GitKraken Desktop Themes | Customize Light, Dark & Custom UI

Last updated: March 2026

Quick Start

Change the GitKraken Desktop theme or create a custom theme to match your preferred visual style.

To switch themes: Go to Preferences > UI Customization and select a theme, or open the Command Palette and type switch theme.

To sync with your system theme: Enable the system theme sync option in Preferences > UI Customization. GitKraken Desktop will follow your OS light or dark setting when supported.

To create a custom theme:

1. Open Preferences > UI Customization > Theme and click the folder to navigate to ~/.gitkraken/themes/.
2. Copy a .jsonc-default template file and rename it with a .jsonc extension.
3. Open the file in a text editor and set a unique meta.name and a scheme value of light or dark.
4. Save the file. Your custom theme appears in the theme list immediately. Changes take effect live without restarting GitKraken Desktop.

Custom themes have been disabled as of version 11.8.0 while the UI is being modernized. Built-in themes remain available.

Built-in Themes

To change your GitKraken Desktop theme:

• Go to Preferences UI Customization
• Or open the Command Palette and type switch theme

Sync with System Theme

If your OS supports theme switching, GitKraken Desktop can follow your system’s light/dark setting. Enable this from Preferences > UI Customization.

Custom Themes

GitKraken Desktop supports user-defined themes. To create a custom theme:

Locate Theme Files

Theme files live in:

~/.gitkraken/themes/

You can open this folder from Preferences > UI Customization > Theme. Each .jsonc-default file is a template.

Create Your Custom Theme

1. Copy a .jsonc-default file you want to base your theme on.
2. Rename the file (e.g., MyCustomTheme.jsonc).
3. Open it in a text editor.
4. Set a unique value for meta.name. This is the theme name shown in GitKraken.
5. Define your theme’s scheme as either light or dark.
6. Save your file and return to GitKraken.

Your custom theme will appear under Preferences > UI Customization > Theme.

Live Theme Editing

Changes to your theme file take effect immediately—no need to restart GitKraken. If the file contains invalid syntax, GitKraken will revert to the default dark theme.

Supported Functions

CSS Functions

GitKraken supports these CSS functions:

• calc
• hsl / hsla
• max, min
• rgb / rgba
• var

See CSS functions for reference.

LESS Functions

Supported LESS functions include:

• darken, lighten, fade
• saturate, desaturate
• mix, mixLess

See LESS functions for full documentation.

Community Themes

Looking for inspiration? Some users share their custom themes online, such as the collection at jonbunator.github.io/gitkraken-custom-themes.

Please note that this site is not affiliated with GitKraken, and we do not provide support for external or user-generated themes.