How to Customize Desktop Colors with Cinnamon Desktop on Linux Mint

One of the best aspects of Linux Mint’s Cinnamon desktop environment is its flexibility and customization options. If you want to personalize your desktop experience, adjusting the color scheme is a great place to start. Whether you prefer a dark theme for eye comfort, a vibrant color palette for aesthetics, or a minimalist monochrome look, Cinnamon allows you to tweak colors to your liking.

In this guide, we will explore different ways to customize desktop colors in Cinnamon, including theme selection, GTK and icon customization, tweaking panel and menu colors, using third-party tools, and troubleshooting common issues.

Understanding the Basics of Desktop Colors in Cinnamon

The Cinnamon desktop environment primarily uses GTK themes for applications and window decorations, icon themes for system and app icons, and panel and menu color settings for UI elements. By modifying these, you can completely change the visual appearance of your system.

Key Components of Desktop Color Customization

• GTK Themes: Define the color and styling of application windows, buttons, and UI elements.
• Icon Themes: Control the color and appearance of icons.
• Window Borders: Customize the title bar and window decorations.
• Panel & Menu Colors: Adjust the taskbar, menu, and notification area appearance.

Customizing Desktop Colors Through Themes

The easiest way to change the color scheme of your desktop is by switching themes.

1. Changing the System Theme

1. Open System Settings.
2. Navigate to Themes.
3. Under Desktop Theme, choose a predefined theme that suits your color preference.
4. Adjust individual components (Window Borders, Icons, Controls, Mouse Pointer) for a more refined look.

2. Installing New Themes

If you don’t find a suitable color scheme in the default themes, you can download more from the Cinnamon Spices repository:

1. Open System Settings > Themes.
2. Scroll down and click Add/Remove.
3. Browse and install new themes directly.
4. After installation, apply the new theme from the Themes menu.

Alternatively, you can download themes from https://www.gnome-look.org/ and manually install them:

mkdir -p ~/.themes
mv ~/Downloads/theme-name ~/.themes/

Then, select the theme in System Settings > Themes.

Customizing Individual Color Components

If you want finer control over the color scheme, you can adjust specific UI components.

1. Changing Window Borders and Controls

Window borders and UI controls can be customized separately from the main theme.

1. Open System Settings > Themes.
2. Change Window Borders to modify the window decorations.
3. Adjust Controls to change buttons, sliders, and text input fields.

2. Modifying Panel and Menu Colors

By default, Cinnamon uses the theme’s panel colors, but you can override them for a unique look.

1. Right-click on the Panel and choose Panel Settings.
2. Enable Use a custom panel color.
3. Pick your preferred color and adjust transparency.

To change the menu colors:

1. Open System Settings > Themes.
2. Under Menu, choose a different style or modify the theme files manually.

3. Customizing Icons and Cursors

To change icon colors:

1. Go to System Settings > Themes.
2. Select Icons and choose a theme with the desired color scheme.
3. To install new icon packs, download from https://www.gnome-look.org/ and place them in ~/.icons.

To change the mouse cursor:

1. Navigate to System Settings > Themes.
2. Under Mouse Pointer, select a different cursor theme.

Using GTK Theme Configuration Tools

For advanced users, GTK customization tools provide even more control.

1. GTK+ Theme Configuration with lxappearance

lxappearance is a lightweight tool that lets you tweak GTK settings:

sudo apt install lxappearance
lxappearance

Here, you can modify color schemes, widget styles, and icon themes.

2. Editing GTK Configuration Files

You can manually tweak colors by editing GTK configuration files:

• For GTK3 themes, edit ~/.config/gtk-3.0/settings.ini.
• For GTK2 themes, edit ~/.gtkrc-2.0.

Example configuration for settings.ini:

[Settings]
gtk-theme-name=Adwaita-dark
gtk-icon-theme-name=Papirus-Dark
gtk-font-name=Sans 11

Applying Custom Colors to Terminal and Apps

Many applications, including the terminal, support color customization.

1. Changing Terminal Colors

To change the color scheme of the Cinnamon terminal:

1. Open Terminal.
2. Navigate to Edit > Preferences > Colors.
3. Choose a predefined color scheme or create a custom one.

2. Theming Firefox and Other Apps

For Firefox and other GTK apps, install themes from https://addons.mozilla.org/ or apply system-wide GTK themes.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

1. Theme Changes Not Applying

• Restart Cinnamon by pressing Alt + F2, typing r, and pressing Enter.
• Ensure themes are correctly installed in ~/.themes or /usr/share/themes.

2. Inconsistent Colors Across Applications

• Some apps do not fully respect GTK themes. Install gnome-tweaks to adjust settings.
• Use QT_QPA_PLATFORMTHEME=gtk2 for better integration of Qt applications.

3. Panel Colors Not Changing

• Check if your current theme overrides panel settings.
• Manually edit the theme’s CSS in /usr/share/themes/theme-name/gtk-3.0/gtk.css.

Conclusion

Customizing desktop colors in Cinnamon on Linux Mint is an effective way to personalize your computing experience. Whether you prefer subtle adjustments or a complete overhaul of the interface, Cinnamon provides an intuitive and flexible system for theme and color customization.

By changing themes, adjusting panel colors, modifying GTK settings, and troubleshooting common issues, you can create a desktop environment that reflects your personal style. Take advantage of Cinnamon’s customization features and enjoy a truly tailored Linux experience!