Xfce is known for being one of the most lightweight desktop environments yet flexible enough to carry out heavy loads easily.
One major issue with Xfce is that its default interface may look old and outdated to many users. This could be offputting for some new users who prefer beautiful-looking Linux distributions.
But Xfce does not bound you to use the default theming and allows you to theme your Desktop as per your taste.
Where to find some good themes for Xfce? There are numerous themes listed on Xfce Look website. You can surely browse through the huge collection.
But to save you some time, I am going to list some of the best Xfce themes that should attract a variety of users.
Best Xfce themes
I have tried to list themes that have been updated not too long ago in the past.
Some or all of these themes could also be available for other desktop environments such as GNOME and KDE. However, I cannot guarantee that. You’ll have to confirm it on your own.
A quick word about installing themes in Xfce. There is an appearance tool in the system menu. You can just drag and drop the downloaded theme file in zip format and it should handle the rest.
Alternatively, you can extract the contents of the archived theme file in the .themes folder in your home directory.
With that aside, it’s time to see the themes in action.
1. BaZik
This is one of my favorite themes, especially for Xfce Desktop as it can revamp the whole experience of using it. Rather than just giving us Dark and Light variants of theme, you get 6 color accents to match your Desktop taste.
BaZik is one of those modern flat themes based on Materia design which allows users to completely change how your default Xfce Desktop visually appears. So if you are looking for something modern which is completely different, BaZik will surely please you.
2. Flat Remix GTK
This is one of the rare themes which supports GTK 2, 3, and even 4! A flat remix is one of the most pleasant-looking flat themes which are available for Xfce Desktop. It comes in 4 variants: Normal, Dark, Darker, and The Darkest.
You also get 13 color variants to match your taste. So if you are looking for one of the best falt themes available, Flat Remix GTK is all you need.
3. Sweet
As its name suggests, its sweet combination of futuristic looks and premium finish with on-point color gradients. Sweets have been used by numerous users and are often suggested for those who are looking for something different from the traditional look.
Sweet is available in 5 variants: Dark, Mars, Sweet, Ambar Blue, and Ambar. It is GTK 3-based theme and blends well with Xfce Desktop. Sweet can be a good option for those who are tired of traditional options and want to have a completely different look.
4. Skeuos
This is yet another theme by the creator of Flat Remix GTK which I have already discussed above. While Flat Remix GTK was more inclined towards the Dark variants, Skeuos is an overall package as you get dark and white variants which are equally good!
Skeuos also supports GTK 2,3 and 4 so you can have great synchronization with all other apps. Being simple yet elegant, Skeuos deserves a try!
5. Pandora Arc
Pandora Arc is a completely different theme from the given list as it brings wives of hacker-ish or cyberpunk. You will get dark colors with cyan and green fonts, and a purple accent bundled with green buttons.
So if you are looking for something which brings hacker-ish vibes to your Xfce Desktop, Pandora Arc is just made for you.
6. Drakula
Being the official theme for Awesome, Drakula is known for getting users one of the best dark theme experiences. A Dark theme with a purple and pink accent will surely bring a perfect experience to your Xfce Desktop.
Sure, there are many options for dark themes but personally, Drakula is what you need. Creator has precisely selected the color pallet so you can have a great experience without many tweaks.
7. Pop Xfwm
As its name suggests, this theme will bring a similar look to what System 76 offers in their Pop!_OS. As Pop!_OS is one of the most popular Linux distros, many users are fans of its visuals, and using Pop Xfwm, you can achieve it easily.
Using this theme, you get the window decorations similar to Pop OS.
8. Windows 10 (no, seriously)
You can easily guess what this theme will offer. This theme made it to the best Xfce themes list through attention to detail. This is considerably the best Windows 10 theme for Linux Desktop, including Xfce.
It requires GTK 3.6 and above for better integration as has some dependencies such as Murrine and Pixmap theme engines but once you are done with the setup, you can enjoy the Windows 10 vibes on your Linux system.
9. WhiteSur (still serious)
Most people love the visuals of macOS, including me, and WhiteSur is considerably the best option to bring macOS feel to your Xfce Desktop.
You do have add-on options for this theme such as Firefox theming to better sync. This is the best option for users who are willing to add a premium feel to their Xfce Desktop as WhiteSur mimics macOS theming.
Alternatively, you can use the Fluent Round GTK theme for looks similar to Xfce:
10. Nordic
A dark, gray mystic atmosphere. That’s Nordic. Both in themes and actual landscape. One of the most loved GTK themes, Nordic gives your Xfce desktop a subtle, classy dark look.
11. Orchis
This is yet another flat-style GTK theme for your Xfce Desktop. I included Orchis to this list as it is one of the most popular themes in Linux and users are having mostly positive feedback.
Orchis will not surprise you with its elegant looks but will bring simplicity and minimal vibes to your setup as it looks so clean out of the box.
Conclusion
As you can see, I have tried to include a wide variety of themes from dark themes for hackers to flat, light themes for minimalists.
You can combine these themes with a set of beautiful icons for your Linux desktop and make it look even better. Read this post for more Xfce customization tips.
There are surely more themes out there. We don’t have the functionality of sharing images in the comments otherwise I would have loved to see a screenshot of your Xfce desktop. Share the name of your favorite Xfce them nonetheless.
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Appearance settings
Windows 10
GTK theme based on the appearance of Win32 apps on the Windows 10 platform using the default color scheme. Dark theme
Preview
Supported platforms
- Any GTK-based desktop
- Cinnamon
- Gnome
- LXDE/Openbox
- MATE
- Xfce
Manual installation
Go to releases, download the latest .zip file and extract it to the themes directory i.e. /home/USERNAME/.themes
If you’ve just moved to Linux from a Windows 10 machine, it will take some time getting used to how everything works. A great way to get used to the Linux platform is to make Linux look like Windows 10. Customizing a Linux desktop environment takes a lot of work especially if you want one that closely resembles Microsoft’s Windows 10. The single most important part of this is the GTK theme which is responsible for how programs, user interfaces, window manager titlebars and etc look on your Linux desktop. A good theme goes a long way, and changing themes can make your operating system look radically different.
SPOILER ALERT: Scroll down and watch the video tutorial at the end of this article.
Windows 10 GTK Themes
There are many different Windows 10 themes for the Linux platform, as a lot of people tend to switch away from Windows to Linux and want to keep a familiar look. The single best, most complete Windows 10 themes for Linux is developed by the Boomerang Project.
Boomerang doesn’t just have one Windows 10 theme, it has three. Installing these themes require installing the “git” package. Find the “git” package by opening the Gnome Software app/Software center, search for “git” and install it. Alternatively, open up a terminal, and search for git using your Linux distribution’s package manager. Then, choose one of the three themes below, and grab the theme with git.
Windows 10 Light
git clone https://github.com/B00merang-Project/Windows-10.git
After downloading the theme, install it to the system directory with:
sudo mv Windows-10 /usr/share/themes/
Alternatively, install it for a single user.
mkdir ~/.themes mv Windows-10 ~/.themes
Windows 10 Dark
git clone https://github.com/B00merang-Project/Windows-10-Dark.git sudo mv Windows-10-Dark /usr/share/themes
or
mkdir ~/.themes mv Windows-10-Dark ~/.themes
Windows 10 Universal
git clone https://github.com/B00merang-Project/Windows-10-Metro.git sudo mv Windows-10-Metro /usr/share/themes/
or
mkdir ~/.themes mv Windows-10-Metro ~/.themes
Setting these themes on your Linux desktop will be different depending on the desktop environment. Currently, all three Windows 10 Linux themes from Boomerang have official desktop environment support for Xfce4, Cinnamon, Gnome Shell, Openbox, Fluxbox, LXDE, MATE and the Qt-based KDE Plasma 5.
Setting The Icons
After grabbing one of the three Windows 10 themes for Linux, the next step is to install the icon theme on the system. Much like the GTK themes, the Windows 10 icon theme is on Github, and you’ll need a terminal window open to download it.
First, grab the latest version of the icon theme directly from the developer’s page with:
wget https://github.com/Elbullazul/Windows-10/releases/download/v0.9.6/Windows.10.Icons.v0.4.1.zip
Unlike the other themes, there is no “git clone” option, so wget is used. After grabbing the icons, the next step is to unpack everything. This is done with the unzip command. If your Linux distribution doesn’t support unzip, or you have issues using the command, use the file manager to extract it.
unzip Windows.10.Icons.v0.4.1.zip
When everything finishes extracting, install the theme. Like the GTK theme, the Windows Icon theme can be install to the system level, or on a per user basis. For a system wide installation, move the extracted icon folder from its download location to /usr/share/icons/. For individual users, move them to ~/.icons.
Note: you may need to create ~/.icons
sudo mv Windows.10.Icons.v04.1 /usr/share/icons
or
mkdir ~/.icons mv Windows.10.Icons.v04.1 ~/.icons
Set The Wallpaper
A Windows 10-like Linux desktop isn’t complete without the famous Windows 10 Hero wallpaper. Luckily, the Windows 10 GTK theme comes with that exact Windows 10 wallpaper. To apply it, you’ll first need to move it from the theme directory in /usr/share/themes/, to the ~/Pictures directory in /home/.
First, use the CD command to enter the theme directory.
cd /usr/share/themes/Windows*
Once there, use the LS command to reveal all of the files inside of the theme directory.
ls
Find the wallpaper filename, and use the CP command to copy it to pictures.
cp wallpaper.jpg ~/Pictures
Alternatively, move the wallpaper from the theme directory entirely with the mv command.
mv wallpaper.jpg ~/Pictures
When the wallpaper is in the correct place, feel free to set it with your desktop environment. Not sure how to change the wallpaper? Refer to our list of “how to customize” guides for each of the Linux desktop environments that support the Windows 10 theme.
- Cinnamon
- Gnome Shell
- LXDE
- Mate
- Budgie
- XFCE4
Other Windows 10 Modifications
After installing the theme and icons everything should mostly look like Windows 10 (if you can overlook the obvious differences between Linux and Windows). Consider also installing a search tool like Synapse, Catfish or Albert to mimic the powerful search offered up in Windows 10.
Do keep in mind that there isn’t currently a way to directly integrate any of these apps into any Linux desktop environment’s taskbar. This can be solved by adding a shortcut to the app on your panel.
Conversion Pack
The themes used in this guide were taken from a total Windows 10 conversion pack. If you’d like to make your Linux desktop look even more Windows like, go to this page here, scroll down and read the instructions on the page. It goes over how to get the most out of the themes.
- Download the Windows 10 Dark theme Download
- Extract and install the downloaded archive with the following command:
# install prerequisites
sudo apt install gtk2-engines-murrine unzip -y
# download Windows 10 icons
wget -O ~/Downloads/Win10-icons.zip https://github.com/B00merang-Artwork/Windows-10/archive/master.zip
# download desktop background
sudo wget -O /usr/share/backgrounds/xfce/Windows-10.jpg https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pEu0ToTAMyk/XWnlO2-h6nI/AAAAAAAAYb0/U7uz1_YHqls7nOf4N0s9rP96g7jaqlWZACLcBGAs/s2560/windows_10_4k_8k_2-2560×1440.jpg
# make sure .themes and .icons exist
mkdir ~/.themes && mkdir ~/.icons
# extract the downloaded icons
unzip ~/Downloads/Win10-icons.zip -d ~/.icons
# create gtk icon cache
gtk-update-icon-cache ~/.icons/Windows-10-master/
# extract the downloaded theme
sudo tar -xf ~/Downloads/Windows-10-Dark*.tar.gz -C ~/.themes - Click the XFCE button > Settings > Desktop
- On the Background tab, select the Windows 10 background
- Click the XFCE button > Settings > Window Manager
- On the Style tab, select Windows-10-Dark
- Click the XFCE button > Settings > Appearance
- On the Style tab, select Windows-10-Dark
- On the Icons tab, select Windows-10-Dark
- Click the XFCE button > Settings > Panel
- On the Display tab, slide the Row size to taste
- Select the Items tab
- Select the Whisker menu > Click the Edit icon
- Click the Panel Button tab > Click the Icon to edit it
- Select All Icons from the drop down
- Search ubuntu > Select the Windows start icon > Click OK
- How do I make Xfce look like Windows 10?
- How do I install XFCE themes?
- Is XFCE dead?
- How do I make Xfce look better?
- How do I make Xfce look modern?
- How do I change my Xfce theme?
- How do I customize XFCE?
- Where do I put GTK themes?
- How do I install Xubuntu themes?
- Is Gnome faster than XFCE?
- Which is better KDE or XFCE?
- Which is lighter Xfce or mate?
How do I make Xfce look like Windows 10?
Here’s how to install it.
- Open your web browser and go to the Windows 10 Modern Theme page.
- Click Download and save the file to your Downloads directory.
- Open the Downloads directory.
- Click the Xfce desktop menu, then click Settings > Appearance.
- Click the . …
- Click the newly added style in the Style tab.
How do I install XFCE themes?
To install and use a theme, follow these steps:
- Extract the theme in ~/.local/share/themes. …
- Make sure the theme contains the following file: ~/.local/share/themes/<theme_name>/gtk-2.0/gtkrc.
- Select the theme in the User Interface Settings (Xfce 4.4.x) or in the Appearance Settings (Xfce 4.6.x)
Is XFCE dead?
1 Answer. There hasn’t been a full release of Xfce for a while, but the project is still alive. The git repositories are very active, and a number of projects inside Xfce have had releases since Xfce 4.12: Thunar, the file manager, in October 2018, Ristretto, the picture viewer, in August 2018, etc.
How do I make Xfce look better?
4 ways to Customize Xfce desktop
- Change themes in Xfce. The first thing we will do is pick up a theme from xfce-look.org. …
- Change icons in Xfce. Xfce-look.org also provides icon themes which you can download, extract and put it in your home directory under . …
- Change wallpapers in Xfce. …
- Change the dock in Xfce.
How do I make Xfce look modern?
You can make Xfce look modern if you install some extra desktop themes and icons packs.
…
Install Xfce themes and icons from archives.
- Download the archive.
- Extract it with the right click of your mouse.
- Create the . icons and . …
- Move the extracted theme folders to the ~/.
How do I change my Xfce theme?
You can choose a new icon theme by selecting it in the list. As with Styles, you can install new icon themes simply by dropping an icon tarball onto the list. You can also install new themes using your distribution’s package manager.
How do I customize XFCE?
What to Know
- Add a panel: Go to Applications > Settings > Panel > + (plus sign) and select from options for XFCE.
- Add a launcher: Right-click panel > Add New Items > Launcher > Add > Close. Right-click launcher > Properties > +. Select an app > Add.
- Change the XFCE theme: Go to Settings > Appearance. Select a theme.
Where do I put GTK themes?
2 Answers
- Download grayday, and double-click it in nautilus to open it in the archive manager. You will see a folder called «GrayDay».
- Drag that folder into your ~/. themes folder. …
- Once you have it installed, open ubuntu tweak tool and go to «Tweaks» and click theme.
- Select Grayday in GTK theme and Window theme.
How do I install Xubuntu themes?
3 Answers
- Download X-Aero theme. Open your terminal and run following command : wget http://xfce-look.org/CONTENT/content-files/170901-x-aero.zip.
- Extract the theme cd Downloads/ && unzip 170901-x-aero.zip.
- Copy all theme folder to /usr/share/themes. First, open Thunar as root : gksudo thunar. …
- Open your theme setting.
Is Gnome faster than XFCE?
GNOME shows 6.7% of CPU used by the user, 2.5 by the system and 799 MB ram while below Xfce shows 5.2% for CPU by the user, 1.4 by the system and 576 MB ram. The difference is smaller than in the previous example but Xfce retains performance superiority.
Which is better KDE or XFCE?
As for XFCE, I found it too unpolished and more simple than it should. KDE is by far better than anything else (including any OS) in my opinion. … All three are quite customizable but gnome is quite heavy on the system while xfce is the lightest out of the three.
Which is lighter Xfce or mate?
XFCE is mildly lighter. Either way, they are both about the same, since MATE is new (though based on GNOME 2) and somewhat lacking in devs, while XFCE is old, but really lacking in devs.