Can we get an offical FlatLaf dark theme port for avalonia ui?

[Shadowblitz16]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

I don't like look of any existing theme for avalonia ui and would prefer a more traditional desktop theme

Describe the solution you'd like

Can we get a official support for a clone of java swing's flatlaf dark theme?
https://www.formdev.com/flatlaf/

Describe alternatives you've considered

I considered imgui.net but it tends to crash alot and have odd issues.
I have also considered moving to java and using swing itself.

Additional context

I am looking for a cross platform C# desktop gui I can use to build a game engine on.

[stevemonaco]

Creating an entirely new theme for every control and control state can take well over a hundred hours for initial release without counting for maintenance / bug fixing. You can look through some third-party themes here: https://github.com/AvaloniaCommunity/awesome-avalonia?tab=readme-ov-file#theme--icons

I personally started with Simple theme and tweaked colors + spacing for a flat / compact look and it's much less work to style a smaller subset of components.

I can't speak for the team, but I would expect another desktop theme to take a backseat to a Material3/Cupertino port geared towards mobile if there were available time to create another official theme.

[Shadowblitz16]

I can't speak for the team, but I would expect another desktop theme to take a backseat to a Material3/Cupertino port geared towards mobile if there were available time to create another official theme.

There is already enough mobile themes though, most of .NET gui frameworks are nothing but mobile/hybrid stuff.
We really need more classic desktop oriented stuff.

[thevortexcloud]

How classic are we talking?

https://github.com/Splitwirez/avalonia-aero-theme

Anyway, what's the problem with the simple/fluent themes?

[stevemonaco]

I assume they want something really dense, flat, and plain like Imgui is. Avalonia does lack a bit for "power user" apps out-of-the-box, but some customization is necessary for every app. It's not too hard to increase the density though Fluent has too much spacing for this use case, even with Compact density. I do strongly disagree with the "nothing but mobile/hybrid" claim though as .NET has basically no pure mobile themes / look-and-feels other than .NET Maui's native control wrappers.

[thevortexcloud]

Assuming they don't need every control: An imgui style theme could probably be done in a day or so by just overriding one of the default themes as needed. A proper generic theme would take longer though.

That said: I also would like some more official theme options. I also don't expect any to be added any time soon either. Also most classic desktop design has been on the way out for awhile now due to it being terrible for most touch screen devices.

[timunie]

Check out awesome avalonia for other available themes.

Tbh, I don't see such a theme provided soonish if even from our side.

[Shadowblitz16]

Check out awesome avalonia for other available themes.

Tbh, I don't see such a theme provided soonish if even from our side.

I already did before I made this issue.

[danipen]

Did you check https://github.com/Actipro/Avalonia-Controls?

[stevemonaco]

Can you post a screenshot of your idea of a "classic desktop app" because this is how UX has been for nearly a decade. If the Avalonia Simple theme is not sufficient, then we're going back further than 15-20 years. FlatLaf really isn't that different, it's mainly a bit more dense which you can rework well enough in most themes.

[Shadowblitz16]

Can you post a screenshot of your idea of a "classic desktop app" because this is how UX has been for nearly a decade. If the Avalonia Simple theme is not sufficient, then we're going back further than 15-20 years. FlatLaf really isn't that different, it's mainly a bit more dense which you can rework well enough in most themes.

I am talking about thin controls that don't take up space rather then fat controls that would be useful on mobile, visual controls like groupboxes, inset and outset panels and window / dialog oriented gui rather then page oriented.

[thevortexcloud]

HeaderedContentControl does exist which can be used like a group box. Anyway, it sounds like you want a Windows 7 era theme. Which I am not sure is a good idea even if you only target desktop platforms. So many computers now have touchscreens, and people do use them. EG laptops that can be folded into a tablet are pretty popular.

[Shadowblitz16]

What does GritGene and Unity use as it's theme?

[thevortexcloud]

Unity does not use Avalonia for its UI. I think it's some custom thing and the theme is made by them as far as I am aware. No idea what GritGene is.

[rabbitism]

I will take a look at it.