useColorMode

Reactive color mode (theme) with auto data persistence and flexible configuration.

💡 New in v6.1.0

useColorMode is the more flexible successor to useDarkMode. Key differences:

• useColorMode: Supports multiple themes (light, dark, blue, green, etc.)
• useDarkMode: Limited to dark/light modes only, but maintains boolean API for compatibility

Both hooks now use string storage internally. Choose useColorMode for new projects requiring multiple themes.

Tips

click to open

For server-side rendered applications, since it's not possible to obtain the user's color preference on the server side, there might be a flicker during the first render. To avoid this issue, you can refer to the following steps.

1. add a script before your content.

<script
  dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{
    // add a self-executing function
    __html: `
          (function () {
            function setMode(mode) {
              if (mode) {
                document.documentElement.classList.add(mode);
              }
            }
            let store = localStorage.getItem('reactuses-color-mode');
            let mode;
            if(store === null){
              // You can customize this logic based on your needs
              const darkQuery = window.matchMedia('(prefers-color-scheme: dark)');
              mode = darkQuery.matches ? 'dark' : 'light';
            }else {
              // Use stored string value directly
              mode = store || 'light';
            }
            setMode(mode)
          })();
      `,
  }}
></script>

2. To conveniently manage color modes in a unified way, we recommend using context to store them.

import { useColorMode } from "@reactuses/core";
import React, { createContext, useContext } from "react";

type ThemeContext = { 
  theme: string | null; 
  setTheme: (theme: string) => void;
  cycleTheme: () => void;
};

const ThemeContext = createContext<ThemeContext | undefined>(undefined);

export function ThemeProvider({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  const [theme, setTheme, cycleTheme] = useColorMode({
    modes: ['light', 'dark', 'auto'],
    defaultValue: 'auto',
    storageKey: 'my-app-theme',
  });

  return (
    <ThemeContext.Provider value={{ theme, setTheme, cycleTheme }}>
      {children}
    </ThemeContext.Provider>
  );
}

export function useTheme() {
  const context = useContext(ThemeContext);
  if (context === undefined) {
    throw new Error("useTheme must be used within a ThemeProvider");
  }
  return context;
}

Usage

Basic Usage

Live Editor

function Demo() {
  const [colorMode, setColorMode, cycle] = useColorMode({
    modes: ['light', 'dark'],
    defaultValue: 'light',
  });

  return (
    <div>
      <div>Current mode: {colorMode}</div>
      <br />
      <div>
        <button onClick={() => setColorMode('light')}>Light</button>
        <button onClick={() => setColorMode('dark')}>Dark</button>
        <button onClick={cycle}>Cycle</button>
      </div>
    </div>
  );
};

Result

Current mode: light

Multiple Color Themes

Live Editor

function Demo() {
  const [colorMode, setColorMode, cycle] = useColorMode({
    modes: ['light', 'dark', 'blue', 'green', 'purple', 'sepia'],
    defaultValue: 'light',
    modeClassNames: {
      light: 'theme-light',
      dark: 'theme-dark', 
      blue: 'theme-blue',
      green: 'theme-green',
      purple: 'theme-purple',
      sepia: 'theme-sepia'
    }
  });

  const themeColors = {
    light: '#f8f9fa',
    dark: '#343a40',
    blue: '#0d6efd',
    green: '#198754',
    purple: '#6f42c1',
    sepia: '#8b4513'
  };

  return (
    <div style={{ 
      padding: '20px', 
      backgroundColor: themeColors[colorMode] || '#f8f9fa',
      color: ['dark', 'blue', 'green', 'purple', 'sepia'].includes(colorMode) ? 'white' : 'black',
      borderRadius: '8px',
      transition: 'all 0.3s ease'
    }}>
      <div>Current theme: <strong>{colorMode}</strong></div>
      <br />
      <div style={{ display: 'flex', flexWrap: 'wrap', gap: '8px' }}>
        {['light', 'dark', 'blue', 'green', 'purple', 'sepia'].map(mode => (
          <button 
            key={mode}
            onClick={() => setColorMode(mode)}
            style={{ 
              padding: '8px 16px',
              border: colorMode === mode ? '2px solid #007bff' : '1px solid #ccc',
              borderRadius: '4px',
              backgroundColor: colorMode === mode ? '#007bff' : 'white',
              color: colorMode === mode ? 'white' : 'black',
              cursor: 'pointer',
              textTransform: 'capitalize'
            }}
          >
            {mode}
          </button>
        ))}
      </div>
      <br />
      <button 
        onClick={cycle}
        style={{
          padding: '10px 20px',
          backgroundColor: '#28a745',
          color: 'white',
          border: 'none',
          borderRadius: '4px',
          cursor: 'pointer'
        }}
      >
        🔄 Cycle Themes
      </button>
    </div>
  );
};

Result

Current theme: light

Using Data Attributes

Live Editor

function Demo() {
  const [colorMode, setColorMode, cycle] = useColorMode({
    modes: ['light', 'dark'],
    defaultValue: 'light',
    attribute: 'data-theme',
    selector: 'body'
  });

  return (
    <div>
      <div>Current mode: {colorMode}</div>
      <div>Check the body element's data-theme attribute!</div>
      <br />
      <div>
        <button onClick={() => setColorMode('light')}>Light</button>
        <button onClick={() => setColorMode('dark')}>Dark</button>
        <button onClick={cycle}>Cycle</button>
      </div>
    </div>
  );
};

Result

Current mode: light

Check the body element's data-theme attribute!

API

UseColorModeOptions

Property	Description	Type	DefaultValue
selector	CSS Selector for the target element applying to	string	'html'
attribute	HTML attribute applying the target element	string	'class'
modes	Available color modes	T[] (Required)	-
defaultValue	Default color mode	T	-
storageKey	Key to persist the data into localStorage/sessionStorage.	string	'reactuses-color-mode'
storage	Storage object, can be localStorage or sessionStorage	() => Storage | undefined	localStorage
initialValueDetector	Function to get initial color mode from system preference	() => T	-
modeClassNames	Mapping of color modes to their corresponding class names or attribute values	Partial<Record<T, string>>	-

useColorMode

Returns

readonly [T | null, React.Dispatch<React.SetStateAction<T | null>>, () => void]: A tuple with the following elements:

• The current color mode value.
• A function to set the color mode.
• A function to cycle through available modes.

Arguments

Argument	Description	Type	DefaultValue
options	-	UseColorModeOptions<T> (Required)	-