How to Download and Editing the Latest Haiku Artwork

System: Haiku

If you are a Haiku user and fancy playing with graphics, you may want to know that a lot of the artwork used in Haiku itself and the Haiku website is freely available for download, and most of it is in editable file formats.



This includes numerous variations of the Haiku logo, the graphics used in the boot splash screen, the Haiku icons, the system cursors and several other images used for various purposes. The icons are in Haiku's native HVIF icon format, which can be edited using the Icon-O-Matic application, and most of the remaining graphics are available as WonderBrush files, which can be edited using the native application with the same name. So if you want to create Haiku-themed graphics for your website, blog or t-shirt, there is plenty of material to play with. This tip will tell you how to easily download all the artwork and how to keep your artwork files in sync with the Haiku repository, both by using a simple command.

Downloading the Haiku Artwork

  • Open the Haiku Terminal (Deskbar > Applications > Terminal).
  • Issue the following command to create a directory where to download all the Haiku artwork:


    • mkdir artwork

  • Use the following command to download the artwork files to the artwork folder that you just created in the previous step:

    • svn checkout http://svn.haiku-os.org/haiku/haiku/trunk/data/artwork ./artwork

    Once the command is finished and the Terminal has returned to the prompt, all the artwork files will be stored in your computer.

    Syncing with the Haiku repository

  • Open the Haiku Terminal (Deskbar > Applications > Terminal).
  • Move to the artwork folder using the following command:

    • cd artwork

  • Sync the files in your artwork folder with the files in the Haiku repository by using the following command:

    • svn up

    This command will bring your artwork folder in sync with the artwork files in the Haiku repository

    Editing the Artwork Files

    Icon files are in Haiku's native HVIF (Haiku Vector Icon Format) file format, and can be edited using Icon-O-Matic, the native icon editor that is also included in Haiku by default.



    Icon-O-Matic supports not only HVIF, but it can also export to other formats, including SVG and PNG. On the other hand, the Haiku artwork includes several variations of the Haiku logo; these files are available in PNG format to use as is, but editable WonderBrush files are also available, which means you can tinker with them using the WonderBrush editor that comes with Haiku.



    Please be warned, though, that Haiku has quite a restrictive trademark policy that does affect what you can do with the Haiku logo. Personal use may not be a problem, but if you plan to disclose or distribute any graphics that use their trademarks, you may want to make sure that you are not infringing. If you don't, you may risk having the Haiku trademark police knock on your door. ;)

    For those not familiar with WonderBrush or Icon-O-Matic editors, here are a few useful resources:

  • Haiku User Guide: Icon-O-Matic
  • WonderBrush: Yellowbites homepage
  • Lezleks YouTube channel: WonderBrush Basics screencast


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    Tutorial written by Jorge G. Mare (koki) 15 September 2010 - Haikuzone
    Made available by BeSly the BeOS, Haiku and Zeta knowledge base.