All macOS and iOS releases appearances from System 4 to macOS Catalina. A Mac OSX like theme for GNOME. Source (link to git-repo or to original if based on someone elses unmodified work): Add the source-code for this project on opencode.net.
The GNOME-OSX II theme works with most modern GNOME-based desktops, including GNOME Shell, GNOME Flashback, and Budgie. But the theme does not work with the Unity desktop. Aside from evoking the form and function of macOS there are some novel touches too, such as the use of a blurred sidebar in the Nautilus file manager, and consistent theming. Arc Theme is the most popular theme for Ubuntu. It provides 3 different looks – Arc, Arc.
The native dark theme on Ubuntu 20.04 looks really good. But, ever since I have moved back from PopOS, I have been experimenting a lot with icon packs, GNOME extensions, and desktop themes. To put it, here are the best Ubuntu themes for Ubuntu 20.04.
Best Ubuntu Themes
How to install themes
Before we begin with the list, it’s important to understand how themes work on Ubuntu. For instance, changing the theme in Ubuntu changes 3 things.
- Icons – File Explorer icons, Launcher icons, etc
- GTK – Looks of an app window
- Shell – Top bar, desktop notifications, activity overview, etc.
There are 3 basic ways to install a theme. You can either install it via the terminal or as a deb package. Additionally, few themes are available as archive files. You can download the archive files and transfer the icons and themes to “~/.icons” and “~/.themes” directory respectively.
In order to change themes, you would need to install the “gnome-tweaks” package and User Themes extension.
To completely apply a theme on your desktop, you have to change the 3 following options in GNOME tweaks.
Read: How to Share Screen And Media on Ubuntu
1. Arc Theme
Arc Theme is the most popular theme for Ubuntu. It provides 3 different looks – Arc, Arc-Darker, Arc-Dark. I really liked the Arc-Darker theme which is a mix and match of the dark and light theme. Arc-Dark isn’t exactly black but a darker shade of Navy Blue. It doesn’t work well on the GNOME shell and leaves the calendar in a white patch. Additionally, you don’t get an icon pack with it, so you would have to rely on third-party icon packs.
If you are someone who prefers the light theme instead of dark, Arc Theme is a good option.
Installation Command:
2. Pop
I recently moved back to Ubuntu from PopOS and I carried back the theme with me. The icons, shell, wallpapers are too good to leave. You can download the wallpapers from this link. I prefer the PopOS dark mode over Yaru and the shell is much refined. For instance, the notifications stacked up have much more padding between them.
Unlike Arc, the Pop theme is continuously updated due to the PopOS.
Installation Command:
3. McMojave
McMojave is the exact theme if you crave for that macOS look. In order to install McMojave, you would have to download the archive from the link below, extract it and then move it to the “~/.themes” directory. Once done, restart GNOME by giving an Alt+F2, type r, and hit Enter.
To complement McMojave, you would need the “La Capitaine” icon theme. Similar to McMojave, you would need to download, extract the archive, and move it to the “~/.icons” directory. Once done, choose the icon theme and you would have Mojave-style icon packs. Additionally, you can download the Mojave OS wallpapers for the final touch.
If you want to replicate the Mojave wallpaper dynamic theme, we have a detailed article on how to do it.
Download McMojave & La Capitaine Icon
4. Materia
Materia is another popular theme for Ubuntu. I liked the Materia-dark-compact theme which makes the Windows Titlebars pretty concise. Another small nuance is the ripple effect. In Materia, if you click on a button or an option, it gives a subtle ripple effect on the selected area.
Installation Command:
5. Vimix
Vimix Theme is based on the popular Materia theme. You would have to download both the archive files for the Vimix theme and the Vimix icon pack. Next, you just have to extract and run the “install.sh” script file in the terminal.
Vimix, unlike other themes, provides a huge number of options. You have approximately 15+ themes ranging from teal to ruby, beryl, etc. I liked the nuances in the Vimix theme. For instance, when you hover past the dropdown menus, there’s a shadow trail giving you the feel of motion blur. I did like that!
Download Vimix Theme & Vimix Icon Pack
6. Ant
Ant is a plain flat theme for Ubuntu 20.04. In case you are more into the light theme, Ant is a fantastic theme to go by. Ant only supports GTK and GNOME shell. Hence, you might have to go with a third-party icon pack. I loved the blood accent on the white theme.
Download Ant
7. Sweet
Sweet is the fanciest theme in this list. Rock with it with an icon pack like Candy or Luv and you would have a colorful desktop to look at. I loved the neon-pink accent to the Sweet dark theme. Apart from that, you get a Sweet (light) and Sweet Mars theme. Similar to McMojave, you would have to download and move the extracted archive to the “~/.themes” directory.
Download Sweet
8. Cloudy
Cloudy is a good GTK theme sitting right in between the light and dark themes. It has 8 different variants that provide a combination of dark, light theme with blue and brown accents. I like that it draws a line between the icons and file-labels to make it look like a 3-pane window.
Although Cloudy does have a shell theme, it’s showing its age. It doesn’t look good with the DND and calendar on the notification shade. You’d be better of using the default Yaru shell.
Installation Command:
9. Nordic
Nordic is a minimal dark theme based on the Nord color palette. You can complement it with a blue color icon theme and a white flashy background for a minimal look.
Download Nordic Theme
10. Layan
Layan is an interesting take to Ubuntu themes. It turns every sharp corner on the desktop to rounded corners. Although Layan has options for both dark and light themes, I particularly liked the light theme more. Similar to Materia, you get a ripple effect when you click on an option.
Installation command:
11. Flat Remix GNOME
Flat Remix GNOME is a gorgeous looking theme with its own icon pack, GTK, GNOME shell theme, and wallpapers. You have a lot to choose from. I really liked the Flat-Remix-Miami theme. It brings a lot of subtle yet poppy colors to the shell. Another subtle change is that the theme makes the Topbar transparent. This really makes your desktop look slightly bigger. The theme also adds extra drop-shadow to the windows and dropdowns.
Installation command:
12. Adapta
Adapta is another popular theme for GNOME desktops. You can directly install it from the Ubuntu store or apt repository. The theme is being regularly updated but the GNOME shell theme’s a bit wonky. Similar to Arc, it left a white patch on the calendar in the notification shade. However, you can still combine it with the default Ubuntu GNOME shell theme and it’s good to go.
Installation Command:
13. Lumiere
Similar to Ant, Lumiere is a fantastic light theme. I could find a GitHub repo with a whole bunch of different themes. It also has a dark edition called Fantome. You can clone the repo and see what suits your need. The themes don’t have a shell and icon theme. So, you would be better of going with Yaru as shell and Yaru icon pack.
Installation Command:
Closing Words
Mac Theme For Gnomes
I mostly switch between the Vimix dark and the Pop Dark theme. Let me know what you use.
Also Read: 7 Best Download Managers For Ubuntu
Last week we asked you to send in the best Cinnamon desktop themes you could find.
And you did just that.
So, one week, hundreds of nominations, and a hearty helping of opinion later, we can finally share the five themes that received the most nominations.
The 5 Best Cinnamon Themes (As Chosen By You)
Below sit the five most popular Cinnamon themes as based on your nominations (we’d love to list every theme you suggested but we have to be strict).
For our screenshots we used the same GTK+ theme (Orchis) and icon pack (Captiva) and had the same two Cinnamon UI elements (Menu, Calendar) on show. The images show the latest stable release of Cinnamon (v2.8) running on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.
How to Install Cinnamon Themes
The themes listed below can be installed in one of two ways. The first is by searching for the theme in the online section of the Cinnamon theme chooser: Menu > Settings > Themes > Add/Install Themes… > Online.
For themes on Github, DeviantArt or GNOME-Look you will need to download the theme archive, extract it, and place it inside the ~/.themes folder hidden in your Home directory.
Zukitwo Cinnamon
Zukitwo Cinnamon is a flat, airy skin for the Cinnamon desktop shell. It has a light grey and soft blue color palette, and uses transparency effects for the panel.
The theme is the work of designer ~zagortenay333 (a name you’ll see elsewhere in this rundown) and is derived from the GNOME Shell theme of the same name.
The theme isn’t available to install through the Cinnamon Spices website (the repo that the desktop theme picker pulls from). It is available on Github.
Minty
Minty by Satya164 is a glossy, glassy, green wonder that’s well suited to the Linux Mint distribution. The transparent menu and panel are balanced well by the use of freegreen and white.
While the theme hasn’t been updated since 2012 (!) it works fine in the latest Cinnamon builds.
If you’re not a fan of the green highlights but like what you see check out Minty Colors, which is also available to install through Cinnamon System Settings > Themes > Add/Install Themes > Online.
Windows 10 Light Theme
The idea of mimicking another operating system’s look isn’t new. The flexibility of Linux means it’s easy to do.
Themes aping Android, Mac and iOS were among the suggestions you sent in, but it was a Windows 10 inspired theme that suckered up the most votes.
Although based on the style of of Microsoft’s latest OS it’s not a total UI mimic. In fact, without a matching Windows 10 GTK and icon a casual over-the-shoulder glancer would have a hard time guessing it’s based on Windows.
The theme works with Cinnamon 2.6 or later and its author recommends using the configurable-menu applet for a more ‘Windows-y’ look.
Ideal for those who want some of the Windows 10 style but without the Windows 10 headache.
Tomcat
Tomcat’s mix of battleship grey, drop shadows and raised elements tickles the design tastes of our readers.
“[It is] based mainly on default Cinnamon theme and nice GNOME Shell Atolm theme,” Radek71, the theme designer, explains in the theme description.
Try it out for yourself couldn’t be easier as it’s available to install through the Cinnamon themes picker. Just search ‘Tomcat’.
Numix Cinnamon
No list of themes would be complete without Numix. Before the call for contenders even opened it was already on the list.
It’s, arguably, and justifiably, the best known Linux theme since elementary and Faenza. Numix has it all: colour, angles, options, icons, GTK themes, GNOME shell themes, Plank themes and even Android themes!
There are several different Numix themes listed on the Linux Mint theme site, and not all entries were specific in which of these they were nominating.
We rolled with ~zagortenay333‘s, which is available to download from DeviantArt. It’s the best of Numix (and will look best when used with the Numix GTK+ theme and Numix icon pack).
Vote For Your Favourite
Desktop Appearance And Themes
There you have it. The five top rated themes according to you. Now all that’s left is to pick a winner
Take Our PollHow To Install Gnome Themes
The results of this post are based on reader nominations. If your favorite theme didn’t make the cut it’s not because we didn’t like it but because it didn’t garner enough nominations.