microsoft / microsoft/Web-Dev-For-Beginners

Add dark mode toggle with system preference detection

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Dominant language
JavaScript
Stars
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Forks
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Description

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
Currently the app only supports light mode, which can be harsh on the eyes in low-light environments and doesn't respect user OS-level theme preferences.

Describe the solution you'd like
Add a dark mode toggle in the settings/preferences menu that allows users to:

Manually switch between light and dark themes
Select "System" to automatically match the OS-level prefers-color-scheme setting
Persist the user's choice across sessions (localStorage or user profile)

Describe alternatives you've considered
Browser extensions that force dark mode via CSS injection — works but often breaks layouts and isn't a native experience
Relying solely on OS-level dark mode without an in-app override — less flexible for users who want a different in-app preference than their system default

Additional context
Would improve accessibility and user comfort, especially for users who work at night or have light sensitivity. Many similar tools (VS Code, GitHub itself, Slack) support this pattern already, so there's a good UX precedent to follow.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

No files, tests, or entry points are named. Start by locating the settings/preferences UI and existing theme styles, then review how prefers-color-scheme and localStorage could fit the app; done means users can choose Light, Dark, or System and the choice persists across sessions.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
css, javascript
Domain
accessibility, frontend
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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