Compact++

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

Warning

Versions before 1.8.0 might require extra steps to update. See Updating from versions before 1.8.0.

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.

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
• 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!)

Installation

You can either use this theme as a userstyle, which is recommended if you use Discord in a web browser, or as a BetterDiscord-compatible theme that will work in most modded Discord clients such as Vencord.

Userstyle

Go to the following link to install the userstyle: https://grzesiek11.stary.pc.pl/files/builds/compactpp/latest/compactpp.user.css.

Alternatively, you can get it from UserStyles.world: https://userstyles.world/style/16257/compact.

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

Discord client

The BetterDiscord-compatible theme is available at: https://grzesiek11.stary.pc.pl/files/builds/compactpp/latest/compactpp.theme.css.

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.

Vencord

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

Automatic updates

Go to the Online Themes tab and paste https://grzesiek11.stary.pc.pl/files/builds/compactpp/latest/compactpp.theme.css 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.

Note

By doing this, you put as much trust into the domain as you do into GitHub, GitLab, Codeberg, Imgur, Tenor, Catbox, imgbb 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 for example. If you want, you can instead manually download updates to this theme, 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 from https://grzesiek11.stary.pc.pl/files/builds/compactpp/latest/compactpp.theme.css, 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-compatible themes, but you'll need to figure it out on your own. It was briefly tested on BetterDiscord, Shelter and Legcord. 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

Compact++ can be customized by changing it's settings.

Setting	CSS property	Default value	Description
Hide tags	--compactpp-hide-tags	false (disabled)
Hide icons	--compactpp-hide-icons	false (disabled)
Minimize replies	--compactpp-minimize-replies	false (disabled)
Header width	--compactpp-header-width	160px
Header left margin	--compactpp-header-margin-left	10px
Header right margin	--compactpp-header-margin-right	5px
Message right margin	--compactpp-message-margin-right	15px
Avatar size	--compactpp-avatar-size	1.25rem
Reply link line offset	--compactpp-reply-link-line-offset	30px
UserMessagesPronouns pronouns width	--compactpp-pronoundb-pronouns-width	45px

The way those settings are changed depends on whether Compact++ is installed as a userstyle or as a Discord client theme.

Userstyle

The exact way to do this depends on the userstyle manager - usually there will be a graphical interface in the extension's settings to configure the style once it's installed.

Discord client

Use the client's custom CSS editor to set the CSS properties equivalent to each setting on the :root element.

For example, the following CSS can be used to hide tags and icons:

:root {
    --compactpp-hide-tags: true;
    --compactpp-hide-icons: true;
}

Requirements

Compact++ targets the following browser versions:

• Firefox ESR (currently Firefox 140)
• Chromium version in use by the official desktop client (currently Chromium 138)

However, due to Firefox not supporting style queries, which are required for providing feature toggles, the BetterDiscord-compatible theme is currently not supported on Firefox. It's recommended that you use the userstyle build instead, however, you may also use legacy variant builds.

Legacy variant builds

Legacy variant builds do not support feature toggles. Do not use them if you can avoid it. Instead, use either the userstyle, or the generic BetterDiscord-compatible theme.

Variant	URL	Hide tags	Hide icons	Minimize replies
Default	https://grzesiek11.stary.pc.pl/files/builds/compactpp/latest/compactpp-default.theme.css	No	No	No
Clean	https://grzesiek11.stary.pc.pl/files/builds/compactpp/latest/compactpp-clean.theme.css	Yes	Yes	No
Ultraclean	https://grzesiek11.stary.pc.pl/files/builds/compactpp/latest/compactpp-ultraclean.theme.css	Yes	Yes	Yes

Building

TODO

Support

If you like the theme, 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.

Copyright

Copyright © 2023-2026 Grzesiek11

This work is licensed under the BSD+Patent license. You should have received a copy of this license with this work.