GitHub Pitch Black Theme

A zero-latency, native Pitch Black theme for GitHub.

Unlike style managers or JavaScript-based themes, this is a native browser extension: pure CSS, injected at document_start. No flash of unstyled content, no runtime overhead, no JavaScript execution at all.

Features

• True Pitch Black — replaces GitHub's default dark tint (#0d1117) with pure #000000
• Neutral Palette — desaturated borders, buttons, and text for a clean, distraction-free look
• High Contrast UI — lighter surfaces (#161616) for inputs, dropdowns, and buttons to preserve visual hierarchy
• Zero Latency — pure CSS content script, applied before first paint
• Privacy First — no JavaScript, no analytics, no network calls, no background processes
• 51 Languages — the listing and extension manager entry are localized; the theme itself works in any GitHub UI language

Install

Browser	Source
Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera, Vivaldi, Arc	Chrome Web Store
Firefox	Firefox Add-ons
Safari	Build from source — not yet on the App Store

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/ztrahmet/github-theme-pitch-black.git
cd github-theme-pitch-black
npm run build:chrome   # or build:firefox / build:safari / build:all

Each target is built independently from the same src/ files into dist/<browser>/. Load it unpacked:

Browser	Steps
Chrome / Edge / Brave / Opera / Vivaldi / Arc	chrome://extensions → enable Developer mode → Load unpacked → select dist/chrome
Firefox	about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox → Load Temporary Add-on → select dist/firefox/manifest.json
Safari	requires macOS + Xcode: xcrun safari-web-extension-converter dist/safari, then build/run the generated project from Xcode

Nightly builds

Every push to main is packaged by GitHub Actions. Downloading an artifact gives you a zip containing the extension's own zip — GitHub always wraps artifacts — so unzip twice, then load the inner one as above.

Customization

1. Edit src/css/theme.css, the single source file shared by every browser build.
2. Run npm install once, then re-run the relevant npm run build:* command.
3. Reload the extension from your browser's extension page and refresh GitHub.

Development

Project structure

src/css/theme.css           single source of truth for the theme
src/icons/icon.svg          icon artwork; everything else here is generated
src/_locales/<locale>/      extension name and description, 51 locales
scripts/icons.mjs           regenerates the icon set from icon.svg
platforms/<browser>/        per-browser manifest.json (chrome, firefox, safari)
scripts/build.mjs           assembles dist/<browser> from src/ + platforms/<browser>
preview.svg                 README preview, drawn from the palette
store-assets/               screenshots and store listing assets
dist/                       build output (gitignored)

Commands

Command	Output
npm run build:chrome / build:firefox / build:safari / build:all	Unpacked build in dist/<browser>/, for local testing
npm run package:chrome / package:firefox / package:all	Zipped store package in dist/artifacts/<browser>/*.zip
npm run lint:firefox	Runs web-ext lint against the Firefox build (AMO validation)
npm run icons	Regenerates src/icons/* from icon.svg; run after changing the artwork

Safari has no package:safari script — the Mac App Store requires a signed, notarized Xcode archive rather than a .zip, so packaging there is the xcrun step above followed by a submission through Xcode/App Store Connect.

Translations

Only the name and description are translated. The theme is language-agnostic — every selector keys off structural attributes and Primer class names, never visible text — so GitHub's UI language never affects it.

Each locale is one file, src/_locales/<locale>/messages.json, defining extName and extDescription. scripts/build.mjs enforces what the stores require:

• Chrome's supported locale list. Chrome rejects codes outside it at upload; Firefox and Safari accept everything in it, so one list serves all three.
• Every locale defines every key, including the identical extName. The browser would fall back to the default locale, but the Chrome Web Store rejects a package whose listing field is missing from any locale — and web-ext lint does not catch it.
• 132 characters per description, Chrome's cap, which several translations approach.

Translations are machine-written; only Turkish has been checked by a native speaker. Corrections are the easiest way to contribute — one file, and a complete pull request.

Safari's containing app takes its display name from InfoPlist.strings / CFBundleDisplayName instead, set during the xcrun step above.

Contributing

Found a UI element that's still blue or lacks contrast? Spotted an awkward translation in your language? Contributions are welcome.

1. Fork the project
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/fix-button-color)
3. Commit your changes
4. Push to the branch
5. Open a pull request

License

Distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.