Installation of macOS icons on Ubuntu 20.04 Gnome desktop. Change the icons to macOS Mojave theme: Reload the Gnome tweak and set the icon appearance to Mojave. In this step we will install the macOS cursor set. Using your browser download the macOS cursor set package into your /Downloads directory.
- The goal of this project is to bring the look and feel of Mac OS X (latest being 10.5, Leopard) on.nix GTK based systems. This document will present the procedure to install Mac4Lin pack & tweak certain things to get that almost perfect Mac OS X like desktop.
- The Mac OS interface can be replicated on Ubuntu, the terminal style, the icons and a whole lot more.So a little rundown of what this article covers: Getting the GNOME shell. Getting a Mac theme for GNOME shell. Getting a Mac OS desktop dock. Getting a Mac OS icon set. Choosing a Mac OS style system font.
Feast your eyes on the the following set of awesome icon themes for Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and other Linux desktops.
Essential Guide21 Must-Have Apps for Ubuntu Desktops (2020 Edition)
A quick and easy way to give your Ubuntu desktop a bold new (and a touch more personality) is to change icon theme
But with hundreds of full icon packs out there it’s hard to know where to start — hence this post!
We spotlight the best icon themes for Linux right now. These range from subtle, flat, and 2D glyphs to packs that go in hard on the gloss, gradient, and detail.
Better still, we keep this list of icon themes up to date. You don’t have to worry about any links being broken or any of the packs featured outdated.
If you’re ready to revamp your desktop read on!
Best Icon Themes for Ubuntu
1. Papirus Icon Theme
No list of the best icon themes for Ubuntu and other Linux distros would be complete if it didn’t mention Papirus icons. This particular set is one of the most iconic icon packs produced in recent years, and I love it!
Colourful, inventive, and shapely: Papirus manages to maintain a visual cohesiveness despite the breadth of coverage — a plus that’s easy to take for granted. The developers behind the theme are also receptive to feedback. If an app is missing an icon you can request it be added by getting in touch with them through GitHub.
I’ve shown you how to install Paprius icon theme on Ubuntu before and —spoiler— it’s easy. Just open a new Terminal window and paste the following command to add the official Papirus Team PPA to your list of software sources:
Once done, proceed to install the icon theme:
Mac Theme For Ubuntu 18.10
This PPA will also give you ongoing updates as and when released. This way you’ll always be using the latest designs and the latest icons.
2. Numix Circle
After a circular icon theme with lashings of color? There’s only one icon set up to the job: Numix Circle.
While the visual gimmick of setting every app inside the same shape can sometimes feel over the top and extreme (and make apps which don’t conform stand out even more) that’s not the case with Numix thanks to its exhaustive coverage.
The Numix Circle icon set now spans several thousand application icons, from old-time faves to citing-edge new ones, all of which are (no surprise) set within a circular frame.
You can install the Numix Circle icon theme on Ubuntu direct from the Ubuntu Software app but to install the latest version of the icon set (which I recommend) you add the official Numix PPA:
Install the most recent version of the set with:
Adding this PPA also ensures you get future updates as and when released.
3. Qogir Icon Theme
The Qogir icon pack is designed to compliment the (rather striking) Qogir GTK theme — but don’t feel put off if you don’t use it as it’s a fine icon set in its own right.
Based on combination of the Arc, Faba and Tela icon sets, Qogir is billed by its author as a “flat colorful design icon theme for Linux desktops”.
But it’s not flat flat.
The decision to use simple 2D glyphs with minimal layering and stick to a set of consistent shapes and shades, Qogir icons maintains the balance between soft and inviting and serious and professional. Iconsin this set don’t look over designed or too cartoony.
To install Qogir icon theme on Ubuntu download the latest release from the link above. When the download is complete extract the archive and move the top level folder inside to the hidden
~/.icons
folder in your Home
directory. If this directory doesn’t exist, create it.4. OS Catalina
Desktop Linux operating systems differ from their closed-source counterparts in many many ways. But the sheer amount of control you have over the way things look is perhaps the most prominent.
So if you want to make Ubuntu look like a Mac — you may like the look of the OS, but not its limitations — then an icon set like OS Catalina is an easy way to do that.
This icon pack is inspired by the look of modern macOS icons but it is not a verbatim copy of it. Instead, the authors carefully translate the overall motifs and concepts into an (arguably) softer and superior set to the real deal!
To install this icon theme on Ubuntu first download the latest release from the link above. When the download is complete extract the archive. Then move the extracted folder to the hidden
~/.icons
folder in your Home
directory. If this directory doesn’t exist, create it.5. Vimix
Vimix icons is based on (but now very different to) the Paper icon theme popular a few years ago. While that theme started out as a material design one, it’s since evolved a look of its own.
Like Qogir, Vimix is designed to be used with the same-name GTK theme, but that’s not a concrete requirement. You can use it with any GTK theme you like.
The icon pack is distributed in a number of different colour variants, including red (‘ruby’), black, and purple (‘amethyst’). These can be downloaded and install individually, or you can use a command-line script to automate the process.
6. we10x
Microsoft is (slowly) introducing a new design language for the Windows operating system and its accompanying app and services ecosystem. And the new look has found fans well beyond Redmond’s active user base, i.e. with Linux users.
But We10X icon set is not a 1:1 port of Windows icons for Linux. It’s not a clone. While it is heavily inspired by Windows’ “fluent” aesthetic, it interprets it independently, making allowances and deviations from the icons Microsoft dishing out where necessary.
Having a more familiar set of icons can, for some users, make it easier to use their system. Regardless of you reasons for wanting to use a pack like this the beauty of using Linux is that you can — so go for it!
To install We10x icons on Ubuntu first download the latest version of the pack using the link above. When the download is complete extract the archive and move the top level folder to the hidden
~/.icons
folder in your Home
directory. If this directory doesn’t exist, create it.7. Obsidian
Do flat themes leave you feeling a little, well, flat? If so, definitely check out Obsidian.
Obsidian is a continuation of the Faenza icon theme that was insanely popular with Linux users a few years ago. Alas, Faenza itself is no longer updated.
Enter Obsidian. It reworks Faenza for 2020, packing in a stack of reworked and rewind icons for classic apps like Firefox, GIMP and LibreOffice, as well as support for newer software like Cawbird, Foliate, and GNOME Extensions.
There’s no fear of 3D elements here: Obsidian fully embraces gloss, lighting effects, drop shadows, and bevels. The result is icon pack with a pronounced and distinctive “tiled” look that is, in my opinion, rather unlike anything offered by any other Linux icon theme.
To install Obsidian icons on Ubuntu download the latest version of the pack from the link above. When the download is complete extract the tar.xz archive and move the top level folder to the hidden
~/.icons
folder in your Home
directory. If this directory doesn’t exist, create it.8. Newaita
Last, but by no means least on this list is Newaita. It’s the current icon pack du jour in that everyone is talking about it — and it’s easy to see why!
It reminds me of the Tango desktop project that tried to curate a consistent look for Linux apps across toolkits and desktops, albeit a touch more modern. App icons aren’t super realistic, but they aren’t entirely characterless. In fact, some of the icons are superbly drawn.
The use of a border outline on most of the icons provides a distinctive look, with glyphs having a slightly raised appearance in situ. The inclusion of an optional dark set is a nice touch.
In short, Newaita icons gives the Linux desktop a bold, confident look that fuses modern trends in colour design with an older, more intricately modelled style.
To install Newaita icons on Ubuntu first download the latest version of the pack, then extract the
.zip
archive when complete. Move both of the top level folders to the hidden ~/.icons
folder in your Home
directory. If this directory doesn’t exist, create it.Themes to keep an eye on
There you have it: 8 exceptionally well-made full icon themes for Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and other distros, perfect for getting started with — but design trends don’t stay still and new icon packs are developed all the time.
While I chose to limit this list to just 8 (for now) there are scores of striking icons sets out there. If you’re a fan of soft look with pastel colours then there’s deft appeal in the Boston, Tela and Zafiro packs. Those after a circular set may want to sample Tela Circle.
If you’re using Ubuntu 18.04 LTS or above you may want to try out the new, improved upstream GNOME icons. The glyphs have a very distinct vibe of its own these days. Just install it from the Ubuntu Software app.
Finally, if you really dig the Yaru icons Ubuntu ships with, but wished the set covered more apps, then check outYaru++. This provides a flood of additional Yaru style icons for a glut of additional apps.
How to Install Icon themes on Ubuntu
Some of the icon packs we’ve picked require you to manually install them — but don’t let this put you off as it’s not as hard or as complicated as you might think.
Related Story11 Best GTK Themes for Ubuntu 18.04 +
First download the latest version of your chosen pack using the link(s) provided. Depending on the packaging this may come as a
zip
file or a .tar.gz
— but it doesn’t matter.When the download completes you need to extract the archive, i.e. right-click on it in the file manager and select ‘extract here’.
Finally, move the top level folder inside the extracted folder to the hidden
~/.icons
folder in your Home
directory. If this directory doesn’t exist, create it.Press
ctrl
+ h
to show/hide hidden files and folders on UbuntuNow you’re all set. You can change icon theme similar to how you change Ubuntu theme: using the GNOME Tweaks app (see, there’s a reason I make getting it one of the top things to do after installing Ubuntu ?) or the Linux Mint appearance tool.
Theme changes take effect instantly and can be “undone” quickly. This means you can confidently experiment with different sets to find the set-up that works the best (not to mention looks best) for you.
h/t Greg
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:
Run Ubuntu On Mac
Closing Words
I mostly switch between the Vimix dark and the Pop Dark theme. Let me know what you use.
Mac Icons For Ubuntu Virtualbox
Also Read: 7 Best Download Managers For Ubuntu