Creating your own theme for Xiaomi: from idea to publication MIUI Themes

Xiaomi smartphones based on the company shell MIUI They offer users a unique personalization experience, which is custom themes. But what if they had a solution in the form of a customized design? MIUI Creating your own theme for Xiaomi is not only a way to highlight your gadget, but also a chance to show creativity, and for some even earn money selling themes in the official store.

In this guide, we will take a look at the whole process, from preparing the necessary tools and generating ideas to testing and publishing a finished topic. You will learn what programs to use for the design of icons and wallpaper, how to structure theme files correctly so that it is displayed correctly on all Xiaomi devices, and what nuances to take into account when adapting to different screen resolutions. MIUI, without compliance with which your theme simply will not be moderated in the official store.

And the important thing to understand is that creating a theme is not just a creative process, it's also a technical process, and you're going to have to work with graphic editors, you know, you're going to have to understand the structure. APK-files and even a little bit of diving into XML-But don't worry, we'll go through each step in as much detail as possible, with step-by-step instructions and visual examples, and even if you've never done a design before, after reading this article, you can create your first Redmi theme, POCO or Mi.

1.Preparation: Tools and Requirements for Creating Themes MIUI

Before you start designing, you have to prepare your work environment, and without the right tools, the process of creating a theme can become an agonizing experience.

• 🎨 Graphic Editor: Adobe Photoshop (paid) or GIMP (Free) to create icons, wallpapers and other interface elements, the alternative is Figma or Canva for beginners.
• 📂 MIUI Theme Editor: official software from Xiaomi for packaging themes. MIUI Themes (registration required).
• 📱 Test device: Xiaomi smartphone on MIUI 12/13/14 (preferably with an unlocked loader for debugging).
• 🔧 Additional utilities: APKTool for decompilation of themes (optional, for advanced users), 7-Zip file-work.

Also, be aware of the technical requirements. MIUI topically:

Critical moment: topics for MIUI Must support responsive design for different screen resolutions (from Redmi Go with the 720p Xiaomi 14 Ultra with 3200×1440). If you do not comply with this requirement, your theme will be rejected by moderators or displayed incorrectly on some devices.

⚠️ Attention: Official MIUI Theme Editor only works on Windows 7/10/11. MacOS or Linux will require a virtual machine or Wine (but stability is not guaranteed).

2. Idea generation and theme design

Before you draw the first pixels, you need to define the concept of your theme, which is not only the visual component, but also the demand among users. Here are some approaches to generating ideas:

• 🌌 Minimalism: clean lines, monochrome palette, emphasis on functionality (popular among users) POCO F-series).
• 🎮 Gamer style: bright neon colors, aggressive fonts, themed icons for games (relevant to Black Shark).
• 🌿 Natural motifs: wallpaper with forests, mountains or water, pastel colors, organic shapes (suitable for Xiaomi 13 Lite).
• 🤖 Futuristic cyberpunk: blue/purple gradient, digital artifacts, typefaces Orbitron.

Analyze trends in MIUI Themes Store:

Dark themes dominate (more than 60% of downloads), minimalist light themes come second, avoid overly bright colors, which quickly tire your eyes, and note the popular combinations:

Create a modular grid for icons and widgets. MIUI 14 The following standards are used:

• Application icons: 192×192 px, indentations 16 px on each side.
• Wallpaper: should support 16:9, 18:9 and 20:9 (for Xiaomi) 12T newer).
• Fonts: Use no more than 2 headsets (e.g. Roboto for main text and Montserrat for headers).

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Use Coolors to generate color palettes. Enter the primary color of your theme, and the service will automatically match the harmonious shades for accents, background and text.

3. Design of theme elements: icons, wallpaper, widgets

This is the most time-consuming phase, and it requires attention to detail, and let's start with icons, which are the business cards of any topic.

1. Template: Download the official icon template for MIUI (It contains a grid and a manual on indentations.
2. Styles: Decide if there will be icons: 🖼️ Flat (flat) - without shadows and gradients. 🌈 Gradient - with smooth transitions of colors. 🔮 3D-effect -- with a simulation of volume.

Exports:

.png

32-bit

TinyPNG

For wallpaper, use the following recommendations:

• 📏 Permission: minimum 1440×3200 px for devices with 2K-screens (Xiaomi) 13 Pro).
• 🎨 Style: Avoid placing important items around the edges – they may crop on different devices.
• 🌓 Adaptability: provide two versions for light and dark modes.

Design widgets and system elements (sliders, switches, notification panels) in a vector (Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape) so that they scale without loss of quality. MIUI 14 will be required:

• 🔄 Icons for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC.
• 🔊 Volume slider.
• 🔋 Battery charge indicator.

4. Assembling the subject in MIUI Theme Editor

When all graphic elements are ready, start assembling.mtz file (theme format for the file). MIUI). For that:

1. Installation of the editor: Download and install MIUI Theme Editor from the official website. When you first start, you will need to log in through your Xiaomi account.
2. Creating a project: Click New Theme, enter the title (Latin), version (1.0.0) and target version MIUI (for example, V14).
3. File Import: Drag folders with icons, wallpaper, and other elements into the appropriate sections of the editor interface.
4. Setting up config.json: Here it is indicated: Author of the topic. Description (description) - before 200 ColorScheme - Hex codes of primary colors.

Pay attention to the folder structure in the project:

MyTheme/




├── icons/ # App icons




│   ├── app_1.png




│   └── app_2.png




├── wallpapers/ # Wallpaper




│   ├── light.jpg




│   └── dark.jpg




├── styles/ # CSS/XML Styles for System Elements




└── preview/ # Store Preview (530×360 px)

Testing before packaging: Connect your smartphone USB, Turn on the debugging. USB (Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI → Press 7 times and press Test on Device in the editor to see how the theme looks on the real device.

⚠️ Note: If icons are blurred when testing, check their resolution. MIUI Automatically scales the icons to 108×108 px on the main screen, but the source must be 192×192 px to support high resolution.

All icons are sized. 192×192 px and transparent background|Wallpaper adapted for light / dark modes|File. config.json filled in|Theme tested on 2-3 device|Preview for the store meets the requirements (530×360 px)-->

Publication of the topic in MIUI Themes Store

Once the theme is ready and tested, it can be uploaded to the official store.

1. Exports: B MIUI Theme Editor Press Export and Select.mtz Format.
2. Download: Go to themes.mi.com, log in and click Upload Theme.
3. Moderation: Fill in all fields: 📝 Title: Up to 20 characters (e.g. Neon Dark) V2"). 🏷️ Tags – up to 5 pieces (e.g. dark, minimal, amoled). 💰 Price - free or from 10 MI credit (≈ $0.15).

The moderation period is 3 to 7 days, and if the topic is rejected, you will receive a letter with a reason (most often:

• 🚫 Inconsistency of icon permissions.
• 🚫 Lack of support for the dark regime.
• 🚫 Plagiarism (use of other people's icons without changes).

Once approved, the theme will appear in the store, and you can track download statistics in your personal account. Popular themes (from 10,000 downloads) can be highlighted in recommendations, which increases sales revenue.

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To make the theme faster to moderate, attach screenshots from different devices (Redmi Note 12, Xiaomi 13) and video preview (no more than 30 seconds) to the application.

6. Promote and monetize your theme

Even the most beautiful topic won't download if nobody sees it. Here are some ways to promote it:

• 📢 Social networks: Post in Telegram-channels type @MIUIThemes or @XiaomiThemes. Use hashtags #MIUI14, #XiaomiTheme.
• 🎥 Video reviews: Shoot a short video demo of the theme and upload to YouTube or TikTok. Examples: "Top 5 themes for Redmi Note 12 in 2026".
• 💬 Forums: Put the topic on MIUI forum 4PDA branch-wise.

For monetization:

• 💳 Paid theme: Set the price from 10 MI Average income on one subject — $50–$500 per month (depending on popularity).
• 🎁 Donate: Put out a free version with limited functionality, and the full version for donat (via Qiwi or PayPal).
• 🛒 Merch: If the theme is a hit, you can sell stickers or wallpaper in Redbubble with its motifs.

Analyze statistics in your personal account MIUI Themes:

Keep track of which devices are downloading your theme more often, and adapt the following works to these models, for example, if most downloads are from the Internet. POCO X5, accentuate AMOLED-optimisation.

7 Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Even experienced designers face challenges when creating themes for the... MIUI. Here are the most common mistakes and ways to solve them:

Another common problem is that it is incompatible with custom launchers (like Nova Launcher or HyperOS Launcher), and if you install a third-party launcher, your theme may not display correctly, so that you can avoid:

• 📌 Indicate in the description that the theme is optimized for standard launcher MIUI.
• 📌 Provide alternative.png icons for manual installation through Icon Pack Studio.

⚠️ Note: If you use brand logos (such as icons for WhatsApp or Instagram) in the topic, make sure they do not infringe copyright. Xiaomi can block the theme for using protected trademarks without permission.

FAQ: Frequent questions about creating themes for Xiaomi