User Created Custom Themes

[samitsingh0411]

Checklist

• I made sure that there are no existing issues - open or closed - which I could contribute my information to.
• I have read the FAQ and my problem isn't listed.
• I'm aware that this is a request for NewPipe itself and that requests for adding a new service need to be made at NewPipeExtractor.
• I have taken the time to fill in all the required details. I understand that the feature request will be dismissed otherwise.
• This issue contains only one feature request.
• I have read and understood the contribution guidelines.
• I have read and understood the AI policy. The content of this request is not generated by AI.

Feature description

Option to create and import custom themes (colors, fonts, spacing, icons) so users can tune the UI to their workflows in a config.

Eventually a gui for all those options, but in meantime, just a config file is good enough.

Why do you want this feature?

1. On a philosophical level, having UI customization has always differentiated open source for public application from industry made application which I don't need too tell you offer very little freedom in general but also with UI.

2. A lotta people who are very privacy conscious are also hardcore linux arch hyprland ricers, there is a overlap there. So for them.

3. A app that lets you customize itself and has more cutomization options than stock YouTube just feels right, I assumed this feature would already be there when i started using it and was exited to customize it, but sadly it wasn't there.

Additional information

No response

[tag27]

That’s an interesting suggestion because I haven’t seen any “alternative YouTube” projects that actually offer real customization (and no, just changing the colors or the font doesn’t count), but I haven’t looked into this in depth yet, so don’t take that too seriously.

Not to mention that I think the cultures of customizing Linux and Android are completely different. While on Linux you can go wild and change almost everything about the system, on Android, the most you can do is swap the stock ROM for one with a different UI, or do whatever you feel like if you manage to root the device. Or, if you don’t have the nerve to do either of those things, use a launcher and an icon pack.

Another point to consider is that I imagine Android developers, at least those working on open-source projects, try to focus more on providing privacy, features, AND support for as many versions as possible, at least as long as the libraries they use still support older versions of Android. It’s pretty rare for me to come across apps that let users customize every aspect of the app; at most, it’s just those two things I mentioned above (overall colors and font).

That said, I also hope that NewPipe will at least offer something new or interesting in that regard, but it will depend on how the team approaches this and whether they’re as interested in this kind of thing as you and I are.

Edit: Yep, they're not interested... At least not since about five years ago #6272 (comment)