I work late. Most nights, I'm at my computer past 10pm, and the last thing I need is a bright white new tab page while I'm trying to wind down.
This is a specific problem with browser customization: you can dark-mode the browser chrome (the toolbar and menus), dark-mode most websites with an extension like Dark Reader, but your new tab page is still controlled by whatever extension (or Firefox default) you have installed.
Why New Tab Pages Don't Auto-Dark
The default Firefox new tab page does respect system dark mode — if your OS is in dark mode, Firefox's default new tab will be dark too.
But when you install a custom new tab extension, it replaces Firefox's default entirely. The extension has to implement its own dark mode detection. Many don't.
Weather & Clock Dashboard's Dark Mode
The extension uses prefers-color-scheme to detect system preference. If your OS is in dark mode (which you've probably set, since you're reading an article about night-shift computer use), the new tab opens in dark mode automatically.
It also has a manual toggle: a sun/moon icon on the new tab page. If you want to run light mode in dark mode (some people do, for specific reasons), you can override the system detection.
How This Fits Into a Night-Shift Setup
If you're managing blue light and brightness for late work:
OS dark mode + Night Shift/f.lux/Redshift — OS dark mode reduces white content; Night Shift tools shift the color temperature. These work together.
Firefox dark theme — Settings → More Colors → Dark lets you apply a dark theme to Firefox's chrome. Combined with OS dark mode, this makes the whole browser dark.
Dark Reader extension — Makes most websites dark. Aggressive but effective. Some sites look weird with it; there's a whitelist option.
Dark new tab extension — Specifically solves the new tab page problem. Without this, opening a new tab is a brief white flash even in a fully dark setup.
The combination of OS dark mode + Firefox dark theme + dark-mode new tab extension + Dark Reader covers most of the visual dark mode experience.
The Tradeoff: Consistency vs Complexity
The simplest path to dark browsing is just OS dark mode + Firefox's default new tab. This requires zero extension management.
The more comprehensive path (what I use) adds extensions for new tab (Weather & Clock Dashboard for dark new tab + weather/clocks), site-wide dark mode (Dark Reader), and optionally Night Shift/f.lux for color temperature.
Whether the complexity is worth it depends on how much time you spend at the computer at night and how much the bright flash of a light-mode page bothers you.
For me: I open a new tab often enough that having a consistently dark, information-rich new tab page is worth the installation.
Weather & Clock Dashboard, free for Firefox:
addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/weather-clock-dashboard/
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