Flutter Themes: Light and Dark Mode Switching

Modern mobile users expect applications to support both light and dark themes. Whether it’s to reduce eye strain, conserve battery, or simply for aesthetic preference, theme switching is now a must-have feature. Fortunately, Flutter makes it incredibly easy to implement light and dark mode themes across your application using its flexible theming system.

In this blog, we’ll explore how to implement light and dark theme switching in a Flutter app, including setup, switching logic, persistent storage, and best practices.


Why Support Light and Dark Modes?

Supporting both modes enhances user experience:

Improves readability in low-light conditions

Saves battery (especially on OLED screens)

Adapts to user system preferences

Modern design expectation in both Android and iOS apps

Flutter allows dynamic theme switching at runtime without needing a full app restart, which makes it ideal for seamless user experiences.


Step 1: Define Your Themes

Start by defining light and dark ThemeData objects in your main.dart or a separate theme file.


dart
final ThemeData lightTheme = ThemeData(
  brightness: Brightness.light,
  primarySwatch: Colors.blue,
  scaffoldBackgroundColor: Colors.white,
  appBarTheme: AppBarTheme(
    backgroundColor: Colors.blue,
    foregroundColor: Colors.white,
  ),
);


final ThemeData darkTheme = ThemeData(

  brightness: Brightness.dark,

  primarySwatch: Colors.deepPurple,

  scaffoldBackgroundColor: Colors.black,

  appBarTheme: AppBarTheme(

    backgroundColor: Colors.black,

    foregroundColor: Colors.white,

  ),

);


Step 2: Set Up Theme Switching with Provider

Use state management to toggle themes. A common choice is the provider package:


yaml

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Edit

dependencies:

  flutter:

    sdk: flutter

  provider: ^6.0.0

Create a ThemeProvider class:


dart

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class ThemeProvider extends ChangeNotifier {

  bool isDarkMode = false;


  ThemeMode get currentTheme => isDarkMode ? ThemeMode.dark : ThemeMode.light;


  void toggleTheme(bool isOn) {

    isDarkMode = isOn;

    notifyListeners();

  }

}

In your main.dart:


dart

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void main() {

  runApp(

    ChangeNotifierProvider(

      create: (_) => ThemeProvider(),

      child: const MyApp(),

    ),

  );

}


class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {

  const MyApp();


  @override

  Widget build(BuildContext context) {

    final themeProvider = Provider.of<ThemeProvider>(context);


    return MaterialApp(

      title: 'Flutter Theme Switch',

      theme: lightTheme,

      darkTheme: darkTheme,

      themeMode: themeProvider.currentTheme,

      home: const HomePage(),

    );

  }

}


Step 3: Add the Toggle Switch

Inside your UI (like a settings page or app bar menu), add a switch to toggle themes:


dart

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Switch(

  value: themeProvider.isDarkMode,

  onChanged: (value) {

    themeProvider.toggleTheme(value);

  },

)

This allows users to switch between light and dark themes instantly.


Step 4: Persist User Choice

To retain theme preference across sessions, use shared_preferences:


yaml

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dependencies:

  shared_preferences: ^2.2.0

In your ThemeProvider, update to:


dart

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Edit

Future<void> toggleTheme(bool isOn) async {

  isDarkMode = isOn;

  notifyListeners();

  final prefs = await SharedPreferences.getInstance();

  await prefs.setBool('isDarkMode', isDarkMode);

}


Future<void> loadThemePreference() async {

  final prefs = await SharedPreferences.getInstance();

  isDarkMode = prefs.getBool('isDarkMode') ?? false;

  notifyListeners();

}

Call loadThemePreference() during provider initialization.


Best Practices

Respect system preferences using MediaQuery.of(context).platformBrightness.

Test theme responsiveness across widgets and screens.

Customize colors for better contrast and accessibility.

Avoid hard-coded colors; use Theme.of(context).colorScheme instead.


Final Thoughts

Adding light and dark mode switching in Flutter is not only easy but also elevates your app’s user experience. By defining clean ThemeData, managing state with a provider, and saving user preferences with shared_preferences, you can offer a polished and modern UI that adapts to your users’ needs — day or night


Learn : Master Flutter Development with Expert Training

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