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pico-launcher/docs/Themes.md
2025-11-25 17:41:31 +01:00

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Themes

Using themes, the look and feel of Pico Launcher can be customized. Themes are placed in subfolders of the /_pico/themes folder. For example /_pico/themes/my_theme.

JSON file

Each theme has a theme.json file with information about the theme.

  • type - Type of theme. Currently material and custom are supported. See below for information about each type.
  • name - The name of the theme.
  • description - Description of the theme.
  • author - Author of the theme.
  • primaryColor - Material Design 3 primary color to use. r, g and b are provided in range 0-255.
  • darkTheme - When true, a dark Material Design 3 palette will be used.

Example

{
    "type": "material",
    "name": "Theme name",
    "description": "Theme description here.",
    "author": "Author Name",
    "primaryColor": {
        "r": 149,
        "g": 143,
        "b": 237
    },
    "darkTheme": true
}

Material type

Horizontal display mode with custom theme

The material type theme is a pure Material Design 3 theme. It will be fully themed based on the primaryColor and darkTheme settings from the theme.json. In coverflow mode, this theme type uses a Material Design 3 style carousel.

Custom type

Horizontal display mode with custom theme

The custom type theme is much more customizable, compared to the material type theme. Note that the primaryColor and darkTheme settings from the theme.json are still used to color some parts of the UI.

The following additional files are needed:

Files Size Format Description
bannerListCell.bin
bannerListCellPltt.bin
256x49 (209x49 used) A3I5
32 color palette
Unselected item background for banner list mode.
bannerListCellSelected.bin
bannerListCellSelectedPltt.bin
256x49 (209x49 used) A3I5
32 color palette
Selected item background for banner list mode.
bottombg.bin 256x192 15 bpp bitmap Bottom screen background.
gridcell.bin
gridcellPltt.bin
64x48 (48x48 used) A3I5
32 color palette
Unselected item background for grid modes.
gridcellSelected.bin
gridcellPlttSelected.bin
64x48 (48x48 used) A3I5
32 color palette
Selected item background for grid modes.
scrim.bin
scrimPltt.bin
8x42 A5I3
8 color palette
Background for the toolbar. Intended to be a translucent fade.
topbg.bin 256x192 15 bpp bitmap Top screen background.

These files can be created, for example, using NitroPaint.

The top screen background should include a box in which the banner text and icon of the selected item will be shown.

Background music

All themes support background music by placing DSP-ADPCM encoded .bcstm files in a bgm folder inside the theme folder. Looping is supported. When multiple .bcstm files are provided, the background music will be selected at random each time Pico Launcher is started.