Dark Mode for Wikipedia That Preserves Info Boxes and Tables

Wikipedia has its own dark mode, and it's the best place to start. Wikipedia rolled it out on its desktop and mobile sites in 2024, and it works whether or not you have an account.

Turn on Wikipedia's dark mode

1. Open any Wikipedia article.
2. Open the Appearance menu (on desktop, near the top right or in the sidebar; on mobile, in the settings menu).
3. Under Color, choose Dark, or Automatic to follow your device's light or dark setting.

Your choice is saved in your browser, or in your account if you're signed in. The same menu changes text size and page width.

Why some infoboxes and tables still look odd

Most of Wikipedia adapts well, but some content was written with fixed colors:

• Infoboxes and navboxes with hard-coded light backgrounds can show as bright blocks.
• Color-coded tables, such as election results or sports standings, may keep light colors with dark text, or lose contrast.
• Maps, charts and diagrams are usually images, so they stay light. Some transparent images look dim on a dark background.

Editors are fixing templates over time, so this improves steadily. Wikipedia's dark mode is labeled beta in places for this reason.

Using a dark mode extension instead

If you'd rather have one dark mode for every site, Modern Dark Mode works on Wikipedia too. Because it darkens the whole page, fixed-color infoboxes and tables are darkened along with everything else, while photos, maps and diagrams keep their real colors. Color-coded cells keep roughly their hue, though light and dark shades swap.

• Use one or the other. If you use Wikipedia's dark mode, add wikipedia.org to the extension's excluded sites.
• Adjust the brightness and contrast sliders if long articles feel harsh.

Reading long articles comfortably

• Try the Wide or Standard width setting, depending on your screen. Narrower lines are easier to follow.
• Increase the text size in the Appearance menu rather than zooming the whole page.
• For distraction-free reading, Chrome's Reading mode works well on Wikipedia articles.
• If a table is hard to read in dark mode, switch to Light from the same menu while you read it, then switch back. It only takes two clicks.

For other sites, see Dark Reader vs Modern Dark Mode.