w-theme
w-theme — Switch, add and manage W themes with seamless crossfade.
Usage
Usage: w-theme <command> [options]
Info: Switch, add and manage W themes with seamless crossfade.
Commands:
set <name> [--no-fade] Switch theme.
no root → this user, instant, crossfade
sudo → system fallback + skel + boot/greeter
--no-fade skip the crossfade
reset Drop your personal theme, follow the system fallback
new <name> --wallpaper <image> [opts]
Build a theme from an image: the wallpaper is
cover-cropped to every resolution tier and the palette
is extracted from it (matugen + OKLCH mapping).
no root → ~/.config/w/themes/, sudo → /etc/w/themes/
--appearance dark|light default dark
--contrast low|medium|high
how much the surfaces are
tinted and how far apart
the tones sit; low is the
pastel end, default medium
--seed-index <n> which base colour of the
image to build from
(0 = most dominant)
--scheme <matugen type> default: adaptive
--activate switch to it once built
--json print the palette matrix
only, create nothing: every
base colour the image
offers × dark/light × every
contrast level (GUI preview;
the other options are then
irrelevant, it returns all
of them)
edit <name> [opts] Rebuild a generated theme's palette in place, keeping
its wallpaper. Same options as `new` minus the image
(a different wallpaper is a different theme — use
`new`), plus --rename <newname>; anything not given
keeps what the theme already has. Re-skins the session
(or the system) if that theme is the active one.
Hand-authored themes are refused.
rm <name> Delete a theme (sudo for a system one). If it is your
active theme, the pin is reset first.
list [--porcelain] List system and local themes (* = active here)
--porcelain TSV: name, scope, dir, active, generated
current Show the effective user and system themes
Theme dirs:
system /etc/w/themes/<name>/
local ~/.config/w/themes/<name>/ (each: theme.conf + wallpaper/)
A generated theme carries only theme.conf, wallpaper/ and preview.webp — motion,
geometry, effects, fonts and the Kvantum base are inherited from the baseline
theme 'w', so it keeps up with W instead of freezing a copy.
Exit codes:
0 Success
1 Runtime error
2 Usage error
Examples:
w-theme list
w-theme set midnight
sudo w-theme set midnight
w-theme reset
w-theme new sunset --wallpaper ~/Pictures/sunset.jpg --activate
w-theme new garden --wallpaper ~/Pictures/park.jpg --seed-index 1 --contrast low
sudo w-theme new corporate --wallpaper /srv/brand.png
w-theme edit sunset --contrast low
w-theme rm sunsetThis page is generated from the command's own help text (w-docs-refgen). The
live version of the same text on a W machine: w-theme help.