Osu allows you to download and import skins.
This feature is also known as skinning.
Skinning allows players to create their own skins using the original skinning elements.
Skins can be fun, professional, or nearly impossible to play with.
However, creating the assets for an Osu skin is difficult.
To begin with, you need to be familiar with a program that supports transparency.
This includes Photoshop, GIMP, Paint.NET, and others.
Hence, it’s easier to download a user-created Osu skin than to create one.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to import and download Osu skins from forums or websites.
How to download Osu skins
To download Osu skins, you need to find and download a skin that you like from a forum or website.
The most popular website for Osu skins is osuskins.net.
You can also visit the skinning forum from the Osu website.
After you’ve downloaded the skin, you need to double-click it.
However, the skin that you’ve downloaded must be a .osk file.
If it’s not a .osk file, you need to change it to one.
Otherwise, double-clicking the skin will not open Osu.
In some cases, the skin that you’ve downloaded might be compressed using .rar or .zip.
If so, you need to extract the skin folder into the Skins directory of the Osu installation path.
But before you extract the skin folder, you need to close Osu.
Here’s how to download Osu skins:
- Download a skin from osuskins.net
- Double-click the skin
- Click on “Options”
- Click on the paintbrush icon
- Select the skin that you want to change to
1. Download a skin from osuskins.net
To begin with, you need to find and download an Osu skin that you like.
There are a couple of places where you can find Osu skins.
This includes osuskins.net and the skinning forum.
The osuskins.net website allows you to easily find the skin that you’re looking for.
You can do this by using the advanced filtering options.
However, osuskins.net is not affiliated with “osu!” or “ppy”.
On the other hand, the skinning forum is the official forum for Osu.
Here’s how to download an Osu skin from osuskins.net:
- Go to osuskins.net.
- Search for the skin that you want to download.
- Click on the skin.
- Click on “Download” to download the skin.
2. Double-click the skin
Note: If it’s not a .osk file, you need to change it by right-clicking the file > properties > opens with > change > osu!.
After you’ve downloaded an Osu skin, you need to open it.
To do so, double-click the Osu skin that you’ve just downloaded (if it’s a .osk file).
Keep in mind that you can only double-click a .osk file.
If the Osu skin is not a .osk file, you won’t be able to double-click it.
If that’s the case, you need to change it to a .osk file by right-clicking the file and clicking on “Properties”.
After you’ve clicked on “Properties”, click on “Opens with”, click on “Change”, and change it to “osu!”.
However, if the file is compressed using .rar or .zip., you need to extract it into the Skins directory of the Osu installation path.
But before you do that, you need to close Osu.
If Osu is running, you need to press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + S on your keyboard for the skin to appear in the list.
3. Click on “Options”
After you’ve double-clicked the Osu skin that you’ve just downloaded, Osu will open.
Now, the skin will be automatically imported to Osu.
Keep in mind that this will only work if the Osu skin that you’ve downloaded is a .osk file.
Once you’re on Osu, you’ll see multiple buttons.
This includes “Play”, “Edit”, “Options”, and “Exit”.
Click on “Options” to go to the options menu.
This is because you need to check if the skin is successfully imported to Osu.
If it is, you’ll be able to select and use it.
4. Click on the paintbrush icon
After you’ve clicked on “Options”, the options menu will open.
On the options menu, you’ll see multiple icons.
This includes a gear icon, a monitor icon, a brush icon, and more.
By default, the gear icon will be selected.
To change your Osu skin, you need to go to the “Skin” option.
To do so, click on the paintbrush icon.
5. Select the skin that you want to change to
After you’ve clicked on the paintbrush icon, you’ll land on the “Skin” options.
Now, you’ll be able to see your current skin.
Firstly, click on the “Current skin” dropdown box.
After you’ve clicked on the dropdown box, you’ll see a list of Osu skins that you’ve downloaded.
Now, you need to select the Osu skin that you’ve just downloaded.
For example, if you’ve just downloaded the “Toy 2017-08-15” skin, select “Toy 2017-08-15”.
You can also preview the skin by clicking on “Preview gameplay” followed by “Let’s do it!”.
You’ve successfully learned how to download Osu skins!
Conclusion
Downloading Osu skins is easy—especially if the skin is a .osk file.
If the skin is a .osk file, simply open it (by double-clicking it) to import the skin to Osu.
At times, the skin might be compressed using .rar or .zip.
If that’s the case, you need to export the file into the Skins directory of the Osu installation path.
You can do this by right-clicking the Osu application and clicking on “Open File Location”.
If you need more help, the official Osu wiki contains many helpful resources to guide you on installing skins.
