Wikipedia talk:Dark mode

Usage

Special:GadgetUsage shows how many people are currently using the darkmode gadget. As of Nov 2021, just under 900 people had the gadget active.Dialectric (talk) 10:24, 26 November 2021 (UTC)

It's up to 11,789 as of 13 June 2022. I would also note that number may under-represent dark-mode users because the gadget does not stay enabled. If it's switched on during one visit, it will be turned back off without user input in a subsequent visit to the site. This happens in a browser that retains a login sessions. As a result, some users may, like me, leave it disabled and instead use browser add-ons to get a consistent dark-mode UI. Heliosyne (talk) 03:20, 15 June 2022 (UTC)

i didn't consider this was even conveniently possible until i stumbled onto someone asking it on the helpdesk and a respondent linking here.

current numbers can not be viewed as an objective representation of the ratio of users who would be interested in dark mode imho. Bart Terpstra (talk) 18:26, 7 June 2023 (UTC)

Toggle functionality as a gadget

There's a discussion open at Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)#Make dark mode toggle script a gadget? about adding dark-mode toggle functionality as a gadget. – SD0001 (talk) 05:47, 28 November 2021 (UTC)

Images

Hello! So I think it would be a good idea to change the images to shows the Wikipedia Desktop mainpage in each of the dark mode themes as the first one appears to be the mobile view, second image is a specific page in desktop view, and the third image is of a Wikibooks page (Language appears to be French? not sure) with the mobile view in a small "UI". I don't think having 3 images all showing different things really shows the differences between the 3 different ways to have a dark mode all that well. ― Blaze The Wolf^Talk_{Blaze Wolf#6545} 19:03, 29 November 2021 (UTC)

Hi, I just downloaded a screenshot of wikipedia home page with latest DarkTheme :

   ◄ David L • discuter ► 13:48, 9 September 2022 (UTC)

Black & green

May be worth mentioning the green text-on-black gadget. Preferences/gadgets/appearance/Use a black background with green text. DuncanHill (talk) 06:11, 4 December 2021 (UTC)

Yes, sounds like a good addition. I can add it in a few days if no one else does first.Dialectric (talk) 21:43, 6 December 2021 (UTC)

Community Wishlist entry

For those interested, meta:Community Wishlist Survey 2022/Larger suggestions/Dark mode czar 00:20, 31 January 2022 (UTC)

Security concern using Chrome chrome://flags/ #enable-force-dark

The Options for unregistered users section says "This is provided by Chrome's development team, so security should not be a concern". This advice contradicts the warning at the top of [./Chrome://flags/ chrome://flags/] which states "WARNING: EXPERIMENTAL FEATURES AHEAD! By enabling these features, you could lose browser data or compromise your security or privacy..."

Fairthomas (talk) 08:07, 1 August 2022 (UTC)

@Fairthomas: The section is right. Using features built into Chrome is much safer than installing random browser extensions. The warning for chrome://flags only exists to make clear that these settings are meant for advanced users. Dexxor (talk) 14:05, 1 August 2022 (UTC)

I think the warning exists to make it clear that these are experimental features that could compromise your security. Chrome has many complicated and advanced settings that do not come with this warning. I think advising people that it is secure is irresponsible. Fairthomas (talk) 02:32, 24 February 2023 (UTC)

Idea to add dark-mode

Is it possible to add a simple dark-mode checkbox in a new color tab to the languages-menu\Display settings and change it's name to just settings. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kevincrans (talk • contribs) 19:42, 8 August 2022 (UTC)

Do your Work Wikipedia

Thank you ! When will you add a lil' night button ? how long does our eyes have to suffer because some form of conservatism or "feature seeking" attitude ??

It's really a shame, that WP does have no dark mode in 2023!

Especially in summer it's very annoying when it's hot and you have to open the windows at night and all the insects fly into the room because WP doesn't have a dark mode. 84.140.204.50 (talk) 21:58, 14 July 2023 (UTC)

New dark mode option

I've been working on a dark mode that's a bit more minimal than the existing options for quite some time now - I feel like it might be completed to a point where it could be added here, but I don't just want to go ahead and put it in without any explicit support for that. I have some information on my user page along with a photo and link to the source; if anyone is willing to give it a look and possibly some feedback (perhaps @Dialectric or @DavidL?) that would be greatly appreciated. A direct link to the source is User:Tollens/darkTheme.css. Tollens (talk) 03:27, 28 July 2023 (UTC)

Having more options is good with so few currently available; go ahead and add it - if you haven't done so already, you might test the Compatibility with various skins so you can add your theme to the Compatibility table.Dialectric (talk) 09:22, 28 July 2023 (UTC)

@Dialectric: I've added the theme - would it perhaps be helpful to provide images for each compatible skin in the table? I'm not sure what the best way to do that in a way that doesn't make the table huge though. Tollens (talk) 23:28, 1 September 2023 (UTC)

Thanks for adding your theme. I think it would be best to have 1 image of each different theme. As someone mentioned above, these images would be more useful if they were all of the same page, probably the main page, and probably using vector if supported since that is the default and most popular skin, but nobody has gotten around to implementing this yet. If you have more information about your theme including images of the variations for different skins, you might want to create a userpage that contains this info.Dialectric (talk) 19:37, 9 September 2023 (UTC)

I've already created that page - it's linked from this page as well. I can definitely take screenshots using Vector of the main page - I'll use the 2010 version for the ones that don't support 2022. Tollens (talk) 20:00, 9 September 2023 (UTC)

I've just had a thought - would it maybe be better to use an article rather than the main page? It seems most themes display articles quite differently to it. Tollens (talk) 20:41, 9 September 2023 (UTC)

I also see [[1]] has wikipedia-specific dark styles, and I may add this to the project page soon.Dialectric (talk) 02:53, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Why only in english ?

I'm a new user on wikipedia, and I'm not sure if it is the best place to ask this but, as it is a CSS matter, why dark mode is only available in English ? What's the point ? Why not put a button (as most website do) so any (unauthenticated) user can switch between themes, without being forced to start a throughout journey through complex configuration ? Johnkravicz (talk) 21:03, 30 August 2023 (UTC)

Currently, there is no official dark mode. There's a significant amount of work required for the site and its skins to support a dark mode. This is made harder by the fact that so much of the site's appearance, particularly the colours used, can be altered by the community for each individual wiki. As linked in the first sentence of the dark mode page, the task to implement an official dark mode is tracked under Phabricator ticket T26070. Regarding supporting this option for non-logged in users, there is a performance impact which would require additional computing resources to address. So while this is not impossible, there is a cost that the WMF has to weigh. isaacl (talk) 21:32, 30 August 2023 (UTC)

Why no native dark mode?

What are the technical reasons why Wikipedia STILL does not have a native dark mode option for guests? Who is determining the priorities on the UI design and why don't they prioritize the #1 most requested feature? Onlyloggedinfordarkmode (talk) 18:41, 23 September 2023 (UTC)

Thanks. I 100% agree. 31.17.92.45 (talk) 20:14, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

I have refused to donate to Wikipedia until this feature is available. 73.197.80.116 (talk) 09:52, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

URL manipulation

Shouldn't this page describe accessing this mode with a URL hack?

• httpWikipedia/wiki/page?withgadget=dark-mode
• httpWikipedia/w/index.php?title=page&withgadget=dark-mode

-- 65.92.247.90 (talk) 03:12, 30 October 2023 (UTC)

The color choice for native dark mode

Guys, the shade of the background color and font color must be changed. The background is black. That's too dark. You know that sensation where you look at white text on a black screen, and the text sticks out like a sore thumb? That weird visual distortion effect that makes it harder to read the text? That can be eliminated by 1) making the background dark but not black, and then 2) making the font color light but not completely white. Doing so reduces the contrast between the text and the background, which both reduces eye strain from bright screens while also making it easier to read the content. Derwos (talk) 13:08, 27 April 2024 (UTC)