The Dark Mode Toggle Problem
Every dark mode guide tells you to turn it on. None of them solve the problem of remembering to turn it off in the morning.
I'd wake up, start working in a bright room, forget dark mode was on, and spend an hour with low-contrast text before realizing why my eyes were straining.
The fix should be automation, not discipline.
NightOwl
NightOwl is a Firefox extension that automatically schedules dark mode based on your local sunset and sunrise times.
How it works:
- Uses your geographic location (or a manual location you set) to calculate local sunset time
- Activates dark mode at sunset, deactivates at sunrise
- Optional: set a fixed custom schedule instead (e.g., 9pm–7am)
- Applies to all websites, works completely offline
AMO: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/nightowl1/
Why Sunset Time?
Sunset is the natural transition point for reducing screen brightness. It's location-aware — 6:30pm in July is still bright in London, but sunset in Helsinki might be 3pm in December.
Using sunset/sunrise means your schedule adjusts automatically as seasons change. You set it once, forget it.
Custom Schedule vs. Automatic
Some workflows don't match nature. Late-night writers and early-morning photographers have different needs.
NightOwl supports both:
- Automatic: sunset to sunrise, location-based
- Custom: pick exact on/off times that match your schedule
How I Use It
I work from 8am to 6pm. My configuration:
- Auto sunset mode: on
- Override: enabled — extends until 11pm even in summer
This means dark mode always kicks in before I wind down for the evening, regardless of season.
Compared to OS Dark Mode Scheduling
Windows and macOS have built-in sunset scheduling, but they're system-wide. NightOwl is browser-specific — which matters if you prefer light system UI but darker browser (common for designers and developers who want accurate color rendering in apps but reduced eye strain while reading web content).
Free Firefox extension. No account, no cloud, no tracking.
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