# Switch back to "light" mode after upgrade to 4.2? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Admin\ **Created:** [January 18, 2024, 4:08pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/switch-back-to-light-mode-after-upgrade-to-4-2/27096 "2024-01-18T16:08:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnb6262](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/johnb6262/32/16309_2.png) [@Johnb6262](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/Johnb6262)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2024, 4:08pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/switch-back-to-light-mode-after-upgrade-to-4-2/27096/1 "2024-01-18T16:08:34Z")
I just upgraded Django from 3.2 to 4.2.7 It appears that “darkula” is the default color mode now. My users would prefer the old, “light” look instead. What must I do to get that back? ---
**Author:** ![KenWhitesell](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/kenwhitesell/32/280_2.png) [@KenWhitesell](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/KenWhitesell)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2024, 4:45pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/switch-back-to-light-mode-after-upgrade-to-4-2/27096/2 "2024-01-18T16:45:37Z")
It’s only the default depending on browser settings. See the third bullet at [Django 3.2 release notes | Django documentation | Django](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/5.0/releases/3.2/#django-contrib-admin), [The Django admin site | Django documentation | Django](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/5.0/ref/contrib/admin/#admin-theming) and [prefers-color-scheme - CSS: Cascading Style Sheets | MDN](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/@media/prefers-color-scheme) ---
**Author:** ![Johnb6262](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/johnb6262/32/16309_2.png) [@Johnb6262](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/Johnb6262)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2024, 5:14pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/switch-back-to-light-mode-after-upgrade-to-4-2/27096/3 "2024-01-18T17:14:22Z")
So - I can find a setting in my Chrome browser that may do this, but it also switches everything else my browser looks at. Whereas before, my browser setting was unchanged and my Django app showed up “light” no matter what. I am an old Java backend guy and unfamiliar with CSS / HTML etc… The docs you shared have a lot of stuff about both. Is there a straightforward way to change back to “light” as it used to be or will I have to tell all my users to switch their browser settings? ---
**Author:** ![KenWhitesell](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/kenwhitesell/32/280_2.png) [@KenWhitesell](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/KenWhitesell)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2024, 5:56pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/switch-back-to-light-mode-after-upgrade-to-4-2/27096/4 "2024-01-18T17:56:19Z")
> [@Johnb6262](#): > > Whereas before, my browser setting was unchanged and my Django app showed up “light” no matter what. That is correct, because prior to 3.2, Django did not provide a dark theme for the admin. > [@Johnb6262](#): > > Is there a straightforward way to change back to “light” as it used to be If you want to completely eliminate the dark mode as an option, that’s fairly easy. You can override the css file identified by the docs ([django/contrib/admin/static/admin/css/dark\_mode.css](https://github.com/django/django/blob/main/django/contrib/admin/static/admin/css/dark_mode.css)) and remove the dark mode css (or replace it with the light mode settings, whichever ends up looking better) This is done by creating a file by the same name and directory structure (below the directory named “static” - ‘admin/css/dark\_mode.css’) in _your_ static directory so that Django finds your static file first. ---
**Author:** ![Johnb6262](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/johnb6262/32/16309_2.png) [@Johnb6262](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/Johnb6262)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2024, 8:36pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/switch-back-to-light-mode-after-upgrade-to-4-2/27096/5 "2024-01-18T20:36:15Z")
Ha! Turns out the Django devs added a button next to the logout for switching back and forth! Kudos to my Business Analyst for noticing that! I didn’t… ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/djangoproject/original/3X/4/c/4c4d93fbe22ff58e4592fb717612a31cc2ff0fcb.png) ---
**Author:** ![Johnb6262](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/johnb6262/32/16309_2.png) [@Johnb6262](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/Johnb6262)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2024, 8:38pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/switch-back-to-light-mode-after-upgrade-to-4-2/27096/6 "2024-01-18T20:38:36Z")
Thanks again Ken! You are a mensch!