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                    # How to change the GDM theme
                
                    
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                    To change the GDM (lock/login screen) theme, you need to replace the system's _default_ GNOME Shell theme.
                
                    
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                    ## :warning: Cautions :warning:
                
                    
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                    - If the replacement fails, your desktop environment will not work properly. So please **be careful** if doing this.
                
                    
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                    - When applying this, other third-party GNOME Shell themes would look broken until you restore to the original theme.
                
                    
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                    - If GNOME Shell has been updated and restored to the original theme, you will need to install this again.
                
                    
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                      > Tip: On Arch Linux, you can automatically reinstall the GDM theme by creating a [hook](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Pacman#Hooks) file. For example, if you use Materia-compact as your GDM theme, put [this file](https://gist.github.com/looselyrigorous/a1aa931ce48627cc39daccc9253b30c7) in the `/usr/share/libalpm/hooks/` directory.
                
                    
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                    ## Requirements
                
                    
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                    - `glib-compile-resources` — The package name depends on the distro.
                
                    
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                      - `glib2` (Arch Linux)
                
                    
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                      - `glib2-devel` (Fedora, openSUSE, etc.)
                
                    
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                      - `libglib2.0-dev-bin` (Debian, Ubuntu, etc.)
                
                    
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                    - `libxml2-utils` — Ubuntu users only.
                
                    
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                    ## Installation
                
                    
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                    1. **Back up** the original theme file first. If you are already using a custom GDM theme, skip this:
                
                    
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                      ```sh
                
                    
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                      sudo cp -av /usr/share/gnome-shell/gnome-shell-theme.gresource{,~}
                
                    
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                      ```
                
                    
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                    2. Select a **GTK** theme to decide which variant to install.
                
                    
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                    3. Replace the default theme file:
                
                    
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                      ```sh
                
                    
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                      THEME_NAME="$(gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.interface gtk-theme | sed "s/'//g")"
                
                    
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                      THEME_SRC_DIR="/usr/share/themes/$THEME_NAME/gnome-shell"
                
                    
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                      sudo glib-compile-resources --target="/usr/share/gnome-shell/gnome-shell-theme.gresource" --sourcedir="$THEME_SRC_DIR" "$THEME_SRC_DIR/gnome-shell-theme.gresource.xml"
                
                    
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                      ```
                
                    
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                    4. Reload the theme. If you are running GNOME Shell, press <kbd>Alt</kbd> + <kbd>F2</kbd> then type `rt`.
                
                    
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                    ## Uninstallation
                
                    
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                    1. Restore to the original theme file from the backup:
                
                    
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                      ```sh
                
                    
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                      sudo mv -v /usr/share/gnome-shell/gnome-shell-theme.gresource{~,}
                
                    
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                      ```
                
                    
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                    2. Reload the theme. If you are running GNOME Shell, press <kbd>Alt</kbd> + <kbd>F2</kbd> then type `rt`.
                
                    
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