Problem/Motivation

It would be better to default to "Auto" instead of "Light" for the Light/Dark mode setting for the Admin Theme.

Notes

  • Discussed during the Accessibility Office Hours on June 18, 2026.
  • Setting the best defaults is extremely important since often people do not change them.
  • Honoring system and browser defaults helps people who need a certain setting (like dark mode) not have to first use an inaccessible or less comfortable setting (like light mode for some) in order to update to their preferred setting.

Steps to reproduce

  • Go to the Admin Theme's Settings
  • Default isn't "Auto".

Proposed resolution

  • Set the default to "Auto".
  • Make "Auto" the first option in the list.

Remaining tasks

User interface changes

Toggle starts on Auto.

Introduced terminology

API changes

Data model changes

Release notes snippet

Issue fork drupal-3604071

Command icon Show commands

Start within a Git clone of the project using the version control instructions.

Or, if you do not have SSH keys set up on git.drupalcode.org:

About issue forks

Comments

jmstair created an issue. See original summary.

mherchel’s picture

mherchel
he/him
Primary language English
Location Gainesville, FL, US
commented

+1 on this!

mgifford’s picture

mgifford
he/him
Primary language English
commented

This is great @jmstair thanks for setting up this issue.

This is absolutely a best practice and one we should be leading with.

mgifford’s picture

mgifford
he/him
Primary language English
commented
Issue summary: View changes
kentr’s picture

kentr commented

+1!

kentr’s picture

kentr commented
Parent issue: » #3585823: [Meta] Improve the accessibility of the Default Admin theme

I set the parent to #3585823: [Meta] Improve the accessibility of the Default Admin theme.

mherchel’s picture

mherchel
he/him
Primary language English
Location Gainesville, FL, US
commented

I feel when we do this, we should make "Auto" the first option in the list.

bernardm28 made their first commit to this issue’s fork.

bernardm28 opened merge request !16164

bernardm28’s picture

bernardm28 commented
Status: Active » Needs review

It should be good to go. Switch the default config to load auto and the order of the buttons.

kentr’s picture

kentr commented
Issue summary: View changes

I added the bit about making "Auto" the first option to the proposed resolution.

jurgenhaas’s picture

jurgenhaas
he/him
Primary language German
Location Gottmadingen
commented
Status: Needs review » Reviewed & tested by the community

I've reviewed the code and tested it on a fresh installation. Works as described.