Paul Krill
Editor at Large

Bootstrap 5.3.0 emphasizes dark mode, custom colors

news
Jun 1, 20232 mins

Bootstrap 5.3.0 mobile-first web framework features a revamped core, improving support for dark mode and color mode features.

Color palette
Credit: ronstik/Shutterstock

Bootstrap 5.3.0, the latest version of the CSS, JavaScript, and HTML web framework, has arrived with an emphasis on dark mode and custom color modes.

The final stable release of this update to the mobile-first application framework was announced May 30 and can be accessed from GetBootstrap.com. In this version, Bootstrap’s core was rewritten to offer “first class” support for dark mode, which is opt-in by default. Bootstrap also now supports any number of color modes for building custom themes or more-nuanced color modes. Dark mode styles are generated via a new color-mode() Sass mixin, allowing developers to write styles specific to a particular color mode. A new _variables-dark.scss stylesheet, meanwhile, houses dark-mode-specific Sass variables. Also in Bootstrap 5.3.0:

  • A revamped color palette includes all new Sass variables, CSS variables, and utilities for setting color, background-color, and border-color.
  • Foreground and background colors have been expanded to include new secondary, tertiary, and emphasis colors, while theme colors have been expanded to include subtle background colors.
  • Link styling was improved, with new link helpers and utilities.
  • Navs have new :focus_visible styles that better match custom button focus styles.
  • CSS variable-based border-width utilities were reverted to set their property directly, as was the case prior to version 5.2.0. (This avoids inheritance issues across nested elements, including tables.)

Moving forward, plans for Bootstrap 5.4.0 call for improving the utilities API and related code. Patch releases for 5.3.x are planned to address any issues over the coming weeks.

Paul Krill

Paul Krill is editor at large at InfoWorld. Paul has been covering computer technology as a news and feature reporter for more than 35 years, including 30 years at InfoWorld. He has specialized in coverage of software development tools and technologies since the 1990s, and he continues to lead InfoWorld’s news coverage of software development platforms including Java and .NET and programming languages including JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, and Go. Long trusted as a reporter who prioritizes accuracy, integrity, and the best interests of readers, Paul is sought out by technology companies and industry organizations who want to reach InfoWorld’s audience of software developers and other information technology professionals. Paul has won a “Best Technology News Coverage” award from IDG.

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