# 0.14.7 "refined" dark theme is really bad
**URL:** https://forum.syncthing.net/t/0-14-7-refined-dark-theme-is-really-bad/8292
**Category:** General
**Created:** [September 22, 2016, 2:59pm UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/0-14-7-refined-dark-theme-is-really-bad/8292 "2016-09-22T14:59:28Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Skoop](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/Skoop)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2016, 2:59pm UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/0-14-7-refined-dark-theme-is-really-bad/8292/1 "2016-09-22T14:59:28Z")
Change to the theme is washed out and quite unattractive. Please fix it back to white on black.
---
### Author:  [@AudriusButkevicius](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/AudriusButkevicius)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2016, 3:12pm UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/0-14-7-refined-dark-theme-is-really-bad/8292/2 "2016-09-22T15:12:51Z")
This is all relative to the individuals taste sadly.
---
### Author:  [@Skoop](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/Skoop)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2016, 3:17pm UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/0-14-7-refined-dark-theme-is-really-bad/8292/3 "2016-09-22T15:17:22Z")
Well, sure. But the new one doesn’t even approach being dark.
Edit: How about restoring the original dark as another option. So there would white, grey, and dark choices.
---
### Author:  [@calmh](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/calmh)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2016, 3:39pm UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/0-14-7-refined-dark-theme-is-really-bad/8292/4 "2016-09-22T15:39:47Z")
We should document how to use custom themes; it’s not difficult, just not obvious or documented at the moment… I think two themes shipped by default are enough for the moment, and whether those are fantastic or really ugly is indeed in the eye of the beholder.
---
### Author:  [@wweich](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/wweich)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2016, 3:56pm UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/0-14-7-refined-dark-theme-is-really-bad/8292/5 "2016-09-22T15:56:23Z")
The only way I know is the `STGUIASSETS` env var. But in the folder that var points to, there need to be all assets for the gui, not just the theme, right? So after every (automatic) upgrade, one has to get the gui folder for that version from source, check if the custom css needs modification for gui changes and restart syncthing.
---
### Author:  [@calmh](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/calmh)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/0-14-7-refined-dark-theme-is-really-bad/8292/6 "2016-09-22T16:20:16Z")
No, only the files to be overridden, in this case the CSS file, need to be there. And without STGUIASSETS being set it defaults to `gui` in the config dir. So all that needs to be done is to drop a css file in the right place, being `$configDir/gui/theme-name/assets/css/theme.css`. It should then show up as `theme-name` in the theme selector in the GUI. Or that’s the intention at least.
---
### Author:  [@canton7](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/canton7)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/0-14-7-refined-dark-theme-is-really-bad/8292/7 "2016-09-22T16:28:55Z")
Yep, just tested and it works fine.
---
### Author:  [@calmh](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/calmh)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2016, 5:43pm UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/0-14-7-refined-dark-theme-is-really-bad/8292/8 "2016-09-22T17:43:13Z")
Right, so ten internet points to anyone who writes that up as a user friendly how to on the docs site. 🙂
---
### Author:  [@Skoop](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/Skoop)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2016, 2:08pm UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/0-14-7-refined-dark-theme-is-really-bad/8292/9 "2016-09-23T14:08:40Z")
In the mean time, could you maybe switch it back like it was, and let the internet point winner show those who want the faded unattractive version how to get that one?
Really, I’m trying to be diplomatic here with my feedback. I realize that it’s subjective. But, from the point of view of my one data point, you fixed something that wasn’t broken.
---
### Author:  [@canton7](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/canton7)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2016, 2:11pm UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/0-14-7-refined-dark-theme-is-really-bad/8292/10 "2016-09-23T14:11:51Z")
> [@Skoop](#):
>
> Really, I’m trying to be diplomatic here with my feedback. I realize that it’s subjective. But, from the point of view of my one data point, you fixed something that wasn’t broken.
… and from other people’s point of view, we fixed something that was broken.
See the issue:
>
>
> \### Purpose
>
> Adding an Grey Theme to the Syncthing GUI
> Its based on "Dark Theme"… but the elements are brighter/grey
> \### Screenshots
>
> !\[st1\](https://cloud.githubusercontent.com/assets/7014664/18605212/ff51290e-7c8b-11e6-8cec-6c3e8b3671cd.jpg)
---
### Author:  [@Skoop](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/Skoop)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2016, 2:37pm UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/0-14-7-refined-dark-theme-is-really-bad/8292/11 "2016-09-23T14:37:37Z")
Ok, then. Looks like three peeps didn’t like it. I’m outvoted.
---
### Author:  [@calmh](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/calmh)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2016, 4:21pm UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/0-14-7-refined-dark-theme-is-really-bad/8292/12 "2016-09-23T16:21:25Z")
> [@Skoop](#):
>
> let the internet point winner show those who want the faded unattractive version how to get that one?
>
> Really, I’m trying to be diplomatic here with my feedback
You’re not succeeding, which is probably not helping your case. We’re talking about a theme. It’s always going to be subjective. I like the new dark version better, as apparently did the author of it. Obviously, some people are bound to disagree. It stays.
---
### Author:  [@AudriusButkevicius](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/AudriusButkevicius)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2016, 4:39pm UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/0-14-7-refined-dark-theme-is-really-bad/8292/13 "2016-09-23T16:39:16Z")
I prefered the old one too tbh, herby I require we have DREXIT referendum over this.
---
### Author:  [@Balinus](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/Balinus)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2016, 7:12pm UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/0-14-7-refined-dark-theme-is-really-bad/8292/14 "2016-09-23T19:12:14Z")
The new theme is much better imho 🙂
---
### Author:  [@calmh](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/calmh)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2016, 8:05pm UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/0-14-7-refined-dark-theme-is-really-bad/8292/15 "2016-09-23T20:05:55Z")
Wherein we promise it will be the darkest theme ever, however after you vote for it it turns out light grey and crashes Syncthing and we’re all `¯\_(ツ)_/¯`
---
### Author:  [@xor-gate](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/xor-gate)
#### Post date: [September 24, 2016, 7:06pm UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/0-14-7-refined-dark-theme-is-really-bad/8292/16 "2016-09-24T19:06:32Z")
The darkest theme needs to be composed of dark matter, and it wont happen anytime soon. It should maybe be easier for people to drop in a custom theme more easily with a configuration option. IMHO the theme now is much more readable, still a matter of taste.
---
### Author:  [@fti7](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/fti7)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2016, 8:51pm UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/0-14-7-refined-dark-theme-is-really-bad/8292/17 "2016-09-25T20:51:31Z")
Its very subjective as you already said. Because we all have different tastes and maybe different Monitoring/Screen Settings… my initial PR was to add a new “Grey” Theme beside the old one.
But i like the idea to have a more simple way to add Custom Themes. So Jakob could ship/maintain Syncthing Core with an Light/Dark Default Theme, but for the different Tastes we have an easy mechanism to add more.
I would like to see some single file (Zip?), dropped into $configDir/themes/DarkMatter.zip (Its easier if you dont need to extract it in $configDir/gui/assets/css… etc)
With this, people could start creating other Themes. Sharing it in the Forum. Even with more curious Tastes… 😉
I will contribute an Matrix Style Theme then (Which wouldnt be accepted in Core i guess) 😜
---
### Author:  [@wweich](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/wweich)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2016, 9:25am UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/0-14-7-refined-dark-theme-is-really-bad/8292/18 "2016-09-26T09:25:10Z")
Currently you can just extract the theme’s zip file into the `$configDir`. The zip just needs to have the correct paths inside (`gui//assets/css/theme.css`).
The current approach is also much more flexible, as the “theme” can have a completely different UI, not just CSS.
Unfortunately, the Android App is limited to the default themes (without root) as one cannot put the files in the config folder. I would really like to stay with the Black theme instead of the new gray theme, as it’s better for OLED screens and I generally like black background better.
---
### Author:  [@Smallous](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/Smallous)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2016, 1:59pm UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/0-14-7-refined-dark-theme-is-really-bad/8292/19 "2016-09-27T13:59:59Z")
Out of 3 devices (all Windows 10 Home ver. 1607) I have only being able to switch one to the Dark theme. On the other 2 a notice is displayed: “_date time_ Decoding posted config: unexpected EOF”.
---
### Author:  [@minooch](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/minooch)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2016, 12:13am UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/0-14-7-refined-dark-theme-is-really-bad/8292/20 "2016-10-02T00:13:20Z")
New dark is great. Especially on 10 bit monitors 😁
[Next page](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/0-14-7-refined-dark-theme-is-really-bad/8292.md?page=2)