›_ Claude Code Issues
Claude Code Issues / #11813

Add system theme support (auto-switch between light/dark)

Resolved 💬 20 comments Opened Nov 17, 2025 by IrumiDesu7 Closed Mar 12, 2026

Description

Claude Code should support following the system theme, automatically switching between light and dark modes based on OS preferences.

Current Behavior

Claude Code has theme settings accessible via /theme or /config commands, allowing users to manually select between light and dark themes. However, there is no option to automatically follow the system theme.

Desired Behavior

Similar to VS Code's system theme support, Claude Code should automatically switch themes based on OS preferences.

VS Code implements this with settings like:

{
  "window.autoDetectColorScheme": true,
  "workbench.preferredDarkColorTheme": "Solarized Dark",
  "workbench.preferredLightColorTheme": "Solarized Light"
}

Claude Code should offer similar functionality:

  • Automatically switch to dark theme when system is in dark mode
  • Automatically switch to light theme when system is in light mode
  • Update in real-time when system theme changes (no restart required)

Use Case

Users who switch between light mode (daytime) and dark mode (nighttime) at the OS level expect all their development tools to follow the same preference. This creates a consistent experience across VS Code, terminals, and Claude Code.

Proposed Implementation

Add a new theme option alongside existing light/dark themes:

Via /theme command:

  • light (existing)
  • dark (existing)
  • auto or system (new - follow OS theme)

Or in ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "theme": "auto"
}

Environment

  • OS: macOS (though this should work on all platforms)

View original on GitHub ↗

20 Comments

github-actions[bot] · 8 months ago

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

  1. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/2990
  2. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/1148
  3. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/1076

This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.

  • If your issue is a duplicate, please close it and 👍 the existing issue instead
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IrumiDesu7 · 8 months ago

I have proposed a simple config that might helps

durandom · 7 months ago

my current workaround: https://github.com/durandom/dotfiles/commit/29c6a04db06fd1f09a4924541abbeb469ebfdc25

  • a script to set the theme
  • hook into wezterms auth theme switching

obviously heavily bound to macos and wezterm.

bjornbak · 6 months ago

+1

shuneihayakawa · 6 months ago

+1

github-actions[bot] · 5 months ago

This issue has been inactive for 30 days. If the issue is still occurring, please comment to let us know. Otherwise, this issue will be automatically closed in 30 days for housekeeping purposes.

Digipom · 5 months ago

Still occurring

merlinaudio · 5 months ago

need this badly. switching themes twice a day is a lil cumbersome, especially because you can't run /theme while claude is working

jchavannes · 4 months ago

One workaround for iTerm2 is to set the Minimum Contrast setting.
<img width="371" height="106" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/6ac2b91d-8b53-46d6-a1a2-8f1a90daf9a3" />

zulerne · 4 months ago

+1

lemesigor · 4 months ago

+1

th0g0th · 4 months ago

+1

esenmx · 4 months ago

I can't believe this is still active.

domas-ksd · 4 months ago

+1

denisbondar · 4 months ago

+1

Declarance · 4 months ago

+1

ryangurn · 4 months ago

+1

McNerve · 4 months ago

+1 — and worth noting: the "auto" theme setting already exists in the codebase but only checks at startup.

I dug into the binary and found that Claude Code already has an "auto" theme option. Setting "theme": "auto" in ~/.claude.json triggers defaults read -g AppleInterfaceStyle to detect macOS appearance — but it only runs once at launch, not reactively.

So the detection logic is already there. What's missing is:

  1. Live switching — listening for NSAppearanceDidChangeNotification (or polling) so the theme updates mid-session when the OS appearance changes
  2. Discoverability — "auto" doesn't appear in the /theme picker and isn't documented

My setup for reference:

  • Ghostty terminal with theme = "light:CustomLight,dark:Broadcast" (switches live)
  • macOS auto appearance on a schedule
  • Claude Code with "theme": "auto" in ~/.claude.json (only works at launch)

Ghostty and every other tool in my workflow reacts instantly to the appearance change. Claude Code is the only one that requires a fresh session.

jianglai · 4 months ago

@Nismo707, Which version of claude are you running? I use Ghostty and on macOS 26 and it didn't seem to work for me.

github-actions[bot] · 3 months ago

This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.