Covers 2 of the 14 themes MayteraOS ships today. The IDs, constants, and color values below are verified current against
kernel/gui/themes.h. This document just predates the rest of the theme set: MayteraOS now ships 14 built-in themes (classic, light, dark, high-contrast, fluent-dark/light, forest, ocean, sunset, maytera-dark/light, modern-dark/light, retro-unix) in a binary .mtheme format, not the 2 described here. See UI Primitives for how the wider style engine works.Modern macOS Themes for MayteraOS
This document describes the Modern Light and Modern Dark themes inspired by macOS Big Sur (11) and later versions.
Overview
These themes bring the clean, modern aesthetic of macOS to MayteraOS with:
- Subtle depth and refined color palette
- Traffic light window buttons (red/yellow/green)
- System blue accent color (#007AFF light, #0A84FF dark)
- Content-focused, minimal chrome design
- Rounded, pill-style controls
Theme IDs
| Theme | ID | Constant |
|---|---|---|
| Modern Light | 8 | THEME_MODERN_LIGHT |
| Modern Dark | 9 | THEME_MODERN_DARK |
Usage
#include "gui/themes.h"
// Switch to Modern Light theme
theme_set(THEME_MODERN_LIGHT);
// Switch to Modern Dark theme
theme_set(THEME_MODERN_DARK);Color Palettes
Modern Light Theme
| Element | Color | Hex |
|---|---|---|
| Background | Off-white | #F5F5F7 |
| Foreground | Near-black | #1D1D1F |
| Accent | System Blue | #007AFF |
| Titlebar Active | Light gray | #E8E8E8 |
| Titlebar Inactive | Lighter gray | #F0F0F0 |
| Window Background | White | #FFFFFF |
| Close Button | Red | #FF5F57 |
| Minimize Button | Yellow | #FFBD2E |
| Maximize Button | Green | #28CA42 |
| Selection | System Blue | #007AFF |
| Selection Text | White | #FFFFFF |
| Desktop | Sky Blue | #5BADE9 |
Modern Dark Theme
| Element | Color | Hex |
|---|---|---|
| Background | Dark | #1E1E1E |
| Foreground | Off-white | #F5F5F7 |
| Accent | Bright Blue | #0A84FF |
| Titlebar Active | Dark gray | #2D2D2D |
| Titlebar Inactive | Darker | #252525 |
| Window Background | Dark | #1E1E1E |
| Close Button | Red | #FF5F57 |
| Minimize Button | Yellow | #FFBD2E |
| Maximize Button | Green | #28CA42 |
| Selection | Bright Blue | #0A84FF |
| Selection Text | White | #FFFFFF |
| Desktop | Deep purple-blue | #1C1C28 |
Design Elements
Traffic Light Buttons
Both themes use the macOS-style "traffic light" window control buttons:
- Close (red): #FF5F57
- Minimize (yellow): #FFBD2E
- Maximize/Zoom (green): #28CA42 These colors are vibrant and consistent across both light and dark modes.
System Blue Accent
The accent color adapts for visibility:
- Light mode: #007AFF - Standard system blue
- Dark mode: #0A84FF - Brighter blue for dark backgrounds
Subtle Borders
Instead of heavy borders, these themes use very subtle dividers:
- Light: #D1D1D6 - barely visible gray
- Dark: #3D3D3F - subtle dark gray
Translucent Appearance
While true blur effects require compositing support, the colors are chosen to suggest a translucent, layered feel:
- Taskbar/dock uses slightly tinted backgrounds
- Menus appear as floating panels
- Scrollbars use overlay-style thin tracks
Icon Adaptations
For the modern macOS aesthetic, icons should follow SF Symbols design principles:
- Consistent weight - Medium weight for legibility
- Simple shapes - Avoid unnecessary detail
- Optical alignment - Center icons visually, not mathematically
- Clear silhouettes - Recognizable at small sizes
Recommended Icon Colors
| Context | Light Theme | Dark Theme |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | #1D1D1F | #F5F5F7 |
| Secondary | #636366 | #AEAEB2 |
| Accent | #007AFF | #0A84FF |
| Destructive | #FF3B30 | #FF453A |
File Locations
- Header:
/kernel/gui/themes.h - Implementation:
/kernel/gui/themes.c
Version History
- v1.4.0: Initial implementation of Modern Light and Modern Dark themes