How to Add a Windows-Style Theme to GNOME, KDE, Cinnamon

By

Updated November 22, 2019

Linux is all about possibility. And for the most part, once a user starts working with the Linux desktop, they never look back. There are some users, however, that much prefer the look of a Windows desktop over that of most of what the Linux landscape offers. If that describes you, you’re in luck, as it is quite possible to theme some of the most popular Linux desktops so that they look more like their Windows counterpart.

Let’s find out how to do this with GNOME, KDE Plasma, and Cinnamon.

Versions

For our testing purposes, we used Ubuntu 19.04 for GNOME, KDE Neon for KDE Plasma, and Linux Mint for Cinnamon.

GNOME

The good news is that a script has been written to make this incredibly easy for GNOME. To make this happen, follow these steps:

Select Activities, type terminal in the search bar, and press the Terminal launcher.
Install wget with the command
```
sudo apt install wget -y
```

Download the script with the command

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bill-mavromatis/gnome-layout-manager/master/layoutmanager.sh

Give the script executable permissions with the command
```
chmod u+x layoutmanager.sh
```
Run the script with the command
```
./layoutmanager.sh
```
When prompted, select Windows 10 Layout, and press OK.
Allow the script to complete.

As soon as the script finishes, your GNOME desktop will look similar to Windows 10.

Screenshot of the newly-themed GNOME Desktop.

KDE Plasma

Next we’ll take care of the same task in KDE Plasma. Although there isn’t a script for this, the process isn’t terribly challenging. Here’s what you do:

Select the KDE Menu button, and then choose System Settings.
In the Search bar, type Windows and use the Enter key on your keyboard. Locate Windows 10 Plasma Theme, and press Install.
Allow the installation to complete.
If the new theme does not show up in the Plasma theme section of Workspace Theme, open a terminal window and issue the command (all on one line):
```
unzip /tmp/windows_10_plasma_theme.zip - d ~/.local/share/plasma/desktoptheme
```
Close and reopen the Settings window, go to Workspace Theme > Plasma Theme, and select the newly-added Windows 10 Plasma Theme.
Press Apply.

KDE should now look a bit more like Windows 10. This isn’t quite as drastic a change as you’ll find in GNOME, but it’s enough to count.

Screenshot of the newly-themed KDE Plasma desktop.

Cinnamon

The Cinnamon desktop makes this process incredibly simple. Here’s how to re-theme it to a Windows 10-like desktop:

Select the Cinnamon desktop menu in the bottom left corner. Choose Preferences and then scroll down and select Themes.
In the Themes window, press Add/Remove. In the search bar, type Windows. Press the Download button (downward-pointing arrow) associated with Windows 10 Light Theme).
Select the Themes tab at the top of the window, press Desktop, and select the Windows-10 theme.
Enjoy your theme.

Cinnamon should now have a slightly more Windows 10 feel. Again, this one is more subtle than that of GNOME, but you’ll notice the difference.

Screenshot of the newly rethemed Cinnamon desktop.

And that is all there is to theming GNOME, KDE Plasma, and Cinnamon to make them look a bit more like your favorite Windows desktop. This might not make you more productive on the desktop, but it could make you feel a bit more at home.