Skip to content
This repository was archived by the owner on Apr 13, 2026. It is now read-only.

kde-theme.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
175 lines (115 loc) · 4.43 KB

kde-theme.md

File metadata and controls

175 lines (115 loc) · 4.43 KB

KDE Plasma Theme

Candi provides color schemes for KDE Plasma desktop environments, supporting versions 4, 5, and 6.

Installation

Release Artifacts

  1. Download kde.zip from the latest GitHub release.

  2. Extract the archive:

    unzip kde.zip

  3. Install based on your Plasma version:

    Plasma 5 or 6:

    cp kde/v5/*.colors ~/.local/share/color-schemes/

    Plasma 4:

    cp kde/v4/*.colors ~/.kde4/share/apps/color-schemes/

    For system-wide installation (requires sudo):

    # Plasma 5/6
sudo cp kde/v5/*.colors /usr/share/color-schemes/

# Plasma 4
sudo cp kde/v4/*.colors /usr/share/apps/color-schemes/

From Source

If you're building from the repository:

# Build KDE color schemes
npm run build:kde

# Install
cp kde/v5/*.colors ~/.local/share/color-schemes/

See Using Release Artifacts for more installation options.

Applying the Theme

  1. Open System Settings
  2. Navigate to Appearance → Colors
  3. Select Candi Light or Candi Dark from the list
  4. Click Apply

The theme will be applied to all KDE applications and window decorations.

Available Themes

  • Candi Light - Warm, soft light theme with hygge aesthetics
  • Candi Dark - Balanced dark theme with comfortable contrast

Color Scheme Structure

The .colors files define colors for:

Section Elements
Windows Backgrounds, borders, and chrome
Buttons All button states and controls
Selection Text selection and highlights
Views Lists, tables, and tree views
Tooltips Hover tooltips
Headers Title bars and headers
Complementary Sidebars and secondary areas
Window Manager Title bars and window decorations

All colors are derived from the Candi Design System's OKLCH color space and converted to RGB for KDE compatibility.

Plasma 5 vs 6 Compatibility

Important

While the color scheme format remains compatible across Plasma 5 and 6, color schemes should be updated to include new Plasma 6 color roles for optimal compatibility.

What this means:

  • Plasma 5 users: Full support with no known issues
  • Plasma 6 users: Themes work but may display minor visual regressions if new color roles aren't defined
  • Recommended: Use the theme version matching your Plasma version

The Candi color schemes are actively maintained for Plasma 6 and include definitions for new color roles introduced in that version.

Customization

To customize colors:

  1. Copy a Candi theme to create a new scheme:

    cp ~/.local/share/color-schemes/CandiLight.colors ~/.local/share/color-schemes/MyTheme.colors

  2. Edit the .colors file in a text editor

  3. Update the [General] section with your new name:

    [General]
ColorScheme=My Theme
Name=My Theme

  4. Modify color values in RGB format (0-255):

    [Colors:Window]
BackgroundNormal=249,247,243

  5. Refresh System Settings to see your new theme

For advanced customization using OKLCH, modify src/data/colors.js in the repository and rebuild:

npm run build:kde

Troubleshooting

Theme not appearing in System Settings

  • Ensure files are in the correct directory (~/.local/share/color-schemes/ for Plasma 5/6)
  • Check file permissions: chmod 644 ~/.local/share/color-schemes/*.colors
  • Restart System Settings or log out and back in

Colors look wrong in Plasma 6

  • Verify you're using the v5 color schemes (compatible with Plasma 6)
  • Check for theme updates in newer releases
  • Report issues on GitHub

Inconsistent colors across applications

  • Some applications may override theme colors
  • Check application-specific settings
  • Ensure you've applied the theme system-wide in System Settings

Development

The KDE color schemes are generated from the same OKLCH source (src/data/colors.js) as all other Candi platforms:

# Build all platforms including KDE
npm run build:all

# Build only KDE
npm run build:kde

# Package into kde.zip
npm run artifact

Color conversion logic is in scripts/build-kde.js and uses the centralized converter from scripts/color-conv.js.

Related Documentation