Themes & Appearance

Ariv is designed to get out of your way, and that includes looking the way you want it to. Every appearance setting is available in Settings (Cmd+, on macOS, Ctrl+, on Windows) under the Appearance section.

Theme

Choose how Ariv handles light and dark mode:

Option	Behavior
Light	Always use the light theme
Dark	Always use the dark theme
System	Follow your operating system’s appearance setting

The default is System, so Ariv automatically switches between light and dark when your OS does — no manual toggling needed.

Setting: appearance.theme

Accent Color

The accent color appears throughout the interface — active tabs, buttons, links, selection highlights, and other interactive elements. Ariv ships with seven options:

Color
Orange	The signature Ariv brand color (default)
Purple
Blue
Green
Pink
Red
Cyan

Orange is the default and the color you see in all of Ariv’s marketing and branding. That said, pick whatever makes you happy — the accent color is purely cosmetic and affects nothing about how the app works.

Setting: appearance.accentColor

Tip

If you’re using dark mode, try Cyan or Green for a high-contrast look that’s easy on the eyes. In light mode, Orange and Purple tend to stand out cleanly.

Dashboard Style

The Dashboard is the first thing you see when you open Ariv. It shows the same data regardless of which style you pick — lifecycle overview, action items, active notes, and vault stats — but the visual presentation changes dramatically.

Style	Description
Default	Clean, balanced layout with all sections neatly organized. A good starting point.
Classic	A traditional, straightforward presentation with minimal embellishment.
Desk	Sticky-note aesthetic with slightly rotated cards — feels like a physical desk covered in notes.
Terminal	Monospaced fonts, dark tones, and a command-line aesthetic. Great for developers.
Arcade	Playful, retro-inspired pixel style with bold colors. For when your PKM needs more personality.
Blueprint	Technical drawing feel with gridlines and precise geometry. Structured and focused.

To change your dashboard style, go to Settings > Appearance > Dashboard Style and select the one that suits you.

Setting: appearance.dashboardStyle

Tip

Give the Desk style a try if you like a tactile, physical feel. The slight rotation on each card makes the dashboard feel less like a spreadsheet and more like an actual workspace.

Interface Font Size

Control the size of text in the sidebar, toolbar, dialogs, and other interface elements (this does not affect the editor — see Editor Settings for that).

Option
Small	Compact text — fits more on screen
Default	Standard size for most displays
Large	Bigger text for accessibility or high-resolution screens

Setting: appearance.uiFontSize

Show Status Bar

The status bar sits at the bottom of the Ariv window and displays contextual information about the current note — word count, character count, cursor position, and the note’s lifecycle bucket.

If you prefer a cleaner look with more vertical space for your notes, toggle this off.

Setting: appearance.showStatusBar

Compact Mode

When enabled, compact mode reduces padding and spacing throughout the entire interface — the sidebar, toolbar, dialogs, and panels all become tighter. This is useful on smaller screens or if you simply prefer a denser layout.

Setting: appearance.compactMode

Note

Compact mode pairs well with the Small interface font size for a very space-efficient setup. If things start to feel cramped, switch back to Default font size and leave compact mode on — that’s often a good middle ground.

Language

Ariv supports multiple interface languages:

Language
System Default	Matches your operating system’s language
English
Francais
Espanol
Arabic	Right-to-left layout support

The default is System Default, which automatically uses your OS language if Ariv supports it, falling back to English otherwise.

Setting: appearance.language

Note

Language settings affect the Ariv interface (menus, buttons, labels) — not the content of your notes. Your notes are always displayed exactly as you wrote them.

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Related: Editor Settings — Customize the writing experience | Settings Reference — Complete list of every Ariv setting