Had Fun ricing my GNOME Wayland setup on Kali. Just thought I'd Share.

⚠️ Note: This post documents my personal ricing journey. Screenshots and configurations are from my actual working setup.

The Setup

I recently decided to give my Kali Linux installation a fresh look while keeping all the security tools and workflow intact. The challenge was making it visually appealing without sacrificing functionality.

Key Components

1. GNOME Extensions

  • User Themes - For custom CSS theming
  • Dash to Dock - Customizable dock
  • Blur my Shell - Nice blur effects
  • Caffeine - Prevent screen lock during presentations

2. Terminal Configuration

Using a custom Kitty configuration with semi-transparent backgrounds and my preferred color scheme. The terminal is where I spend most of my time, so it needed to look good.

3. Color Scheme

Went with a dark theme using accent colors that match the "hacker aesthetic" without being too cliché. Deep purples and cyans work well together.

Screenshots

Desktop Screenshot 1
Main desktop view with terminal and file manager
Desktop Screenshot 2
Overview mode with multiple workspaces
Desktop Screenshot 3
Night mode aesthetic with glow effects

Configuration Files

Most of my dotfiles are available on GitHub. The key files for this setup:

  • ~/.config/gtk-3.0/gtk.css - GTK theming tweaks
  • ~/.config/gnome-shell/gnome-shell.css - Shell customizations
  • ~/.config/kitty/kitty.conf - Terminal configuration

Final Thoughts

Ricing is a personal journey. What works for me might not work for you, but the process of customizing your environment teaches you a lot about how Linux desktop environments work. Plus, it makes spending hours in the terminal much more enjoyable.

Happy hacking! 🐱‍💻