Better SMF

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Better Dark Mode gives SMF's default Curve2 theme a polished dark appearance without replacing the theme, rewriting its layout, or turning it into something unrecognizable.

The goal is simple:


Better Dark Mode keeps the structure and behavior people already know, then adds a carefully tuned dark palette across the forum, Administration Center, menus, forms, buttons, popups, boards, topics, and other common SMF components.

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Features

• True Dark Mode for Curve2 – Reworks the default light surfaces into a coordinated dark palette instead of simply inverting colors.
• Light / Dark Toggle – Visitors can switch between light and dark mode directly from the Curve2 user bar.
• Sun and Moon Toggle Icons – Light mode displays a sun and dark mode displays a moon, making the current state easy to recognize.
• System Preference Support – Better Dark Mode can automatically follow the visitor's operating-system light/dark preference.
• Remembers Visitor Choice – Manual light/dark selections are stored in the browser and restored on future visits.
• No Theme File Editing – Better Dark Mode does not rewrite Curve2 core theme files.
• Clean Uninstall – Hooks and added files are removed cleanly when the MOD is uninstalled.

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Designed for Curve2

Better Dark Mode is not a generic color filter.

It was built and tuned specifically around SMF's Curve2 structure.

That includes dark-mode treatment for:

• Forum index and board rows
• Topic lists
• Topic view and posts
• Quick Reply and posting forms
• Input fields and selectors
• Buttons and button states
• Pagination
• Breadcrumbs
• Profile / PM / Alerts menus
• Popups and overlays
• Administration Center
• Admin navigation and active tabs
• Mobile menus
• Footer and header areas

The intent is for dark mode to feel like it could have shipped with Curve2 in the first place.

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Consistent Navigation

Curve2 normally uses several different active-state colors throughout the forum and Administration Center.

Better Dark Mode cleans that up.

Active Admin tabs, secondary tabs, and navigation states are brought into the same visual family as the main Curve2 navigation so the interface feels more consistent.

Orange remains available as an accent where it makes sense, while navigation uses a more unified selected-state style.

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Better Gallery Compatibility

Better Dark Mode includes additional compatibility polish for Better Gallery.

Gallery pages already adapt extremely well to the dark palette, but some toolbar and album-action links can inherit Curve2 or Theme Lab fallback colors that become too dim on dark backgrounds.

Better Dark Mode corrects those states so Gallery buttons remain readable in:

• Normal state
• Visited state
• Hover state
• Focus state
• Active/current state
• Disabled state

This keeps Better Gallery looking intentional instead of partially dimmed or disabled.

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Visitor Color Mode

Administrators can choose the default behavior:

• System Preference – Follow the visitor's operating-system setting.
• Light – Start visitors in Curve2's normal light appearance.
• Dark – Start visitors in Better Dark Mode.

If the visitor toggle is enabled, users can override that choice at any time.

Their preference is remembered locally in the browser.

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Lightweight by Design

Better Dark Mode intentionally stays small.

It does not try to become a theme builder.
It does not replace Curve2.
It does not add a complicated customization studio.

It does one job:


That makes it easy to install, easy to understand, and easy to maintain.

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Administration

Better Dark Mode adds its own area under:


From there you can control:

• Enable / disable Better Dark Mode
• Default color mode
• Visitor toggle visibility
• Curve / Curve2-only behavior

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Installation

Install Better Dark Mode through the normal SMF Package Manager.

After installation:

• Open Better Dark Mode settings in the Administration Center.
• Choose the default color mode.
• Enable or disable the visitor toggle.
• Enjoy Curve2 in dark mode.

No manual Curve2 edits are required.

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Compatibility

SMF: 2.1.x

Designed specifically for:

• SMF Curve2
• Curve / Curve2-derived themes where compatible

Also tested alongside other Better SMF MODs, including Better Gallery and Better Chat.

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Why Better Dark Mode?

Curve2 is still an excellent default theme.

It is familiar, lightweight, stable, and works well across SMF.

The problem is simple:

It is very bright.

Better Dark Mode solves that without asking users to give up the theme they already know.

No redesign.
No giant framework.
No learning curve.

Just Curve2 — darker, cleaner, and easier on the eyes.

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