Your First Skin

Let’s create a working FM26 skin in about 10 minutes. By the end, you’ll have changed some colors in Football Manager and understand the basic workflow.

What We’ll Build

A simple color scheme change:

• Change the primary accent color to red
• Change the secondary color to a custom blue
• Build and test it in FM26

Existing Skin Templates You Can Use

For now FM Skin Builder does not include built-in templates. You can create a blank project and add colors manually, or follow this tutorial with a skin listed below:

• Darkside Neutral Theme  - A neutral theme with custom fonts, backgrounds and structured folders.

Step 1: Create a New Project

1. Open FM Skin Builder
2. Click New Skin (or File > New Skin)
3. The New Skin Wizard opens

4. Enter a name for your skin (e.g., “My First Skin”)
5. Choose where to save the project folder
6. Click Next

Template Selection

The wizard offers template options:

For this tutorial, select Color Override and click Create.

Step 2: Open the CSS Editor

After creating the project:

1. The Explorer panel shows your project files
2. Expand the colours/ folder
3. Double-click base.uss to open it

The CSS Editor opens with some template content:

:root {
  /* Primary colors */
  --primary: #3498db;
  --secondary: #2ecc71;
  --accent: #e74c3c;
}

Step 3: Edit Colors

Let’s change the colors to create our custom theme.

Using Simple Mode (Recommended for Beginners)

If you’re in Simple Mode (check the status bar at the bottom):

1. Click on any color value (like #3498db)
2. A color picker appears
3. Choose your desired color
4. The value updates automatically

Using Expert Mode

If you prefer typing directly:

1. Click the mode toggle in the status bar to switch to Expert Mode
2. Edit the values directly:

:root {
  /* Our custom colors */
  --primary: #ff4444;      /* Red */
  --secondary: #2196f3;    /* Blue */
  --accent: #ff9800;       /* Orange */
}

3. Save the file (Ctrl/Cmd + S)

Step 4: Build Your Skin

Now let’s compile the skin:

1. Click the Build button in the toolbar (or press F5)
2. Watch the build progress in the output panel
3. Wait for “Build completed successfully”

First build note: The first build takes longer because it needs to scan FM’s bundle files. Subsequent builds are much faster.

Build Output

After building, your project folder contains:

my-first-skin/
├── config.json
├── colours/
│   └── base.uss
└── packages/           # ← Build output
    └── [bundle files]

The packages/ folder contains the modified bundle files ready for FM.

Step 5: Install in Football Manager

Copy the built skin to FM’s skins directory:

Automatic Installation

1. In FM Skin Builder, click Install to Game (or Build > Install)
2. The app copies files to the correct location
3. Done!

Manual Installation

Copy the packages/ contents to:

Create the skins folder if it doesn’t exist.

Step 6: Activate in FM26

1. Launch Football Manager 2026
2. Go to Preferences (FM > Preferences on Mac)
3. Find the Interface section
4. In the Skin dropdown, select your skin
5. Click Confirm

Tip: Check “Reload skin when confirming changes” for faster iteration.

Step 7: See Your Changes

Your custom colors should now be visible throughout the FM interface!

Iteration Workflow

To make more changes:

1. Edit your CSS in FM Skin Builder
2. Save the file
3. Click Build
4. In FM, press the Reload Skin button (in Preferences) or restart FM
5. See your changes

Pro tip: Keep FM Skin Builder and FM both open. Use “Reload skin when confirming changes” in FM Preferences for the fastest workflow.

What’s Next?

Congratulations! You’ve created your first FM skin. Here are suggested next steps:

• Interface Tour - Learn all the app features
• CSS Editor - Deep dive into color editing
• CSS Variables Reference - Discover more variables to customize

Quick Reference

Next: Interface Tour - Learn the full app interface.