Summary
- The default interface of Pi-Hole is pretty plain with basic graphs.
- The LCARS theme offers a Star Trek-inspired complete overhaul of the content blocker’s UI.
- Keep in mind, themes don’t change any of the functionality of Pi-Hole, just the way the software looks.
If you’ve become bored with the default theme of Pi-Hole, there’s an easy way to change that. If you didn’t know, Pi-Hole actually has a sort of theming engine. While you used to have to manually install them, the LCARS theme now comes baked in, and here’s what all it entails.
What is Pi-Hole?
If you’ve never heard of Pi-Hole, it’s a piece of software that typically runs on a Raspberry Pi, but you can really run it on any Linux-based system relatively easily. If your system supports Docker (even Windows), you can technically run Pi-Hole, though you’ll have the best experience and fewer technical challenges on a computer running Linux of some sort.
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9 Popular Raspberry Pi Operating Systems That Aren’t Raspbian
Looking for something a little less ordinary to spice up your Pi? You’ve got options.
The purpose of Pi-Hole is content blocking. The type of blocked content can include anything, including some ads, but also specific websites, domains, and much more. You can use Pi-Hole to ensure that adult websites are blocked at the DNS level on your network, for instance. Something else Pi-Hole can do is show you what websites are being visited the most. I found that my network, for some reason, was still making calls out to a specific server that I didn’t expect it to be calling out to anymore. So, I blocked the domain to prevent those calls from being made.
Another purpose of Pi-Hole is to serve up local domains as DNS records. If you want storage.local to point to your storage server, for instance, you can set up an A record in Pi-Hole and then any system using Pi-Hole as your DNS will redirect to your storage server. It can also function as a DHCP server.
Pi-Hole is also great for adding extra security to your home network. Using the standard DNS options on most ISP-provided routers can allow the ISP to see what websites you’re visiting. Using Pi-Hole gets around that by acting as your own DNS server, then forwarding requests to other DNS servers down the line, bypassing your ISP entirely.
Pi-Hole Looks Pretty Plain Out of the Gate
The default Pi-Hole interface is pretty unassuming right off the bat. It comes with a dark mode that’s honestly pretty decent (enabled by default for me, but it might be because my system is always dark mode).
Out of the box, Pi-Hole simply gives you standard graphs and pie charts of blocked (or allowed) domains on the main interface. It’s a lot of bright colors mixed with a dark background in dark mode or a light background in light mode. But, overall, there’s not much going on with the UI.
This can be a pro to some people who like it simple. Or, for those who like a little more going on, it might not be quite enough to keep you interested. That’s where themes come in.
Themes Can Completely Change How Pi-Hole Looks and Feels
In the past, you’d have to manually install Pi-Hole themes to use them. However, since Pi-Hole v5.21, the primary third-party theme for the content blocker has actually been baked into the main installer. This includes the latest Pi-Hole v6.
Instead of having to manually configure the LCARS theme for Pi-Hole, you simply navigate to Settings > Web interface > Themes and choose the look you want. There are several different options here. Most of the choices are just color changes for the default theme of Pi-Hole or options for high-contrast if you need that. However, the Star Trek LCARS theme completely changes how Pi-Hole looks and feels.
For the uninitiated, LCARS stands for “Library Computer Access/Retrieval System,” which is a computer system used in the Star Trek universe. So, for the Trekkies out there (or those of us who just want a different Pi-Hole experience), enabling the LCARS theme will bring you right aboard a Starfleet vessel.
The only other thing to note is that there really aren’t many other third-party themes for Pi-Hole outside the LCARS one. I do wish there were more theme options, like something from The Avengers, for instance. However, right now your choices are basically the stock theme or LCARS, so take your pick.
One thing to note is that the developer of the LCARS theme also has a Picard theme that seems to no longer be available in Pi-Hole v6 as a stock option. If you want what the designer calls a dark mode for LCARS, then check out the Picard theme GitHub repo which lays out the instructions for installing it.
Themes Don’t Change How Pi-Hole Functions, They’re Still Fun
Themes in Pi-Hole are visual only. There’s zero functionality change by enabling the LCARS theme. However, it does entirely change how the content blocker feels. You’ll still have access to the same statistics and information as you do with the default Pi-Hole theme. In fact, the graphs don’t really even change in color all that much.
Raspberry Pi 3 B
The Raspberry Pi 3 B is a single-board computer (SBC) with a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 1GB RAM. With Gigabit Ethernet and HDMI output, it makes for a great small, low-power device to run smart home or homelab services like Home Assistant, Homebridge, Pi-Hole, or other software on.
The main things that are overhauled and more fun with the LCARS theme include the scrolling text at the top to the new colors and shapes down the side. This allows Pi-Hole to take on a whole new appearance, resembling the computers from Star Trek.
