How to install macOS theme on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish Linux

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In this tutorial you will learn how to change the default Ubuntu 22.04 Desktop to macOS theme. Although in this tutorial we will perform the installation of macOS Mojave theme the steps bellow should be applicable to perform the installation of any other macOS style theme.

In this tutorial you will learn:

  • How to install macOS theme
  • How to install macOS icons
  • How to install macOS cursor theme
  • How to install macOS style bottom panel
  • How to set macOS Mojave wallpaper
  • How to start automaticaly macOS panel after reboot
macOS theme on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish Linux
macOS theme on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish Linux
Software Requirements and Linux Command Line Conventions
Category Requirements, Conventions or Software Version Used
System Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish
Software Gnome Tweaks, Plank
Other Privileged access to your Linux system as root or via the sudo command.
Conventions # – requires given linux commands to be executed with root privileges either directly as a root user or by use of sudo command
$ – requires given linux commands to be executed as a regular non-privileged user

How to install macOS theme on Ubuntu 22.04 step by step instructions

  1. First step is to install Gnome Tweaks.
  2. Next, we are going to install Mojave macOS theme. Begin by opening your terminal and installation for all prerequisites: 
    $ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install gtk2-engines-murrine gtk2-engines-pixbuf
  3. Next, download the Mojave macOS theme. Navigate your browser to McMojave theme page and download the theme package. There are multiple options so choose any style you favour as the installation process is exactly the same. For the purpose of this tutorial we will go with the dark theme. Download the package to your ~/Downloads directory.
    Download the MacOS theme
    Download the MacOS theme
  4. At this stage you should have the package downloaded in your ~/Downloads directory. Once ready execute the below commands to install the macOS theme: 
    $ cd ~/Downloads
$ tar xf Mojave-dark.tar.xz
$ mkdir ~/.themes
$ mv Mojave-dark ~/.themes/
    Installation of the macOS Mojave theme on Ubuntu 22.04 Desktop
    Installation of the macOS Mojave theme on Ubuntu 22.04 Desktop
  5. Once the theme is installed you can apply the theme to your current desktop. Open up the Gnome Tweaks tool and change to Applications theme appearance to Mojave-dark.
    Select the newly installed MacOS theme under Appearance settings
    Select the newly installed MacOS theme under Appearance settings
  6. Next step is to install Mojave CT icons. Use your browser to download the macOS Mojave CT icons. Once again pick any icon style and save the package into your ~/Downloads directory.

    Download the MacOS icon package
    Download the MacOS icon package

  7. At this stage you should have the package downloaded in your ~/Downloads directory. Once ready execute the below commands to install the macOS Mojave CT icons: 
    $ cd ~/Downloads
$ tar xf Mojave-CT-Night-Mode.tar.xz
$ mkdir ~/.icons
$ mv Mojave-CT-Night-Mode ~/.icons/
  8. Change the icons to macOS Mojave theme:
    Reload the Gnome tweak and set the icon appearance to Mojave
    Reload the Gnome tweak and set the icon appearance to Mojave
  9. In this step we will install the macOS cursor set. Using your browser download the macOS cursor set package into your ~/Downloads directory.
    Download the MacOS cursor package
    Download the MacOS cursor package
  10. Once you have the macOS cursor set package downloaded in your ~/Downloads directory execute the below commands to install it: 
    $ cd ~/Downloads
$ unzip -qq macOS\ Cursor\ Set.zip
$ mv macOS\ Cursor\ Set ~/.icons/
  11. Apply the macOS cursor set by reloading the Gnome tweak tool and changing the cursor settings to the macOS cursor set.

    Set the cursor to MacOS cursor icons
    Set the cursor to MacOS cursor icons

  12. Set the macOS wallpaper. The opinion on what constitutes a macOS wallpaper may differ. Good place to start is to download the Mojave wallpaper.
    Set macOS Mojave wallpaper on Ubuntu 20.04 Gnome desktop
    Set macOS Mojave wallpaper on Ubuntu 20.04 Gnome desktop
  13. Next, setup the macOS panel. To do so first install Plank: 
    $ sudo apt install plank
  14. Once the Plank application is installed launch it from your Activities menu:
    Start Plank application on Ubuntu 22.04 Gnome Desktop
    Start Plank application on Ubuntu 22.04 Gnome Desktop
  15. At this point you should see the macOS panel at the bottom of your desktop.
    MacOS icon panel at the bottom of the desktop
    MacOS icon panel at the bottom of the desktop
  16. Hold the left CTRL and right click to the bottom macOS panel to open up Preferences. Customise the macOS panel to fit your desired look and feel. If you wish to take yet another step further install the optional macOS Plank theme.

    Customizing the MacOS icon dock panel
    Customizing the MacOS icon dock panel

  17. Remove the default Ubuntu 20.04 Gnome dock panel. You will need log out and log back in for the changes to take effect. 
    $ sudo apt remove gnome-shell-extension-ubuntu-dock
  18. Configure the Plank application to start after reboot in GNOME tweaks.
    Make Plank start automatically upon system reboots
    Make Plank start automatically upon system reboots

All done.

Closing Thoughts

In this tutorial, you saw how to install the MacOS theme on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish Linux. This should make your system look and feel a lot like MacOS, while still retaining all the functionality of Ubuntu. Feel free to play around by installing other MacOS themes if you find that Mojave is not to your liking.

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