Restoring the New Yaru Folder Icons After an Ubuntu Release Upgrade

The redesigned folder icons in recent Ubuntu releases belong to the Yaru icon theme, so if GNOME Files still draws the old folders after an upgrade, the app is simply rendering whatever theme your session is pointing at. In practice this happens for one of three reasons: a saved theme preference carried over from the previous release, a yaru-theme-icon package that did not upgrade cleanly, or an icon cache that was never refreshed. Each has a quick, low-risk fix, described below.

Why an upgrade can leave the old icons in place

Ubuntu release upgrades deliberately preserve your personal settings. That is usually a feature, but it means the new default look only reaches machines that were already using Yaru. If the icon theme was ever changed — through GNOME Tweaks, the Settings panel, a dconf edit, or a script — that choice survives the upgrade untouched, and Files keeps showing the older theme's folder designs.

• Saved preference: the icon-theme key holds a non-Yaru value such as Adwaita or a third-party theme.
• Partial upgrade: the icon package was held back or interrupted, so the new artwork never landed on disk even though the setting is correct.
• Stale cache: the new icons are installed, but Files is still reading a cached index that predates them.

This also explains why one upgraded desktop can look correct while another does not: the two machines had different stored settings or different upgrade outcomes.

Step 1: Confirm which icon theme is active

Open a terminal and ask the desktop what it is currently using:

gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.interface icon-theme

The expected answer is Yaru. If it prints anything else, set it back:

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface icon-theme 'Yaru'

If you prefer a graphical tool, install dconf-editor and browse to org / gnome / desktop / interface / icon-theme. The value there is the same key gsettings reads. Note that Ubuntu ships several Yaru colour variants, and any of them is valid — the problem only arises when the theme is not part of the Yaru family at all.

Step 2: Make sure the Yaru icon package actually upgraded

A correct setting is useless if the new artwork is missing. Verify the package state and reinstall it to be certain:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install --reinstall yaru-theme-icon

While you are at it, check that nothing was held back during the release upgrade. A partially upgraded system can leave the old icons on disk even though everything else moved forward:

sudo apt full-upgrade

If apt reports held-back packages, let it finish and then continue to the next step.

Step 3: Rebuild the icon cache and restart Files

Icon themes are indexed in a cache file so applications do not have to scan every icon at startup. After installing or replacing icons, force the Yaru cache to regenerate and quit Files so it reloads everything on its next launch:

sudo gtk-update-icon-cache -f /usr/share/icons/Yaru
nautilus -q

nautilus -q only stops the running instance; GNOME Files starts again automatically the next time you open a folder. If the desktop still looks inconsistent, log out and back in — that restarts every theme consumer at once.

If the icons still do not change

Work through the remaining suspects in order:

• User-level theme copies: a theme installed in your home directory can shadow the system one. Inspect ~/.icons and ~/.local/share/icons and remove anything you do not recognise or need.
• GTK settings file: some tools write gtk-icon-theme-name into ~/.config/gtk-3.0/settings.ini, which can override the desktop setting for older applications.
• Different Files build: if your GNOME Files comes from Snap or Flatpak rather than the Ubuntu repository, theme handling can differ. Updating that package, or using the repository version, usually resolves it.
• Typos in the theme name: gsettings accepts any string silently. A value like yaru in the wrong case may match nothing, and the desktop falls back to a default that lacks the new artwork.

Keeping themes intact through future upgrades

A few habits prevent a repeat:

1. Run sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade after every release upgrade and confirm no packages were held back.
2. If you intentionally use a non-default theme, remember that upgrades will preserve it — the new default artwork is not forced on you, but it will not appear until you switch back.
3. Keep the theme name noted somewhere; on Ubuntu the default family is Yaru, and one gsettings command restores it at any time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change the icon theme without the terminal?

Yes. Install dconf-editor or GNOME Tweaks; both expose the icon theme setting graphically. dconf-editor places it under org → gnome → desktop → interface → icon-theme.

Do I need to reboot after switching themes?

No. Quitting Files with nautilus -q and reopening it is enough for the file manager. A logout and login refreshes every application at once if anything still looks stale.

What exactly is Yaru?

Yaru is Ubuntu's default theme family, covering window styling, icons, and sounds. It ships in several colour variants, all of which share the same structure and receive the redesigned folder icons.

Why did my other computer get the new icons automatically?

That machine's icon-theme setting was already Yaru, and its yaru-theme-icon package upgraded cleanly. Nothing special was done — it simply had no conflicting stored preference.

Where are icon themes stored?

System themes live under /usr/share/icons (for Yaru, /usr/share/icons/Yaru). Per-user themes can be placed in ~/.local/share/icons or ~/.icons, and those take priority over system copies with the same name.

Is running gtk-update-icon-cache safe?

Yes. It only regenerates the cache index files for a theme; it never modifies the icons themselves, and rerunning it with -f is harmless whenever you suspect a stale cache.