ICEWM-THEME(5)

📦
version 4.1.0 · 17 versions
, in arch rolling

💅 ICEWM-THEME(5) — the itty-bitty theme file that runs your whole vibe

okay so bestie, welcome to the icewm-theme manual page (that's section 5 of the ICEWM-THEME(5) man pages, babe — Standards, Environments and Macros, very serious, very demure) 💖

✨ NAME ✨

icewm-theme — the icewm theme configuration file. that's it. that's the whole name. iconic.

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

here's where this little file can live, in all its glory:

$ICEWM_PRIVCFG/theme
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/icewm/theme
$HOME/.icewm/theme
/usr/etc/icewm/theme
/usr/share/icewm/theme

pick a lane, bestie 🦋

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

so the theme file literally just contains the name of the default theme. that's its whole job. one (1) job. 💅

on startup, icewm reads this file to get the theme name — unless icewm was started with the --theme option, in which case, respectfully, this file is not the main character that day 🙈.

and whenever you pick a different theme from the icewm Menu? the theme file gets overwritten with the name of the selected theme. so it's like a little memory keeper. lowkey cute. no cap.

🦋 FORMAT 🦋

the format is, and i cannot stress this enough, extremely simple:

  • the keyword "Theme"
  • an equals sign
  • a double-quoted string with the theme name

and the theme name itself is the name of the theme directory, then a slash, then the theme file. slay. ⭐

usually that theme file is just default.theme, but a theme can have alternatives — which are just small tweaks of a theme. they live in their own .theme file, and that file replaces default.theme. so it's giving remix energy ✨.

and if no theme file exists at all? icewm falls back to the default setting, which is Theme="icedesert/default.theme". bestie will be fine, don't worry 🫶

🔥 EXAMPLES 🔥

here's a theme file, and the comments show that icewm(1) keeps a history of previous theme settings — like a notes app but for your aesthetic:

Theme="CrystalBlue/default.theme"
#Theme="icedesert/default.theme"
##Theme="default/default.theme"

the way the old ones get commented out? obsessed. 📝

💜 FILES 💜

the locations for the theme file are as follows:

$ICEWM_PRIVCFG/theme
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/icewm/theme
$HOME/.icewm/theme
/usr/etc/icewm/theme
/usr/share/icewm/theme

and they are searched in the order listed — the first file found is read and the remainder is ignored. first come, first served, periodt. 👑

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

go read them, iykyk 💖

👑 AUTHOR 👑

Brian Bidulock <mailto:bidulock@openss7.org>. thank you brian, king behavior fr fr 🫶

⭐ LICENSE ⭐

IceWM is licensed under the GNU Library General Public License. see the COPYING file in the distribution. legal queen 💅

and that's the whole page, bestie — no crumbs left 🌸

mwah 💋 — icewm 4.1.0, dated 2026-08-06, that was ICEWM-THEME(5), and she ate. periodt.

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