Theme Token System
The site-wide design language: Material 3 roles, two looks, light and dark.
What it is
The visual identity in code: Material 3 color roles generated from one seed, a Material and a Glass look, and a light and dark scheme that switch on two data attributes. Every non-Tailwind surface styles itself from these tokens.
Take it with you
The real, committed source behind this system. Copy it or download the file. Plus a portable spec of everything on this page.
The theme token object (T), now var() references to the Material 3 roles, plus the alpha() helper. Drop in and theme with var(--md-sys-color-*) or T.*.
// ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
// DESIGN TOKENS: the T object over the theme contract
// ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
//
// Every color is a CSS custom property from src/styles/theme/tokens.css
// (generated by scripts/theme/build-tokens.mjs), never a hex. The roles flip
// with data-theme (light | dark) and the container fills and fonts with
// data-look (material | glass), so an inline style written with T follows the
// theme the reader picked. The legacy keys (bg0, tx3, red, ...) are kept so
// the 400-odd importers did not have to change; their mapping onto Material
// roles is the table in docs/design/theme-system.md. New code should prefer
// the role keys (T.primary, T.onSurface, ...).
//
// Code that needs a resolved color (Canvas2D, WebGL, three.js) goes through
// src/lib/theme/resolve.js, never by parsing these strings.
const role = (name) => `var(--md-sys-color-${name})`;
const fill = (n) => `var(--sys-surface-fill-${n})`;
export const T = {
// Surfaces (fills are translucent under the Glass look)
bg0: role("surface"),
bg1: fill(1),
bg2: fill(2),
bg3: fill(3),
// Card
card: fill(0),
border: role("outline-variant"),
borderH: role("outline"),
// Text
tx: role("on-surface"),
tx2: role("on-surface-variant"),
tx3: role("outline"), // 3:1 on the surface: labels and rules, never body text
tx4: role("text-faint"),
tx5: role("outline-variant"),
// The three accents (the former red / blue / yellow triad)
red: role("primary"),
blue: role("secondary"),
yellow: role("tertiary"),
orange: role("warning"),
warnText: role("on-warning-container"),
// Content clusters (extended roles, harmonized to the seed)
ai: role("ai"),
games: role("games"),
writing: role("writing"),
govtech: role("govtech"),
other: role("outline"),
// Status
live: role("success"),
wip: role("warning"),
dim: role("outline-variant"),
// Material roles, by name
primary: role("primary"),
onPrimary: role("on-primary"),
primaryContainer: role("primary-container"),
onPrimaryContainer: role("on-primary-container"),
secondary: role("secondary"),
onSecondary: role("on-secondary"),
secondaryContainer: role("secondary-container"),
onSecondaryContainer: role("on-secondary-container"),
tertiary: role("tertiary"),
onTertiary: role("on-tertiary"),
tertiaryContainer: role("tertiary-container"),
onTertiaryContainer: role("on-tertiary-container"),
error: role("error"),
onError: role("on-error"),
errorContainer: role("error-container"),
onErrorContainer: role("on-error-container"),
success: role("success"),
warning: role("warning"),
info: role("info"),
surface: role("surface"),
surfaceVariant: role("surface-variant"),
inverseSurface: role("inverse-surface"),
inverseOnSurface: role("inverse-on-surface"),
scrim: role("scrim"),
shadow: role("shadow"),
// Fonts: the look picks the family (Roboto for Material, Geist for Glass)
ff: "var(--font-display), serif",
fb: "var(--font-body), sans-serif",
fm: "var(--font-mono), monospace",
};
export const FONT_KEYS = ["ff", "fb", "fm"];
/** Every key of T that is a color. */
export const COLOR_KEYS = Object.keys(T).filter((k) => !FONT_KEYS.includes(k));
// ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
// HELPERS
// ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
const HEX6 = /^#[0-9a-f]{6}$/i;
const byte = (a) =>
typeof a === "string" ? parseInt(a, 16) : Math.round(Math.max(0, Math.min(1, a)) * 255);
// alpha(color, a): `color` at opacity `a` (0..1, or a two-digit hex byte as a
// string, the legacy hex-suffix form).
//
// alpha(T.ai, 0.08) -> "color-mix(in srgb, var(--md-sys-color-ai) 8%, transparent)"
// alpha("#5b5bd6", 0.08) -> "#5b5bd614" (a resolved hex keeps the hex form,
// so canvas code and React Native work)
export const alpha = (color, a) => {
const b = Math.max(0, Math.min(255, byte(a)));
if (HEX6.test(color)) return `${color}${b.toString(16).padStart(2, "0")}`;
return `color-mix(in srgb, ${color} ${Math.round((b / 255) * 100)}%, transparent)`;
};
Where it lives
- src/lib/tokens.js
- src/styles/globals.css
See it in action
Architecture map →FAQ
How does dark mode work?
The scheme switches via a data-theme attribute on the document and the look via data-look, both persisted in local storage; tokens resolve to the right values automatically.