How to Enable Dark Mode in Microsoft Edge Chromium

Microsoft Edge’s move to the Chromium rendering engine has made it a better browser in almost every respect. It displays websites smoothly, supports a large library of extensions, and feels fast and responsive. To make things even better, it also has a dark mode function.

Microsoft Edge Chromium’s dark mode goes beyond the dark theme available in the non-Chromium version of the browser. As long as websites have built-in support for a darker color scheme, it will also display them in dark mode. Let’s take a look at how to enable and use this function.

Turn on Dark Mode in Microsoft Edge Chromium

Whether you’re using Windows or macOS, Microsoft Edge Chromium’s dark mode functionality works the same on both platforms. Just like with Google Chrome, you can have the browser match the color scheme of the operating system – on Windows or macOS, Edge will appear in dark mode when the system color mode is set to Dark. But that’s not all. There is also a special option for the browser itself to always turn on dark mode.

Stage 1: Start by opening the Edge menu (click the three dots in the upper-right corner of the browser window). Next, click Settings.

Step 2: Click View in the left navigation pane.

Stage 3: Click the drop-down menu next to Theme. Select Dark to immediately switch the browser to dark mode. If you want Microsoft Edge Chromium to match the color scheme on Windows and macOS, choose System Default instead.

Note:

When enabled, the entire theme of Microsoft Edge Chromium will be rendered in dark mode with various dark tints used to identify browser elements. All sites with native support for a darker color scheme will automatically detect the browser’s color preference and load in dark mode.

However, most of the sites are not yet able to support the functionality, so you will mostly only see the browser theme rendered in dark mode.

Fortunately, Microsoft Edge Chromium comes with an experimental feature that allows the browser to forcefully render sites in dark mode. We will examine this in more detail below.

System Color Controls in Windows 10 and macOS

If you selected the System Default option in Microsoft Edge Chromium, selecting the Dark system color scheme on Windows and macOS automatically switches the browser to dark mode. This is perfect if you prefer a consistent experience across the OS and supported apps.

Windows 10

Right-click on the desktop and then select Personalize. In the Settings app that appears, click Colors and then use the menu under Choose Your Color to toggle between Light and Dark color modes for the operating system and supported apps.

You can also select Custom to manage colors separately for the operating system and supported applications.

macOS Mojave and Catalina

Go to System Preferences (Apple menu > System Preferences), then click General. Use the Appearance controls (Light, Dark, and Auto) at the top of the screen to switch between color schemes.

Select Dark to enable dark mode for all operating system and supported applications, or select Automatic to automatically enable and disable the Dark color scheme, day and night respectively.

Force Build All Sites In Dark Mode

Microsoft Edge Chromium has an experimental feature that lets you force-view all sites in dark mode. It works fine, but you’ll run into some weird inversion issues once in a while. If you don’t mind that, here’s how to enable the feature.

Fly: The following experimental feature is also available in other Chromium-based browsers

Stage 1: Medicine edge://flags/#enable-force-dark Enter in the address bar of a new tab in Microsoft Edge and then press Enter.

Step 2: Click the drop-down menu next to Force Dark Mode for Web Content, and then select Enabled.

Stage 3: Click Restart to restart the browser.

Microsoft Edge Chromium should forcibly render all sites in dark mode after that. The experimental feature works outside of the color controls found in the browser’s Settings panel; this means you can view sites in dark mode even when using the normal browser theme.

If you want to disable the feature, repeat the above steps. However, you must select Default when using the menu next to Force Dark Mode for Web Content.

Don’t Fall Over the Edge

Dark mode offers an excellent way to browse the web without blinding your eyes, especially late at night. Note that while Microsoft Edge Chromium’s dark mode is not universal, you can force dark mode almost anywhere using the experimental browser flag.

Next: Microsoft Edge Chromium is an excellent web browser. But how does it stack against Firefox? Let’s find out.