https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/862377df-ad05-48de-a0a3-65b243c4b44b

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

• Animated wallpaper support: .gif, .mp4, and .webm via the built-in aether-wp service
• Search and download wallpapers from wallhaven.cc directly in the app
• 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

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 gtk-layer-shell gstreamer gst-plugins-good

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install golang libgtk-3-dev libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev libgtk-layer-shell-dev \
  libgstreamer1.0-dev gstreamer1.0-plugins-good ffmpeg

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

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

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/bjarneo/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 1.23+, Node.js 18+, Wails v2, webkit2gtk, gtk-layer-shell, gstreamer, gst-plugins-good

Documentation

Guide	Description
Installation	Detailed setup instructions
CLI Reference	Command-line options
Color Extraction	How the algorithm works
Base16 Schemes	Import community color schemes
Wallpaper Editor	Image filters and presets
Wallhaven	Browse online wallpapers
Blueprints	Save and restore themes
Custom Templates	Add support for your apps
Custom Apps	Per-app template system
File System	Where Aether stores files
Remote Control	IPC commands and AI integration
Quickshell Widgets	QML widgets for Hyprland-style bars
Standalone	Using Aether without Omarchy
Troubleshooting	Common issues

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