Linux icon themes: previews and safe installs
An icon theme replaces the application, folder and status icons across your desktop. What matters most is coverage: a theme with icons for few apps falls back to another theme for the rest, which mixes styles. Large themes such as Papirus cover thousands of applications; smaller ones focus on a look.
Icon themes install into ~/.local/share/icons for your user or /usr/share/icons for everyone, and you switch between them in your desktop settings, with nwg-look, or with gsettings. Some entries are add-ons rather than full themes, like Catppuccin Papirus Folders, which recolors Papirus folders.
16 entries · each pinned to an exact upstream version · updated
All 16 entries, compared
Filter in the catalogue →| Setup | Works with | Difficulty | What it changes | Maintenance | Stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 PapirusPopular, very complete SVG icon theme with dark and light variants. | Works with: Any desktop (Wayland & X11) | Moderate | Changes: 1 package | Active | Stars: 8.2k |
 WhiteSur IconsmacOS Big Sur style icon theme for Linux desktops. | Works with: Any desktop (Wayland & X11) | Advanced | Changes: 1 package | Active | Stars: 2.1k |
 La CapitaineIcon pack blending macOS and Material Design. | Works with: Any desktop (Wayland & X11) | Advanced | Changes: 1 package | Quiet | Stars: 2.0k |
 TelaFlat icon theme available in many color variants. | Works with: Any desktop (Wayland & X11) | Advanced | Changes: 1 package | Active | Stars: 1.9k |
 Candy IconsVivid gradient icon theme, a match for neon setups. | Works with: Any desktop (Wayland & X11) | Advanced | Changes: 1 package | Active | Stars: 1.3k |
 Colloid IconsColorful icon theme with Nord, Dracula and Gruvbox schemes. | Works with: Any desktop (Wayland & X11) | Advanced | Changes: 1 package | Active | Stars: 1.2k |
| Works with: GNOME (Wayland & X11) | Advanced | Changes: 1 package | Active | Stars: 1.1k | |
 KoraModern SVG icon theme with depth and gradients. | Works with: Any desktop (Wayland & X11) | Advanced | Changes: 1 package | Active | Stars: 956 |
 Qogir IconsClean, flat icon theme with geometric shapes. | Works with: Any desktop (Wayland & X11) | Advanced | Changes: 1 package | Quiet | Stars: 939 |
 Numix CircleClassic circular application icon theme. | Works with: Any desktop (Wayland & X11) | Advanced | Changes: 1 package | Quiet | Stars: 931 |
 Fluent IconsIcon theme inspired by Microsoft Fluent Design. | Works with: Any desktop (Wayland & X11) | Advanced | Changes: 1 package | Active | Stars: 884 |
| Works with: Any desktop (Wayland & X11) | Advanced | Changes: 1 package | Active | Stars: 815 | |
 ZafiroMinimalist flat icons with soft pastel colors. | Works with: Any desktop (Wayland & X11) | Advanced | Changes: 1 package | Quiet | Stars: 465 |
 NordzyIcon theme tailored to the Nord palette. | Works with: Any desktop (Wayland & X11) | Advanced | Changes: 1 package | Active | Stars: 425 |
 Win11 IconsIcon theme reproducing the Windows 11 look. | Works with: Any desktop (Wayland & X11) | Advanced | Changes: 1 package | Quiet | Stars: 391 |
 Catppuccin Papirus FoldersCatppuccin-colored folders for the Papirus icon theme. | Works with: Any desktop (Wayland & X11) | Advanced | Changes: 1 package | Quiet | Stars: 269 |
How to choose
- Favor coverage if you use many third-party apps; favor style if you keep a small, curated set.
- Match the icon theme to your GTK theme family for a consistent look.
- A user install needs no sudo and is removed by deleting one folder.
Questions
Why do some apps keep their old icon?
The theme has no icon for that app, so the desktop uses the theme it inherits from. Themes with larger coverage, or an extension set like MoreWaita for Adwaita, reduce the gaps.
How do I change the icon theme outside GNOME and KDE?
Use nwg-look, or run gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface icon-theme followed by the theme name. GTK apps read this setting on any window manager.
Where are icon themes installed?
In ~/.local/share/icons for your user, or /usr/share/icons system-wide. Each theme is one folder named after it.