How to install the Tela icon theme on Linux
The Tela icon theme is a colorful, flat icon theme for the Linux desktop. It takes a lot of inspiration from Papirus, and many other Linux icon themes following the same design trend. However, Tela sets itself apart by offering users beautiful, unique, and artistic icons. You won’t find this kind of detail in any other theme.
If you love the “flat” style of icons but are growing tired of Papirus, or want a new theme to try out, do yourself a favor and follow along with this guide and learn how to set up the Tela icon theme on Linux!
Install Git on Linux
The Tela icon theme requires the Git source control tool, as the icon theme is hosted on GitHub. Thankfully, the Git app is universal on all Linux operating systems and is incredibly simple to install.
To start the installation of the Git source control tool on your Linux PC, open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. Then, follow the command-line instructions below that correspond with the Linux OS you currently use.
Ubuntu
sudo apt install git
Debian
sudo apt-get install git
Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S git
Fedora
sudo dnf install git
OpenSUSE
sudo zypper install git
Generic Linux
As stated before, the Git source control tool is universally used on Linux. Operating systems big and small use it for various things. As a result, Git is very easy to set up on even unknown Linux distributions.
To install it, search “git” in your distro’s package manager. Alternatively, head over to Pkgs.org, as they have a list of Git packages for many different Linux operating systems. You can also download the Git app from the Linux kernel website, and compile it from scratch, if necessary.
Download the Tela icon theme
Downloading the Tela icon theme onto your Linux PC is done through the terminal, as Git only works via the command-line. To start the download, open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. From there, use the git clone command to download the Tela icon theme, and all of the necessary installation files.
git clone https://github.com/vinceliuice/Tela-icon-theme.git
Let the Tela icon theme files download through Git. It should not take long. When the process is complete, you will see a new directory called “Tela-icon-theme” in your home folder (~). Confirm that all the Tela icon files are in this directory by running the ls command below.
ls ~/Tela-icon-theme
Install the Tela icon theme
The Tela icon theme needs to be installed to be used on the Linux desktop. Installing icon themes on Linux can be done in two ways. The first way is “single-user,” which means only one user has access to the icons. The second way is “system-wide,” where everyone on your Linux PC, regardless of the user, can access and use the icons. In this guide, we will cover both methods.
Single-user
To start the installation of the Tela icon theme as a single user on Linux, you must first create the “.icons” directory in the home folder. To do this, use the mkdir command.
mkdir -p ~/.icons
After creating the new “.icons” directory in your home folder (~), use the CD command to move into the Tela icon theme directory.
cd ~/Tela-icon-theme
Lastly, install the Tela icon theme into the “.icons” directory by using the included script.
./install.sh -d ~/.icons
Confirm that the installation was successful by running the following ls command.
ls ~/.icons | grep Tela
System-wide
To install the Tela icon theme system-wide, you must first elevate the terminal window to the Root user. To do this, use the sudo -s command.
sudo -s
Once you’ve got access to the Root user, move to the Tela icon theme directory, and run the included installation script to get the theme set up.
cd Tela-icon-theme/ ./install.sh -d /usr/share/icons/
Confirm that the installation was successful by running the following ls command.
ls /usr/share/icons/ | grep Tela
Activate the Tela icon theme on Linux
The Tela icon theme is now set up on your Linux PC. However, your desktop environment isn’t using it yet. Why? You must change the icon theme on your Linux PC to Tela.
To change the default icon theme for your Linux PC, open up “System Settings,” and locate the “Appearance” or “Icon” settings area. Then, change the default icon theme your system is currently using to “Tela.” Soon after, your desktop will be using the Tela icon theme.
Are you having trouble setting up the Tela icon theme on your Linux PC? Don’t worry! We’ve got you covered. Take a look at the links in the list below. All the links below go over, in-depth on how to customize Linux desktop environments, and how to change icon themes.
