Obscure SDDM Theme

A minimal yet customizable SDDM theme that uses IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) characters for password masking, creating an obscure and unique look for your login experience.

Features

• Clean look-and-feel driven by a accent colors and glass tint controls
• Unique IPA character-based password masking with optional randomized output
• Built-in password visibility toggle with animated error feedback
• Customizable background image with blur, tint color, and intensity controls
• Keyboard-driven user/session selectors styled with circular accent buttons

Requirements

• SDDM >= 0.19.0
• Qt >= 6.0.0
• A system font that supports IPA characters (default: Inter)

Installation

Manual Installation

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/saatvik333/obscure-sddm-theme.git

2. Install necessary packages

   yay -S sddm qt6-5compat

3. Copy the theme to SDDM themes directory:

   sudo cp -r obscure-sddm-theme /usr/share/sddm/themes/obscure

4. Set the theme in SDDM configuration:

   sudo sh -c 'printf "[Theme]\nCurrent=obscure\n" > /etc/sddm.conf'

Using Package Managers

Arch Linux (AUR)

Install using your preferred AUR helper:

# Using yay
yay -S sddm-theme-obscure-git

# Using paru
paru -S sddm-theme-obscure-git

Then set the theme:

sudo sh -c 'printf "[Theme]\nCurrent=obscure\n" > /etc/sddm.conf'

Configuration

The theme can be customized through the theme.conf file. Here are the available options:

All customization lives in theme.conf. Settings are grouped just like in the file to keep things easy to reason about.

Palette

Key	Description	Default
textColor	Primary foreground/text color	#cdd6f4
errorColor	Accent used for error flashes	#f38ba8
backgroundColor	Base fill behind the glass layer	#1e1e2e

Background

Key	Description	Default
backgroundImage	Path to an optional wallpaper (leave empty for solid color)	(empty)
backgroundFillMode	Image sizing mode (aspectCrop, aspectFit, stretch, tile, center)	aspectCrop
backgroundOpacity	Opacity of the background image layer (0–100)	100
backgroundGlassEnabled	Enable the Gaussian blur glass treatment	false
backgroundGlassIntensity	Blur strength (0–100)	50
backgroundTintColor	Base tint color placed over the wallpaper	#11111b
backgroundTintIntensity	Tint opacity (0–100)	0

Typography

Key	Description	Default
fontFamily	UI font family	Inter
baseFontSize	Base font size in pixels	15

Controls & Behaviour

Key	Description	Default
controlCornerRadius	Corner radius for inputs, selectors, and power buttons	30
controlOpacity	Base opacity controlling control fill/border strength (0–100)	30
controlBlurEnabled	Enable blur effect behind controls	false
controlBlurIntensity	Control blur strength (0–100)	50
controlAccentColor	Single accent color driving button fills/borders	#89b4fa
allowEmptyPassword	Permit logging in without a password	false
showUserSelector	Show user selection carousel by default	false
showSessionSelector	Show session selection carousel by default	false
useIpaMask	Use IPA characters for password masking (false = simple mask)	true
simpleMaskChar	Character used for masking when IPA is disabled	●
randomizePasswordMask	Shuffle IPA mask characters each keystroke	true
autoFocusPassword	Auto-focus password field on theme load	false
animationDuration	Base animation length in milliseconds	320
passwordFlashLoops	How many times the password field flashes on error	3
passwordFlashOnDuration	Duration of each flash highlight (ms)	200
passwordFlashOffDuration	Duration of the fade-out between flashes (ms)	260

The password visibility toggle honours all these settings automatically—no extra configuration required.

Shortcuts

The theme provides several keyboard shortcuts for quick access to various functions:

• F1: Toggle help text display
• F2 or Alt+U: Toggle user selector
• Ctrl+F2 or Alt+Ctrl+U: Switch to previous user
• F3 or Alt+S: Toggle session selector
• Ctrl+F3 or Alt+Ctrl+S: Switch to previous session
• F10: Suspend system (if available)
• F11: Shutdown system (if available)
• F12: Reboot system (if available)

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Inspired by various SDDM themes in the community
• IPA characters sourced from standard Unicode specifications

Support

If you like this theme, consider:

• Starring the repository
• Reporting bugs
• Contributing to the code
• Sharing it with others :)