Aether

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/58bb3de6-d425-4f8e-a01c-79da7a26a9f0

#Aether

A visual theming application for Omarchy. Extract colors from wallpapers and apply cohesive themes across your entire desktop.

Not using Omarchy? Aether works standalone on any Linux desktop. See the Standalone Guide for setup.

#Features

#Color Extraction

• Pure Go median-cut algorithm that generates a full 16-color ANSI palette from any wallpaper
• 8 extraction modes: Normal, Monochromatic, Analogous, Pastel, Material, Colorful, Muted, and Bright
• 12 fine-tuning sliders (vibrance, contrast, temperature, shadows, highlights, and more)
• Light and dark mode toggle with automatic color anchor swapping

#Wallpaper Tools

• Search and download wallpapers from wallhaven.cc directly in the app
• Browse public GitHub repositories for wallpapers
• Export favorite wallpapers as a ZIP archive with source metadata
• Apply a blurred wallpaper variant while extraction uses the original image
• Full wallpaper editor with blur, exposure, sharpen, vignette, grain, and color toning
• 12 one-click image presets: Cinematic, Vintage, Film, Dramatic, and more

#Theme Library

• 24 built-in color presets including Dracula, Nord, Gruvbox, Catppuccin, and Sakura
• Import 250+ community Base16 color schemes
• Save and restore complete themes as blueprint files
• Export themes as shareable packages with selective app inclusion
• Keep the palette-matched Yaru icon default or choose an installed desktop icon theme per blueprint

#Application Support

• 20+ pre-configured apps: Hyprland, Waybar, Kitty, Alacritty, Ghostty, Neovim, VS Code, Zed, btop, and more
• Template system with hex, RGB, RGBA, and stripped format modifiers
• Per-app overrides, reload hooks, and post-apply scripts
• Add your own apps with custom templates

#Extras

• WCAG contrast ratio checker with AAA/AA accessibility grading
• Gradient generator and single-color palette builder
• 50-step undo/redo history
• Headless CLI for scripting, keybinds, and automation

#Quick Start

#Install (Arch Linux)

yay -S aether

#Install (Debian / Ubuntu)

Download the .deb from the latest release:

sudo dpkg -i aether_*.deb
sudo apt-get install -f

#Build from Source

# Arch
sudo pacman -S go webkit2gtk

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install golang libgtk-3-dev libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev

git clone https://github.com/omacom/aether.git
cd aether && make build

#Package-managed installs

When pacman owns the aether binary, Aether does not check for releases or upgrade itself. aether upgrade prints the update command instead: omarchy-update, yay -Syu, paru -Syu or sudo pacman -Syu.

To set this behavior in other packages, give the update command at build time:

wails build -tags webkit2_41 -ldflags "-X 'aether/internal/update.packageUpdateCommand=sudo dnf upgrade aether'"

#Basic Usage

1. Select a wallpaper (drag & drop, file picker, or wallhaven browser)
2. Click Extract to generate a color palette
3. Adjust colors as needed
4. Click Apply Theme

#Desktop Icon Themes

Use the compact Icons control directly above Accessibility in the editor sidebar. Its switch enables or disables the existing Icons target, while the selection opens the installed-theme chooser. Automatic preserves Aether's color-matched Yaru output. An explicit choice writes the installed theme's directory ID; if that theme is later uninstalled, Aether keeps the saved ID and marks it as missing instead of silently replacing it. Disabling Icons omits icons.theme without erasing the choice.

The picker searches the standard user and system XDG icon roots and the legacy ~/.icons root. Refresh rescans after you install a theme. Aether does not download or install icon themes.

#CLI

aether --generate ~/wallpaper.jpg
aether --apply-blueprint "My Theme"
aether --list-blueprints

See aether --help for all options.

#Local Development

git clone https://github.com/omacom/aether.git
cd aether

# Install frontend dependencies
cd frontend && npm install && cd ..

# Run in development mode (hot reload)
wails dev

# Build production binary
wails build

Prerequisites: Go 1.25+, Node.js 22.22.2+ or 24.15+ LTS, Wails v2, webkit2gtk, gtk-layer-shell, gstreamer, gst-plugins-good

#Verification

Run make test for the Go package tests. With the native build dependencies installed, go test -race -tags webkit2_41 ./... also covers the app entry points and enables Go's race detector (omit the tag on WebKitGTK 4.0 systems).

From frontend/, run npm ci, npm run check, npm test, and npm run build. The frontend regression suite uses mocked Wails calls, so it does not change your desktop. Use make dev for manual verification of native dialogs, rendering, and theme application.

#Documentation

#Complementary Projects

• omarchy-theme-hook - A clean solution to extend your Omarchy theme to other apps.
• waybar-themes - Waybar themes by HANCORE.

#Contributing

See CLAUDE.md for architecture details.

#License

MIT - Created by Bjarne Overli