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How to Set a Dark Color Scheme for Playwright Screenshots

Set Playwright’s emulated color scheme to dark before capturing, at the test, context, or page scope. Learn which option to use and why some sites still appear light.
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To capture a Playwright page in dark mode, emulate prefers-color-scheme: dark before taking the screenshot. Set colorScheme: 'dark' in Playwright Test configuration or a browser context, or call page.emulateMedia({ colorScheme: 'dark' }) for an individual page. The site must have dark-mode styles or application behavior that responds to this preference; Playwright does not redesign a light-only site.

Choose where to set dark mode

Pick the scope that matches how broadly and when the preference should apply. Playwright’s emulation API sets the browser’s prefers-color-scheme media feature, which lets compatible site CSS and application code choose dark styling. See the Playwright emulation guide.

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Scope Setting Use it when
Test configuration use: { colorScheme: 'dark' } Tests using that configuration should start with dark preference.
One test test.use({ colorScheme: 'dark' }) You want the preference for a particular test.
One browser context browser.newContext({ colorScheme: 'dark' }) Pages created in that context should inherit the preference.
One page or mid-test change page.emulateMedia({ colorScheme: 'dark' }) You need to set or change the preference on an individual page.

The Playwright Page API documents light and dark as supported values. Passing null disables color-scheme emulation; no-preference is deprecated. The method has been available since Playwright v1.9. See the Page API reference.

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Set dark mode in Playwright Test

For a project-wide or configuration-wide setting, add colorScheme to the use options in your Playwright Test configuration:

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import { defineConfig } from '@playwright/test';

export default defineConfig({
  use: {
    colorScheme: 'dark',
  },
});

To limit it to one test file or test scope, use test.use():

import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';

test.use({ colorScheme: 'dark' });

test('renders the dark theme', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('/');
  await expect(page).toHaveScreenshot('dark-mode.png');
});

Use the configuration option when the preference should be established consistently for tests under that configuration; use test.use() when the dark preference belongs to a narrower test scope. The configuration options are documented in Playwright Configuration (use).

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Set dark mode for a context or page

Apply it to pages in one context

When creating a context directly, pass the option to browser.newContext(). Pages created from that context inherit its emulated preference:

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const context = await browser.newContext({ colorScheme: 'dark' });
const page = await context.newPage();

await page.goto('https://example.com');
await page.screenshot({ path: 'dark-mode.png' });

Change it on an individual page

Call page.emulateMedia() before the capture. This is useful when the same test needs to switch between light and dark, or when only one page needs the setting:

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await page.goto('https://example.com');
await page.emulateMedia({ colorScheme: 'dark' });
await page.screenshot({ path: 'dark-mode.png' });

For screenshot assertions, apply the emulation before the assertion as well:

await page.goto('/');
await page.emulateMedia({ colorScheme: 'dark' });
await expect(page).toHaveScreenshot('dark-mode.png');

What dark-scheme emulation does—and does not do

Playwright reports a dark preferred color scheme to the page. For example, CSS inside @media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) can then be selected. If a site has no dark styles or does not otherwise respond to that preference, the screenshot can remain light. Emulation does not automatically recolor every page.

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Some applications use their own theme control, saved preference, or application state instead of following the system color-scheme media feature. In that case, set the application’s theme as well as the Playwright preference, using the mechanism that application actually supports. That extra step is site-specific, not a universal Playwright requirement.

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Troubleshoot a screenshot that still looks light

  • Confirm the setting is applied before capture. Put colorScheme: 'dark' in the relevant configuration or context, or await page.emulateMedia({ colorScheme: 'dark' }) before the screenshot call.
  • Check how the site selects its theme. If its dark CSS uses prefers-color-scheme, dark emulation should let that CSS match. If the site uses a manual toggle or stored application setting, enable that separately.
  • Check the actual page and test scope. A setting on one context or test does not establish that every independently created page or test uses the same scope; configure the context or test where the capture occurs.
  • Do not assume identical pixels across browser engines. The API reference describes the emulated media feature, not a guarantee of pixel-identical rendering across engines.
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Or skip the browser setup

ScreenshotNeo is a website screenshot API and MCP server. A single request can return a screenshot or PDF; its dark-mode option can be used when you want a dark capture without managing a Playwright browser yourself. See the ScreenshotNeo documentation for API options.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I turn off color-scheme emulation?

Yes. The Page API documents passing null to disable color-scheme emulation; no-preference is deprecated.

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Does Playwright’s dark setting force every website to use a dark theme?

No. It emulates the dark preferred color scheme. The page’s CSS or application logic must respond to that preference.

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