Windows 10 1903+ Dark "App" Mode (Native Support)

[aka-0x4C3DD]

Suggestion

Dark Mode for qBittorrent.

Use case

For people with eye defects, it won't serve as a flash bang.

Extra info/examples/attachments

No response

[adem4ik]

I guess it is needed only for Windows' systems, as macOS and Linux already support it out of box.

[AlexSnowLeo]

Hey @aka-0x4C3DD I'm also a fan of the dark theme on Windows. Maybe this will help you. https://github.com/maboroshin/qBittorrentDarktheme

qBittorrent will look like this for example:

[abcfy2]

I guess it is needed only for Windows' systems, as macOS and Linux already support it out of box.

I don't think Linux support dark mode for Qt out of box. I tried both KDE and XFCE desktop environment, though I set a dark theme globally, qbittorrent will choose a light mode:

[adem4ik]

@abcfy2 The problem must be on your side. Your screen shows unofficial qB build called "Enhanced Edition". I guess your should report the problem to its devs: https://github.com/c0re100/qBittorrent-Enhanced-Edition

With official client I have dark mode working on my Manjaro KDE for a long time:

[abcfy2]

I also tried official AppImage, but still no luck:

[abcfy2]

And I installed qbittorrent via sudo pacman -S qbittorrent, still this issue:

[KousikAdhikary]

Yes an official Dark Theme for Windows will be much appreciated.

[Amandaville]

Dark mode and themes are not working on MX Linux XFCE

[musabagriyanik]

I wouldn't say no to auto dark mode option aside with a dark theme.

[jupiter104]

We need this urgently. 99% of my friends use dark mode. I don't know why qbt comes with light mode by default.

[maboroshin]

qBittorrent have basic dark theme. What files we need to edit to change this Native Theme?

Color issues are common with light themes. Don't use extreme colors #000000 or #FFFFFFFF, 255 or 0. #11111111, #FAFAFAFA would be better. The same is for icon colors. Since icons are svc, it is easy to change the color as a string.

Also we would like to change the theme without restarting qBittorrent.

Current 4.5.0 Native Dark Theme:

I saw previous issue https://github.com/qbittorrent/qBittorrent/pull/13952#issuecomment-743341836

With the following statement, qBittorrent switches between light and dark themes according to the system settings without restarting qBittorrent.

I think Qt can be buggy with color overrides. But difficult to read text seems to be limited to the options dialog at this theme: https://github.com/qbittorrent/qBittorrent/pull/13952#issuecomment-1008637439

qt.conf (This file placed in the same folder as qbittorrent.exe) :

[Platforms]
darkmode=2

[Hlsgs]

Prior to version 4.5.3, one could get a rudimetary dark mode in Windows by adding the QT_QPA_PLATFORM = windows:darkmode=2 environment variable or using the corresponding command line parameter to start the application. This is no longer the case, presumably because of the update to Qt v6.5.1.

However, this big Qt upgrade being done merits reopening this neverending discussion, considering the improvements to dark mode handling that came with v6.5. I'm hoping this would also mitigate the dreaded issue of the white flashing main window when restoring qBT from the system tray. It's been mentioned around.

Coming at this myself from the visual impairment perspective, I would like to add a request(for which I will create a separate issue, if instructed): it would be great if both the default light and the presumptive native dark mode had the option to not color the text of torrents according to their status, but rather rely solely on their icons for that.

[xavier2k6]

@Hlsgs If you read through Dark Mode on Windows 11 with Qt 6.5 you will notice below:

We are not changing the default style in Qt on Windows, so by default, your application will use the Windows Vista style, which will use the light system palette even on a Windows 11 system running with a dark theme.

@glassez You might also be interested in above quote from Qt.

So, there have been changes from how Qt used to provide a sort of dark mode prior to Qt 6.5...it was meant to have been reverted/fixed in Qt 6.5.1 but doesn't seem to be. (We still need to use fusion style)

---

If you or anyone else would like to experiment with how "Dark Mode Support on Windows" is progressing & how the text colors etc. can now be changed in transfer list by user - download the 4.6.0alpha1 Qt6 Build & you can use below command via command prompt:

qbittorrent -style fusion

[glassez]

you can use below command via command prompt:

qbittorrent -style fusion -platform windows:darkmode=2

IIRC, qbittorrent -style fusion is enough with Qt 6.5.x

[xavier2k6]

you can use below command via command prompt: qbittorrent -style fusion -platform windows:darkmode=2

IIRC, qbittorrent -style fusion is enough with Qt 6.5.x

So it seems....qbittorrent -style fusion -platform windows:darkmode=1 seems to also only provide light mode whereas before it would give a dark mode but keep title bar window light?!

Anyway, will adjust https://github.com/qbittorrent/qBittorrent/issues/17081#issuecomment-1567352582

[maboroshin]

This may be outdated information. As of 2022, the color of the Windows title bar was changed through the OS settings (Win10) or other app (MicaForEveryone for Win11).

Detail: https://github.com/maboroshin/qBittorrentDarktheme/issues/19#issuecomment-1087499340

[Hlsgs]

@xavier2k6 Thank you for all the great info. Didn't know about using the fusion style and was unaware of all the work that's getting done in 4.6.0 regarding colors. Just tested fusion in both 4.5.3 and 4.6.0 and it's basically all that I was asking about. Awesome! Couple of questions:

• What's the plan regarding 4.6.0? Will it default to fusion?
• Any caveats with using fusion with 4.5.3?

[glassez]

• What's the plan regarding 4.6.0? Will it default to fusion?

In v4.6 I intend to raise minimum supported Qt version to 6.5 on Windows and use Fusion style by default (at least on Windows 11, unsure about Windows 10).

[xavier2k6]

@glassez has already addressed the default style option, but just to give a little more context:

From the Qt Blog (Above):

The Fusion style is our preferred style for Windows 11. It looks good with dark and light palette

https://www.qt.io/blog/dark-mode-on-windows-11-with-qt-6.5#:~:text=The%20Fusion%20style%20is%20our%20preferred%20style%20for%20Windows%2011.%20It%20looks%20good%20with%20dark%20and%20light%20palette

• Any caveats with using fusion with 4.5.3?

None that I have observed & I've used fusion style for a long time....it also addresses some checkbox issues etc......now there are caveats with "Dark Mode Support" still & these will be resolved over time.

[Hlsgs]

The Fusion style is our preferred style for Windows 11. It looks good with dark and light palette

Are there any issues specifically with fusion on Windows 10? If not, and seeing as you're also dropping support for older Windows versions(good riddance), I don't see why you would bother with supporting anything but fusion going forward on both W10 and W11.

[xavier2k6]

Are there any issues specifically with fusion on Windows 10?

Again none observed & as I've pointed out numerous times in other tickets...it has other benefits!

---

Qt have been suggesting/recommending fusion even since Qt5 especially for High DPI Support as I mentioned in https://github.com/qbittorrent/qBittorrent/issues/13603#issuecomment-768308736

High DPI Support in Qt

While the macOS style fully supports high-DPI, the Windows desktop style currently has some limitations with certain scale factors. In these cases, consider using the Fusion style instead, which supports high-DPI in all cases.

ref: https://doc.qt.io/qt-5/highdpi.html#:~:text=Windows%20desktop%20style%20currently%20has%20some%20limitations%20with%20certain%20scale%20factors.%20In%20these%20cases,%20consider%20using%20the%20Fusion%20style%20instead

[Hlsgs]

Thank you for all the great info. Just one more quick question: can fusion be enabled via qt.conf or does it have to be the command parameter?

[xavier2k6]

Thank you for all the great info. Just one more quick question: can fusion be enabled via qt.conf or does it have to be the command parameter?

I haven't really looked in to that, sorry.

Here's an example benefit IMO of going from Qt default (left screenshot) to fusion (right screenshot)

(Notice the checkboxes & the keyboard shortcuts)

[xavier2k6]

@Hlsgs Not only does fusion style present things properly or make the whole look & feel of qBittorrent better like I pointed out in https://github.com/qbittorrent/qBittorrent/issues/17081#issuecomment-1567470921 but it will also address another issue like "Use alternating row colors" not being displayed correctly (at least on windows 10)

Here's some more info on Qt Styles -> https://doc.qt.io/qt-6/gallery.html

@glassez Has also now created a Use Fusion style on Windows 10+ PR so it will be the default in a future release...

[Hlsgs]

@xavier2k6 Tried it and I agree. Very good to see it as default for Windows 10 as well going forward. I, however, will have to continue using a theme until 4.6.0 is out with support for removing colors from torrents' text. Many of the colors are illegible for me in dark mode and light mode is out of the question. Btw, do you think a checkbox in options to remove color from torrents with all statuses for 4.5.x as a stop-gap solution would be something the developers would consider? Thank you again for the all the info!

[xavier2k6]

Btw, do you think a checkbox in options to remove color from torrents with all statuses for 4.5.x as a stop-gap solution would be something the developers would consider?

Not at the moment anyway.

[Lucatir]

@xavier2k6 I, however, will have to continue using a theme until 4.6.0 is out with support for removing colors from torrents' text. Many of the colors are illegible for me in dark mode and light mode is out of the question.

My comment might come a bit out of the left field, but if you, or anyone reading this, is on Windows 11 22H1 or newer, you might want to give the Fluent theme a try:

The preview image showcases both a dark and a light theme, so no worries that it mixes them in the UI. It will definitely be in a single color scheme of one's choice. 😂

Here's the link: https://github.com/witalihirsch/qBitTorrent-fluent-theme/

PS: If one wants it to look exactly like the preview image (besides the splitting of dark and light), one also needs to use the application called "Mica everywhere". Without it, it won't probably look as good. More details at the link above.

Apologies if I derailed this issue topic a bit and apologies for any unwanted emails you'll get as a notification from my necro bump. 🙏

[Solarunit]

Another vote for the internal built-in dark theme, I hope it would be a true dark theme, not an ugly grey one.

Depending on various Linux DEs in some cases it's impossible to apply a system dark theme to qbittorrent and internal dark theme is missing in the qbittorrent settings.

[masterwishx]

is builded dark mode avalible in docker from webui ?

[xavier2k6]

is builded dark mode avalible in docker from webui ?

I don't believe so, there's currently no dark mode support in WebUI.

There's a feature request open though in #18886