In Ulysses, you customize the appearance of the editor and the exported document independently of each other. Editor themes and export styles are available for this purpose: 

Editor Themes define the appearance of the writing environment itself, offering both light and dark versions to suit your taste or the time of day. 

Export Styles, on the other hand, allow you to change the appearance of your exported file. They determine how your writing is formatted when exported to formats such as PDF, DOCX, ePub, or HTML.

Ulysses already comes with a selection of pre-installed editor themes and export styles. To offer even more choices, we have created the Styles & Themes website. This is an official platform where users can explore, download, and share editor themes, as well as export styles. It is a powerful way to personalize your writing experience, as it allows you to tailor the look and output of Ulysses to your exact preferences. 

Explore and Choose a Style or Theme

To get started, visit the Styles & Themes website. You can switch between these two main categories using the menu at the top of the page. 

Within Export Styles, you will find subcategories depending on the output format you need. Each style or theme has its own detail page, complete with a description, feature overview, and a preview of how your text will look. This makes it easy to evaluate whether a particular style fits your needs before downloading it.

Install a Style or Theme

Downloading a style or theme is straightforward. You don't even need to create an account to do that. When you find something you like, click on its name to open its page, then press the Install button below the description. 

Once you have clicked the button, Ulysses will open automatically, and you will be able to see the installed theme or style. Editor themes take effect immediately, changing the look of your editor. Export styles appear in the Styles menu under the appropriate format. Go to Ulysses › Settings… › Markup or Styles to view or optimize the theme or style later on.

Create Your Own

Ulysses also allows you to create your own themes and styles on your Mac. If you would like to design a custom editor theme, you can start from scratch or duplicate an existing one and modify it using Ulysses’ built-in customization tools. You can find out more in this guide.

Creating an export style requires more technical skill. HTML and ePub styles rely on standard CSS, so if you are familiar with stylesheets, you can begin customizing right away. For PDF and DOCX, Ulysses uses a specific style format, for which we provide detailed documentation to help you learn the process. This opens up the ability to control every aspect of the exported document—from font choices to layout and margins, making it ideal for academic, business, or highly branded content. For more information, please refer to our guide “Customize an Export Style.”

Share Your Work with the Community

Once you have created a style or theme, you can easily share it with others through the Ulysses Styles & Themes website. To submit your work, use the login option at the top right of the page. If you don't have an account yet, you can create one here.

You can then upload your file using drag and drop or a file browser. After a brief review by the Ulysses team, your style will be published and made available to the entire community.