The Story Behind ThemeSwitcher
In modern web development, dark mode has evolved from an aesthetic preference into an essential accessibility feature. Excessive screen glare during long hours of reading code, articles, and research papers causes digital eye strain, headaches, and fatigue.
Yet, many existing dark mode extensions suffer from severe shortcomings:
- Heavy JavaScript bundles that slow down tab switching and drain laptop batteries.
- Crude inversion algorithms that invert photos, diagrams, and video thumbnails into distorted negatives.
- Unnecessary tracking, intrusive telemetry, or advertising scripts that track browsing habits.
- Zero support for PDF documents, leaving users stranded with blinding white PDF tabs.
ThemeSwitcher (Force Dark Mode) was engineered by pshah-lab as an open-source answer to these problems: a high-performance, layout-safe dark theme extension with an integrated offline PDF reader and a strict commitment to zero user tracking.
Our Technical & Ethical Principles
1. Privacy by Default
We believe your browsing history belongs to you. ThemeSwitcher contains zero telemetry, requires no user account, and makes no network calls.
2. Layout Stability
A dark mode extension shouldn't break the web. We use batched DOM analysis and contrast-calculated CSS variables to preserve page layout.
3. Open Source & Auditable
Code that interacts with your web pages must be transparent. Every line of ThemeSwitcher is published on GitHub under the MIT License.
Browser Compatibility
ThemeSwitcher is built on the standard Manifest V3 WebExtensions specification and is tested on:
- Google Chrome: Version 108 and newer
- Microsoft Edge: Version 108 and newer
- Brave Browser: Fully compatible
- Opera & Vivaldi: Fully compatible via Chromium extension engine
Developer & Community Links
ThemeSwitcher is developed and maintained by pshah-lab. Explore the repository or join our community discussions: