Github Actions Logs when in Light Mode do not have a dark backgroun

[Callek]

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Over in https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/76350 some users were wanting their Workflow Logs to respect Light Mode/Dark Mode preferences.

This was fixed, but broke my expectations/desires.

• I want websites and code viewing tools to be in Light Mode
• I want my Console-Logs to be in Dark Mode
  • This is especially important when CLI tools emit colored output but expect a dark background, since that messes up contrast on me

Because of this change I'm forced to either adjust all my commands to AVOID using colored output (not even possible easily for some of my commands) - or expect myself (and any user who needs to look at these logs) to switch to Dark Mode.

I'd prefer a preference that lets you "override github logs to be <dark|light|follow-system-preference|follow-global-theme>"

Obligatory: https://xkcd.com/1172/

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[OothecaPickle]

I don't understand at all why so many people seem to like the old behavior, but here's a userscript that restores it for those that do. 🤷🏻‍♂️

// ==UserScript==
// @name         GitHub Actions White Theme Dark Logs
// @version      1.0
// @description  change theme of Actions Logs to dark mode
// @match        https://github.com/*/*/actions/runs/*
// ==/UserScript==

(function() {
    const element = document.querySelector('#logs')
    if (element) {
        element.setAttribute('data-color-mode', 'dark')
        element.setAttribute('data-dark-theme', 'dark')
    }
})()

[dionrhys]

The new light background logs cause coloured text to not have enough contrast to meet minimum WCAG requirements:

This is really tricky to read now so I need to revert the styling to how it was before. As far as I can tell, the console output here is emitting paletted ANSI codes (not RGB ANSI codes) judging by the CSS classes used here (e.g. ansifg-r, ansifg-c, etc.). So, if the light console background is here to stay, the ANSI foreground colour CSS classes need updating to render text with sufficient contrast.

I'd prefer having dark background logs always though, despite using GitHub in light mode.

[cehfisher]

Thanks for flagging this color contrast issue @dionrhys! We've reached out to the accessibility team today and will share an update as soon as we can.

[cehfisher]

Hello @dionrhys - there were some additional changes to theme colors that were pushed up yesterday. Could you clear your browser cache and retest please? Thanks!

[dionrhys]

Contrast for the colours look fixed now, thank you! Although I would say the yellow and bright-yellow colours don't show up very distinct to the regular black colour. There might be opportunity to make them lighter / more saturated while still retaining WCAG compliance:

[cehfisher]

Thanks for confirming the initial yellow issue has been fixed! We will pass along the additional feedback about the yellow vs black text 😸

[lorine93s]

I appreciate that Workflow Logs now respect Light/Dark Mode preferences, as discussed here, but unfortunately, this change negatively affects users like me who prefer different themes for different parts of GitHub — I personally like to keep the website and code viewers in Light Mode, while having Console Logs in Dark Mode, since many CLI tools produce colored output designed for dark backgrounds, and viewing those logs on a light background ruins the contrast and readability; it would be great if GitHub provided a separate theme setting specifically for Workflow Logs, with options like Light, Dark, Follow system preference, or Follow global GitHub theme, so that users could fine-tune their experience without compromising usability — I believe this approach would satisfy both groups of users and avoid forcing a one-size-fits-all theme across all parts of GitHub; as always, xkcd 1172 captures the eternal theme battle perfectly. 😄

[lorine93s]

I completely understand where you're coming from, and I actually feel the same way. While I appreciate that GitHub updated Workflow Logs to respect the global Light/Dark Mode preference, that change unfortunately broke my personal workflow too.

Like you, I prefer to keep websites and code viewing tools in Light Mode for better readability. But when it comes to Console Logs, I always want them in Dark Mode, because many CLI tools use colored output designed for dark backgrounds. When those logs are shown on a light background, the contrast is terrible and it becomes hard to read, sometimes even impossible to interpret certain outputs properly.

Right now, I feel stuck between two bad options:

Disable colored output for my CLI tools entirely (which isn’t practical, and in some cases, not even possible), or

Switch my entire GitHub theme to Dark Mode, which I don’t want to do for everything.

Honestly, the ideal solution would be exactly what you suggested — a separate preference that allows users to control the theme for Workflow Logs independently. Something like:

“Override Workflow Logs theme:”
☑ Light
☑ Dark
☑ Follow system preference
☑ Follow global GitHub theme

That way, people like us who prefer different themes for different parts of GitHub can have a consistent, readable experience without making trade-offs.

Thanks for raising this — I hope GitHub considers this level of flexibility. And yes, the xkcd https://xkcd.com/1172/ perfectly sums it up — you can never please everyone with a single theme. 😄

[micahmo]

I totally understand the desire for some users to have a unified "light" experience across the app. But, this change pretty clearly removes some functionality that a lot of users like. I think a similar analogy is how light/dark mode works in Windows 11. You can make everything light, or everything dark. But you can also "Dark" for "Windows mode" and "Light" for "app mode". And why do they have this option? Because it's what Windows 10 looked like, and it's what a lot of people are used to.

So I think GitHub needs something exactly like this for the majority UI vs. the console logs, simply to satisfy existing expectations.