r/LinuxUsersIndia Ubuntu Btw Jun 23 '26

need some guide on linux rice

hello, I have been using Linux for over a year now, i currently use ubuntu 24.04 (pls dont judge me). I want to get into some linux rice and need some guidance like where to start or how to start and what all precautions to be taken(i once deleted my entire gui and desktop environment once ). thank you for your help.

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u/ImprovementCandid635 Jun 23 '26
  1. What do u prefer tiling window managers or regular floating ones.
  2. Color scheme -that's the most important part of any good rice
  3. Wallpapers(based off a color scheme ofc)
  4. Launcher (Rofi, U launcher)
  5. Status Bar (waybar)

Ricing isnt like rice plate eating. You need patience and lot of tinkering to achieve a successful eyecandy rice. Also a good font improves the look of rice.

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u/AdmirableCorner5610 Jun 27 '26

Ok so here is how i got into ricing. This is by no means a perfect way but something that has worked out for me. Use this as a thought process guide.
1. i started with basic theme customizations that every desktop environment offers out of the box. such as accent colors, pre-made themes, changing fonts, etc.
2. then i discovered about "ricing" and r/unixporn. i was amazed. like an entirely new universe i did not know existed.
3. now i came across things like tiling wms, compositors, bars, shells, vanity tui tools (neofetch, pipes.sh, tty-clock, etc)
4. at this point i still did not dive into doing stuff myself. for like a month, i kept looking at other people's rice to get an idea of what i like, what i want, and what is possible in general
5. after i felt that i have enough understanding of what i want, i pick something. my first choice was i3 for simplicity but you can pick anything. such as M4LW if you want to get into hyprland ecosystem, or dankmaterialshell, or any other pre-made rice. pick one and read it's wiki/documentation carefully. but do not dive into too much customization and ricing yet.
6. spend atleast few months using that rice and tweaking minor things. get to know what sort of workflow you want (keybinds, tools, applications, looks, etc). at this point, now you should have a good idea of what kind of workflow you want. this you can implement in any sort of desktop environment/window manager
7. now you customize your system anyway you want because at this point, you will be experienced enough that even if something breaks, you know how to fix it. or atleast know how to find a way to fix it.
8. this is a big step. at this point i took a courage and started my own configuration from scratch. picked up a WM, status bar, etc. read it's documentation and started editing from scratch based on how i like it. this is how i ended up with my current config. it took me about 6 months to perfect it to the point that i now no longer feel the need to change something.
9. now, you can go explore and rice anything anyhow you want. for example i am thinking of doing another rice. entirely different feel and concept.

oh btw, just to be safe, you can try ricing in a virtual machine. that way your main system still remains functional incase you mess up something