Theming System

Visual identity: Applenix + Matrix mode.

Overview

Floppy.WTF ships two branded themes that can be toggled via NixOS specialisations. Both themes share a common font rendering pipeline optimized for maximum visual quality on LCD panels.

Font Rendering Pipeline

This is the single highest-impact visual tuning. Shared by all themes.

Font Stack

Role	Font	Package
UI Sans	Inter	`pkgs.inter`
Monospace	JetBrains Mono	`pkgs.jetbrains-mono`
Serif fallback	Noto Serif	`pkgs.noto-fonts`
Emoji	Noto Color Emoji	`pkgs.noto-fonts-emoji`

Fontconfig Settings


fonts.fontconfig = {
  enable = true;
  defaultFonts = {
    sansSerif = [ "Inter" "Noto Sans" ];
    monospace = [ "JetBrains Mono" ];
    serif     = [ "Noto Serif" ];
    emoji     = [ "Noto Color Emoji" ];
  };
  antialias = true;
  hinting = {
    enable = true;
    style  = "slight";    # Preserves glyph shapes, closest to macOS
  };
  subpixel = {
    rgba = "rgb";          # Standard for laptop LCD panels
  };
};

Setting	Value	Rationale
`hinting.style`	`slight`	Full hinting distorts glyphs. Slight preserves design intent.
`subpixel.rgba`	`rgb`	Standard RGB subpixel order for virtually all laptop LCDs.
`antialias`	`true`	Non-negotiable for clean text.

Color System

Central palette definition in theme/colors.nix:


{
  applenix = {
    bg     = "#0B0E14";
    fg     = "#E6E1CF";
    accent = "#0A84FF";   # macOS-style blue
    green  = "#30E000";   # Floppy.WTF brand green
    yellow = "#F1FA8C";
    red    = "#FF5555";
    purple = "#BD93F9";
    cyan   = "#8BE9FD";
    dimBg  = "#1A1B26";
    dimFg  = "#9090A0";
  };
 
  matrix = {
    bg     = "#000000";
    fg     = "#00FF41";   # Matrix green
    dim    = "#00AA2B";
    bright = "#33FF66";
    accent = "#00FF41";
  };
}

Applenix Theme

Aesthetic: Clean, dark, macOS-rivaling. Premium typography. Subtle effects.

Component	Choice
GTK Theme	WhiteSur-Dark
Icons	Papirus-Dark
Cursor	Bibata-Modern-Ice (size 24)
Terminal	Kitty with matched palette
Compositor	Picom (shadows, corner radius, fade)
Login	LightDM with full theme

Terminal (Kitty)


programs.kitty = {
  enable = true;
  font = { name = "JetBrains Mono"; size = 12; };
  settings = {
    background           = "#0B0E14";
    foreground           = "#E6E1CF";
    cursor               = "#0A84FF";
    selection_background = "#0A84FF";
    background_opacity   = "0.95";
  };
};

Compositor


services.picom = {
  enable = true;
  settings = {
    shadow         = true;
    shadow-opacity = 0.22;
    corner-radius  = 10;
    inactive-opacity = 0.97;
    fading         = true;
    fade-in-step   = 0.04;
    fade-out-step  = 0.04;
  };
};

Matrix Theme

Aesthetic: Green-on-black. Monospace everything. Terminal-native. Menacing.

Component	Choice
GTK Theme	Adwaita-dark (heavy green overrides)
Font	JetBrains Mono for ALL UI text
Compositor	No shadows, no corners, no fade
Colors	Monochrome green palette

Terminal (Kitty)


programs.kitty = {
  enable = true;
  font = { name = "JetBrains Mono"; size = 12; };
  settings = {
    background = "#000000";
    foreground = "#00FF41";
    cursor     = "#00FF41";
    background_opacity = "1.0";
    # Entire palette is monochrome green
  };
};

Compositor


services.picom = {
  enable = true;
  settings = {
    shadow           = false;   # No shadows
    corner-radius    = 0;       # Sharp edges
    inactive-opacity = 1.0;     # Full opacity
    fading           = false;   # Instant transitions
  };
};

Theme Toggle

Default boot = Applenix. Matrix mode available as a NixOS specialisation.


# In host configuration.nix
specialisation.matrix.configuration = {
  imports = [ ../../theme/matrix.nix ];
};

Toggle Commands


# Switch to Matrix mode
sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#dell-dev --specialisation matrix
 
# Switch back to Applenix (default)
sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#dell-dev