Blue Topaz Obsidian theme installation and customization

What Blue Topaz changes in an Obsidian vault

Blue Topaz addresses users who find the stock Obsidian presentation too plain or want more control over the appearance of a vault. It is a theme, not a note-taking method, plugin, or data migration tool. The repository contains `manifest.json`, `theme.css`, `obsidian.css`, a `Snippets/` directory, an example vault, preview images, and a change log. Based on that repository layout, the central mechanism is CSS applied to Obsidian's interface and note rendering.

The documented feature set goes beyond a blue palette. It includes separate background treatments for the workplace, individual notes, the command palette, and the file explorer. The theme also offers a colorful title bar and includes screenshots labeled for PDF output. The exact appearance depends on the user's Obsidian environment and selected settings, so the preview images are more useful than an abstract feature list.

The intended audience is clear: Obsidian users, especially those working with Chinese text who are interested in the LXGW WenKai font or its screen-oriented variant. The README suggests LXGW WenKai for Chinese text and says to use LXGW WenKai Screen for bold text because the bold weight of the regular font is not sufficiently distinct. That recommendation is optional and does not mean Blue Topaz installs the font automatically.

Blue Topaz CSS architecture and visible customization points

The repository separates the theme into several CSS-related entry points. `manifest.json` is the theme descriptor, while `theme.css` and `obsidian.css` contain styling that Obsidian can consume as part of the theme. The `Snippets/` directory suggests additional CSS fragments rather than a self-contained application with its own backend. The theme therefore works by changing presentation, not by changing the contents or structure of a user's notes.

Style Settings is central to the documented customization model. The README repeatedly recommends installing the Style Settings plugin and shows a screenshot of available controls. This indicates that some Blue Topaz options are intended to be exposed through that plugin rather than edited directly in CSS. However, the repository does not provide a complete list of setting identifiers in the README, so an engineer cannot derive reliable configuration automation from it alone.

Background images follow a restricted model. The README says built-in online image options were removed because of Obsidian policy concerning online and vault images. Custom background settings remain, but users must provide a URL themselves. The command palette background control is described as producing a random image when its option is toggled, while another documented behavior can reuse the workplace background image in the command palette. The important boundary is that the theme does not bundle a documented image library from which new users can choose.

Installing Blue Topaz and making the first custom check

The README does not give a formal installation command, release download procedure, or step-by-step Obsidian menu path. It points users to the repository and recommends the Style Settings plugin, but it does not state whether the theme should be copied manually, installed from a community catalog, or selected through a particular screen. Inventing those steps would go beyond the README, so there is no installation command to reproduce here.

The first useful verification is therefore configuration-driven rather than command-driven. Before adopting the theme as a daily vault appearance, add Blue Topaz in a way permitted by the current Obsidian installation, enable or install Style Settings as the README recommends, and inspect the controls it displays. The repository suggests that the default appearance depends on Style Settings being installed. A successful first use should expose controls for at least some of the documented concerns, such as title bar styling or background behavior.

Then create or open a test note containing headings, ordinary paragraphs, links, lists, code, and a block containing Chinese text. Use the theme controls to change one setting at a time and check both a source/editing view and a reading view. For background work, paste a URL through the custom background setting. The expected result is a blue-themed Obsidian interface with the selected visual treatment, not a change to the note's Markdown. If Style Settings does not expose the advertised choices, stop before making this the vault's primary theme and inspect the installed theme and plugin versions.

Blue Topaz backgrounds, fonts, and workspace boundaries

Blue Topaz treats the background as several distinct surfaces rather than one image applied uniformly. The README labels examples for a workplace background, a note background, both together, a notebook-like note treatment, the command palette, and the file explorer. It also documents a colorful title bar. This division can reduce visual repetition across the workspace, but it also creates more settings and more combinations that a user may need to evaluate.

Image ownership and availability sit outside the theme's control. The custom background path requires a URL supplied by the user, and the repository does not document licensing, availability, caching behavior, or fallback behavior for those images. A URL that later becomes unavailable could therefore leave a display with a missing background. The documentation does not say whether a local file URL is accepted, so users should not assume one from the presence of custom settings.

Typography is another manual choice. The recommended Chinese font is LXGW WenKai, while bold Chinese text is directed to LXGW WenKai Screen. The README links to separate font repositories but does not state that Blue Topaz packages either font. If a machine does not have the selected family installed, the README gives no fallback or installation procedure. This makes font availability a separate prerequisite to inspect rather than a benefit delivered automatically by the theme.

Maintenance, upgrades, and the cost of CSS ownership

The repository is not archived, and its last push was on 2026-08-15. That fact shows recent repository activity, but it does not establish compatibility with every current Obsidian release. The listed releases are v6.0 on 2022-01-18, v5.5 on 2021-12-18, and v5.4 on 2021-12-15. The available release history is therefore much older than the latest push. The README links `changes.md` for update details rather than presenting a concise migration policy.

Upgrades can carry a different kind of cost from plugin upgrades because the product is CSS. A user may need to compare theme files, reconcile custom edits, verify Style Settings controls, and retest every visual surface affected by an Obsidian interface change. The repository asks distributors of all or part of the code to preserve an attribution statement in CSS files and `README.md`. Its MIT license permits reuse under the license terms, but modified or redistributed themes should retain the required attribution and remain compatible with Obsidian's own policies.

The linked example vaults add another maintenance boundary. `TIPS vault/` provides Chinese and English archives demonstrating theme-specific and novel usage. The README also points to a separate enhanced example repository. Those vaults are examples, not documented runtime dependencies, and moving to them does not prove that every custom arrangement remains valid after a theme or Obsidian update.

Blue Topaz compared with Obsidian's default styling

The clearest alternative is Obsidian's built-in default styling. The README presents a section called “Default style (Style Settings installed),” which establishes default appearance as a point of comparison. The difference in approach is direct: Blue Topaz applies its own CSS and exposes visual choices through a theme-specific style system, while the default approach relies on the styles already present in Obsidian. Blue Topaz adds workspace backgrounds, a colorful title bar, a file explorer treatment, command palette imagery, and font guidance. The default route avoids managing those theme files, but it does not provide the same documented Blue Topaz surfaces.

The repository also mentions `Blue-topaz-examples` as an enhanced edition of its example material. That is not a competing styling engine, but it is a different content choice: it offers another example vault for users who find the bundled TIPS vault insufficient. Neither alternative removes the need to test CSS compatibility. The default approach simply avoids the CSS update surface, while the enhanced examples primarily expand demonstrated usage patterns.

Editorial conclusion

Blue Topaz is a reasonable fit for Obsidian users who want a highly customized blue theme and are prepared to manage it as CSS rather than a conventional plugin. It is a poor choice for someone who needs documented one-click installation, transparent setting names, or a clearly bounded compatibility matrix. Before adopting it, verify installation against the current Obsidian version, confirm that Style Settings displays the expected controls, inspect each background image URL, and test the appearance of notes, the file explorer, the command palette, and exported PDFs.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. Issues
2. License: MIT
3. PKM-er/Blue-Topaz_Obsidian-css on GitHub
4. README
5. Releases