> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://wiki.stmod.net/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://wiki.stmod.net/launcher/theme-editor.md).

# Theme editor

STMod's windows are recoloured from one place: **File → Design → Theme editor**. It's available from both the login window and the launcher.

<figure><img src="https://1662484209-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FSrVu0j9CYXbvJXRYgHnk%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-7388fb546a5e820a2188c757b0cf9dc04bae427c%2Ftheme-editor.png?alt=media" alt="Theme Editor window"><figcaption><p>Theme editor — colour list on the left, live preview on the right</p></figcaption></figure>

## Colours

Each row on the left is one colour in the theme. Click a swatch to open the Windows colour picker and change it; the preview on the right updates as you go.

| Row                                         | What it colours                                            |
| ------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Form background**                         | The window surface itself                                  |
| **Panel background**                        | Panels sitting on the window, such as the client-slot area |
| **Button background**                       | Buttons                                                    |
| **Button text**                             | Text on buttons                                            |
| **Label / text color**                      | Plain text                                                 |
| **TextBox background** / **TextBox text**   | Input boxes                                                |
| **Accent / border**                         | Borders, the focus outline, and the checkmark              |
| **CheckBox background** / **CheckBox text** | Checkboxes and their labels                                |
| **GroupBox background** / **GroupBox text** | Framed groups and their titles                             |
| **ComboBox background** / **ComboBox text** | Dropdowns                                                  |

### Gradient stops

The three indented **└ gradient stop** rows (under Form background, Panel background and Button background) turn that colour into a vertical gradient, fading from the base colour to the stop.

* Click a gradient stop to set it. If it's empty, the picker starts from the base colour.
* **Right-click a gradient stop to clear it** — that surface goes back to a flat colour. A cleared stop shows as `none`.

## Preview

The right-hand panel is a mock-up of a real STMod window — a label, two buttons, a text box, a checkbox, a dropdown and a group box — drawn with the colours you've picked. Buttons in the preview react to hover and click, so you can check that your colours still read properly in those states before applying them.

## Bottom bar

* **Theme name** — The name to save under. Characters that aren't allowed in a filename are replaced with `_`.
* **Theme list** (the dropdown) — Every theme you've saved. Picking one loads it straight away.
* **Load** — Loads the theme selected in the dropdown.
* **Save** — Saves the current colours under the name in the box, without applying them.
* **Random** — Generates a random colour set. A quick way to find a starting point.
* **Reset** — Goes back to STMod's built-in dark defaults. This only changes what you're editing — nothing is saved or applied until you press Save or Apply.
* **Apply** — Applies the theme to every STMod window that's currently open, saves it under the name in the box, and makes it the theme STMod loads from then on.
* **Close** — Closes the editor. Anything you haven't applied or saved is discarded.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Apply** also saves. That's deliberate: windows opened later reload the theme by name from disk, so applying without saving would be silently undone the next time a window opened.
{% endhint %}

Themes are stored as `.theme` files in STMod's `Data\Themes` folder, so you can copy one between machines or share it.

{% hint style="warning" %}
**File → Settings → Reset settings** deletes the whole `Data` folder, your saved themes included. Copy any theme you want to keep out of `Data\Themes` first.
{% endhint %}