diff --git a/book/src/configuration.md b/book/src/configuration.md
index 4d7e440a..3fa9b307 100644
--- a/book/src/configuration.md
+++ b/book/src/configuration.md
@@ -167,3 +167,20 @@ nbsp = "⍽"
 tab = "→"
 newline = "⏎"
 ```
+
+### `[editor.indent-guides]` Section
+
+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 | `│`     |
+
+Example:
+
+```toml
+[editor.indent-guides]
+render = true
+character = "╎"
+```
diff --git a/helix-term/src/ui/editor.rs b/helix-term/src/ui/editor.rs
index 7455f625..ec25ce94 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/ui/editor.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/ui/editor.rs
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ impl EditorView {
             surface,
             theme,
             highlights,
-            &editor.config().whitespace,
+            &editor.config(),
         );
         Self::render_gutter(editor, doc, view, view.area, surface, theme, is_focused);
         Self::render_rulers(editor, doc, view, inner, surface, theme);
@@ -373,8 +373,9 @@ impl EditorView {
         surface: &mut Surface,
         theme: &Theme,
         highlights: H,
-        whitespace: &helix_view::editor::WhitespaceConfig,
+        config: &helix_view::editor::Config,
     ) {
+        let whitespace = &config.whitespace;
         use helix_view::editor::WhitespaceRenderValue;
 
         // It's slightly more efficient to produce a full RopeSlice from the Rope, then slice that a bunch
@@ -397,22 +398,25 @@ impl EditorView {
         } else {
             " ".to_string()
         };
+        let indent_guide_char = config.indent_guides.character.to_string();
 
         let text_style = theme.get("ui.text");
         let whitespace_style = theme.get("ui.virtual.whitespace");
 
         let mut is_in_indent_area = true;
         let mut last_line_indent_level = 0;
-        let indent_style = theme
-            .try_get("ui.virtual.indent-guide")
-            .unwrap_or_else(|| theme.get("comment"));
+        let indent_style = theme.get("ui.virtual.indent-guide");
 
         let draw_indent_guides = |indent_level, line, surface: &mut Surface| {
+            if !config.indent_guides.render {
+                return;
+            }
+
             for i in 0..(indent_level / tab_width as u16) {
                 surface.set_string(
                     viewport.x + (i * tab_width as u16) - offset.col as u16,
                     viewport.y + line,
-                    "│",
+                    &indent_guide_char,
                     indent_style,
                 );
             }
@@ -491,7 +495,7 @@ impl EditorView {
                             let grapheme = Cow::from(grapheme);
                             let is_whitespace;
 
-                            let (grapheme, width) = if grapheme == "\t" {
+                            let (display_grapheme, width) = if grapheme == "\t" {
                                 is_whitespace = true;
                                 // make sure we display tab as appropriate amount of spaces
                                 let visual_tab_width = tab_width - (visual_x as usize % tab_width);
@@ -518,7 +522,7 @@ impl EditorView {
                                 surface.set_string(
                                     viewport.x + visual_x - offset.col as u16,
                                     viewport.y + line,
-                                    grapheme,
+                                    display_grapheme,
                                     if is_whitespace {
                                         style.patch(whitespace_style)
                                     } else {
diff --git a/helix-term/src/ui/picker.rs b/helix-term/src/ui/picker.rs
index 9ffe45c1..95ec8405 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/ui/picker.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/ui/picker.rs
@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ impl<T: 'static> Component for FilePicker<T> {
                 surface,
                 &cx.editor.theme,
                 highlights,
-                &cx.editor.config().whitespace,
+                &cx.editor.config(),
             );
 
             // highlight the line
diff --git a/helix-view/src/editor.rs b/helix-view/src/editor.rs
index ac19def1..b9de57e1 100644
--- a/helix-view/src/editor.rs
+++ b/helix-view/src/editor.rs
@@ -156,6 +156,8 @@ pub struct Config {
     pub rulers: Vec<u16>,
     #[serde(default)]
     pub whitespace: WhitespaceConfig,
+    /// Vertical indent width guides.
+    pub indent_guides: IndentGuidesConfig,
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug, Default, Clone, PartialEq, Serialize, Deserialize)]
@@ -364,6 +366,22 @@ impl Default for WhitespaceCharacters {
     }
 }
 
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+#[serde(default)]
+pub struct IndentGuidesConfig {
+    pub render: bool,
+    pub character: char,
+}
+
+impl Default for IndentGuidesConfig {
+    fn default() -> Self {
+        Self {
+            render: false,
+            character: '│',
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 impl Default for Config {
     fn default() -> Self {
         Self {
@@ -391,6 +409,7 @@ impl Default for Config {
             lsp: LspConfig::default(),
             rulers: Vec::new(),
             whitespace: WhitespaceConfig::default(),
+            indent_guides: IndentGuidesConfig::default(),
         }
     }
 }