Install the DebinixDark for Arduino IDE 1.8.x and later. This Arduino IDE theme is inspired by the Visual Studio Code (VSC) extension C++ UI Dark Theme. A theme downloaded more than 12 million times. Thus a lot of developers love it. However, Arduino IDE 2.x does not yet support custom themes.
Looking at the white background screen for a long time is unsuitable for the eyes. Your eyes become tired and causes distraction. In addition, DebinixDark theme syntax highlighting improves the readability and context of the text and helps spot errors quicker.
- Another reason is that it's so simple to install, thus no reason not to try it out.
- Although you find some existing Arduino IDE themes, most are old, and the recommended installation is outdated.
Find longer install instructions at the Arduino support site.
- Navigate to the Releases page.
- Download the latest released ZIP archive for example in the Download folder.
Unzip the content and run the Makefile to create a new zip archive with the correct internal organization. You cannot use
the GitHub zip file directly. Instead, run make help to view a small menu.
make theme
Copy the new zip archive to your Arduino sketchbook/theme folder. You must create the theme folder if this is your first custom theme.
- Open Arduino IDE.
- Open
File->Preferencesand find theDebinixDarkin theThemedrop-down menu. - Restart Arduino IDE, and enjoy.
Install the zip utility to create the archive manually. The option -x can be used to exclude non-theme files.
zip -r DebinixDark.zip * -x "*zip" -x "*Makefile*"
Copy the zip archive to your Arduino sketchbook/theme folder. You must create the theme folder if this is your first custom theme.
- Open Arduino IDE.
- Open
File->Preferencesand find theDebinixDarkin theThemedrop-down menu. - Restart Arduino IDE, and enjoy.
Q: Why are all repository files included in the downloaded zip archive?
A: This is to simplify the installation in the theme folder, and Arduino IDE requires that the zip archive has a specific layout to work as a custom theme. Any extra files bundled and included in the theme folder do not negatively affect the IDE.
The DebinixDark theme continues in the footsteps of the previous work by Jeff Thompson and others.