hello everyone, apologies if this has already been discussed in another thread, I decided to try out Ubuntu budgie after reading an article on ITSFOSS. I am really impressed with how well it runs on my laptop but the only issue I have is that I am unable to use dark mode in all my apps for instance shotwell does not work in dark mode. Is there any workaround for this ?
Hi, is this Shotwell the Snap or Flatpak version? And what theme are you using?
Hi I am using Picollo dark and it is the snap version
So it’s very simple to solve in the case of Shotwell, you just need to use the command in the terminal:
sudo snap install gtk-theme-pocillo
Or if you don’t want to use the terminal, you can go to the Snap Store, look for the Snap called gtk-theme-pocillo and install it.
But this Snap theme does not have all the theme files, so some apps may not use the theme in Snap apps, for example, Transmission in Snap cannot use it.
Hi there!
EDIT: You’re right : works with Shotwell snap, not flatpak.
I’ve already tested the Snap version of Shotwell here, it works with the gtk-theme-pocillo theme (which connects automatically), as well as it works with the flugir-budgie-theme (which needs to be connected manually).
About Flatpak apps, the issue is that they don’t access the /usr/share/themes folder
So what you need to do to make them use the themes is to create a folder called .themes in the user folder (if one doesn’t exist), and copy the folders of the themes you use into the .themes folder
And then grant permission to the .themes folder for the Flatpak apps through Flatseal.
It’s not a flaw of Budgie Desktop, it’s just how Flatpak apps work.
Thanks it is not a flatpak app
Thanks for opening my eyes to these things I didn’t know, @Kyuyrii, but I don’t think that’s the problem in this case.
Shotwell has its own theme toggle and it doesn’t work, even after giving flatpak access to the “.themes” directory.
But I can confirm that it works natively on Zorin OS, in flatpak format. Developer tuning or “true” GNOME distribution?
… and that you are not against snaps, @eugenios! 
There are themes in Flatpak version, but not all themes have a Flatpak version, so the most common thing is to copy the themes you are going to use to the .themes folder.
I opened Zorin in live mode and it comes with all these themes in Flatpak version.
This is unfortunately not the default. In Fedora Budgie for example, which already comes with Flatpak support, it does not come with any Flatpak themes.
Thanks @Kyuyrii, but still not convinced. 
On my UB 24.04, the “Matcha-sea” theme is installed as flatpak, but I had to copy it to “~/.themes” and add these two lines to make it work — I prefer CLI to Flatseal:
sudo flatpak override --filesystem=$HOME/.themes
sudo flatpak override --env=GTK_THEME=Matcha-dark-sea
Shotwell is displayed in dark mode, but its theme selector doesn’t work.
On Zorin, the “~/.themes” directory doesn’t exist, and the selector works without any additional settings.
Hence the assumption that the Zorin brothers have taken extra care with their flatpak pre-installation.
I downloaded the theme you mentioned, I didn’t need the Flatpak version, just access to .themes
The command to force the use of the theme is only necessary for GTK4 libadwaita apps, such as Flatseal and Celluloid, if the theme has the necessary GTK4 files, since not all themes have been correctly adapted for GTK4.
But the command also works if you want to use a theme that is different from the theme you are using on the system.
Zorin clearly makes an extra effort to have his own themes in Flatpak, pre-installed and functional.
But it seems like a huge effort that shouldn’t be worth it for everyone, especially since it’s not mandatory, so it can be seen as unnecessary effort.
Unlike Snap themes, if you don’t have a Snap version, you’ll have to manually apply the theme to each installed app, copying and pasting the files.
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Thank you, @Kyuyrii for this detailed and very clear explanation.
In short, it’s just another strategy by Canonical to impose the Snap format…
Or a lot of work for one or two applications. Anyway, for my part, I don’t use dark themes, just the “Dark theme” button in Budgie’s desktop settings.
thanks Kyuyrii, was happy with Ubunu Budgie but then discovered some issues, at the moment I moved back to Fedora 41 workstation and I am more than happy with it. Will give the Fedora Budgie spin a go maybe at a later stage but I really appreciate the feedback and testing from your side to isolate the issue