Change Install Theme in Kali Linux – GTK 3 themes

Choice B: Install theme via PPA repository

This is more automated and you can install and remove theme via apt-get command. It got it’s perks and for many users this is a preferred option. Ubuntu or Linux Mint uses this options extensively and I don’t see why you can’t leverage this.

To change and install theme in Kali Linux via PPA repository, you need to have add-apt-repository package installed. If you haven’t got it already, please follow the guide on iinstalling PPA repository add-apt-repository in Kali Linux. Following instructions are based on the assumption that you have add-apt-repository installed and working.

Step B.1: Install gnome-tweak-tool in Kali Linux

To install themes manually, we need to install a tool called Gnome Tweak Tool. But before you do that, please ensure you have the correct Kali Repositories added. You can follow my guide on adding official repositories in Kali Linux.

At this point I would assume you have the correct repositories added. So just type in the following command to install gnome-tweak-tool.

root@kali:~# apt-get install gnome-tweak-tool

Step B.2: Add a PPA repository for themes

You can add PPA repository from http://www.noobslab.com/. I’ve decided on Mac OS X Lion Theme from their website.

To add PPA repository, type in the following command in your terminal:

root@kali:/usr/sbin# /usr/sbin/add-apt-repository ppa:noobslab/themes

Please refer to PPA repository add-apt-repository in Kali Linux guide if you’re not sure how to.
A quick rundown of the commands are below, you need to use the code from Step 2 in PPA repository add-apt-repository in Kali Linux

root@kali:~# cd /usr/sbin
root@kali:/usr/sbin# vi add-apt-repository
root@kali:/usr/sbin# chmod o+x /usr/sbin/add-apt-repository 
root@kali:/usr/sbin# chown root:root /usr/sbin/add-apt-repository
root@kali:/usr/sbin# /usr/sbin/add-apt-repository ppa:noobslab/themes

Once added you need to update Package Manager.

root@kali:~# apt-get update

Step B.3: Install theme from PPA Repository

Issue the following command to install Mac OS X Lion Theme in Kali Linux. .

root@kali:~# apt-get install mac-os-lion-theme-v2

Noobslab also offers custom icons, so you can also install those if you feel like:

root@kali:~# apt-get install mac-os-lion-icons-v2

Step B.4: Change theme in Kali Linux

Open Gnome Tweak Tool again from Applications > System Tools > Preferences > Advanced Settings and select Theme TAB.

Select Mac OS X Lion Theme and close Gnome Tweak Tool window.

There you go, now you have Mac OS X Lion Theme and icons in Kali Linux.

Step B.5: Removing theme in Kali Linux

If you want to roll back your changes, first of all you need to select the another theme. You can just change settings in Gnome Tweak Tool Theme tab (See screenshot from Step A.2) and select the default settings.

Once you have reverted back, just remove the theme and icons using apt-get

root@kali:~# apt-get remove mac-os-lion-theme-v2
root@kali:~# apt-get remove mac-os-lion-icons-v2

Here’s a complete list of Theme’s and Icons that you can try to install from nooslab website via apt-get install theme-name.

http://www.noobslab.com/2011/11/themes-collection-for-ubuntu-1110-unity.html

Nice and easy. You can try as many themes you want in this way.

Step B.6: More cleaning up and options to explore

Last but not the least, you should cleanup your /etc/apt/sources.list file and remove any unused entries. I suggest to revert back to Official Kali Linux repository always.

Here’s a screenshot of my Kali Linux installation after I’ve installed MAC OSX Lion theme and icons.

Conclusion

Theme is nice, theme is elegant, they are an eye candy. Some theme’s are not that good, some are really good. It is up to the user what they want. Personally, I just install XFCE and get it over with Themes totally as I prefer a lighter and faster Desktop in my Laptop.

In my Desktop Workstation, I use KDE Plasma Desktop which is possibly the best and offers most features including themes, cursors, icons etc. including a nice addons to monitor temperature and fan speed for my AMD ATI Graphics card. The possibilities are endless and you will find your one in there.

Thanks for reading.

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