Customizing Xcode: Themes

I‘m not exactly a fan of the themes that comes default with Xcode. Also, it gets boring looking at the same colors, so I like to change them up once in a while. So here’s a beginner tutorial in how to customize your Xcode!

1. You can customize your own fonts & color for Xcode theme, but you can download a bunch of themes HERE provided by Hdoria. Download the Zip file, and unzip them!

2. Access your the following folder ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/UserData/FontAndColorThemes/
Since the launch of Maverick OS X, Apple decided to make it extra difficult to access the Library folder, so if you don’t see if don’t worry. Open ‘Finder’, click the ‘Go’ on the top menu. Hold the ‘Option’ key, and you should be able to see the library folder magically show up!

Note: If you don’t see the FontAndColorThemes folder, just make one!

3. After that, go the pathway as indicated above. Drag all unzipped files into the FontsAndColor folder.

4. Restart your Xcode if you have it opened and……

Congrats! You got a whole new set of themes to choose from!

There are tons of other themes created by other users. Go ahead and find the one for you! Or…you can always customize your own.

But The Rest of the UI is Still Default!

Unfortunately Apple doesn’t allow you to customize the rest of the UI in Xcode. If you are still on Yosemite OS X, you can download Flavours 2 to customize the system’s theme. However, if you upgraded to El Capitan, Apple’s new security policy does not allow any modification to the systems UI.

I Work In The Dark, The Default UI Is TOO BRIGHT!

If you don’t mind inverted colors … I have a workaround for those who codes in the dark and prefers a dark theme UI. However, it’s not very practical and may bother some users.

If the above screen shot seems great for you and doesn’t hurt your eyes, head over your System Preferences -> Accessibility. On the display setting, check “Invert Color”. Give it a try, and see how you like it.

Hopefully we’ll get a dark UI for Xcode soon….

BONUS: Terminal Customization

Like Xcode, there are users on GitHub who also provide customized themes if you don’t want to make your own or use one of the available ones . You can download a bunch of themes HERE provided by lysyi3m. Download the zip file and unzip them.

For Terminal, the process is much simpler.

1. Open Terminal, click ‘Terminal’ on the top toolbar, and select ‘Preferences’.
2. Go over to the ‘Profiles’ tab.
3. On the bottom, click the ‘cog’ symbol. Select ‘Import’ and select the theme you would like to import!

5. Simply double click the theme to preview it, or set it as default if you would like to use the theme!