XFCE can look modern without replacing its lightweight desktop environment. The quickest change is a new GTK style for application controls; window borders and icons may use separate themes. These six picks range from dark blue and green palettes to Catalina-inspired and Windows-style looks. Because several are older community themes, check the project page for its current archive and GTK compatibility before installing.
Midnight GTK Themes is a dark, blue-toned option based on Arc. The project page has offered color variants such as blue, gray, and red, so check the Files area and choose the archive that matches your preference. This is a good starting point if you want darker application windows without changing your panel layout or wallpaper.
OS Catalina GTK borrows the bright, restrained appearance of macOS Catalina. Its repository includes GTK and XFWM-related theme components, but a GTK theme alone will not add a Mac-style dock, icons, or wallpaper. Those are separate customizations. If you want a closer visual match, pair the application style with a compatible window-border theme and icon set.
Forest keeps the flat GTK feel associated with Arc while shifting the palette toward forest green and teal. It suits a desktop built around muted green wallpapers or natural colors. Check the archive contents before downloading: if it does not include an xfwm4 directory, XFCE may keep your current title bars and borders while changing GTK buttons and menus.
Snowblind is a blue-and-green take on Material-inspired GTK styling. It is an older community theme, so treat it as a visual option to test rather than assume it will match every current application. If a newer GTK app ignores it or shows mismatched controls, keep the theme for compatible apps or switch back from Appearance.
Juno draws on Visual Studio Code color schemes and comes in multiple variations. Its upstream repository includes GTK, XFWM, and other desktop theme components, making it a flexible choice if you want application controls and window decorations to coordinate. Pick the variant from the project files and follow the repository’s current installation notes.
The older article called this pick Redstone. For a current upstream reference, use the B00merang Windows 10 GTK theme, whose project documentation lists Xfce support and provides releases. It can restyle GTK applications, but a full Windows-like desktop also requires separate choices for the panel, icons, fonts, and wallpaper.
~/.themes. Create that folder if needed, and check that the theme directory contains files such as gtk-3.0 or gtk-2.0.Installing in your home directory keeps the change scoped to your account and avoids copying files into system theme folders with administrator privileges. To remove a theme later, delete its folder from ~/.themes and select another style.
XFCE’s Appearance settings control GTK widgets such as menus and buttons; the Window Manager settings handle decorations, and the Icons tab controls application and folder icons. A theme may include all three parts or only one. Some apps also use a different toolkit or their own styling, so one theme will not necessarily change every window. If anything becomes hard to read, use Appearance to restore the previous style, then try a different variant.
For exact menu names and the supported drag-and-drop installation method, see Xfce’s Appearance documentation. The separate border controls are described in the Xfwm4 preferences guide.
Capture Linux desktop audio in Audacity by routing its recording stream to your output device’s monitor source. Follow PulseAudio and PipeWire steps, export tips, and fixes for silent tracks.
Install Dropbox on Linux from the official package, sign in, sync a local folder, manage selective sync, and check status from the command line.
Install Inkscape from your Linux distribution’s repositories, the Ubuntu stable PPA, Snap, or Flathub, with current commands and notes for choosing a package source.
Use FSlint to scan selected Linux folders, review duplicate groups, and safely delete redundant files or learn when hard-link merging is appropriate.
Install SABnzbd on Ubuntu or Debian, or run it in Docker on another Linux host. Then open the web interface and configure your provider and download folders.
Install the Paper GTK theme from supported Linux repositories, enable it for GTK apps in GNOME Tweaks, and see what the legacy theme can and cannot change.
The old OpenMediaVault Plex plugin is archived. Set up Plex on OMV 8 with OMV-Extras, the Compose plugin, persistent storage, and Plex’s official container.
Clean and speed up Ubuntu with safe APT cleanup, storage checks, and startup controls that help free space and troubleshoot a sluggish desktop.
Install Hiri on Linux with its Snap package or official tarball, add a desktop launcher, and check supported accounts plus a warning about Hiri’s old Snap release.
Use Fastfetch and built-in Linux commands to check your distro, kernel, CPU, memory, graphics, storage, and connected devices, then save a clear report.
