Dark mode isn't a preference for me — it's a requirement. Bright white interfaces are genuinely uncomfortable to work in for any extended period, and given that I spend most of my waking hours in front of screens, comfortable interfaces matter a lot.
Why dark mode specifically
Bright backgrounds are a significant source of eye strain over long sessions. For someone with sensory sensitivities, a glaring white interface isn't just mildly annoying — it's a low-level drain that accumulates across a day. Dark mode reduces that significantly. It also just looks better. This blog is dark themed. My terminal is dark themed. Every editor, every app, every browser — dark.
The OS level
KDE Plasma has excellent dark mode support — you set the global theme to dark and most things follow. System-wide dark mode means apps that respect the OS preference automatically get it right without individual configuration.
Forcing it in the browser
For websites that don't offer dark mode, there are a few options. Dark Reader is a browser extension that applies a dark theme to any site with decent results. It's not perfect — some sites look weird — but for the ones that are aggressively white it's a big improvement.
In CSS
When I build anything for the web I always include dark mode support via the prefers-color-scheme media query:
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
:root {
--bg: #0a0a0f;
--text: #e2e8f0;
}
}
This respects the user's OS preference automatically. If they've set their system to dark mode, they get dark mode. If not, they get whatever the default is. No toggle needed, no user preference to store — the OS already knows.
Terminal especially
A dark terminal is non-negotiable. The combination of dark background, coloured syntax highlighting, and JetBrains Mono is genuinely one of the most comfortable environments to spend time in. If you're still using a white terminal background, I implore you to reconsider.