Compact++

Discord theme that makes Compact mode more like IRC (and thus better).

Discord's default Cozy mode is "modern, beautiful, and easy on the eyes"... or so they say. If you disagree with this (oddly emotional) description and prefer the more traditional IRC look, which also fits many more messages on the screen, Discord also has got you covered with Compact mode.

It's not great, though. The alignment of usernames and message contents in columns, known from many IRC clients such as HexChat or WeeChat, is not there, making messages harder to read than on Cozy mode. Moreover, due to a lack of proper testing with new features and overlooked edge cases, it's inconsistent and buggy.

Compact++ aims to be what Discord's Compact mode should have been. Something more than an afterthought.

IMPORTANT NOTICE for users of versions before 1.8.0

Versions before 1.8.0 require extra steps to update - see Updating from versions before 1.8.0.

Features

• Splits message headers (timestamps, avatars and usernames) and contents into two columns, aligning them nicely
• Displays the entire username when it's hovered over
• Always displays timestamps
• Resizes avatars to be slightly larger (customizable)
• Removes or reduces needless margins
• Moves tags and icons to the left of the username
• Fixes alignment of system messages, including AutoMod
• Allows customizing aspects of the theme with CSS variables and build options
• Removes tags and icons from the username (optional)
• Hides reply contents until the message is hovered over (optional)
• Aims to work well with all Vencord plugins (but other clients are supported too!)

Installing

You can either use this theme as a userstyle, which is recommended if you use Discord in a web browser, or with a Discord client with support for theming.

Userstyle

You need to install a browser extension that allows you to use userstyles first. We recommend Stylus.

Then, follow this link to install the userstyle:

Install the userstyle

Alternatively, you can get it from UserStyles.world.

Discord client

You need to install a client mod that allows theming first. We recommend Vencord - it's lean, simple to install and use, and works with both the desktop and the browser client.

Choosing a build

Compact++ allows for customization of some of it's aspects by setting build options.

Option	Description
Hide tags	Removes tags that normally appear in bot messages, etc.
Hide icons	Removes icons, including role icons
Minimize replies	Hides reply content until the message is hovered

Choose one of the available variants.

Variant	Hide tags	Hide icons	Minimize replies
Default	No	No	No
Clean	Yes	Yes	No
Ultraclean	Yes	Yes	Yes

If you aren't sure, go with Default - you can always switch to a different variant later on. If you want to choose a different set of options, you'll need to build the theme.

Vencord

Go to User Settings (cogwheel), then to Themes in the Vencord section.

Automatic updates

Copy the URL of the chosen variant, go to the Online Themes tab and paste it in a new line of Online Themes.

Because Vencord does not allow themes hosted on domains other than a few whitelisted ones, you will need to explicitly whitelist grzesiek11.stary.pc.pl to download it. By doing this, you put as much trust into it as you do into GitHub, GitLab, Codeberg, Imgur, Tenor, Catbox and other services that Vencord whitelists by default (which is a decent chunk of trust, as remote themes can be dangerous). This domain is owned by me, Grzesiek11, and while I give you my word that I am not malicious and that I care about security, you might not trust me as much as GitHub. If you want, you can instead download updates to this theme yourself instead, see Manual updates below.

In the Blocked Resources message, click Allow next to the URL starting with https://grzesiek11.stary.pc.pl, then in the newly opened dialog select the checkbox "I fully trust grzesiek11.stary.pc.pl [...]" and click Allow again.

Manual updates

Download the theme file of the chosen variant, go to the Local Themes tab and click Open Themes Folder. Copy the theme file into the directory that opens. The theme should appear in the Local Themes tab, select the checkbox to enable it.

Other clients

The theme should work with any other client that supports BetterDiscord-style themes, but you'll need to figure it out on your own. Feel free to contribute a guide if your favorite client is missing.

Notes

Enabling Compact mode

To have the theme apply, you need to switch to Compact mode first.

Go to User Settings (cogwheel), then to Appearance in the App Settings section. In the Message Display section, switch to Compact.

Enabling avatars in Compact mode

If you'd like to have avatars in Compact mode, you can enable them as well.

Go to User Settings (cogwheel), then to Appearance in the App Settings section. In the Message Display section, enable Show avatars in Compact mode.

Keep in mind this setting is not synced by Discord, so you need to set it every time you log in.

Vencord plugins

IrcColors

IrcColors is a plugin by Grzesiek11, the author of Compact++, that works well together with the theme. It automatically generates unique nickname colors, known from many IRC clients, so the Compact mode is even more readable.

You can enable the plugin by going to User Settings, then to Plugins in the Vencord section. Start searching for IrcColors and enable the toggle. You can configure the plugin by clicking on the cogwheel.

Customization

TODO

Building

TODO

Support

If you like the theme, leave a star on the repository, and/or vote for it on UserStyles.world, so more people can discover it. I currently don't have a way to take donations.

Contributing

This theme went through a lot of testing, but Discord is big and constantly changing - there's a chance we missed something. If you find a bug, open a new issue describing the problem.

If there's something that you think could be covered by this theme but isn't, or could be done differently - open a new issue describing the feature. If you want to instead provide changes directly - you can open a merge request.