How To Install The Evopop GTK Theme On Linux
The Solus project is known for its beautiful design and use of tasteful themes. Currently, the operating system uses the Adapta GTK theme, but it wasn’t always that way. Before the Adapta GTK theme, Solus used the Evopop GTK theme.
Much like the Adapta theme, Evopop is a Material Design inspired, flat theme that looks very modern and snappy. The theme isn’t used with Solus anymore and doesn’t get significant updates. That said, it is still a brilliant theme worth checking out.
To use Evopop, you’ll need to have the Gnome Shell desktop version 3.20+, GTK version 3.20+, or a Desktop environment that is compatible with 3.20 and makes use of it.
Building Evopop GTK Theme
Installing the Evopop GTK theme on Linux starts out by grabbing the latest source code files from Github. To get the latest Evopop GTK theme files, you’ll first need to install the Git package. Please note that Evopop only works well with the Gnome Shell desktop, Budgie Desktop, and Mate desktop. It is possible to run this theme on other GTK+ desktops, but it’s not recommended, and may not look right.
Note: Solus users looking to try out Evopop can install it directly from the software sources. Run eopkg install evopop-gtk-theme.
Ubuntu
sudo apt install git autotools
Debian
sudo apt-get install git autotools
Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S git autotools
Fedora
sudo dnf install git autotools
OpenSUSE
sudo zypper install git autotools
With the Git package installed on your Linux PC, use it to clone the latest version of the Evopop GTK theme code.
git clone https://github.com/solus-project/evopop-gtk-theme.git
Use the CD command to move the terminal from the Home folder directly into the new evopop-gtk-theme directory on your PC.
Note: Building the Evopop theme requires the Autotools app, as it provides ways users can build software source code. If you use a Linux distribution that isn’t on the list above, search “autotools” and install the program before continuing.
cd evopop-gtk-theme
From here, you’ll be able to build the new theme using the code. First, run the autogen.sh script. This script will automatically generate any critical files that the Evopop source needs to build correctly. Don’t skip this step! It’s vital to the building process.
./autogen.sh
When Autogen finishes up, it’s safe to use the make command to build the Evopop theme’s code.
make
Make will take the theme code and build one that is useable on your system. The compilation may take a couple of minutes so be patient. When the build finishes, install it on the system with:
sudo make install
Install Without Building
In the previous section, we explained how you can take the Evopop GTK theme source code, compile it and install it directly. Going this route ensures that it’s fully compatible with the software on your operating system. However, not everyone wants to compile and build a theme from scratch. Some want to download and go.
It turns out that along with the source code, Evopop comes with a nice little installation script that users can run if they don’t feel like building anything. To use this script, download the code just like before.
git clone https://github.com/solus-project/evopop-gtk-theme.git
From here, CD into the downloaded theme files:
cd evopop-gtk-theme
At this point, instead of running the autogen.sh tool, make, etc., run the automated script. First, run the GTK theme script to install and enable Evopop system-wide.
./install-gtk-theme.sh
Want to apply the Evopop Azure theme as well? Run:
./install-gtk-azure-theme.sh
Do you use the Geary Email client? If so, run this Evopop theme script so that it fits in with the rest of the desktop.
./install-geary-fix.sh
After running all of these scripts, Evopop will be installed on your Linux PC, with no building required!
Enabling Evopop
If you ran the installation scripts for Evopop, the theme no-doubt activated automatically. However, if you had to build this code from source to use it (for whatever reason), you’ll need to enable the theme manually on your desktop environment. To do this, open up Gnome Tweak Tool, the Budgie appearance settings, or the Mate appearance settings, select the theme and apply it. If these instructions aren’t enough for you, don’t worry! We’ve got a great breakdown on how to use GTK themes!
Click on the link to one of the articles below, and soon you’ll know exactly how to use your newly installed Evopop GTK theme!
