Dark Mode
Add light, dark, and system theme switching to HeroUI v3
HeroUI dark mode is CSS-driven. Components read theme variables from the root element, so you do not need a HeroUI provider. Add the dark class or data-theme="dark" to <html> and HeroUI will apply the dark theme.
<html class="dark" data-theme="dark"> <body class="bg-background text-foreground"> <!-- Your app --> </body></html>Keep the bg-background and text-foreground classes on your app shell so the page canvas changes with the active theme.
HeroUI's built-in light and dark themes respond to both .light / .dark classes and data-theme="light" / data-theme="dark" attributes. If you set both manually, keep the values in sync.
Next.js with next-themes
Use next-themes when you need theme persistence, system preference support, and no flash before hydration in a Next.js app.
Install next-themes
npm i next-themesApp Router
Create a client provider for next-themes.
// app/providers.tsx"use client";
import {ThemeProvider as NextThemesProvider} from "next-themes";
export function Providers({children}: {children: React.ReactNode}) { return ( <NextThemesProvider attribute="class" defaultTheme="system" enableSystem disableTransitionOnChange > {children} </NextThemesProvider> );}Wrap your app with the provider from the root layout. Add suppressHydrationWarning to <html> because next-themes updates that element before hydration.
// app/layout.tsximport "./globals.css";
import {Providers} from "./providers";
export default function RootLayout({children}: {children: React.ReactNode}) { return ( <html lang="en" suppressHydrationWarning> <body className="bg-background text-foreground"> <Providers>{children}</Providers> </body> </html> );}Theme switcher
Use useTheme from next-themes inside a client component. Delay rendering until mount because the active theme is not known during SSR.
// app/components/theme-switcher.tsx"use client";
import {Button} from "@lenso/ui";import {useTheme} from "next-themes";import {useEffect, useState} from "react";
export function ThemeSwitcher() { const [mounted, setMounted] = useState(false); const {resolvedTheme, setTheme, theme} = useTheme();
useEffect(() => { setMounted(true); }, []);
if (!mounted) return null;
const activeTheme = theme === "system" ? resolvedTheme : theme;
return ( <div className="flex items-center gap-2"> <Button variant={activeTheme === "light" ? "primary" : "secondary"} onPress={() => setTheme("light")} > Light </Button> <Button variant={activeTheme === "dark" ? "primary" : "secondary"} onPress={() => setTheme("dark")} > Dark </Button> <Button variant={theme === "system" ? "primary" : "secondary"} onPress={() => setTheme("system")}> System </Button> </div> );}Pages Router
For pages/, wrap your application in pages/_app.tsx.
// pages/_app.tsximport "@/styles/globals.css";
import type {AppProps} from "next/app";import {ThemeProvider as NextThemesProvider} from "next-themes";
export default function App({Component, pageProps}: AppProps) { return ( <NextThemesProvider attribute="class" defaultTheme="system" enableSystem disableTransitionOnChange > <Component {...pageProps} /> </NextThemesProvider> );}Using custom theme names
The attribute="class" setup works well for the built-in light and dark themes. If your custom theme CSS is written with data-theme selectors, configure next-themes to write data-theme instead.
<NextThemesProvider attribute="data-theme" defaultTheme="system" enableSystem themes={["light", "dark", "ocean", "ocean-dark"]}> {children}</NextThemesProvider>When you pass a custom themes list, include "light" and "dark" if you still want the built-in themes available.
React with useTheme
Use HeroUI's useTheme hook when you are building a plain React app, such as Vite or Create React App, and do not need next-themes.
The hook is exported from @lenso/ui. It stores the selected theme in localStorage, resolves "system" from the user's OS preference, and applies both the class and data-theme attribute to <html>.
// src/components/theme-switcher.tsximport {Button, useTheme} from "@lenso/ui";
export function ThemeSwitcher() { const {resolvedTheme, setTheme, theme} = useTheme("system");
return ( <div className="flex items-center gap-2"> <Button variant={resolvedTheme === "light" ? "primary" : "secondary"} onPress={() => setTheme("light")} > Light </Button> <Button variant={resolvedTheme === "dark" ? "primary" : "secondary"} onPress={() => setTheme("dark")} > Dark </Button> <Button variant={theme === "system" ? "primary" : "secondary"} onPress={() => setTheme("system")}> System </Button> </div> );}Use one theme controller per app. In Next.js, prefer next-themes and its useTheme hook. In plain React apps, use useTheme from @lenso/ui.
Styling for both themes
Theme-aware utilities work automatically because they read CSS variables:
<main className="min-h-screen bg-background text-foreground"> <section className="bg-surface text-surface-foreground shadow-surface"> Theme-aware content </section></main>Use the dark: variant for one-off changes that only apply in dark mode:
<div className="bg-background text-foreground dark:border-default"> Custom dark-mode adjustment</div>