Echo SDDM

A macOS Terminal-inspired SDDM login theme. Dark monospace aesthetic, frosted glass, boot animation with real system data, and two login modes.

Features

• macOS Terminal UI: Dark window with traffic light buttons (shutdown, reboot, suspend), title bar, and rounded corners.
• Boot Animation: Animated systemd-style boot log lines on every login.
• Two Background Modes: Pure black or frosted glass (wallpaper + blur).
• Two Login Modes: Arrow-key user/session picker or TTY-style manual login.
• System Info: Hostname, distro, and date/time shown live in the info bar.
• Lock Indicators: Caps Lock and Num Lock warnings inline.
• Terminal-Style Errors: Login failures show as inline red text, not centered banners.
• 24h/12h Clock: Configurable via theme.conf.

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Prerequisites

• Qt6 with qt6-5compat (for FastBlur and OpacityMask)
• SDDM 0.19+ with Qt6 greeter support
• JetBrains Mono font (or set a different font in theme.conf)

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S sddm qt6-5compat

# Fedora
sudo dnf install sddm qt6-qt5compat

# Debian 13/Testing
sudo apt install sddm libqt6quick6 libqt6qml6 qt6-5compat-dev

Note: This theme is Qt6-only. It will not work with Qt5 SDDM.

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Installation

Method A: Install Script

git clone https://github.com/xCaptaiN09/echo-sddm.git
cd echo-sddm
sudo ./install.sh

The script checks for qt6-5compat, backs up your existing config, installs the theme, and restores your settings.

Method B: Arch Linux (AUR)

yay -S echo-sddm-git

Method C: Manual

sudo mkdir -p /usr/share/sddm/themes/echo
sudo cp -r Main.qml metadata.desktop theme.conf install.sh LICENSE assets /usr/share/sddm/themes/echo/

Then set the theme:

sudo mkdir -p /etc/sddm.conf.d
echo -e "[Theme]\nCurrent=echo" | sudo tee /etc/sddm.conf.d/theme.conf

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Testing

Preview without logging out:

sddm-greeter-qt6 --test-mode --theme /usr/share/sddm/themes/echo

Note: In test mode, XMLHttpRequest to local files is blocked by default. Use QML_XHR_ALLOW_FILE_READ=1 if you want to see real CPU/RAM data in the boot log:

QML_XHR_ALLOW_FILE_READ=1 sddm-greeter-qt6 --test-mode --theme /usr/share/sddm/themes/echo

In real SDDM, /proc reads are blocked for security. The boot log falls back to hardcoded systemd-style lines.

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Qt6 Greeter

This theme declares QtVersion=6 in metadata.desktop. SDDM 0.21+ will automatically use the Qt6 greeter (sddm-greeter-qt6).

If you are on an older SDDM or a distro that defaults to Qt5, force the Qt6 greeter:

sudo ln -sf /usr/bin/sddm-greeter-qt6 /usr/bin/sddm-greeter

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Configuration

Edit /usr/share/sddm/themes/echo/theme.conf (or edit before running install.sh):

Option	Default	Description
type	pure	pure (black) or frosted (wallpaper + blur)
login_mode	select	select (arrow keys) or tty (type username)
background	assets/backgrounds/background.png	Wallpaper path for frosted mode
font	JetBrains Mono	Any installed monospace font
font_size	14	Font size in pixels
boot_interval	72	Milliseconds per boot log line
use_24h	false	true for 24h, false for 12h with AM/PM
background_opacity	0.35	Frosted glass opacity (0.1–1.0)
blur_radius	54	Blur strength for frosted mode (1–100)

Frosted Glass

type=frosted
background=assets/backgrounds/background.png

TTY Mode

login_mode=tty

Type your username, press Enter, type password, press Enter to login. F1/F2 cycles sessions.

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Keyboard Controls

Select Mode

Key	Action
Left / Right	Cycle users or sessions
Tab / Down	Next row
Up / Shift+Tab	Previous row
Enter	Submit login

TTY Mode

Key	Action
F1 / F2	Cycle sessions
Enter	Submit field / login
Tab	Switch between username and password

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Traffic Lights

Button	Action
Red	Shutdown
Yellow	Reboot
Green	Suspend

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Credits

• Author: xCaptaiN09
• Design: Inspired by macOS Terminal.app
• Font: JetBrains Mono (system font, not bundled)

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MIT License

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Made with ❤️ for the Linux community