How to install GTK based themes on Lubuntu

On previous article i already show you how to change and also add new themes on lubuntu, in this article i want to discuss more about themes on lubuntu.

As we know, lubuntu is using LXDE as the desktop environment, which is GTK based, so therefore any GTK based themes should works well on lubuntu.

So if you are looking for themes for lubuntu, look for GTK based themes, theoretically it should works well on lubuntu.

Where i can find/download themes for lubuntu?

You can find themes for lubuntu online using google, just enter keyword 'GTK themes download' or 'lubuntu themes download', you will get plenty results.

And one of the best site for download themes for lubuntu and i highly recommend is the gnome-look.org, they have like thousands of themes, icons, and other good stuff to download.

One thing that i forgot to mention on the previous article is that actually you can put themes files on two location, first is the ~/.themes folder, if you put the themes files there, the themes will be available only for you, other users can't use it.

If you want to add themes on lubuntu and available for all users, simply copy the themes file to /usr/share/themes/, this will makes the themes available for everybody.

Step by step how to install GTK based themes on Lubuntu

• download the themes you want
• extract the files and copy to location: /usr/share/themes/ (everybody can use) or ~/.themes (only for you). For example :

install theme globally (for everybody):


sudo tar -zxvf my-new-themes.tar.gz -C /usr/share/themes/

sudo unzip my-new-themes.zip -d /usr/share/themes/



install theme only for me:


tar -zxvf my-new-themes.tar.gz -C ~/.themes/

sudo unzip my-new-themes.zip -d ~/.themes/



• open LXAppearance, lubuntu start menu > Preferences > Customize Look and Feel.
• activate the theme that you just add, click apply.
• done, your desktop should looks different now.

Note that some themes are just widget themes, some are icon theme, some other are window border, etc, some might have them all, some might not.

In the future there is a plan that lubuntu will start using QT (LXQT), and when that happens the GTK based themes might not be working, maybe...just maybe, i'm not sure.