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gtk4

Generate colour themes for GTK4 applications.

Description

GTK4 is the current version of the GTK toolkit, used by traditional (non-libadwaita) GTK4 applications. The plugin generates a CSS file that overrides application colours.

For modern GNOME applications that use libadwaita, see the libadwaita plugin instead.

Output path

~/.config/gtk-4.0/tinct-gtk4.css

Usage

tinct generate -i image -p ~/wallpaper.jpg -o gtk4

Flags

FlagDefaultDescription
--gtk4.output-dir~/.config/gtk-4.0Output directory for GTK4 theme files

Configuration

After generation, import the theme in your GTK4 configuration.

Add this line to ~/.config/gtk-4.0/gtk.css:

@import url("tinct-gtk4.css");

Changes will apply to newly opened GTK4 applications.

Themed elements

The GTK4 theme affects:

  • Window backgrounds
  • Button colours
  • Selection highlights
  • Text colours
  • Scrollbars
  • Menu colours
  • Header bars

GTK4 vs libadwaita

AspectGTK4libadwaita
Target appsTraditional GTK4 appsModern GNOME apps
StylingCustom CSSCSS with named colours
ExamplesSome IDEs, utilitiesFiles, Text Editor, Console

Most modern GNOME applications use libadwaita rather than plain GTK4. If you're targeting GNOME apps, you likely want both plugins.

See also