How To Install The Matcha Theme On Linux
Matcha, like many popular Linux desktops today is a GTK-based, flat style theme. It looks very crisp and clean, and fits the trend of “material-design”. If you’re in need of a new take on a popular design trend, follow our guide and learn how to install the Matcha theme on Linux.
Install Matcha Theme
Installing the Matcha theme on Linux requires certain dependencies. These dependencies will ensure that the theme renders correctly. To install them, open up a terminal window and use the commands that correspond to your operating system.
Ubuntu/Mint, etc
sudo apt install gtk2-engines-murrine gtk2-engines-pixbuf git
Debian
sudo apt-get install gtk2-engines-murrine gtk2-engines-pixbuf git
Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S gtk-engine-murrine gtk-engines git
Fedora
sudo dnf install gtk-murrine-engine gtk2-engines git
OpenSUSE
sudo zypper install gtk-murrine-engine gtk2-engines git
Other Linuxes
Getting Matcha working on your Linux distribution, luckily, isn’t dependent on special binary packages (like DEB or RPM). Instead, the source code is downloaded, built and installed. However, even though the code is easy to get going, the theme won’t render correctly without the correct libraries. If you’re on a Linux distribution that isn’t ones mentioned above, you’ll need to manually seek out and install the following, before attempting to use Matcha.
- “gtk-murrine-engine”, or “gtk2-engines-murrine”
- GTK2 related engines. Aka “gtk2-engines”, or “gtk2-engines-pixbuf”
- git
Linux Mint
Linux Mint uses Ubuntu as a base, so for the most part Matcha should work correctly when installed. However, it should be noted that the theme specifically calls for GTK version 3.20+. If you’re on Mint, you may be using an older version of GTK. To solve this problem, the developer encourages you to upgrade your GTK/Gnome to a newer version. Open up a terminal and enter the following commands.
First, add both the Gnome staging PPA and the normal Gnome PPA. This will give Mint more up-to-date Gnome software. Please understand that by installing these PPAs your Mint installation may become unstable. Do not do this if you do not understand the implications. Enable at your own risk!
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3-stagings sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3
The new version of Apt should automatically update your system as you add PPAs to it. However, it doesn’t always happen. For good measure, update Linux Mint so that it can access the new Gnome PPAs.
sudo apt update
After running an update, it’s safe to upgrade your version of Gnome. Use the dist-upgrade command to upgrade everything.
sudo apt upgrade -y
Upgrading Gnome on Mint should be instantaneous, for the most part. However,
Getting Matcha
Everything the Matcha GTK theme needs to run correctly on Linux is on your system. The next step is to get the source and build the theme itself. Since the project is on Github, we’ll need to use Git to grab the files. Open up a terminal and use the Git tool to clone a copy of the Matcha theme locally.
git clone https://github.com/vinceliuice/matcha.git
Now that the theme is cloned to your Linux PC, use the CD command to move into the matcha folder.
cd matcha
Inside of the folder, you’ll notice quite a few files. Disregard the lot of them, as only the “Install” one matters. Before running the installation script, it’s important to update the permissions of the file. To change the permissions, use the chmod command.
chmod +x Install
Now that the installation script has the correct permissions, the installation can begin.
Installation for this theme is very quick, as the “Install” file doesn’t have any complicated compilation options. No waiting around for things to build, or anything like that. To start the installation, run:
./Install
Running the installation script as a regular user, without sudo privileges, will place Matcha in your home folder, in ~/.themes. This method works if only one user needs access to the theme. However, if multiple users want to access Matcha and use it, the script needs to run with full sudo privileges.
sudo ./Install
After running the installation script, the Matcha theme is fully installed on your Linux PC and is ready to use.
Enable Matcha
The next step after installing the Matcha theme on Linux is to enable it. Thankfully, it’s a GTK theme so pretty much all of the desktop environments out there (minus LXqt/KDE 5) support it. To enable the theme, open up the “Appearance” settings for your Linux desktop and apply it.
Not sure how to apply the Matcha GTK theme? If so, you’re in luck! We’ve got in-depth guides on how to customize each GTK desktop environment on Linux. Choose your desktop of choice from the list and read through to learn how to enable this theme.
