There are numerous ways to spruce up the XFCE terminal. You can even choose each individual color yourself if you prefer. For those who’d rather spend less time on tweaking the terminal and more time getting actual work done, we’ve collected five great XFCE terminal themes to check out.
1. Solarized
If you’ve spent any time at all tweaking colors, whether in your terminal or your favorite text editor, you’ve probably heard of Solarized. At first glance you may wonder what is going on with the color choices, but they’re anything but arbitrary. Solarized creator Ethan Schoonover chose the colors specifically to be easy on the eyes.
There are two different takes on the theme. One is a light background with darker foreground colors, while the other is a darker background with brighter foreground colors. If you spend all day staring at your terminal, text editor, or both, it’s worth giving Solarized a try.
2. Nord
Similar to Solarized, Nord is a color palette, not just an XFCE terminal theme. Yes, it’s available for your XFCE terminal, but you can find various themes using this palette for a variety of different terminals, text editors, and more.
It may not be as easy on the eyes for some due to the higher contrast, but Nord was created to be optimized for readability. According to the theme’s website, Nord was inspired by the Arctic, and its colors “reflect the cold, yet harmonious world of ice and the colorfulness of the Aurora Borealis.”
3. Gruvbox
If you aren’t looking for soothing blues or calming yellows, you may prefer the more retro-inspired look of Gruvbox. Initially created as a Vim theme, Gruvbox is a bright theme, no matter which background you choose.
Like Solarized, Gruvbox is available with both light and dark backgrounds. Either way, the theme’s look is grittier and more aggressive looking than either Solarized or Nord.
4. Mariana
Mariana is another XFCE theme that was initially created for a different project. In this case Mariana is one of the default themes that ships with the Sublime Text editor, at least with version 3.0 and up.
Mariana is a pastel theme with a dark background. The blue-tinged colors reflect the deep ocean while the occasional brighter colors hint at sunlight above the surface. If you prefer your themes to be of the nautical variety, this one is for you.
5. Base16
Like every other entry on this list, the Base16 theme isn’t limited to just the XFCE terminal. Base16 isn’t even a theme, really. Instead, its creators describe it as an “architecture for building themes.” That explains why you’ll find countless themes that start with “base16-“.
The Base16 terminal theme has the darkest background of any theme on this list, but the foreground colors still lean toward the pastel. This makes the theme easier on the eyes than many default terminal themes.
What About Customizing the Rest of XFCE?
Now that you’ve got your terminal colors tweaked to your liking, you might be looking at the rest of XFCE and wondering what to do. There are a bunch of themes available for both your GTK theme and your window manager theme, but which ones should you pick? We can help out there, too. We already have a list of seven XFCE themes you should try. You may not find your new favorite theme there, but at least it’s a place to start.
