How to theme iOS icons (stock)
Added 2022-12-09 01:46:46 +0000 UTCRecently I created a Christmas theme to share with family.
None of them are jailbroke on their main device, but I knew I could install the theme with shortcuts. The first device I did I went with shortcuts. This wasn't terrible but they got a banner every time they opened an app. Not ideal.
View Shortcuts Method
I then looked in to alternative ways of doing it and this is what I found. Install TrollStore helper to install TrollStore, install Filza then Blizzboard.
TrollStore allows you to install ipas. These are apps. Filza and Blizzboard are both apps. Filza is used to unzip and rename folders and/or icons. Blizzboard is used to theme icons and you won't have this annoying shortcut banner.
Links:
TrollStore Helper and TrollStore https://github.com/opa334/TrollStore
Blizzboard
https://github.com/BenjaminHornbeck6/BlizzardBoard
Filza
https://tigisoftware.com/download/Filza_3.9.7.ipa
Download TrollHelperOTA for your device. Once installed open the app (named GTA Car Tracker) Install TrollStore and Persistence Helper.
Download Blizzboard via safari, open the downloaded file and install with TrollStore.
Download Filza via safari, open the downloaded file and install with TrollStore.
Download a theme and unzip it. Here is the Christmas theme I mentioned above. A perfect theme to test with as you must rename it. (explained below) https://www.dropbox.com/s/nwvdwo73e9bagq4/ChristmasTheme.zip
Blizzboard requires themes to be named as mytheme.theme. This .theme extension is very old, something that Winterboard introduced a very long time ago. This hasn't been needed since then. This is why we need Filza. Blizzboard tells you to share the theme with Blizzboard to have it show in the app. Since not all themes are named .theme then you will never get that share option. Even since the stock Files app doesn't know this extension you wont be able to do it either. (I really don't kno why they did this method) That's one of the reasons we installed Filza. We will just move the theme folder where it belongs.
Download the theme above, open its location in the Files app. Tap and hold the .zip file click share, choose Filza. Tap the zip file in Filza, this will unzip it. You will see ChristmasTheme. Tap hold the new folder and click rename. At the end add .theme
The folder should now be named ChristmasTheme.theme Tap the folder and it will show 3 other folders. IconBundles, Walls, WidgetImages. Blizzboard will ignore all these besides IconBundles. This is where they pull the icons from. You can save the walls and widget image to your camera roll if you want to use them.
Now to move the folder where Blizzboard knows it exists. Tap Edit in Filza select ChristmasTheme.theme, press copy. In the top left you will see mobile tap it and it will now say var. What this means is we where in /var/mobile/Documents and it went back a directory to /var/mobile/ now look for the folder named themes. Press the clipboard icon in the bottom left. Tap paste.
That's it you now have the theme folder in the folder where Blizzboard will recognize it.
I have many alternate icons in this theme. Example there is 4 different mail icons. To have Blizzboard pick the icon you want make sure the icon ends in -large and not -largeALT just rename the one that has -large to something else.
Once finished open Blizzboard and enable the theme. This will add webclip like shortcuts to your homescreen.
Bonus
You will notice that some icons didn't theme. This is because Blizzboard didn't find the icon in the theme. If you wish to use any of the images in the theme for an app you can do this by renaming the icon name to the bundle id of the app. This bundle id is unique for every app. I use a Mac app named BundleIdentifierSearcher but i've had it so long and have no idea where to find it now. I did find https://offcornerdev.com/bundleid.html you type the name in the input and it will give you the bundle name. Go to filza, /var/mobile/Themes/ThemeName/IconBundles find the icon you want and rename it to that bundle id.
This is a long text post, if I missed anything or you get stuck at a point let me know. I don't mind helping out.