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Installing Arduino IDE Themes

If you’re not a huge fan of the Arduino IDE's default color scheme, this is for you:

Note that with each update of the Arduino IDE you will have to redo this process, but it is fairly quick and not required often.


Installation Instructions

First, download the theme you would like to use. If you want a suggestion, several of us at TinyCircuits use the Dark Arduino Theme.

Next, navigate to the .zip file you downloaded and unzip it. Copy the "theme" folder contained. Before proceeding, make sure you don't have the Arduino IDE open.

Now navigate to the Arduino lib folder based on your operating system.

Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\Arduino\lib

Mac: ~/Applications/Arduino.app/Contents/Java/lib

Linux: /usr/share/arduino/lib/

Note that there is already a "theme" folder here. Personally, I rename this folder something along the lines of "default_theme" just so I have the original theme in case I want to revert back to it. After renaming the existing theme folder (if you choose to do so), paste the "theme" folder you downloaded. After this folder is successfully copied, the theme should be applied the next time you start the IDE.

Dark Arduino Theme in use

The process is the same for any theme. The Arduino IDE will always use the theme within the lbr/theme directory.


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