When it comes to color schemes, individuals often strongly lean towards either dark or light mode; however, such a rigid preference may not be ideal. The truth revealed by those with a well-rounded perspective is simple: one should utilize light mode during daylight hours and switch to dark mode as night falls.

This concept is seamlessly integrated into macOS, which includes an Auto feature under the Appearance settings. This option enables the system to transition to dark mode at dusk. While this might suffice for users working in well-lit spaces, it doesn’t cater to everyone; numerous scenarios might lead to being in a dim environment during the day or a brightly lit one at night.

Enter DarkModeBuddy, a lightweight open-source tool designed to address these very circumstances. This application harnesses the light sensors built into every MacBook and iMac to automatically adjust the display theme based on surrounding light conditions. Best of all, it’s available for free, though donations to the developer are welcomed.

Users will find four adjustable settings within the app. The first two checkboxes allow for selecting whether DarkModeBuddy should launch at startup and if automatic theme-switching should be activated. Additionally, two sliders enable users to calibrate the light intensity that triggers dark mode—these can be fine-tuned if the automatic switch doesn’t activate at the desired moments. Furthermore, there’s an option to set a delay between the change in light and the theme switching; the default delay is one minute. Implementing a delay helps to prevent the screen from rapidly oscillating between themes during transitional times of the day.