bug/ui: Recent theme updates reduced text contrast on 'Dark' theme layout

[benitogf]

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Describe the bug

Following a recent update, the visual contrast between typed text (--main-color) and untyped text (--sub-color) on the default Dark theme has been drastically reduced.

Previously, unwritten future text had a distinct, comfortable opacity-like fade that made it easy to distinguish from active text. Now, the --sub-color renders as a much brighter grey, making all text appear at what visually feels like a flat 1 opacity. The contrast difference is now so subtle that it severely impacts readability and muscle memory tracking during fast typing.

To Reproduce

1. Set the site theme to dark.
2. Ensure flip test colors is turned off.
3. Ensure colorful mode and blind mode are turned off.
4. Start a test and observe that unwritten text lacks the distinct, muted fade it previously had, appearing almost completely solid.

Expected behavior

The default dark theme should maintain a strong, readable contrast hierarchy out of the box, with unwritten text being sufficiently dimmed/faded compared to the active text—mirroring its historical appearance before the recent color variables change.

Additional context

While this can technically be patched individually via Custom CSS, having the primary default theme suffer from flat text opacity contrast hurts the core out-of-the-box user experience for anyone who relies on a clear visual fade to track their progress.

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Current Behavior

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Expected Behavior

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Steps To Reproduce

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Environment

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[Nandith-0777]

Hey @benitogf,
I tried to reproduce this on the dark theme (not something I use day-to-day, so I don't have a strong baseline for how it used to look), and it seemed fine to me on the current build — typed text vs. untyped text still had a visible fade between them.

Would you happen to have a screenshot or recording from before the update? A before/after comparison would make it a lot easier to confirm whether this is an actual regression in the --sub-color value, or just reads differently depending on setup/monitor.

[benitogf]

I don't have a picture before the update, but its very subtle now 🥲

it was much better before the update

[fehmer]

hi @benitogf , could you share your config? (https://monkeytype.com/settings?highlight=importExport)

This is how it looks for me:

[benitogf]

{"theme":"dark","themeLight":"serika","themeDark":"serika_dark","autoSwitchTheme":false,"customTheme":false,"customThemeColors":["#323437","#e2b714","#e2b714","#646669","#2c2e31","#d1d0c5","#ca4754","#7e2a33","#ca4754","#7e2a33"],"favThemes":[],"showKeyTips":true,"smoothCaret":"medium","codeUnindentOnBackspace":false,"quickRestart":"off","punctuation":false,"numbers":false,"words":50,"time":30,"mode":"quote","quoteLength":[2],"language":"english","fontSize":1.5,"freedomMode":false,"difficulty":"normal","blindMode":false,"quickEnd":false,"caretStyle":"default","paceCaretStyle":"default","flipTestColors":false,"layout":"default","funbox":[],"confidenceMode":"off","indicateTypos":"off","compositionDisplay":"replace","timerStyle":"mini","liveSpeedStyle":"off","liveAccStyle":"off","liveBurstStyle":"off","colorfulMode":false,"randomTheme":"off","timerColor":"main","timerOpacity":"1","stopOnError":"off","deleteOnError":"off","showAllLines":false,"keymapMode":"off","keymapStyle":"staggered","keymapLegendStyle":"lowercase","keymapLayout":"overrideSync","keymapKeys":"minimal","keymapSize":1,"fontFamily":"Roboto_Mono","smoothLineScroll":false,"alwaysShowDecimalPlaces":false,"alwaysShowWordsHistory":false,"singleListCommandLine":"manual","capsLockWarning":true,"playSoundOnError":"off","playSoundOnClick":"off","soundVolume":0.5,"startGraphsAtZero":true,"showOutOfFocusWarning":true,"paceCaret":"off","paceCaretCustomSpeed":100,"repeatedPace":true,"accountChart":["on","on","on","on"],"minWpm":"off","minWpmCustomSpeed":100,"highlightMode":"letter","typedEffect":"keep","typingSpeedUnit":"wpm","ads":"result","hideExtraLetters":false,"strictSpace":false,"minAcc":"off","minAccCustom":90,"monkey":false,"repeatQuotes":"off","resultSaving":true,"oppositeShiftMode":"off","customBackground":"","customBackgroundSize":"cover","customBackgroundFilter":[0,1,1,1],"customLayoutfluid":["qwerty","dvorak","colemak"],"customPolyglot":["english","spanish","french","german"],"monkeyPowerLevel":"off","minBurst":"off","minBurstCustomSpeed":100,"burstHeatmap":false,"britishEnglish":false,"lazyMode":false,"showAverage":"off","showPb":false,"tapeMode":"off","tapeMargin":50,"maxLineWidth":0,"playTimeWarning":"off"}

here is my config

[fehmer]

Maybe try disabling your browser extensions

[benitogf]

very sorry, this was the culprit, looks ok now when its disabled