A sleek icon theme can completely transform the look and feel of your Linux desktop. Whether you’re aiming for a modern, minimalist interface or something bold and colorful, the right set of icons adds that extra layer of polish and personality.
In 2025, Linux theming is more vibrant than ever, with designers pushing the boundaries of aesthetic and usability. In this post, we’ve handpicked 12 of the most beautiful icon themes available right now — perfect for customizing your desktop and giving it a fresh, stunning visual upgrade.
1. Flat Remix Icons
Flat Remix Icons theme is inspired by material design. It features mostly flat icons with shadows, highlights, and gradients for some depth based on its beautifully contrasted colour palette. It is part of the Flat Remix project which also includes a Material Design-inspired GNOME and GTK theme.
Install Flat Remix Icons theme using following PPA in Ubuntu and Linux Mint.
$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:daniruiz/flat-remix $ sudo apt-get update $ sudo apt-get install flat-remix-gnome
On Fedora based distributions.
$ sudo dnf copr enable daniruiz/flat-remix $ sudo dnf install flat-remix-gnome
Other Linux distributions, install manually as shown.
# git clone https://github.com/daniruiz/flat-remix && # mkdir -p ~/.icons && cp -r flat-remix/Flat-Remix* ~/.icons/ && # gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface icon-theme "Flat-Remix"
2. Paper Icon Theme
Paper Icon Theme is an open source FreeDesktop icon project. Its icons have a modern Material Design look with rounded corners. It’s a part of the Paper project which also includes cursors and a theme with light and dark color variants.
Install Paper Icon theme using following PPA in Ubuntu and Linux Mint.
$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:snwh/pulp $ sudo apt-get update $ sudo apt-get install paper-icon-theme paper-gtk-theme
For RPM-based distributions, repositories for Paper Theme and installation instructions for both Fedora and openSUSE are available on the openSUSE build system.
For Arch Linux, there is a Arch User Repository package(s) that provide both the Paper icons and GTK theme.
3. Lüv Icon Theme
Lüv (formerly Flattr) is a beautiful and somewhat glossy icon theme for any modern Desktop Environment. Lüv comes in its git repo alongside a badge of complimentary wallpapers suited of it.
To install Lüv Icon Theme, follow the installation instructions here: https://github.com/Nitrux/luv-icon-theme.
4. Shadow Icon Theme
Shadow is a flat icon theme with colourful icons that all have a circular base and a long shadow (probably the reason for the name).
Install Shadow Icon Theme using following PPA in Ubuntu and Linux Mint.
$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:noobslab/icons $ sudo apt-get update $ sudo apt-get install shadow-icon-theme
Other Linux distributions, follow these instructions to install it.
$ mkdir -p ~/.icons $ cd ~/.icons $ git clone https://github.com/rudrab/Shadow.git
Activate the theme using tweak-tool or from the command line:
$ gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface icon-theme "Shadow"
5. Oranchelo Icons Theme
Oranchelo icons is a set of beautiful background-less icons with a Material Design-inspired colour palette and flat long shadows. Think of it as a set of Cornie Icons for the Linux desktop.
Install Oranchelo Icons Theme using following PPA in Ubuntu and Linux Mint.
$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:oranchelo/oranchelo-icon-theme $ sudo apt-get update $ sudo apt-get install oranchelo-icon-theme
On Other Linux distributions, you can install it manually as shown.
$ git clone https://github.com/OrancheloTeam/oranchelo-icon-theme.git $ cd oranchelo-icon-theme $ ./oranchelo-installer.sh
6. Surfn
Surfn is a colourful icon theme that is based on four different icon themes: Ultra Flat icons, Super Flat remix icons, Yltra Flat icons, and Numix (Circle) icons.
It takes more steps than a couple of commands to install Surfn so you’re better off following the instructions as listed on its GitHub page or else, you can use following commands to
$ mkdir -p ~/.icons $ cd ~/.icons $ git clone https://github.com/erikdubois/Super-Ultra-Flat-Numix-Remix $ cd Super-Ultra-Flat-Numix-Remix
7. Papirus Icon Theme
Papirus is an SVG-based icon theme with a material and flat style. All its elements have clear outlines with distinct colour tones available in 6 variants.
Install Papirus Icon Theme using following PPA in Ubuntu and Linux Mint.
$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:varlesh-l/papirus-pack $ sudo apt-get update $ sudo apt-get install papirus-gtk-icon-theme
On Other Linux distributions, you can use the scripts to install the latest version directly.
$ wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/PapirusDevelopmentTeam/papirus-icon-theme/master/install.sh | sh
8. Numix Circle Icon Theme
Numix Circle is the latest improvement of the icon theme set contained in the Numix project. All its icons have a circle container with well thought out shadows.
Install Numix Circle Icon Theme using following PPA in Ubuntu and Linux Mint.
$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:numix/ppa $ sudo apt-get update $ sudo apt-get install numix-icon-theme-circle
On Fedora distributions.
$ sudo dnf install numix-icon-theme-circle
9. Xenlism Icon Theme
Xenlism is a technological graphics project bound to improve your desktop’s overall UI/UX. Its design-focused minimalism and realism are inspired by Nokia’s Meego and Apple’s iOS icons theme.
Install Xenlism Icon Theme use the following instructions in Ubuntu and Linux Mint.
$ sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keys.gnupg.net --recv-keys 90127F5B $ echo "deb http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/xenlism-wildfire/repo deb/" | $ sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list $ sudo apt-get update $ sudo apt-get install xenlism-wildfire-icon-theme
On Other Linux distributions, you can follow the installation instructions here.
10. Uniform Icon Theme
Uniform is a beautiful icon theme set that ironically, has differently shaped containers for each icon. Its design is achieved by maintaining the same pattern instead of drawing the same container – a style the developer decided on after testing “every shape on the planet to get a unique and original theme” and then flipping the table to unshape everything.
Install Uniform Icon Theme using following PPA in Ubuntu and Linux Mint.
$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:noobslab/icons2 $ sudo apt-get update $ sudo apt-get install uniform-icons
On Arch Linux, install using yaourt command.
# yaourt -S uniform-icon-theme
11. FlatWoken Icon Theme
FlatWoken is a derivative of AwOken icon theme developed to be a complete set of icon themes for Linux and Android. It features colourful icons with shadow gradients all enclosed in square-shaped containers with rounded corners.
It contains multiple icon styles for the same app as well as multiple icon styles for system and user icons.
Install FlatWoken Icon Theme in Ubuntu and Linux Mint using the following instructions.
From your preferred directory in the terminal type:
$ git clone https://github.com/alecive/FlatWoken.git
cd into the FlatWoken folder and mv the folders named “FlatWoken” and “FlatWokenMin” into your ~/.icons directory (create the directory if it doesn’t exist).
You can now set FlatWoken or FlatWokenMin as your theme using the Gnome tweak tool or your favourite alternative.
12. Lila HD Icon Theme
Lila HD icons are square-shaped with a dark overlay diagonally cutting across. Unlike flat-style icons, Lila HD icons are skeuomorphic, thus having a more tangible appearance.
Apart from its default colour scheme, it comes in Blue, Crimson, Dark, green, Kaki, Light grey, and Purple variants. It also contains cursor, reload, navigation, etc. icons which all work together to provide a uniform Desktop Experience.
Install Lila HD Icon Theme in Ubuntu and Linux Mint using the following instructions.
$ git clone https://github.com/ilnanny/Lila-HD-icon-theme.git
Copy the files to your directory
$ cp -r Lila-HD-icon-theme/Lila_HD /usr/share/icons/ $ cp -r Lila-HD-icon-theme/Lila_HD_Blue /usr/share/icons/ $ cp -r Lila-HD-icon-theme/Lila_HD_Dark /usr/share/icons/ $ cp -r Lila-HD-icon-theme/Lila_HD_Green /usr/share/icons/ $ cp -r Lila-HD-icon-theme/Lila_HD_Kaki /usr/share/icons/ $ cp -r Lila-HD-icon-theme/Lila_HD_Light-Grey /usr/share/icons/ $ cp -r Lila-HD-icon-theme/Lila_HD_Purple /usr/share/icons/ $ cp -r Lila-HD-icon-theme/Lila_HD_Crimson /usr/share/icons/ $ cp -r Lila-HD-icon-theme/Lila_HD-cursor /usr/share/icons/ $ mv /usr/share/icons/default /usr/share/icons/default-bk
Make icon cache for Lila-HD-icon-theme
cd Lila-HD-icon-theme/ sh icon-cache-maker.sh
On Other Linux distributions, you can follow the installation instructions here.
Notable Mention:
Vivacious Colors is a beautiful theme that comes with so many personalization options. Of course, they come at a price. This icon theme requires about 55 MB of space and with GTK Icon Cache Files, could require up to 280 MB.
Install Vivacious Colors using following PPA in Ubuntu and Linux Mint.
$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ravefinity-project/ppa $ sudo apt-get update $ sudo apt-get install vivacious-colors-gtk-dark $ sudo apt-get install vivacious-colors-gtk-light
Conclusion:
Icons might seem like small details, but they play a big role in shaping your desktop experience. The themes we’ve covered here bring style, clarity, and charm to your Linux setup — and the best part? They’re free and easy to install.
Whether you’re into flat design, skeuomorphism, or something uniquely artistic, there’s an icon pack here to match your vibe. Try a few, mix and match, and find the one that makes your desktop feel just right.
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We strongly encourage the use of legal, open-source, or official solutions in a responsible manner.
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