \} \{
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/double_string/regions/interpolation fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/double_string/ default-region fill string
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/double_string/interpolation region \Q#{ \} \{ fill meta
 
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/single_string fill string
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/heredoc fill string
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/backtick/ default-region fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/backtick/interpolation region  \Q#{ \} \{ fill meta
 
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/backtick fill meta
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/backtick regions regions interpolation \Q#{ \} \{
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/backtick/regions/interpolation fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/regex/ default-region fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/regex/interpolation region \Q#{ \} \{ fill meta
 
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/regex fill meta
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/regex regions regions interpolation \Q#{ \} \{
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/regex/regions/interpolation fill meta
-
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/comment fill comment
-
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/literal fill meta
-
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/code regex \b([A-Za-z]\w*:(?!:))|([$@][A-Za-z]\w*)|((?<!:):(([A-Za-z]\w*[=?!]?)|(\[\]=?)))|([A-Z]\w*|^|\h)\K::(?=[A-Z]) 0:variable
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/code/ regex \b([A-Za-z]\w*:(?!:))|([$@][A-Za-z]\w*)|((?<!:):(([A-Za-z]\w*[=?!]?)|(\[\]=?)))|([A-Z]\w*|^|\h)\K::(?=[A-Z]) 0:variable
 
 evaluate-commands %sh{
     # Grammar
@@ -67,10 +58,10 @@ evaluate-commands %sh{
 
     # Highlight keywords
     printf %s "
-        add-highlighter shared/ruby/code regex \b(${keywords})\b 0:keyword
-        add-highlighter shared/ruby/code regex \b(${attributes})\b 0:attribute
-        add-highlighter shared/ruby/code regex \b(${values})\b 0:value
-        add-highlighter shared/ruby/code regex \b(${meta})\b 0:meta
+        add-highlighter shared/ruby/code/ regex \b(${keywords})\b 0:keyword
+        add-highlighter shared/ruby/code/ regex \b(${attributes})\b 0:attribute
+        add-highlighter shared/ruby/code/ regex \b(${values})\b 0:value
+        add-highlighter shared/ruby/code/ regex \b(${meta})\b 0:meta
     "
 }
 
@@ -153,7 +144,7 @@ define-command -hidden ruby-insert-on-new-line %[
 # Initialization
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
 
-hook -group ruby-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=ruby %{ add-highlighter window ref ruby }
+hook -group ruby-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=ruby %{ add-highlighter window/ruby ref ruby }
 
 hook global WinSetOption filetype=ruby %{
     hook window InsertChar .* -group ruby-indent ruby-indent-on-char
diff --git a/rc/extra/sass.kak b/rc/extra/sass.kak
index 50edc0a6b..fe203b5c3 100644
--- a/rc/extra/sass.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/sass.kak
@@ -11,20 +11,18 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](sass) %{
 # Highlighters
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
 
-add-highlighter shared/ regions -default code sass \
-    string  '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"        '' \
-    string  "'" "'"                    '' \
-    comment '/' '$'                    ''
+add-highlighter shared/sass regions
+add-highlighter shared/sass/code default-region group
+add-highlighter shared/sass/single_string  region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" '' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/sass/double_string  region "'" "'"             '' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/sass/comment        region '/' '$'             '' fill comment
 
-add-highlighter shared/sass/string  fill string
-add-highlighter shared/sass/comment fill comment
-
-add-highlighter shared/sass/code regex [*]|[#.][A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]* 0:variable
-add-highlighter shared/sass/code regex &|@[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]* 0:meta
-add-highlighter shared/sass/code regex (#[0-9A-Fa-f]+)|((\d*\.)?\d+(em|px)) 0:value
-add-highlighter shared/sass/code regex ([A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*)\h*: 1:keyword
-add-highlighter shared/sass/code regex :(before|after) 0:attribute
-add-highlighter shared/sass/code regex !important 0:keyword
+add-highlighter shared/sass/code/ regex [*]|[#.][A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]* 0:variable
+add-highlighter shared/sass/code/ regex &|@[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]* 0:meta
+add-highlighter shared/sass/code/ regex (#[0-9A-Fa-f]+)|((\d*\.)?\d+(em|px)) 0:value
+add-highlighter shared/sass/code/ regex ([A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*)\h*: 1:keyword
+add-highlighter shared/sass/code/ regex :(before|after) 0:attribute
+add-highlighter shared/sass/code/ regex !important 0:keyword
 
 # Commands
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
@@ -50,7 +48,7 @@ define-command -hidden sass-indent-on-new-line %{
 # Initialization
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
 
-hook -group sass-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=sass %{ add-highlighter window ref sass }
+hook -group sass-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=sass %{ add-highlighter window/sass ref sass }
 
 hook global WinSetOption filetype=sass %{
     hook window ModeChange insert:.* -group sass-hooks  sass-filter-around-selections
diff --git a/test/highlight/column/multi-columns/rc b/test/highlight/column/multi-columns/rc
index 79ac5c4b8..e2eb0642c 100644
--- a/test/highlight/column/multi-columns/rc
+++ b/test/highlight/column/multi-columns/rc
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-add-highlighter window number_lines
+add-highlighter window/ number_lines
 set window tabstop 4
-add-highlighter window column 3 default,red
-add-highlighter window column 7 default,green
-add-highlighter window column 5 default,blue
+add-highlighter window/ column 3 default,red
+add-highlighter window/ column 7 default,green
+add-highlighter window/ column 5 default,blue
diff --git a/test/highlight/regions/rc b/test/highlight/regions/rc
index 580a5ae10..21d886cb0 100644
--- a/test/highlight/regions/rc
+++ b/test/highlight/regions/rc
@@ -1,7 +1,4 @@
-add-highlighter window regions -default code regions_test \
-    string %{"} %{(?<!\\)(\\\\)*"} '' \
-    shell '\$\{' '\}' '\{'
-
-add-highlighter window/regions_test/code fill yellow
-add-highlighter window/regions_test/string fill green
-add-highlighter window/regions_test/shell fill red
+add-highlighter window/regions_test regions
+add-highlighter window/regions_test/code default-region fill yellow
+add-highlighter window/regions_test/string region %{"} %{(?<!\\)(\\\\)*"} '' fill green
+add-highlighter window/regions_test/shell region '\$\{' '\}' '\{' fill red
diff --git a/test/highlight/wrap/avoid-odd-places/rc b/test/highlight/wrap/avoid-odd-places/rc
index 374df4ac3..44087f14c 100644
--- a/test/highlight/wrap/avoid-odd-places/rc
+++ b/test/highlight/wrap/avoid-odd-places/rc
@@ -1 +1 @@
-add-highlighter window wrap -word
+add-highlighter window/ wrap -word
diff --git a/test/regression/1195-infinite-loop-in-regex-matching/rc b/test/regression/1195-infinite-loop-in-regex-matching/rc
index d15eae977..7e27b7249 100644
--- a/test/regression/1195-infinite-loop-in-regex-matching/rc
+++ b/test/regression/1195-infinite-loop-in-regex-matching/rc
@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@
-add-highlighter window regions -default code -match-capture sh \
-    heredoc '<<-?(\w+)' '^\t*(\w+)$' ''
+add-highlighter window/sh regions
+add-highlighter window/sh/code default-region group
+add-highlighter window/sh/heredoc region -match-capture '<<-?(\w+)' '^\t*(\w+)$' '' group
diff --git a/test/regression/1382-column-highlighter-broken-on-horizontal-scroll/rc b/test/regression/1382-column-highlighter-broken-on-horizontal-scroll/rc
index 6e50cc1cb..5058602e2 100644
--- a/test/regression/1382-column-highlighter-broken-on-horizontal-scroll/rc
+++ b/test/regression/1382-column-highlighter-broken-on-horizontal-scroll/rc
@@ -1 +1 @@
-add-highlighter window column 20 default,blue
+add-highlighter window/ column 20 default,blue
diff --git a/test/regression/1433-scrolloff-broken-with-soft-wrap/rc b/test/regression/1433-scrolloff-broken-with-soft-wrap/rc
index f241e60cf..d9af116bd 100644
--- a/test/regression/1433-scrolloff-broken-with-soft-wrap/rc
+++ b/test/regression/1433-scrolloff-broken-with-soft-wrap/rc
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
-add-highlighter window wrap
+add-highlighter window/ wrap
 set global scrolloff 1,0
diff --git a/test/regression/1435-misplaced-cursor-with-show_matching-hl/rc b/test/regression/1435-misplaced-cursor-with-show_matching-hl/rc
index c70ba1f75..1e6b25650 100644
--- a/test/regression/1435-misplaced-cursor-with-show_matching-hl/rc
+++ b/test/regression/1435-misplaced-cursor-with-show_matching-hl/rc
@@ -1 +1 @@
-add-highlighter window show_whitespaces
+add-highlighter window/ show_whitespaces
diff --git a/test/regression/1453-show_whitespaces-highlighter-breaks-tab-alignment/rc b/test/regression/1453-show_whitespaces-highlighter-breaks-tab-alignment/rc
index c70ba1f75..1e6b25650 100644
--- a/test/regression/1453-show_whitespaces-highlighter-breaks-tab-alignment/rc
+++ b/test/regression/1453-show_whitespaces-highlighter-breaks-tab-alignment/rc
@@ -1 +1 @@
-add-highlighter window show_whitespaces
+add-highlighter window/ show_whitespaces
diff --git a/test/regression/1459-assertion-on-wrapped-long-line/rc b/test/regression/1459-assertion-on-wrapped-long-line/rc
index 373ec148d..2cd258c4d 100644
--- a/test/regression/1459-assertion-on-wrapped-long-line/rc
+++ b/test/regression/1459-assertion-on-wrapped-long-line/rc
@@ -1 +1 @@
-add-highlighter window wrap
+add-highlighter window/ wrap
diff --git a/test/regression/1731-wrap-hidden-buffer/rc b/test/regression/1731-wrap-hidden-buffer/rc
index 373ec148d..2cd258c4d 100644
--- a/test/regression/1731-wrap-hidden-buffer/rc
+++ b/test/regression/1731-wrap-hidden-buffer/rc
@@ -1 +1 @@
-add-highlighter window wrap
+add-highlighter window/ wrap
diff --git a/test/regression/2056-assert-on-small-window/rc b/test/regression/2056-assert-on-small-window/rc
index d2d73e008..5842f9865 100644
--- a/test/regression/2056-assert-on-small-window/rc
+++ b/test/regression/2056-assert-on-small-window/rc
@@ -1 +1 @@
-add-highlighter window number_lines
+add-highlighter window/ number_lines
diff --git a/test/regression/638-highlight-codepoint-with-bracket/rc b/test/regression/638-highlight-codepoint-with-bracket/rc
index 470a44e17..af144569d 100644
--- a/test/regression/638-highlight-codepoint-with-bracket/rc
+++ b/test/regression/638-highlight-codepoint-with-bracket/rc
@@ -1 +1 @@
-add-highlighter window regex '[“”]' 0:red
+add-highlighter window/ regex '[“”]' 0:red