Theme switcher
Four smooth ways to move between light and dark appearance.
pnpm dlx shadcn@latest add @uiarc/theme-switchTry the transition
- A single light and dark toggle in an app or marketing top bar.
- Pages that want to run their own view transition from the button's position.
- Use user-menu when theme choice, including system, belongs inside an account menu.
- Use theme-switch-rise for quiet product chrome, or theme-switch-eclipse for a dramatic showcase change.
Installation
Add Theme switcher with the shadcn CLI, or copy the source by hand.
pnpm dlx shadcn@latest add @uiarc/theme-switchAdds the component and its local dependencies, and installs motion, lucide-react. First time? Add the @uiarc registry to components.json, or use the full URL:
example.tsx
import { ThemeSwitch } from "@/registry/components/theme-switch/theme-switch";import type { Theme } from "@/registry/components/theme-switch/theme-switch"; export function AppearanceToggle({ theme, setTheme }: { theme: Theme; setTheme: (next: Theme) => void }) { return ( <ThemeSwitch theme={theme} iconOnly onThemeChange={next => { if (!document.startViewTransition) return setTheme(next); document.startViewTransition(() => setTheme(next)); }} /> );}Examples
3 more in theme. Each has its own page with install and API details.
Eclipse
The next appearance crosses the page like an eclipse.
Split
The next appearance opens from a slim center seam.
Rise
The next appearance rises into place.
Reveal from the button
example.tsx
<ThemeSwitch theme={theme} onThemeChange={(next, _variant, trigger) => { const { left, top, width, height } = trigger.getBoundingClientRect(); document.documentElement.style.setProperty("--x", `${left + width / 2}px`); document.documentElement.style.setProperty("--y", `${top + height / 2}px`); document.startViewTransition(() => setTheme(next)); }}/>ThemeSwitch
A secondary Button that swaps a sun and moon icon and reports the next theme. The page transition itself is yours to run.
PropTypeDefaultDescription
themeRequired"light" | "dark"–The current theme. Drives the icon and aria-pressed.onThemeChangeRequired(next: Theme, variant: ThemeSwitchVariant, trigger: HTMLElement) => void–Called on press with the opposite theme, the variant, and the button, so the page transition can start from it.variant"reveal" | "eclipse" | "split" | "rise""reveal"Names the page transition and sets the small icon nudge that matches it.labelstring–Accessible name. Defaults to "Switch to dark mode" or "Switch to light mode".iconOnlybooleanfalseHides the "Switch theme" text and renders a 38px square button.- EnterorSpace
- Toggles the theme.
- Renders the library Button with aria-pressed set when the theme is dark.
- aria-label defaults to "Switch to dark mode" or "Switch to light mode"; pass label to override.
- The icons are aria-hidden.
- Sun and moon trade places with a shared rotation, scale, and blur on a snappy spring; the icon also nudges in the direction of the chosen variant.
- A theme that arrives during hydration swaps without motion, so a dark page never spins its switch on load.
- Reduced motion swaps the icon with an instant fade and removes the nudge; skip the page transition too when reduced.
- The labelled button fits a desktop top bar; pass iconOnly for a fixed 38px square on narrow headers and mobile.
- Hover styles apply only on hover-capable fine pointers, so touch taps do not leave a stuck hover state.
- The button itself is tiny: one icon swap on a spring, and the first theme after hydration applies without animating.
- The page transition is yours; a full-page view transition snapshots the whole document, so keep it short and skip it for reduced motion.
Notes for AI
Give your coding assistant the Markdown reference instead of screenshots.
- Use for a single light/dark toggle in a top bar. For light, dark, and system inside an account menu use user-menu.
- The component only reports the change. Apply the theme in onThemeChange, typically inside document.startViewTransition, and use trigger's rect as the transition origin.
- variant is passed back to onThemeChange so one handler can run the matching page transition (reveal, eclipse, split, rise).
The full library index for assistants is at /llms.txt.