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)
PRO Dark is one of the most popular Xfce themes for Linux. It is compatible with any. This simple tutorial shows how to install ‘McMojave’, a Mac OS Mojave like theme, in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.10. Following steps will first download and install the GTK theme, icons theme, and a set of wallpapers.And then apply new themes and tweak the left dock to make your Ubuntu desktop look like Mac. Adapta is quickly becoming the go-to favorite GTK theme and for good reason. Windows 10 Transformation Pack. If you just migrate from Windows to Linux Mint 19, you will.
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 You don’t have to worry about any links being broken or any of the packs featured outdated.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:
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.
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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’.
Make Linux Look Like Mac
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
We’ve established how easy it is to make Ubuntu look like a Mac but theming Linux Mint, the popular Ubuntu-based offshoot, is a little trickier.
But no more.
It’s now possible to make Linux Mint look like a Mac too, and it’s all thanks to a customised version of the uncannily accurate macOS Mojave GTK theme we highlighted a few weeks ago.
So if you long to add some Cupertino styling to the Cinnamon desktop, read on!
Mac Theme for Linux Mint 19
Alternative GuideMake Linux Mint look like Windows 7
Mac themes for Linux Mint are not new.
But good ones? Well, they have been a bit hard to come by due, in part, to the Cinnamon desktop being based around an older version of GTK, the underlying toolkit that’s used to “draw” the GUI of many apps.
Major compatibility issues and refactoring changes between GTK versions has meant that many popular modern GTK themes were not directly compatible with Linux Mint — and that included crop of clonetastic Mac themes too.
Updated GTK in Linux Mint 19
The recent release of Linux Mint 19 changes the game; ‘Tara’ ships with a newer version of GTK that supports many of the advanced theming capabilities that themes often use.
And ready to take full advantage of the new theming capabilities available to Linux Mint 19 is prolific Linux theme maker PaulXfce.
Paul creates and maintains a bunch of well designed and well made themes for various GTK+ based desktop environments, including GNOME Shell, Budgie and, more relevant to those of you reading this post, Cinnamon.
Having recently raved about his creepily accurate macOS Mojave theme I was thrilled to learn that Paul has made a custom version of his macOS mojave theme available for the Cinnamon desktop.
Not that the task was entirely smooth sailing, as Paul points out:
“This has proven to be a much more difficult thing to do, because of the way Linux Mint uses Muffin as a window-manager, which has some drawbacks (like: Server-Side-Decoration, so no transparency in Nemo, ) and the ‘multitude’ of toolbars that take half the real-estate of the window… Reducing the size of them was my first priority.”
Undeterred, Paul has re-engineered his Mac os theme for Linux Mint, building a new Metacity theme that blends with the rest of the UI while still allowing apps using Client Side Decoration (CSD) to look the part too.
The downside is that, for now, Paul’s excellent Mac os theme only affects the look and feel of applications and app window borders. A Cinnamon desktop theme is not (currently) available (and the Cinnamon Spices website turns up nothing Apple-related).
Still; the theme is a sterling attempt and well worth trying out — even if only as a novelty. You can download the theme directly from GNOME-Look:
To install, extract the archive file to the hidden ‘.themes’ folder in your Home folder (if you don’t have one, create one).
Finally, to apply the theme, Open System Settings > Appearance > Themes and select the theme in both the window-borders and controls section.
More Ways to Make Linux Mint Look like a Mac
If you’re minded to make the Mint desktop more like Mac OS X there are some additional things you can do to curate a Cupertino-style aesthetic on the Cinnamon desktop.
You can move Mint desktop panels easily. Just right-click on an empty section of the panel, choose the ‘Properties’ menu option and, from the settings you see, move the panel from the bottom of the screen to the top.
Mac Theme For Linux Mint 19
This makes way for what is surely the most iconic element of the Mac desktop: the dock.
A chunky task bar, the dock puts large app icons and folder shortcuts within reach at the bottom of the screen. There are plenty of Linux docks available but we think that Plank is by far and away the best. You can install Plank on Linux Mint be searching for it in the Software Manager app.
You can add more applications to your Plank dock by dragging a shortcut out of the Mint Menu and dropping it on to the dock. You can even add folders to Plank too!
Other suggestions:
Linux Like Mac
- Change the desktop wallpaper to a Mac background
- Replace the bottom panel with a dock app like Plank
- Install a Mac icon theme for Linux
- Move the bottom panel to the top of the screen
- Install/enable Nemo Preview, analogous to Quick Look
- Install Synapse, Kupfer, Alfred or similar for a Spotlight equivalent
So get started and share your screenshots in the comments.
Got any magnificent Mint-to-Mac makeover suggestions? Share ’em below!