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Setting Themes in Ubuntu

3 min read

Setting Themes in Ubuntu

Twas a bit of a challenge working out how, and getting https://github.com/MathisP75/daemon-kde-mk2 set up.

If I’m gonna be dicking around in Linux, I may as well have it look pretty, no?

Skip straight to After some palaver for what actually worked.

The full instructions read:

git clone https://github.com/MathisP75/daemon-kde-mk2.git

cd daemon-kde-mk2

cp ‘Color Scheme/Daemon2.colors’ $HOME/.local/share/color-schemes/

cp -r Kvantum/daemon-2.0 $HOME/.config/Kvantum/

cp -r ‘Icon Theme/Daemon-Icons’ $HOME/.local/share/icons/

cp -r ‘Plasma Style/Daemon-2.0’ $HOME/.local/share/plasma/desktoptheme/

cp -r ‘Window Decorations/daemon-2.0’ $HOME/.local/share/aurorae/themes/

cp Konsole/Daemon-2.0.colorscheme $HOME/.local/share/konsole/

cp -r VSCode/daemon-2-0 $HOME/.vscode-oss/extensions/

cp Kitty/Daemon-2.0.conf $HOME/.config/kitty/

cp ‘Color Scheme/Daemon2.colors’ $HOME/.local/share/color-schemes/ was giving me the error “cp: cannot create regular file ‘/home/mike/.local/share/color-schemes/’: Not a directory”

What fixed it was to first run:

rm ~/.local/share/color-schemes

mkdir -p ~/.local/share/color-schemes

The next few worked too (with sudo in front of em). Til we get to

cp -r 'Window Decorations/daemon-2.0' $HOME/.local/share/aurorae/themes/

SO, mkdir again?

rm ~/.local/share/aurorae/themes/

mkdir -p ~/.local/share/aurorae/themes/

Success!

Same for the next couple, paired them up below

mkdir -p ~/.local/share/konsole/

cp Konsole/Daemon-2.0.colorscheme $HOME/.local/share/konsole/

mkdir -p ~/.vscode-oss/extensions/

cp -r VSCode/daemon-2-0 $HOME/.vscode-oss/extensions/

After Some Palaver:

1. Theme Installation StatusThe Daemon Theme Was Installed Locally Here:

~/.local/share/plasma/look-and-feel/Daemon-2.0

Verification: bashls ~/.local/share/plasma/look-and-feel/

Expected output:

  • Daemon-2.0
  • MatrixCode (later identified as problematic)

2. Fix Plasma Theme Detection

Rebuild KDE system cache:

kbuildsycoca6 --noincremental

This ensures Plasma detects newly installed Look-and-Feel themes.

3. Restart Plasma Shell (normal method)

plasmashell --replace

If DBus Error Occurs:

export $(dbus-launch)plasmashell --replace

This restores the missing DBus session context.

4. Confirm Available Themes

plasma-apply-lookandfeel --list

Daemon appeared correctly:

  • Daemon-2.0

5. Apply Daemon Theme

Correct command syntax:

plasma-apply-lookandfeel --apply Daemon-2.0

6. Kvantum Installation (Ubuntu/Kubuntu)

Correct packages (not just kvantum):

sudo apt install qt6-style-kvantum qt5-style-kvantum qt-style-kvantum-themes

Optional GUI tool:

sudo apt install kvantum-manager

7. Snap Vivaldi Icon Issue (Root Cause)

Vivaldi Snap used a hardcoded icon path:

Icon=/snap/vivaldi/current/meta/gui/icon.png

This bypasses KDE icon theming entirely.

8. Fix Vivaldi Icon (Correct Method)

Step 1: Locate Snap Launcher

/var/lib/snapd/desktop/applications/vivaldi_vivaldi-stable.desktop

Step 2: Create Local Applications Folder (if missing)

mkdir -p ~/.local/share/applications

Step 3: Copy Launcher Locally

cp /var/lib/snapd/desktop/applications/vivaldi_vivaldi-stable.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/

Step 4: Edit Icon Line

Change this:

Icon=/snap/vivaldi/current/meta/gui/icon.png

To:

Icon=vivaldi

Step 5: Refresh KDE Cache

kbuildsycoca6 --noincremental

Step 6: Restart Plasma Safely

export $(dbus-launch)plasmashell --replace

9. KDE Icon Resolution Order

KDE resolves icons in this order:

  1. ~/.local/share/icons
  2. Active icon theme (Daemon)
  3. /usr/share/icons
  4. App-provided fallback (Snap path / embedded icons)

10. Key Lessons Learned

Plasma 6 Notes

  • kstart6 is not consistently available
  • Use plasmashell --replace instead

DBus Dependency

  • Plasma CLI tools require active DBus session

  • Fix with:

    export $(dbus-launch)

Snap Packaging Quirk

  • Snap .desktop files often hardcode icon paths

  • Best fix is overriding locally via:

    ~/.local/share/applications/

Theme Behaviour

  • Daemon theme applies correctly once icon names (not file paths) are used
  • Theme consistency depends heavily on icon name resolution, not file paths

11. Final Result

  • Kubuntu Plasma 6 stable
  • Daemon-2.0 global theme applied
  • Kvantum installed for Qt styling
  • Vivaldi icon correctly themed
  • Snap launcher properly overridden
  • Plasma restart + DBus recovery method confirmed working

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