plasma-apply-cursortheme

List available cursor themes

$ plasma-apply-cursortheme --list-themes

$ plasma-apply-cursortheme [breeze_cursors]

$ plasma-apply-cursortheme --help

plasma-apply-cursortheme [OPTIONS] <theme_name>

The <theme_name> is a mandatory argument specifying the exact name of the cursor theme to be applied.

-h, --help
    Displays help information about the command's usage and available options.

-v, --version
    Displays the version information of the plasma-apply-cursortheme utility.

plasma-apply-cursortheme is a utility part of the KDE Plasma desktop environment, specifically from the kde-cli-tools package. Its primary function is to quickly apply a designated cursor theme to the active Plasma session.

When executed with a valid theme name, it configures the X Window System's cursor theme setting and updates KDE's internal configuration (often via kwriteconfig5 or similar mechanisms) to ensure the chosen theme is persistent across sessions and correctly rendered by applications. This command is typically used by scripts or advanced users who wish to automate cursor theme changes without navigating through graphical system settings. It relies on the specified cursor theme being installed and available in standard X cursor theme locations (e.g., /usr/share/icons/ or ~/.icons/).

Caveats and Limitations:
Requires a running KDE Plasma session: This command requires an active KDE Plasma session for immediate effect and to persist the configuration change.
Theme availability: The specified theme_name must correspond to an installed and accessible cursor theme on the system. If the theme is not found, the command may fail or revert to a default.
KDE Plasma specific: This is not a universal Linux command; it is exclusive to systems running the KDE Plasma desktop environment.
Application restart may be needed: While the command applies the change, some older applications or specific contexts might require a restart of the application or the entire X session to fully adopt the new cursor theme consistently.

Cursor themes are typically stored in /usr/share/icons/ for system-wide themes or ~/.icons/ for user-specific themes. Each theme is represented by a directory containing the actual cursor files (e.g., PNGs or Xcursors) and an index.theme file that describes the theme's properties and mapping.

The command applies the change to the current session and writes the configuration to make it persistent across reboots. However, for changes to take full effect across all applications and contexts, especially in long-running applications or those that don't dynamically reload X settings, a restart of the application or the X session might be necessary.

plasma-apply-cursortheme emerged as a component of the kde-cli-tools suite, which provides command-line utilities for managing various aspects of the KDE Plasma desktop environment. Its development aligns with the broader KDE project's goal of offering both graphical and command-line interfaces for configuration, allowing for greater automation and scripting capabilities within the Plasma ecosystem. It serves as a simplified frontend to underlying configuration mechanisms that evolved with KDE Plasma 5, replacing or supplementing older methods from KDE 4 and earlier, aiming for a more streamlined user and developer experience.

kwriteconfig5(1), kcmshell5(1), krunner(1), xset(1)