/bootstrap-dark-5

The Ancillary Guide to Dark Mode and Bootstrap 5 - A continuation of the v4 Dark Mode POC. >>> Bootstrap 5.2 is in the `dev/v1.2.0` branch <<<

Primary LanguageSCSSMIT LicenseMIT

The Ancillary Guide to Dark Mode and Bootstrap 5

A continuation of the v4 Dark Mode POC, but this time for v5

This is a follow up to The Definitive Guide to Dark Mode and Bootstrap 4 body of work, and pertains to Bootstrap 5 (Github repo.).

If you're after the same work for Bootstrap 4 please visit the vinorodrigues/bootstrap-dark repo.

NOTE:   A note on current state (Bootstrap 5.2 Betas):

Development efforts back at Bootstrap 5's core repository are currently geared at converting all color to CSS variables. Obviously, this greatly modifies the methodologies used in this POC and would in essence require a major re-write of the code. The addition of CSS variables also brings in some additional complexity in some of the variants (this project shows 6 methods of attaining dark mode with Bootstrap 5) - specifically the '-nightshade' and '-blackbox' variants have major issues in accommodating for CSS variables. Specifically around the :root CSS vars, as one cannot body.dark :root{ } ('-nightshade'), nor [data-bs-color-scheme="dark"] :root {} ('-blackbox'), or even for that matter core's own [data-theme="dark"] (sounding a lot like '-blackbox'). In essance the fix for this is to declare 2 sets of vars in the :root ... i.e. --bs-color-bg: .. and --bs-color-bg-dark: .., and then in the remaining SCSS, code in the switch over ... thus negating the need for CSS vars in the first place as you'd just be duplicating the background-color: var(..) each time it's used (or needs to switch mode) and making for a much larger CSS file.

Other issues in Beta pertain to inconsistent use of CSS vars in the _variables.scss file, with some SCSS variables ($xxx) used as constants in some cases with the underlying components converting that to CSS vars, and other _variables.scss variables used as var(--bs-*) declarations, and the underlying components not converting to CSS vars. (This has been reported as an issue; bootstrap#36458.)

Yet more issues in the Beta are that not all components have been converted to CSS vars (yet?), the largest of these is all the form components - this adding more inconsistencies to the core. (This also reported; bootstrap#36454 ... and subsequently closed.) Obviously, this makes this effort hyper-complex in that I need to account for several discrepancies and each component SCSS file is looking to become a spaghetti bowl of if-else's and switching variables. Not something I'm keen to do.

As such - I will not be updating this project's main branch (thus it remains tied to the v5.1.3 release) until such time as it becomes clear in what direction Mark Otto et.al. are gearing their project towards. The intent is clear - with CSS variables (for the color elements) - theming is much simpler. Dark Mode capability, in essence a dual theme driven by browser/OS preference, remains to be seen.

⚠ In the meantime, any work aligning to BS current core repo (a.k.a. 5.2 Beta) will moved over to the dev/v1.2.0 branch of this project. Note that I will attempt to align 'bootstrap-dark' variant only.

What's really disapointing is that when I started this -- Bootstap-Dark was first published on the 14th May 2020 -- it was with the hopes that Dark Mode could be incorporated into BS. If not mine, then at least a functional variant. And yet ... more that 2 years later, still we have an incoherent non-starter.

I'm tempted to just archive this and walk away - I'm not a dev after all.

· · ·

And now back to the regular programming...

About

This code will make little sense if you don't read The Definitive Guide to Dark Mode and Bootstrap 4 first.

What do you get?

The code compiles the four methods (and variants - six in total) of the original body of work, but compiled for and sourcing Bootstrap 5. These are:

Method 1

(link to original)

  • bootstrap-night: This is simply a dark bootstrap theme. It can however be used with the Bootstrap core CSS to deliver a 2-file dark mode functionality.

Method 2

(link to original)

  • bootstrap-nightfall: This is simply the "color only" CSS of all the components of Bootstrap core, but dark, and is intended to be used as an add-on. It can also, with a simple media query, drive automatic dark mode switching.

Method 3

(link to original)

  • bootstrap-nightshade: This is a modification of the Bootstrap core and adds dark color CSS for all the components, but dark, nested in a html.dark class wrapper. By itself it cannot offer dark mode switching, but add the included darkmode.js library and you have an interactive dark mode switching variant of Bootstrap with built in "toggle" button support.

  • bootstrap-blackbox: New This variant is essentially the same as the "nightshade" variant, but instead of using a HTML tag class, it uses a HTML tag data attribute; data-bs-color-scheme. The same darkmode.js library drives this one, all you need to do is add the data attribute to your HTML tag.

Method 4

(link to original)

  • bootstrap-dark: This is the recommended method; one CSS with both light and dark themes, toggle-able only with the OS or browser prefers-color-scheme media query.

  • bootstrap-unlit: This variant is essentially the same as the "dark" variant, but with "dark" scheme as the primary/fallback and "light" as optioned in color scheme.

Get started

1. bootstrap-night 2. bootstrap-nightfall 3. bootstrap-nightshade 3b. bootstrap-blackbox 4. bootstrap-dark 4b. bootstrap-unlit
Quick Start Guide Quick Start Guide Quick Start Guide Quick Start Guide Quick Start Guide Quick Start Guide
darkmode.js Reference darkmode.js Reference
See Example See Example See Example

The Proof is in the Pudding

Some of the test pages have been set up at vinorodrigues.github.io/bootstrap-dark-5

Can you use this?

Yes.

Licence is MIT. i.e. use as you whish as long as you credit the original authors and leave the copyright in situ.

If you're a theme builder or want to use its principles in your own project you'll need to have Git and Node installed.

  1. Fork or download the repository: git clone https://github.com/vinorodrigues/bootstrap-dark-5.git
  2. Install Node dependencies: npm install (See note below.)
  3. Modify _variables.scss and _variables-alt.scss in the scss sub-folder.
  4. Run npm run build to build your theme.
  5. The compiled code will be in the dist folder.

NOTE: The build system is based on NPM Scripts. Most of the build tools (NPM modules) will need to be installed as "global" to ensure the scripts are executable from the command line.

npm i -g  autoprefixer  documentation browser-sync  clean-css-cli  cross-env  eslint  eslint-config-xo  eslint-plugin-import  eslint-plugin-unicorn  find-unused-sass-variables  imagemin-cli  nodemon  npm-run-all  postcss-cli  rtlcss  sass  stylelint  stylelint-config-twbs-bootstrap  svgo  terser typescript

Note 1:

This code is just a rehash of Bootstrap 5 core code to add "dark mode" functionality and is declared as a "Proof of Concept" (PoC) - that means it's not intended as a production source, but merely an exercise to prove that dark-mode is attainable via various methods, i.e. it is an educative piece. It also means that it's author (Vino Rodrigues) is not compelled to support it.

Note 2:

This project will not compile with Node-Sass. Refer to the original Bootstrap 5 docs, especially here (https://getbootstrap.com/docs/5.1/getting-started/build-tools/#sass), and you'll note that they have deprecated the use of Node-Sass in favour of Dart-Sass.

They in turn cite this (https://sass-lang.com/blog/libsass-is-deprecated) article wherein the Sass curators state they will no longer support LibSass, that Node-Sass is dependant on.

NPM

Developers can include the scss and dist folders into your own project with:

npm install bootstrap-dark-5

CDN

You can also hotlink the theme via CDN with jsdelivr.com.

You can access the theme CSS file from the GitHub release:

Further Reading

Must reads for all developers wanting to write for dark mode:

Feedback

If you have useful feedback drop me an "Issue" on the GitHub Issues page.

© 2022