fix(embedded): default to light theme instead of system preference by sadpandajoe · Pull Request #38644 · apache/superset

sadpandajoe · 2026-03-14T06:23:49Z

SUMMARY

Embedded dashboards were inheriting the user's OS dark/light mode preference instead of defaulting to light mode. When both default and dark themes are available via bootstrap data, ThemeController.determineInitialMode() defaults to ThemeMode.SYSTEM, which reads prefers-color-scheme from the user's OS. The SDK's setThemeMode() fires after initial render via postMessage, so the wrong theme is shown first.

Fix: Add initialMode option to ThemeControllerOptions. Embedded contexts pass ThemeMode.DEFAULT so they start in light mode. Main app behavior is unchanged (still defaults to SYSTEM when both themes exist). The SDK can still override the mode after init. Invalid initialMode values are validated with isValidThemeMode() and fall back to SYSTEM, matching the existing savedMode check.

Files changed:

packages/superset-core/src/theme/types.ts — Added initialMode?: ThemeMode to ThemeControllerOptions
src/theme/ThemeController.ts — Store and use initialMode as fallback in determineInitialMode(), with isValidThemeMode() validation
src/embedded/EmbeddedContextProviders.tsx — Pass initialMode: ThemeMode.DEFAULT
src/theme/tests/ThemeController.test.ts — 7 new tests (73/73 passing)

BEFORE/AFTER SCREENSHOTS OR ANIMATED GIF

Before: Embedded dashboard renders in dark mode if user's OS is set to dark mode, ignoring SDK theme setting.
After: Embedded dashboard renders in light mode by default. SDK setThemeMode() can still switch to dark/system.

TESTING INSTRUCTIONS

Set your OS to dark mode
Load an embedded dashboard (via the Superset Embedded SDK)
Verify the dashboard renders in light mode by default
Call setThemeMode('dark') via the SDK — verify it switches to dark mode
Call setThemeMode('system') via the SDK — verify it follows OS preference
Verify non-embedded Superset still follows system theme preference

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Has associated issue:
Required feature flags:
Changes UI
Includes DB Migration (follow approval process in SIP-59)
- Migration is atomic, supports rollback & is backwards-compatible
- Confirm DB migration upgrade and downgrade tested
- Runtime estimates and downtime expectations provided
Introduces new feature or API
Removes existing feature or API

Embedded dashboards were inheriting the user's OS dark/light mode preference instead of defaulting to light mode. Added initialMode option to ThemeControllerOptions so embedded contexts can specify their default theme mode explicitly. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

bito-code-review · 2026-03-14T06:24:00Z

Code Review Agent Run #9703f6

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Review Details

Files reviewed - 4 · Commit Range: 8437c93..8437c93
- superset-frontend/packages/superset-core/src/theme/types.ts
- superset-frontend/src/embedded/EmbeddedContextProviders.tsx
- superset-frontend/src/theme/ThemeController.ts
- superset-frontend/src/theme/tests/ThemeController.test.ts
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codeant-ai-for-open-source · 2026-03-14T06:25:03Z

Sequence Diagram

This PR adds an explicit initial mode for theme initialization so embedded dashboards start in light mode instead of inheriting OS preference. It preserves later SDK-driven theme changes after the first render.

sequenceDiagram
    participant EmbeddedApp
    participant ThemeController
    participant ThemeStorage
    participant SDK

    EmbeddedApp->>ThemeController: Initialize with initial mode default
    ThemeController->>ThemeStorage: Read saved theme mode
    ThemeStorage-->>ThemeController: No saved mode
    ThemeController->>ThemeController: Use initial mode as startup fallback
    ThemeController-->>EmbeddedApp: Apply light theme on first render
    SDK->>ThemeController: Set theme mode dark or system
    ThemeController-->>EmbeddedApp: Apply requested mode after init

Generated by CodeAnt AI

superset-frontend/src/theme/tests/ThemeController.test.ts

Co-authored-by: Joe Li <joe@preset.io>

bito-code-review · 2026-03-14T07:28:19Z

Code Review Agent Run #90c1fd

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Review Details

Files reviewed - 1 · Commit Range: 8437c93..9ef0fd9
- superset-frontend/src/theme/tests/ThemeController.test.ts
Files skipped - 0
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Pull request overview

Adds support for an explicit initial theme mode in the frontend ThemeController, and uses it to force embedded contexts to start in light/default mode rather than following OS/system preference.

Changes:

Extend ThemeController with an optional initialMode constructor option and use it when no saved mode exists.
Set embedded dashboards to initialize with ThemeMode.DEFAULT.
Add Jest coverage validating initialMode behavior and precedence relative to saved mode/system mode.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 4 out of 4 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

File	Description
superset-frontend/src/theme/ThemeController.ts	Adds `initialMode` handling in initial mode determination.
superset-frontend/src/theme/tests/ThemeController.test.ts	Adds unit tests for `initialMode` precedence and behavior.
superset-frontend/src/embedded/EmbeddedContextProviders.tsx	Forces embedded theme controller to start in `DEFAULT` mode.
superset-frontend/packages/superset-core/src/theme/types.ts	Extends `ThemeControllerOptions` with `initialMode?: ThemeMode`.

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sadpandajoe · 2026-03-15T21:24:05Z

superset-frontend/src/theme/ThemeController.ts

+    // Use explicit initial mode if provided (e.g. embedded dashboards default to light)
+    if (this.initialMode !== undefined) return this.initialMode;


Good catch — added isValidThemeMode() validation to match the savedMode check above. Also added a test for invalid initialMode fallback.

geido

This seems viable to me. The Copilot suggestions might be worth looking into. Also, curious what @msyavuz and @gabotorresruiz think about this.

msyavuz

Yeah, i think this looks sensible to me as well

Add isValidThemeMode() validation to initialMode check in determineInitialMode(), matching the existing savedMode validation on the line above. Invalid initialMode values now fall back to SYSTEM instead of being returned as-is. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

bito-code-review · 2026-03-15T22:26:18Z

Code Review Agent Run #501bfd

Actionable Suggestions - 0

Review Details

Files reviewed - 2 · Commit Range: 9ef0fd9..236723e
- superset-frontend/src/theme/ThemeController.ts
- superset-frontend/src/theme/tests/ThemeController.test.ts
Files skipped - 0
Tools
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- Detect-secrets (Secret Scanner) - ✔︎ Successful
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pull-request-size bot added the size/L label Mar 14, 2026

github-actions bot added the packages label Mar 14, 2026

codeant-ai-for-open-source bot added the size:L This PR changes 100-499 lines, ignoring generated files label Mar 14, 2026

dosubot bot added embedded global:theming Related to theming Superset labels Mar 14, 2026

sadpandajoe commented Mar 14, 2026

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superset-frontend/src/theme/tests/ThemeController.test.ts Outdated Show resolved Hide resolved

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9ef0fd9

Co-authored-by: Joe Li <joe@preset.io>

github-actions bot removed the embedded label Mar 14, 2026

Merge branch 'master' into fix-embedded-system-settings

08f7b4b

sadpandajoe requested a review from Copilot March 14, 2026 16:26

codeant-ai-for-open-source bot added size:L This PR changes 100-499 lines, ignoring generated files and removed size:L This PR changes 100-499 lines, ignoring generated files labels Mar 14, 2026

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geido approved these changes Mar 15, 2026

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geido requested a review from msyavuz March 15, 2026 11:41

msyavuz approved these changes Mar 15, 2026

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codeant-ai-for-open-source bot added size:L This PR changes 100-499 lines, ignoring generated files and removed size:L This PR changes 100-499 lines, ignoring generated files labels Mar 15, 2026

sadpandajoe force-pushed the fix-embedded-system-settings branch from f9b9b5e to 236723e Compare March 15, 2026 21:29

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fix(embedded): default to light theme instead of system preference#38644

fix(embedded): default to light theme instead of system preference#38644
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		// Use explicit initial mode if provided (e.g. embedded dashboards default to light)
		if (this.initialMode !== undefined) return this.initialMode;

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sadpandajoe commented Mar 14, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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SUMMARY

BEFORE/AFTER SCREENSHOTS OR ANIMATED GIF

TESTING INSTRUCTIONS

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

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Sequence Diagram

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