Skip to main content
Version: main

Create your first theme

A step-by-step guide to generating your first theme with tinct.

Step 1: Choose your source​

You need a colour source. The most common is an image:

# From a local image
tinct generate -i image -p ~/Pictures/wallpaper.jpg -o all

# From a URL (auto-cached)
tinct generate -i image -p "https://example.com/wallpaper.jpg" -o all

Step 2: Preview the palette​

Before applying, preview what colours tinct extracted:

tinct generate -i image -p ~/Pictures/wallpaper.jpg -o all --preview

This shows the colour palette with role assignments without writing any files.

Step 3: Check what will be written​

Use dry-run mode to see the files that would be created:

tinct generate -i image -p ~/Pictures/wallpaper.jpg -o all --dry-run

Step 4: Generate and apply​

When you're satisfied, run without --preview or --dry-run:

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

Tinct will:

  • Write configuration files to each application's expected location
  • Track files in ~/.config/tinct/.tinct-manifest.json
  • Trigger reload hooks for supported applications

Step 5: Reload applications​

Most applications need to be reloaded or restarted to pick up changes:

# Kitty (if --kitty.reload was not used)
kill -SIGUSR1 $(pgrep kitty)

# Waybar
killall -SIGUSR2 waybar

# Hyprland (reads colour variables automatically)
# No reload needed

Some plugins support automatic reload via flags:

tinct generate -i image -p ~/Pictures/wallpaper.jpg -o kitty --kitty.reload

Step 6: Save your theme​

Save the theme as a portable markdown file:

tinct generate -i image -p ~/Pictures/wallpaper.jpg \
  -o markdown \
  --markdown.name "My Theme" \
  --markdown.include-thumbnail

This creates ~/.config/tinct/themes/my-theme.md with:

  • Full colour palette
  • Embedded wallpaper (base64)
  • Optional thumbnail preview

Step 7: Restore later​

Restore from the saved markdown file:

tinct generate -i markdown \
  --markdown.path ~/.config/tinct/themes/my-theme.md \
  -o all

Force theme type​

Override automatic theme detection:

# Force dark theme
tinct generate -i image -p ~/Pictures/wallpaper.jpg -o all -t dark

# Force light theme
tinct generate -i image -p ~/Pictures/wallpaper.jpg -o all -t light

Verbose output​

See detailed information about what tinct is doing:

tinct generate -i image -p ~/Pictures/wallpaper.jpg -o all -v

Next steps​