Creating a custom theme for Xiaomi: from idea to publication in the Mi Theme Store

Xiaomi smartphones based on the company shell MIUI They offer users a unique personalization experience, which is custom customized themes, but what if none of the thousands of themes available in the Mi Theme Store are 100 percent your style? The solution is simple: create your own theme from scratch! This process requires patience, attention to detail and basic skills with graphic editors, but the result is worth the effort – your phone will become truly unique.

In this article, we'll take you all the way from preparing working tools to publishing a topic in an official store, and you'll learn what interface elements you can customize, where to download templates for your personalization. MIUI Theme Editor, and how to avoid the typical novice mistakes, and if you've never done design before, don't worry, we'll give you some basic tools and resources for learning. Even minimal changes (for example, changing icons or fonts) can radically change the appearance of the system.

1. What can be changed in the custom theme MIUI

Before you start creating, it is important to understand which interface elements are amenable to customization in the MIUI. The shell allows you to modify almost all visual components, but with some limitations:

• 🎨 Color palette: background colors of system applications, accent shades for buttons, scroll bars and notifications.
• 🖼️ Wallpaper and background images: screensavers for desktop, lock screen, application menu and system dialogues.
• 📱 Application icons: icon design for standard and third-party programs (requires a separate package of icons).
• 🔤 Fonts: System and custom fonts for text (with license restrictions).
• 🔊 Sounds and melodies: notification signals, pressing sounds, alarm clock melodies.
• 📱 Animations and transitions: effects when opening / closing applications, navigation gestures.
• 🔧 System dialogs: appearance of pop-up windows, settings menu, notification panels.

But there are also immutable elements, like, you can't modify:

• 🚫 Logic of system functions (e.g., swipe order in Control Center).
• 🚫 Settings menu markup (you can change only the visual design, but not the location of items).
• 🚫 Appearance of some proprietary applications (e.g. Mi Pay or Mi Home).

It is important to understand that the depth of customization depends on the version. MIUI. For example, in MIUI 14 there is support for dynamic wallpaper, and in MIUI 13 - Advanced settings for dark theme. Before you start, check the current version of the shell on your device in the Settings menu → The phone. → Version. MIUI.

2. Necessary tools and programmes

To create a theme, you'll need a set of specialized tools, most of which are free, but some (like professional graphic editors) may require a license.

Before installation MIUI Theme Editor ensures that your device meets the following requirements:

• 📱 Xiaomi smartphone based on MIUI 12 or newer (for testing themes).
• 🖥️ Windows computer 10/11 MacOS (the editor does not officially support Linux).
• 💾 Minimum 5 GB of free disk space (for storing graphics files).

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If you don’t have a Xiaomi smartphone to test, use an emulator. MIUI To do this, download the system image from the official Xiaomi website for developers and configure a virtual device with resolution. 1080×2340 (typical).

3. Preparation: Downloading templates and studying the structure of the topic

All topics for MIUI They have a very strict file structure, so you don't want to create it from scratch, download the official template from Xiaomi, which contains folders for all customizable items and file examples:

• 📁 On the Mi Theme Store site in the developer section.
• 📁 In the archives with MIUI Theme Editor (usually located in the templates folder after installation).
• 📁 On the forums of enthusiasts (for example, Xiaomi.EU or 4PDA).

Unpack the template and examine its structure. A typical theme folder looks like this:

miui_theme_template/


├── description.xml #Metadata topics (title, author, version)




├── preview.png # Preview for theme store




├── com.android.systemui # System elements (notification panel, buttons)




├── com.miui.home # Desktop icons and app menus




├── com.miui.themes # Color schemes and styles




├── Wallpapers # Desktop and Lock Wallpapers




└── Fonts # Fonts (optional)

Key file — description.xml. It contains meta-information about the topic that the user will see in the store:

<theme>


<name>My first topic</name>




<author>Your name</author>




<version>1.0</version>




<compatibility>MIUI14</compatibility>




<description>Minimalistic theme with dark accents</description>




<preview>preview.png</preview>




</theme>

And look at the com.android.systemui folder, which stores the design elements of the notification panel, power buttons, and other system dialogs. status_bar_background.png is responsible for the background of the upper panel, and notification_panel_bg.png — The size of these images is fixed, so when you replace them, use the templates from the archive.

4. Design of icons: rules and recommendations

Icons are the most visible element of the theme, so their design should be given special attention. MIUI Supports two types of icons:

• 🖼️ Standard: square icons with rounded corners (size) 192×192 px).
• 🎨 Adaptive: icons with transparent background and arbitrary shape (size) 108×108 px, but with indentations to 192×192 px).

When creating icons, follow the following rules:

• ✅ Uniform style: all icons should be made in the same color scheme and with the same level of detail.
• ✅ Readability: The icon must be recognizable even when it is sized 48×48 px (as it appears in the notification panel).
• ✅ Transparency: Transparent background is required for adaptive icons (.png format).
• ❌ Do not use text on icons (except for app logos, such as YouTube or Twitter).

If you are not an artist, use the ready-made icon sets with a license. CC0 (free for commercial use):

• 📥 Flaticon – more than 3 million vector icons.
• 📥 The Noun Project – icons from designers around the world.
• 📥 Icons8 — single-style icon sets.

Download the icon template from the archive MIUI Theme Editor|Choose a single style (flat, voluminous, minimalistic)|Fit all icons to size 192×192 px|Check the readability when reduced to 48×48 px|Save it in format PNG Transparent (for adaptive icons)

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To speed up the process, use batch processing in Photoshop or GIMP. For example, you can record an action that automatically trims all icons to the desired size and applies a single filter. It is also useful to use plugins to export layers to individual files (in Photoshop it is Export). → Layers to Files).

5. Working with color schemes and fonts

The color palette of the theme is determined in the file colors.xml, This file contains hexadecimal color codes for different interface elements:

<resources>


<color name="system_accent_color">#FF5722</color> <!-- Primary accent color -->




<color name="system_background_color">#FFFFFF</color> <!-- System window background -->




<color name="text_color_primary">#212121</color> <!-- Main text -->




<color name="notification_panel_bg">#F5F5F5</color> <!---Notification panel background -->




</resources>

To select a harmonious palette, use the following tools:

• 🎨 Coolors – Color scheme generator.
• 🎨 Adobe Color – creating palettes based on images.
• 🎨 Material Design Color Tool – Checking Color Contrast.

The fonts are more complicated: MIUI It only supports.ttf and.otf, and not all system fonts can be replaced:

1. Place the font file in the fonts folder.
2. Point the way to it in the file. styles.xml (in the same folder com.miui.themes): <style name="TextAppearance.Miui"> <font name="font_family">my_font.ttf</font> </style>
3. Make sure the font supports Cyrillic (if the theme is for Russian-speaking users).

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Colour system_accent_color It affects the design of buttons, sliders and highlighted elements throughout the interface, and choose a shade that works well with both light and dark themes (if your theme supports them).

Be careful with font licenses. Many free fonts (like Google Fonts) allow for use in personal projects but prohibit commercial distribution. If you plan to publish a topic on the Mi Theme Store, check the terms of the license or use fonts marked with a tag. SIL Open Font License (OFL).

6. Testing the theme on the device

Before publishing, you need to test the topic on a real device.

1. Connect Xiaomi smartphone to your computer in file transfer mode (MTP).
2. Copy the theme folder to the root directory of internal memory (for example, /sdcard/miui/theme/).
3. Open the Topics app on your phone, go to My Topics → Local and choose your theme.

During the test, pay attention to:

• 🔍 Icon blur: If the icons look fuzzy, check their resolution (should be a multiple of 192 px).
• 🔍 Color artifacts: Some colors may be displayed differently on the AMOLED-screen.
• 🔍 Element size: buttons and text should be readable on high-resolution screens (e.g, FHD+).
• 🔍 Animations: Check the smoothness of transitions between screens.

If the topic does not apply, check:

• ❌ Correctness of filling description.xml (tagged <compatibility> and <version>).
• ❌ All required folders (e.g. com.android.systemui).
• ❌ Version compliance MIUI on the device and in the theme file.

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To speed up the testing, use the "Quick Application" function in MIUI Theme Editor. It allows you to send changes to your device without fully restarting the theme. Activated in the Tools menu. → Quick Apply.

If you are testing on an emulator, note that some features (such as dynamic wallpaper or navigation gestures) may not work properly.

7.Packaging and publishing theme in Mi Theme Store

When the theme is ready and tested, it should be packaged in.mtz format (archive). MIUI Theme, for that:

1. Come back in MIUI Theme Editor and press File → Export.
2. Select a folder to save and wait for the packaging to be completed.
3. Check the resulting.mtz file for errors (for example, using a utility). MTZ Validator, which can be found on the forums Xiaomi).

For publication in the Mi Theme Store:

1. Register as a developer at themes.xiaomi.com.
2. Upload the.mtz file in your personal account in the Submit Theme section.
3. Fill in metadata: title, description, screenshots (minimum size) 1080×1920 px), tags.
4. Send the subject to moderation. The verification period is 3 to 7 days.

Publication requirements:

• 📌 The theme should be unique (do not copy existing solutions).
• 📌 All graphic elements must be in high resolution (at least) 1080p).
• 📌 Prohibited watermarks, advertising or links to third-party resources.
• 📌 The theme should support at least two versions. MIUI (for example, MIUI 13 and MIUI 14).

Once approved, the theme will be available in the Mi Theme Store for all users, you can track the number of downloads and reviews in your personal account, and if the theme is popular, Xiaomi can offer you collaboration or placement in the top section.

8. Promote and monetize your theme

Even the best quality theme won't get promoted without some promotion, and here are some ways to draw attention to your creation:

• 📢 Social media: post screenshots of the topic in Telegram channels dedicated to Xiaomi (for example, @miuiru or @xiaomithemes).
• 📢 Forums: Create a theme for 4PDA Xiaomi.EU with detailed description and installation instructions.
• 📢 YouTube: Record a short video with an overview of the topic and a demonstration of its capabilities.
• 💰 Paid versions: If the theme is in demand, release the Pro version with additional icons or wallpapers (for example, through Donationalerts or Boosty).

Mi Theme Store does not provide direct monetization tools, but you can:

• 💳 Include a link to Donate in the theme description (e.g. Qiwi or PayPal).
• 💳 Create a premium version of the theme with unique elements (e.g. animated wallpaper).
• 💳 Offer customization services to the topics under order (write about it in the description).

If your theme has over 10,000 downloads, you can apply for a Xiaomi affiliate program, which gives you access to analytics, banner posting and other bonuses, but for this theme must meet all the technical requirements and not have complaints from users.

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The most popular themes in the Mi Theme Store are minimalist solutions with a dark palette and adaptive icons. If you want to quickly reach an audience, focus on these trends, but add unique details (for example, custom animations or author’s wallpaper).

FAQ: Frequent questions about creating topics for MIUI