A single bash script that detects your Linux distribution and makes your desktop look like macOS using the WhiteSur theme suite — from a terminal or from a built-in graphical installer.
macos-ify automates the tedious parts of skinning a Linux desktop to look like macOS: detecting your distro, installing prerequisites with the correct package manager, pulling and building WhiteSur (GTK theme, icons, cursors, wallpapers), installing the Inter UI font, adding the right GNOME Shell extensions for your shell version, and applying everything via gsettings. It can run as a plain terminal script or launch a GTK graphical installer (--gui) with the same options as buttons and live install output.
The WhiteSur theme pack (GTK theme, icons, cursors, wallpaper) installs and works on any supported desktop environment. The full macOS experience — top bar, animated dock, blurred panels, Spotlight-style search — requires GNOME Shell. On non-GNOME desktops the script offers to add GNOME alongside your existing DE; if you decline it applies the themes only.
It is not magic. It is a wrapper around well-maintained upstream projects with sensible defaults, real error handling, and an honest set of warnings about what it cannot do.
- Features
- Supported systems
- Quick start
- The graphical installer
- Usage
- Examples
- What it installs
- How it works
- Caveats and limitations
- Troubleshooting
- Uninstall
- Credits
- License
- One file, two front-ends. Run it in a terminal, or pass
--guifor a GTK installer. The GUI is embedded inside the same.shfile — there is nothing else to download. - Distro auto-detection via
/etc/os-releasewithID_LIKEfallback. No need to tell it what you're running. - Package-manager abstraction. Same script, same flags, works across
dnf,apt, andpacman. - Per-distro package-name resolution. Packages that are named differently (or removed) on a given release are resolved correctly; missing optional packages warn and continue instead of aborting.
- GNOME Shell version awareness. Queries the official extensions.gnome.org API to fetch only extension builds compatible with your installed GNOME version.
- Tiered extensions. A small, reliable core set by default; a fuller macOS treatment behind
--extras, opt-in per extension via--extras-only. - Inter UI font installed and applied by default (the single biggest visual tell), with a GitHub fallback if your distro doesn't package it.
- Quick Look (
gnome-sushi) for spacebar file previews, like Finder. - Optional Cmd-style keyboard (
--keyboard, via Toshy). - Robust failure reporting. An
ERRtrap names the exact failing command and line instead of a bare exit code. Logs are timestamped to~/.cache/macos-ify/install.log(rotated, not clobbered). - Dry-run mode. Print every command without touching anything.
- Confirmation prompts on destructive operations, with
--yesfor unattended runs. - Honest about what it can't do. See Caveats.
| Family | Distros | Package manager |
|---|---|---|
| RHEL-based | Fedora, RHEL, CentOS Stream, Rocky, AlmaLinux | dnf |
| Debian-based | Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Pop!_OS, elementary OS, Zorin OS, Kali, Parrot | apt |
| Arch-based | Arch, Manjaro, EndeavourOS, Garuda | pacman |
Desktop environment: GNOME Shell 42 or newer is required for the full macOS experience (top bar, dock, blur, animations). Some extras (Rounded Window Corners) require GNOME 46+ and are skipped automatically on older shells. If a non-GNOME desktop is detected, the script offers to install GNOME Shell alongside it — your existing DE and display manager are left untouched. WhiteSur themes, icons, cursors, and wallpaper install and work on any desktop.
A note on RHEL 10 / Rocky 10 / AlmaLinux 10: RHEL 10 removed several GTK2-era packages from its base repositories, including
gnome-tweaks, the murrine theme engine, andgnome-themes-extra. These are optional — the script installs them best-effort and continues without them (WhiteSur compiles viasassc, which is required and present).gnome-tweakson EL10 can be installed via Flatpak (flatpak install flathub org.gnome.tweaks) if you want it; its settings otherwise live in GNOME Settings.
Non-GNOME installs (e.g. Linux Mint / Cinnamon): On Debian-based systems,
aptwill prompt you to choose a default display manager during the GNOME Shell install. You must select gdm3. Choosinglightdmwill prevent GNOME from loading correctly.
Display server: Both Wayland (default on most modern distros) and X11 are supported. On GNOME installs the script reboots so extensions activate on first login; a one-time autostart job finalizes extension-dependent settings after that login. On non-GNOME installs (themes only) no reboot is triggered — log out and back in instead.
Not supported: openSUSE/SLES (zypper), Void (xbps), Gentoo (portage), Alpine, NixOS. PRs welcome.
# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/BushidoCyb3r/MacOS-ify.git
cd MacOS-ify
chmod +x macos-ify.sh
# Graphical installer (recommended)
./macos-ify.sh --gui
# ...or terminal, with a dry run first
./macos-ify.sh --dry-run
./macos-ify.shOn GNOME: the script reboots when done. A one-time autostart job runs automatically on first login to finalize extension-dependent settings (dock position, blur, shell theme), then removes itself.
On non-GNOME (themes only): no reboot is triggered. Log out and back in for the WhiteSur theme to take effect, then select it in your desktop's Appearance or Tweaks tool.
# Re-apply GNOME settings manually after login if needed:
./macos-ify.sh --post-login./macos-ify.sh --gui launches a GTK3 front-end. There is no separate file to install — the Python GUI is embedded in the script and extracted to ~/.cache/macos-ify/ at launch, so it always matches the script version. If the GTK/PyGObject bindings are missing, the script installs them first (python3-gi/python3-gobject + GTK3 introspection, per distro).
The GUI presents:
- Theme — dark/light and accent color.
- Options — Inter font, Quick Look, libadwaita theming, GDM login-screen theming, Cmd-style keyboard (Toshy), and dry-run, as checkboxes.
- Extras — each extension (Apple menu, Spotlight search, tray icons, panel tweaks, genie minimize, rounded corners, Cmd-style app switching) as a toggle, plus Select All.
- Wallpaper — Orange / Green / Blue / Purple, with live image previews.
Clicking Install streams the real installer output into a console view. The GUI handles privilege escalation and interactive prompts itself:
- sudo password is requested once via a dialog and supplied to the installer over a pseudo-terminal. It is held in memory only for the duration of the run and never written to disk or passed on a command line.
- Interactive third-party prompts (for example, Toshy's installer asking questions) are detected when the installer blocks on input; an input bar appears in the GUI so you can answer them, just like a terminal.
When finished, a Reboot button (which prompts for your password) and a View Output button are shown.
The GUI runs the installer non-interactively (
--yes --no-reboot) and adds its own reboot control. Everything the GUI does is also doable from the terminal with the flags below.
Usage: macos-ify.sh [OPTIONS]
Theme options:
-a, --accent COLOR Theme accent
(default|blue|purple|pink|red|orange|yellow|green|grey)
[default: default]
-c, --color VARIANT light | dark [default: dark]
-i, --icon VARIANT Activities-icon variant
(apple|simple|gnome|fedora|ubuntu|arch|...) [default: apple]
--gdm Also theme the GDM login screen (requires sudo)
--no-libadwaita Skip the libadwaita override (safer; Settings/Files/Calendar
keep the stock GNOME look but won't break on upgrades)
--no-extensions Skip GNOME extension installation
--no-wallpapers Skip WhiteSur wallpaper pack download
Behavior options:
--extras Install the extended extension set (see table below)
plus macOS-style app switching (Super+Tab = apps,
Super+` = windows of the current app)
--extras-only LIST Install only the named extras (comma-separated). Names:
logo-menu, search-light, appindicator-support,
just-perfection, compiz-alike-magic-lamp-effect,
rounded-window-corners-reborn, app-switcher
('app-switcher' = the Super+Tab keybinds only)
--keyboard Install Toshy for system-wide Cmd-style shortcuts
(Cmd+C/V/W/T/Q...). Runs Toshy's own installer; adds
systemd user services and udev rules. Opt-in.
--no-font Skip installing/applying the Inter UI font
--no-quicklook Skip GNOME Sushi (spacebar file previews in Files)
Run modes:
--gui Launch the embedded GTK graphical installer
--wallpaper N Wallpaper choice 1-4 (Orange/Green/Blue/Purple);
skips the interactive prompt
--no-reboot Don't reboot at the end (the GUI uses this)
--post-login Finalize-only mode: re-applies dock position, button
layout, blur, shell theme, and wallpaper. Auto-run via
XDG autostart on first login; can also be run manually.
-y, --yes Assume yes to every confirmation prompt
-n, --dry-run Print every command without changing anything
-h, --help Show help and exit
| Flag | What it controls | Risk |
|---|---|---|
-a / -c / -i |
Theme accent / light-dark / Activities icon | None |
--extras / --extras-only |
Extra extensions + app-switching keybinds | Low–Medium |
--keyboard |
Toshy: systemd user services, udev rules, input group membership |
Higher |
--no-font |
Skip Inter font | Reduces effect |
--no-quicklook |
Skip gnome-sushi previews | Reduces effect |
--gdm |
Theme GDM login screen — modifies system files via sudo | Medium |
--no-libadwaita |
Don't overwrite ~/.config/gtk-4.0 |
Reduces risk |
--no-extensions |
Don't install any extensions | Reduces effect |
--no-wallpapers |
Don't clone the WhiteSur wallpaper pack | None |
--wallpaper N |
Preselect wallpaper, skip prompt | None |
--no-reboot |
Skip the final reboot | None |
--post-login |
Re-apply gsettings only | None |
-y, --yes |
Skip all prompts (combine with --gdm/--keyboard carefully) |
Higher |
-n, --dry-run |
Plan-only mode | None |
# Graphical installer
./macos-ify.sh --gui
# Sensible default: dark theme, Inter font, Quick Look, core extensions
./macos-ify.sh
# The full macOS treatment (Spotlight, Apple menu, genie effect, etc.)
./macos-ify.sh --extras
# Everything, including Cmd-style keyboard, no prompts
./macos-ify.sh --extras --keyboard -y
# Only a couple of extras
./macos-ify.sh --extras-only logo-menu,search-light,app-switcher
# Light theme, blue accent, theme the login screen, no prompts
./macos-ify.sh -c light -a blue --gdm -y
# Conservative: no libadwaita override, no font, blue wallpaper
./macos-ify.sh --no-libadwaita --no-font --wallpaper 3
# Plan-only — see every command that would run
./macos-ify.sh --extras -nPrerequisites are split into required (the run stops if these fail) and optional (best-effort; a missing or renamed package warns and continues).
| Family | Required | Optional (best-effort) |
|---|---|---|
| RHEL | git curl unzip sassc glib2-devel |
gnome-tweaks gnome-extensions-app gtk-murrine-engine gnome-themes-extra |
| Debian | git curl unzip sassc libglib2.0-dev-bin |
gnome-tweaks gnome-shell-extension-manager gtk2-engines-murrine gnome-themes-extra |
| Arch | git curl unzip sassc glib2 |
gnome-tweaks gtk-engine-murrine gnome-themes-extra |
Some optional packages do not exist on every release (notably on RHEL 10 — see Supported systems). The murrine engine only matters at runtime for GTK2 apps, which are essentially absent on a modern GNOME desktop, so its absence is harmless. imagemagick is additionally installed (best-effort) only when Search Light is selected. flatpak is installed and the Flathub user remote added (best-effort).
For --gui, GTK3 + PyGObject are installed if missing: python3-gi gir1.2-gtk-3.0 (Debian), python3-gobject gtk3 (RHEL), python-gobject gtk3 (Arch).
Installed from the distro package where available (fonts-inter on Debian, rsms-inter-fonts on Fedora/EPEL, inter-font on Arch). If the package isn't available (e.g. RHEL 10), it falls back to the upstream GitHub release — the API first, then a pinned release URL if the API is rate-limited — installed under ~/.local/share/fonts. The font is only applied via gsettings once it's confirmed visible to fontconfig.
On non-GNOME systems, if you confirm, the script installs gnome-shell and gnome-session. Your existing display manager is not replaced. On Debian-based systems apt will prompt for a display manager — select gdm3. After rebooting, choose the GNOME session from your login screen.
Pulled from extensions.gnome.org with version-matched downloads. Core (always, unless --no-extensions):
| Extension | ID | Why |
|---|---|---|
| User Themes | 19 | Required to apply a Shell (top bar) theme at all |
| Dash to Dock | 307 | macOS-style bottom dock with intelligent autohide |
| Blur My Shell | 3193 | Translucent / blurred top bar and overview |
| Desktop Cube | 4648 | Spaces-like workspace movement |
Extras (--extras, or individually via --extras-only):
| Extension | ID | Provides | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logo Menu | 4451 | Apple-style menu, top-left | |
| Search Light | 5489 | Spotlight-style floating search popup | |
| AppIndicator Support | 615 | Menu-bar style tray icons | |
| Just Perfection | 3843 | Panel / clock / UI element control | |
| Compiz-alike Magic Lamp Effect | 3740 | Genie minimize animation | |
| Rounded Window Corners Reborn | 7048 | Rounds all window corners | GNOME 46+ |
--extras (and --extras-only ...,app-switcher) also sets macOS-style switching: Super+Tab cycles applications, Super+` cycles windows of the current app.
| Repo | Provides |
|---|---|
vinceliuice/WhiteSur-gtk-theme |
GTK3/GTK4 theme, optional GDM theme |
vinceliuice/WhiteSur-icon-theme |
macOS-style icon set |
vinceliuice/WhiteSur-cursors |
macOS-style cursors |
vinceliuice/WhiteSur-wallpapers |
Wallpaper pack |
org.gnome.shell disable-extension-version-validation → true
enabled-extensions → adds core (+ extra) entries
org.gnome.desktop.interface gtk-theme → WhiteSur-{Light|Dark}[-accent]
org.gnome.desktop.interface icon-theme → WhiteSur
org.gnome.desktop.interface cursor-theme → WhiteSur-cursors
org.gnome.desktop.interface color-scheme → prefer-{light|dark}
org.gnome.desktop.interface font-name → Inter 11 (if font applied)
org.gnome.desktop.interface document-font-name → Inter 11 (if font applied)
org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences titlebar-font → Inter Bold 11 (if font applied)
org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences button-layout → close,minimize,maximize:
org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings switch-applications / switch-group … (with --extras app-switcher)
org.gnome.desktop.background picture-uri[-dark] → file://…/<color>-Dark.png
org.gnome.shell.extensions.user-theme name → WhiteSur-{Light|Dark}[-accent]
org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock (dock-position BOTTOM, intellihide, icon size, dots, …)
org.gnome.shell.extensions.blur-my-shell.panel (blur, static-blur)
org.cinnamon.desktop.* (interface font, background) (Cinnamon equivalents, harmless elsewhere)
- Disables
ubuntu-dock@ubuntu.comanddash-to-panel@jderose9.github.comif active (competing docks; both + Dash to Dock means neither displays correctly). - Sets
disable-extension-version-validation=trueso extensions whosemetadata.jsondoesn't list your exact GNOME version still load.
These are not undone by WhiteSur's uninstallers. See Uninstall.
detect_distro parse /etc/os-release → DISTRO_FAMILY, PKG_MGR
│
├── --gui? → install GTK/PyGObject if needed, extract the embedded
│ Python payload to ~/.cache/macos-ify/, exec it. The GUI
│ collects options and re-invokes this script with flags.
│
detect_desktop if not GNOME: offer to install gnome-shell alongside the
│ current DE (display manager untouched); if declined, skip
│ extensions and GNOME-only gsettings. Capture shell version.
│
install_prereqs required packages (fatal on failure) + optional packages
│ (best-effort, one at a time so a missing name only warns)
│
install_font distro package → GitHub fallback (API, then pinned URL)
install_quicklook gnome-sushi (best-effort)
install_extensions version-matched downloads from extensions.gnome.org; core,
│ plus selected extras; disables conflicting docks first
install_whitesur_* git clone + run upstream install.sh; libadwaita / GDM hooks
│ gated on confirmation
install_keyboard (--keyboard) clone + run Toshy's interactive installer
apply_settings writes gsettings only for schemas that are registered
set_wallpaper downloads the chosen wallpaper and sets it
setup_post_login_autostart (GNOME) one-shot XDG autostart → --post-login on
│ first login, then self-deletes
do_reboot (GNOME, unless --no-reboot) prompt then reboot
The whole thing is a single file. The GUI is stored as an inert heredoc payload after the script's exit, so bash never executes it and shellcheck parses the file cleanly; --gui extracts and runs it. An ERR trap reports the failing command and line. The run wrapper logs every command and respects --dry-run. Upstream repos are cloned shallowly under ~/.cache/macos-ify/ and re-pulled on subsequent runs.
These are real. Read them before running.
disable-extension-version-validationis set totrue. Required for Dash to Dock and friends to load on newer GNOME (authors lag GNOME's 6-month cadence). Downside: an extension that's genuinely broken on your shell will try to load and may misbehave rather than being skipped.- Conflicting docks are disabled.
ubuntu-dock/dash-to-panelare disabled before enabling Dash to Dock. If you used either intentionally, re-enable it afterward.
Neither is reverted by WhiteSur's uninstall scripts. See Uninstall.
Since GNOME 43, built-in apps (Settings, Files, Calendar, etc.) use libadwaita, which intentionally doesn't support custom themes. WhiteSur's workaround (install.sh -l) overwrites ~/.config/gtk-4.0/{gtk.css,gtk-dark.css}. Consequences: only one theme active at a time for those apps; a GNOME/libadwaita update can break it; switching themes later means re-running install.sh -l. Run with --no-libadwaita if you want a setup that stays coherent through updates.
On Wayland (the default nearly everywhere now) the running shell can't load new extensions without a full session restart. The script reboots at the end and registers a one-time autostart entry that runs --post-login on first login. If you skipped the reboot: log out/in (Wayland) or Alt+F2 → r (X11), then ./macos-ify.sh --post-login. Until then, the Shell theme, dock, and blur won't appear.
When a major GNOME version drops, extensions break en masse until updated. The script fetches builds matching your shell version; if none exists yet it warns and skips that extension, leaving a partial result. Check back in a few weeks. Rounded Window Corners requires GNOME 46+ and is skipped on older shells by design.
Toshy installs systemd user services and udev rules, and adds your user to the input group. Its installer is interactive and has no non-interactive flag — it asks several questions (including some that show a code you must type back). In the terminal you answer normally; in the GUI an input bar appears for each prompt. It is removable via Toshy's own uninstall. It's opt-in for a reason; skip it if you only want the look.
- Window animations beyond what extensions provide (those are GNOME's).
- Mission Control, Stage Manager, true Spotlight (different paradigms; Search Light approximates Spotlight).
- App-specific UIs (Electron, Qt, anything that ships its own theme).
GNOME + WhiteSur gets you ~75% of the way. A KDE Plasma macOS layout can get closer if that's your goal.
The single most useful thing: read the [FAIL] line. On any error the script prints [FAIL] line N: command failed (exit X): <command> and the full log is at ~/.cache/macos-ify/install.log. In the GUI, click View Output.
- Did the system reboot? Wayland won't load new extensions until the session restarts.
sudo reboot, then log in. - Is it enabled?
gnome-extensions list --enabled | grep dash-to-dock— if empty,gnome-extensions enable dash-to-dock@micxgx.gmail.com, then log out/in. - Version validation off?
gsettings get org.gnome.shell disable-extension-version-validationshould betrue. - Competing dock?
gnome-extensions list --enabled | grep -E 'dock|panel'→gnome-extensions disable ubuntu-dock@ubuntu.com. - Did the post-login job run?
./macos-ify.sh --post-login. - Extension state:
gnome-extensions info dash-to-dock@micxgx.gmail.com—ERROR/OUT_OF_DATEmeans it's broken on your GNOME version; wait for an upstream update.
Open System Settings → Themes and set Controls WhiteSur-Dark, Icons WhiteSur, Mouse pointer WhiteSur-cursors, then log out/in.
It prompts for your password and runs sudo reboot. If it reports a failure, just run sudo reboot in a terminal — your install is already on disk and the post-login job runs on next login regardless.
That's a third-party installer (almost always Toshy) asking a question. Read the prompt text shown above the input bar — some prompts display a code you must type back exactly — type your answer and press Enter/Send.
An optional package isn't in your distro's repos (common on RHEL 10 for the murrine engine, gnome-themes-extra, and rsms-inter-fonts). The script now treats these as best-effort and continues; the font falls back to GitHub. If you see this as a fatal [FAIL], you're on an old version — pull the latest.
Install the required build dep: Fedora sudo dnf install sassc glib2-devel; Debian/Ubuntu sudo apt install sassc libglib2.0-dev-bin; Arch sudo pacman -S sassc glib2.
Recovery TTY (Ctrl+Alt+F2), then sudo ~/.cache/macos-ify/WhiteSur-gtk-theme/tweaks.sh -g -r and reboot.
Repos are cached under ~/.cache/macos-ify/. Each component's installer has a -r flag.
# Themes / icons / cursors
~/.cache/macos-ify/WhiteSur-gtk-theme/install.sh -r
~/.cache/macos-ify/WhiteSur-icon-theme/install.sh -r
~/.cache/macos-ify/WhiteSur-cursors/install.sh -r
# GDM theme (only if you used --gdm)
sudo ~/.cache/macos-ify/WhiteSur-gtk-theme/tweaks.sh -g -r
# libadwaita override
rm -rf ~/.config/gtk-4.0
# Inter font (only if installed via the GitHub fallback)
rm -rf ~/.local/share/fonts/inter && fc-cache -f
# Wallpaper
rm -f ~/.local/share/backgrounds/*-Dark.png
# Reset interface + keybinding settings
gsettings reset org.gnome.desktop.interface gtk-theme
gsettings reset org.gnome.desktop.interface icon-theme
gsettings reset org.gnome.desktop.interface cursor-theme
gsettings reset org.gnome.desktop.interface color-scheme
gsettings reset org.gnome.desktop.interface font-name
gsettings reset org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences button-layout
gsettings reset org.gnome.desktop.background picture-uri
gsettings reset org.gnome.desktop.background picture-uri-dark
gsettings reset org.gnome.shell disable-extension-version-validation
gsettings reset-recursively org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings # if --extras app-switcher was used
# Disable / remove extensions installed by the script
for uuid in \
user-theme@gnome-shell-extensions.gcampax.github.com \
dash-to-dock@micxgx.gmail.com \
blur-my-shell@aunetx \
logomenu@aryan_k \
search-light@icedman.github.com \
appindicatorsupport@rgcjonas.gmail.com \
just-perfection-desktop@just-perfection \
compiz-alike-magic-lamp-effect@hermes83.github.com \
rounded-window-corners@fxgn ; do
gnome-extensions disable "$uuid" 2>/dev/null
gnome-extensions uninstall "$uuid" 2>/dev/null
done
# Desktop Cube is also installed as a core extension; uninstall it too
# (run `gnome-extensions list | grep -i cube` to confirm its UUID on your system):
# gnome-extensions disable <cube-uuid> && gnome-extensions uninstall <cube-uuid>
# Re-enable Ubuntu Dock if you're on Ubuntu/Pop/Zorin and want it back
gnome-extensions enable ubuntu-dock@ubuntu.com 2>/dev/null || true
# Toshy (only if you used --keyboard)
~/.cache/macos-ify/toshy/setup_toshy.py uninstall
# Remove cached repos, the extracted GUI, and logs
rm -rf ~/.cache/macos-ifyLog out and back in.
A wrapper around the work of:
- vinceliuice — WhiteSur and the broader family of macOS-styled GTK themes. Buy them a coffee.
- RedBearAK — Toshy, the keymapper behind
--keyboard. - micheleg and the Dash to Dock contributors.
- aunetx — Blur My Shell.
- The authors of Logo Menu, Search Light, Just Perfection, AppIndicator Support, Magic Lamp, Rounded Window Corners, Desktop Cube, and rsms's Inter typeface.
- The GNOME Shell Extensions team for a usable JSON API at extensions.gnome.org.
PRs welcome for openSUSE/zypper support, Void/xbps support, additional extras, better libadwaita handling, and i18n of log messages.
Please run shellcheck --severity=warning macos-ify.sh clean before opening a PR. Note that the GUI Python lives in an embedded heredoc at the end of the script; if you edit it, extract it (--gui writes it to ~/.cache/macos-ify/macos-ify-gui.py), edit and lint it there, and paste it back — and never put a line consisting solely of the payload marker inside the Python.
MIT. Bundled WhiteSur components and the extensions retain their own licenses (GPL-3.0 for most). See each repo for details.
This script modifies system files with --gdm, overwrites ~/.config/gtk-4.0 by default, installs systemd services with --keyboard, and changes a number of dconf settings. It is written defensively with command-level failure reporting, but you are responsible for your own system. Run --dry-run first, keep a backup, and understand what gsettings is before running.