macos-lightdark-commands

On macOS, not all tools automatically adjust to toggling light and dark mode. iTerm2, tmux, and Vim, for instance, need to be told what to do.

Here's a launchd snippet and a shell script.

Install

Make sure /bin/sh (the shell that will run the script) has Full Disk Access. (In the file picker dialog, Command-Shift-G will let you type a path.)

$ make install
$ launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.schmonz.lightdark.plist

Configure

iTerm2

I don't much care for this arrangement, but it seems to work. (This repo doesn't provide anything it needs. If you only care about iTerm2, don't clone this, just follow the below steps.)

1. Download https://iterm2.com/python-api/_downloads/5d351349bb5297f76f9d4a63f2ee997b/theme.its
2. iTerm2 -> Settings -> General -> Magic: Enable Python API
3. Scripts -> Manage -> Install Python Runtime
4. Scripts -> Manage -> Import... -> your downloaded script -> AutoLaunch
5. Scripts -> Manage -> Reveal Scripts in Finder
6. Scripts folder -> AutoLaunch -> theme -> theme -> edit theme.py to specify your preferred themes

tmux

XXX

Vim

1. Use colorscheme solarized (or another scheme with light and dark variants)
2. Add autocmd VimResume * call echoraw(&t_RB) (and another for FocusGained)
3. When in dark mode, tolerate vim startup flickering as it defaults to background=light and then quickly adjusts
4. On any mode switch, tolerate vim not changing colors until you focus on it

Test

1. Open some terminals and editor sessions.
2. In System Settings -> Appearance, manually toggle between light and dark mode.
3. Observe how (and when) terminals and editor sessions notice the change.
4. Start some new terminals and editor sessions, too.