GTK Theming
Directories
The common directories used by GTK for theming are:
| Directory | Description |
|---|---|
/usr/share/themes, ~/.local/share/themes | GTK themes |
/usr/share/icons, ~/.local/share/icons | Icon and cursor themes |
~/.icons | Cursor themes |
Cursors
For cursors, you can use the ~/.icons directory without any additional setup.
If you want to use the ~/.local/share/icons directory, you might need to set
the XCURSORS_PATH environment variable like so:
export XCURSOR_PATH=/usr/share/icons:$XDG_DATA_HOME/iconsCommands
If you are on Gnome, you can activate a theme from Gnome settings or Gnome tweak tool.
If you are on a different WM, you have to run the following commands on startup:
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface gtk-theme 'theme-name'
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface color-scheme 'prefer-dark' # optional for dark mode
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface cursor-theme 'cursor-theme-name'
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface icon-theme 'icon-theme-name'Extra commands
Set fonts for GTK applications:
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface font-name 'Open Sans 11'
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface monospace-font-name 'Iosevka SS08 11'Wayland
If you are on Wayland, it can be helpful to also set the settings in
~/.config/gtk-3.0/settings.ini, here’s an example:
[Settings]
gtk-theme-name = catppuccin-macchiato-blue-standard+default
gtk-application-prefer-dark-theme = true
gtk-cursor-theme-name = catppuccin-macchiato-dark-cursors
gtk-icon-theme-name = Papirus
gtk-font-name = 'Open Sans 11'If you are on sway, you might also need to configure the cursor theme in sway config:
seat seat0 xcursor_theme 'catppuccin-macchiato-dark-cursors'Qt-based applications and cursors
For cursor icons to work in Qt-based applications, modify the file
/usr/share/icons/default/index.theme accordingly:
[Icon Theme]
Inherits=catppuccin-macchiato-dark-cursors