How I Added Dark Mode and Light Mode to Linux Mint

If you are new to Linux Mint, you might notice something slightly strange after installing it.

You have themes.
You have icon themes.
You can change the desktop appearance.

But there isn't a simple “Dark Mode / Light Mode” switch like you might be used to from Windows, macOS, Android, or your phone.

At first, I thought:

“Wait... Linux Mint doesn't have dark mode?” 😅

Of course, Linux Mint has plenty of ways to create a dark or light desktop. But if you want a convenient one-click switch, you need a little help.

That's where the Dark Mode applet comes in.

🌗 Meet the Dark Mode applet

Linux Mint has a useful feature called Applets.

Think of an applet as a small extension that adds something useful to your desktop panel.

There are applets for things like:

• Calendar
• Weather
• System monitoring
• Clipboard management
• Network information
• And, in this case, switching between dark and light mode

I found an applet called Dark Mode by siglobinath.

After installing it, I got a small moon icon in my panel.

And suddenly, switching between light and dark mode became much easier.

🛠️ Installing the Dark Mode applet

If you're completely new to Linux Mint, don't worry. You don't need to use the terminal for this.

Open:

System Settings → Applets

Then go to the Download tab and search for:

Dark Mode

Find:

Dark Mode by siglobinath

Install it and enable it.

Once enabled, the applet appears in your panel.

In my case, I configured it so that clicking the icon allows me to switch between dark and light mode.

⚙️ But installing it is only half the story

This is where things become more interesting.

The Dark Mode applet doesn't simply change the color of one application.

It can change several parts of the desktop appearance.

Open the applet's settings and you'll find three sections:

• General
• Light Mode
• Dark Mode

The General section is pretty simple.

You can enable or disable dark mode and also enable Automatically switch modes.

For example, you could configure your system to change appearance automatically rather than manually switching it every time.

☀️ Setting up Light Mode

The Light Mode tab is where you tell Linux Mint:

“When I choose Light Mode, use these settings.”

In my configuration, I selected:

There is also an option to change the desktop wallpaper when switching modes.

I enabled this too.

For Light Mode, I selected:

light-wallpapers

So switching to Light Mode doesn't just change the interface — it can also change the wallpaper.

🌙 Setting up Dark Mode

The Dark Mode tab works in exactly the same way.

But this time I configured darker themes.

My settings are:

And for the wallpaper:

dark-wallpapers

So now I essentially have two desktop profiles:

☀️ Light Mode
Theme: Space-light
Icons: Yaru-olive
Wallpaper: light-wallpapers

🌙 Dark Mode
Theme: Space-transparency
Icons: Yaru-olive-dark
Wallpaper: dark-wallpapers

The applet takes care of switching between them.

🎨 Why not just change the theme manually?

You absolutely can.

Linux Mint gives you a lot of control over the desktop appearance.

You can manually change:

• Desktop theme
• Window borders
• Window controls
• Icons
• Wallpapers

But if you regularly switch between dark and light mode, manually changing five different settings every time gets annoying pretty quickly.

It's basically:

Change theme → change icons → change controls → change wallpaper → repeat later.

After a while, you start thinking:

“There must be an easier way.” 😄

That's what I like about this applet.

Instead of treating dark mode as one setting, it lets you create a small appearance profile for each mode.

🐧 One thing I learned as a Linux beginner

Coming from other operating systems, it's easy to expect Linux Mint to work exactly the same way.

But Linux has a different philosophy.

Instead of saying:

“Here is the one official way to do it.”

Linux often says:

“Here are the building blocks. Configure them however you want.”

At first, that can feel confusing.

But once you discover things like Applets, themes, extensions and Cinnamon settings, it becomes quite fun.

You start changing one thing...

Then another...

And suddenly you're spending an hour choosing icon themes instead of doing the work you originally opened the computer for. 😂

That's probably part of the Linux experience.

A small tip for new Linux Mint users

Don't worry if your first Linux Mint desktop doesn't look exactly the way you want.

Spend some time exploring:

System Settings → Themes

and

System Settings → Applets

You may find that something you thought Linux Mint was missing is actually available through an applet, theme, or extension.

And don't be afraid to experiment.

Most desktop customizations can simply be changed back if you don't like them.

Final thoughts

The Dark Mode applet solved a small problem for me as a new Linux Mint user.

It gave me an easy way to switch between two different desktop appearances without manually changing several settings every time.

More importantly, it introduced me to something I really enjoy about Linux Mint:

customization.

You don't just use the desktop that comes with the operating system.

You can slowly turn it into your desktop.

And honestly, that's much more fun than I expected when I first installed Linux Mint.