Linux Mint is an excellent community-driven Linux distro based on Ubuntu. It is very popular among beginners because Linux Mint is very easy to use. Though it has Debian in its core, the user interface is quite modern and beautiful. It is mostly because of its default desktop environment Cinnamon. This open-source desktop environment can be used on other Linux distributions. Cinnamon is almost similar to Xfce and GNOME 2 because of its conservative design model. But since its release in 2011, it has got huge coverage because of its ease-of-use. The active developer community of Cinnamon is relentlessly developing amazing Cinnamon themes for the mass users. These Linux Mint themes can change your desktop and create such a gorgeous look.
Best Cinnamon Themes for Linux
As Cinnamon is an open-source platform, creative developers have a huge scope for creating themes for this desktop environment. For this reason, there are more than a thousand themes available for it. It’s very difficult to try out each and every theme to feed your eyes.
This is why we have made a list of the 15 best Cinnamon themes for your Linux desktop. We know that everyone’s taste is different. So, on this list, you will find different types of themes. Some will suit the best for the office workers while others will be liked by the young generation.
1. McOS
This is a specially designed Cinnamon theme looking like Apple’s macOS for Linux users. The latest version 2.0, is a reengineering of macOS Mojave. This Linux Mint theme was developed with Manjaro Cinnamon, but it is totally compatible with any distribution of Linux.
The default Nemo file manager has been tweaked a bit in this theme to look like macOS Finder. Some media apps automatically get dark mode with this theme to get blended with the rest of the user interface. You can also manually enable a dark theme for specific apps.
2. CBlack
CBlack is a completely dark theme for the Dark Mode Squad. It is probably the most popular dark Cinnamon theme until now. It includes an extra Linux Mint theme for gtk and gtk+. Users can easily change the transparency of the panels by altering some values in the code.
The icons of the preinstalled apps become dark following the theme. This theme changes the color of the progress bar, switch, and background tooltips. It also changes the pop-up menu and input box styles.
3. KissKool
KissKool is a modern and elegant Linux Mint theme. It is a very popular theme for the Cinnamon desktop environment. There are five different variants of this theme available for download. The Deluxe Blue, Deluxe California, Deluxe Pink, Red Light, and Sepia, all variants, are widely used by artsy Linux users.
The design is highly inspired by the material user interface. The colors are bold and classy. The colors and typefaces are used in such a way that it doesn’t strain your eyes. This light theme will easily suit anyone’s minimalist desktop setup.
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4. Windows Flat
Linux has such amazing distros and flexibility that no one wants to go back to Windows. But there are definitely some people who miss the user interface of Windows OS. This Cinnamon theme is for them. Though this tool will not give you the complete vanilla Windows 10 look, it will bring the flat vibe of Microsoft’s flagship software.
After installing this theme, your desktop will look like a cross-breed of Windows and Linux. The title bar buttons have a touch of bold and bright colors. On the other hand, the taskbar has a flat look to it to resemble almost a Windows desktop.
5. Cinnamox Kashmir Blue
This is a great theme with a blue color scheme. The color gradients are used in such a way that they will definitely soothe your mind. This is one of the very few Linux Mint themes that include several interactive Bash scripts to tweak the characteristics easily. You can change the font size according to your screen resolution and comfortability.
This is really an excellent feature. The panel transparency is also controllable via altering codes. Many aspects of the panel styling are customizable according to the choice of the user. You can even create your own version of Cinnamox by using the open-source repository.
6. Arquetype
This is a very popular Linux Mint theme. This theme is highly optimized for the Cinnamon desktop environment. The backgrounds of this theme are pitch black. The taskbar and other elements provide a flat look to the entire system.
The icons are tweaked so that they can blend with this material design language. Arquetype is not a heavy theme that will completely change the look and feel of your desktop, but you can definitely give it a shot if you want to have a clean and minimal setup.
7. Adapta Colorpack
It is an unofficial fork of one of the most popular base-theme Adapta. It fixes some missing things from the vanilla version of Adapta. It is highly inspired by the popular Adapta fork Adapta Colorpack from Ivankra. This theme has a lot of customization features than other Linux Mint themes that will change the entire look of your desktop.
It features 19 unique accent colors to choose from, including red, green, blue, pink, etc. Each color variant has six different flavors, such as light, dark, compact, dark compact, and light window decorations. Roboto or Noto Sans suits best with this theme, but you can use any of your favorite typefaces.
8. MGSE Unity
This is one of the very popular Unity-inspired Cinnamon themes. This theme has a pink tint on the entire user interface. The accent color is orange just to bring the default Unity vibe. The windows and panels in this theme are transparent with a frosted glass look.
Anyone looking for a minimal setup will love this theme. This is not for those who want complete control over every aspect of a theme. But if you are the one who has changed distro recently and want to get back the Ubuntu feel, then this is yours.
9. McMojave
Most Linux users install themes to get Apple’s Mac-like look and feel. It is one of the most polished macOS Mojave-inspired Cinnamon themes available out there. This will not completely replicate the Mac look on your desktop. Some tweaks here and there will make it look even more gorgeous than the Mojave.
The default icons are replaced with the icons from iOS and Mac. There is a small Apple button on the taskbar, which looks beautiful in a silly way. Users can have light or dark mode according to their choice. There are four different variants of this Cinnamon theme: Dark, Light, Dark Solid, and Light Solid.
10. Canopy Light
This is a simple and lightweight theme for the Cinnamon desktop environment. It is a direct fork of the Popular Mint-Y base-theme. It has four different flavors available for download. They are Blue, Silver, Golden, and Green.
Each flavor has an optional dark mode. You have to choose the variant and download that accordingly. The icons are flat and elegant. The windows and panels have a 3D pop in their design. Canopy light uses Cherry Swash, Sans, Sans-Serif typefaces.
11. Cinnamox Rhino
Cinnamox Rhino is a popular variant of the Cinnamox parent there. It has six other flavors named Aubergine, Gold Spice, Kashmir Blue, Heather, Rosso Cursa, and Willow Grove. Cinnamox Rhino features a deep grey color scheme and light text. It has interactive Bash scripts to make more customizations and tweaks.
It is actually an official fork of the Oomox theme from the same author. You can change the font size according to the display size and resolution. The theme panel transparency and stylings are also customizable. Users can even make their own versions of the Cinnamox theme using the Github repository.
12. Zorin OS Red
This is a gorgeous Cinnamon theme that almost looks like the modern Zorin OS. It is compatible even with the latest version of Linux Mint with Cinnamon desktop installed. The entire UI is pitch black with red accents.
If you set it up with some red and black wallpapers, it will look dope. The icons of the preinstalled apps are customized to suit this theme. But you can always install a custom icon pack to soothe your eyes. This simple and elegant-looking theme is very popular among coders.
13. Silk
Silk is a flat dark theme for Linux Mint. It has a beautiful bright green accent to it, which blends nicely with the classic Mint color. The user interface is quite simple yet aesthetically pleasant. The start menu button is actually a Linux Mint logo.
If you set it up with a green techy wallpaper and custom icon pack, it will bring a fresh vibe. The power and lock buttons have a dark and flat design. The taskbar of this theme is not extraordinary. But you can use custom widgets to make it even more gorgeous.
14. YouTube
Never be confused with the video-sharing site! This is a very interesting theme, just like its name. It will bring the YouTube ambiance onto your Linux desktop. From the taskbar to the application windows, each and every panel is transparent in this theme. There is a red accent painted over the transparent panels.
The taskbar has a bold red borderline to distinguish itself from the desktop area. Don’t expect some Google-inspired icons in this theme. The icons are kept simple and minimal. But the overall appearance of this theme is so good that you will bound to love it anyway.
15. BlueSky
BlueSky is one of the most elegant Linux Mint themes available out there. The color combination is soothing and classy. Users of all ages tend to like this theme. This Cinnamon theme is based on Arc, which is one of the most popular base-theme. BlueSky has dark and light modes from which the users can choose their style.
The stylings can be tweaked by going to the settings menu. It inherits all the useful features and customizations from its parent. For the launcher icons, it uses the White Pixel icon pack. This flat theme can be your next choice for your desktop.
How To Customize the Look of Cinnamon
Since Linux Mint is a lightweight distribution of Linux, many people have a common misconception that Mint’s default desktop manager, which is Cinnamon, doesn’t offer a beautiful user interface. Well, it’s partially true in the case of the stock or vanilla look. But as you can see on the above list that Cinnamon offers a huge library of beautiful and modern looking themes for your desktop.
You can easily install those themes and get a unique and gorgeous look. Sometimes the downloaded packages of Cinnamon themes for Linux aren’t enough for customization. If you want granular control over your desktop, you should always change almost every element of the desktop environment because the Cinnamon desktop environment offers great flexibility in customizing its default look.
Changing the Wallpaper
Changing the wallpaper is very basic but undoubtedly the most effective way of customization. You can download free HD and 4K wallpapers of different styles from the internet. If you custom search on Google about it, you can even get wallpapers that match the color scheme of your theme. A little knowledge about photography and GIMP can help you bypass this downloading thing and make your own wallpaper.
To change the existing wallpaper of your desktop, right-click on the desktop and then select the Change Desktop Background option from the drop-down menu. It will open a window, and from here, you can add new wallpapers from your computer’s storage. The Settings tab will be very useful if you want to change the behavior of your new wallpaper. Just tinker around a bit with this to find the best settings.
Editing the Panel
Some Windows kinda people prefer it calling the taskbar. Anyway, the Cinnamon desktop offers great flexibility in customizing the panel. To change the panel settings, you have to right-click on the existing panel and select the Panel Settings option from the menu.
Now a new window will open with a lot of customization features. From here, you can change the panel height, behavior, icons, and even add new panels. This customization will not only change the look and feel of your desktop but also boost your workflow.
Adding the Desklets
Desklets are useful desktop widgets to quickly view different things like time, date, temperature, computer resources, etc. But the most important aspect of these desklets is the ability to beautify your desktop in an aesthetic way.
There are some desklets preinstalled with the Cinnamon desktop environment, while you can download other desklets from the internet. To add a desklet in Cinnamon, you have to right-click on the desktop and select Add Desklets option. The Settings tab will even help you with changing the behavior of the desklets.
Tweaking the Login Screen
This thing is not customized by most of the Cinnamon themes users. But believe me, by customizing the login screen of your desktop, you can easily bring a very own type of look into your computer. Though the login screen is not a thing to use for hours of hours, anyone seeing you logging into your computer may get surprised by this customization.
To customize the login screen, just go to the menu and then enter into the Administration category. Now click on the Login Window option; a new window will open. The pop-up window will let you change the different parameters of your login screen.
Final Thoughts
The above-mentioned Linux Mint themes are both beautiful and classy. The most important fact is that all of the above themes are recently updated. I think if you try out these 15 Cinnamon themes, you will get your desired daily driver. All the themes are open-source, and this is why you can tweak them if you want granular control over your desktop. As I said earlier, every person’s taste is different. So you can suggest your favorite Cinnamon themes below so that others can try that out.
I don’t understand how, but ugliness seems to be baked into the cinnamon desktop. All these themes, but none of them are attractive.
Just WHAT is this obsession with flat, colorless and featureless themes? I want my desktop to have TEXTURE to it. I want titlebars that have textures and colors, where the currently active window looks DIFFERENT from background window titlebars. And I don’t want to have titlebars that are cluttered up with all the cruft the GNOME project seems so hell-bent on shoving there where it doesn’t belong. From what I’ve read the GNOME Project is hell-bent on removing any theme support/compatibilit, and want to make GTK only capable of showing gray-on-gray-on-gray-on-gray. And once they manage to break it on GNOME, it will be broken in Cinnamon as well.
Ever since I discovered the Oomox Theme Builder, I haven’t downloaded a theme for a while. Most of the themes are either bright white, or that unsightly grey, or variations of the two. With the theme builder I get the colours I like.
Here’s an update for anyone that reads these comments. If you also don’t like the bright white or hideous dark grey, try nestort’s work on pling (dot) com, or Aravisian’s GTK themes on github. Both are much, much better than the offerings in this article. (Though I have to compliment the various Cinnamox themes. They DO look quite nice.)
I was surprised not to see my current favourite theme, blue-submarine – it should be in the top 20 – Love the ‘downlighrer’ on the windows.
Good themes! The adapta Colorpack it’s my! I saw that some things were missing, I put them on, and made small changes!