Bibata Cursor: the v2.x cursor set and the successor that replaces it

Bibata Cursor is a cursor theme, not a cursor toolkit

The problem Bibata solves is narrow and concrete: the default pointer on a Linux desktop is often a small black arrow that disappears against dark backgrounds and has no size options. Bibata replaces it with a material-styled set drawn as SVG, shipped in twelve variants and fourteen Xcursor sizes from 16 to 96 pixels. That range matters because HiDPI screens make a 24-pixel default look undersized, and most themes do not offer 88 or 96 at all.

The audience is Linux desktop users first. The README says the set is one of the most popular in the Linux community and is now available for free on Windows as well. Windows builds come in four fixed sizes: 16x16 Small, 24x24 Regular, 32x32 Large and 48x48 Extra Large. There is no macOS build in the repository, and the README does not describe one.

Three color families exist. Amber uses base #FF8300 with white outline and a #001524 watch background. Classic is black with white outline. Ice is white with black outline. Each family comes in Original (sharp edges) and Modern (rounded edges), and each of those has a normal and a Right Hand variant for left-handed use.

How the build works: SVG in, cbmp and build.sh out

The repository is a build pipeline, not a runtime. All cursor artwork lives in the svg directory as SVG files, and the README points to the same artwork on Figma. The pipeline has two stages, visible in package.json.

The render step uses cbmp, a dependency pinned at ^1.1.1, driven by render.json. The build step is a shell script. The package.json scripts wire them together: `render` runs `npx cbmp render.json`, `build` runs `bash build.sh`, and `generate` chains both. A `clean` script removes the bin, bitmaps and themes directories.

Build configuration was split by platform in June 2024. The commit noted in the README partitions build.toml into configs/normal/x.build.toml, win_xl.build.toml, win_rg.build.toml and win_lg.build.toml, with the same split under configs/right for build.right.toml. So the Windows sizes and the Xcursor sizes are configured separately rather than derived from one file. If you change a cursor shape, you regenerate bitmaps and themes; you do not hand-edit the output.

Installing Bibata Cursor on Arch, Fedora or by hand

The README gives the easiest path first: download stable or development releases from bibata.live or from the GitHub release page. If you prefer a package manager, Arch and Manjaro users have two AUR options maintained by yochananmarqos. The README marks the binary package as recommended.

paru -S bibata-cursor-theme-bin # (recommended)
paru -S bibata-cursor-theme

Fedora users have two COPR repositories. The README marks peterwu's as recommended, and the second is muhalantabli's.

sudo dnf copr enable peterwu/rendezvous
sudo dnf install bibata-cursor-themes

The manual route works on X11 and Wayland and needs a tarball from the release page. Extract it, then move the extracted directory into either the per-user icon path or the system-wide one.

tar -xvf Bibata.tar.gz                # extract `Bibata.tar.gz`
mv Bibata-* ~/.local/share/icons/     # Install to local users
sudo mv Bibata-* /usr/share/icons/    # Install to all users

After that, select the theme in your desktop environment's cursor settings. The README does not name a settings panel or a gsettings key, so where you click depends on your desktop. Uninstalling is the reverse: `rm ~/.local/share/icons/Bibata-*` for a local install, or `sudo rm /usr/share/icons/Bibata-*` for a system-wide one. Note the glob: it removes every directory starting with Bibata-, which includes all variants you installed at once.

The successor project is the real limitation

The README opens with a notice that v2.x is the final major version, and that a successor at github.com/ful1e5/bibata is now the main source for new features, for both downloading and personalizing Bibata. The recommendation is explicit: download from there. This repository continues for Linux packages.

That split is the single most important thing to understand before adopting it. If you want to build a custom color or a size that is not in the shipped set, the README points you elsewhere. What stays here is the packaged output: the AUR and COPR builds, the release tarballs, and the SVG sources for the v2.x line.

There is a second, smaller limitation. The package note asks users to contact the package maintainer before opening an issue when a package misbehaves. That is a reasonable division of labour, but it means a broken AUR or COPR build is not something this repository's issue tracker is set up to fix.

Finally, the README does not document rollback, and it does not document how to switch between variants after installation beyond moving directories. Treat variant selection as a decision to make before you install, not after.

Alternatives and what actually differs

The obvious comparison is with the successor project at bibata.live. The difference is not visual style, because the successor is described as the place to download and personalize Bibata. The difference is where customization lives. This repository ships fixed variants built from configs/*.build.toml; the successor is where the README says new features and personalization happen. If your goal is a stock theme, both work. If your goal is a custom one, only one of them is the documented path.

Compared with a generic cursor theme, the distinguishing property here is the size matrix. Fourteen Xcursor sizes from 16 to 96 is a wider range than most themes publish, and the Right Hand variants are a separate set rather than a mirrored flag. That matters for left-handed users who want the pointer to lean the other way. The cost is that a full install can mean many directories under ~/.local/share/icons, which is exactly why the uninstall command uses a glob.

Licence, maintenance and the cost of upgrading

Bibata Cursor is licensed GPL-3.0. If you redistribute the theme, or ship it inside a distribution image or a product, the GPL-3.0 terms apply to that redistribution. Nothing here is legal advice; read the LICENSE file in the repository for the actual terms.

The last push to the repository was on 2026-09-25, and the repository is not archived. The most recent release listed is v2.0.7 from 2024-06-18, following v2.0.6 and v2.0.5. So the code moves more often than the tagged releases do, which is consistent with the README's statement that the repository is still maintained for Linux packages.

Upgrade cost is low for packaged installs: `paru -S bibata-cursor-theme-bin` or `sudo dnf install bibata-cursor-themes` pulls the new build. For manual installs it is a re-extract and a re-move, and because the directory name contains the variant and size, an upgrade can leave the previous directory behind. The README's uninstall glob is the tool for that, but it removes everything matching Bibata-*, so it is all-or-nothing.

Editorial conclusion

Adopt Bibata Cursor if you want a packaged cursor theme for Arch, Fedora or a manual X11/Wayland install and you do not need the personalization features that moved to the successor project. Skip it if you expect this repository to be where new cursor features land, because the README states the opposite. Before installing, check which of the twelve variants and which size you actually want, and confirm the tarball name matches the directory you move into ~/.local/share/icons.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. ful1e5/Bibata_Cursor on GitHub
2. License: GPL-3.0
3. Project website
4. README
5. Releases