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The Joy of Linux Theming in the Age of Bootable Containers

Having spent a couple of decades in the Linux world, I have always had an interest in Linux desktop environments and how they are themed. I would often come across a post on /r/unixporn that inspired me to try to customize the look and feel of my desktop environment. So I would install Xfce, LXQt or Sway and try to recreate components that I like from other users or create my own. I would end up installing different kinds of panels, plugins, docks and launchers as well as random themes, fonts and sounds.

A portion of this process would be documented, initially as random shell scripts in my home directory, before graduating to Ansible playbooks – with a brief detour into Nix that I will not elaborate on. It has always been problematic to define a distribution as simply a curated collection of software plus a Linux kernel -— but that definition is now especially lacking, as it could just as easily describe any Containerfile for a bootable container. Finally, to address the original question about the necessity of spinning up a new distro just for a theme: creating a bootable container with a consistent visual design and curated set of applications can bring a bit of joy and levity.

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