Dark Mode in Next JS 13 App Directory with TailwindCSS (for beginners)

Dark mode has become a popular feature in modern web applications. In this article, we will explore how to implement dark mode in a Next JS 13 app directory using TailwindCSS. This tutorial is aimed at beginners who are looking to enhance the user experience of their web applications by adding a dark mode feature.

Getting Started

First, make sure you have Next JS 13 and TailwindCSS installed in your project. If not, you can install them using the following commands:


npx create-next-app@latest my-app
cd my-app
npm install tailwindcss


Once you have Next JS 13 and TailwindCSS installed, you can start implementing the dark mode feature in your app.

Implementing Dark Mode

The first step is to create a dark mode utility class in your TailwindCSS configuration file. Open the tailwind.config.js file and add the following code:


module.exports = {
theme: {
extend: {
colors: {
dark: {
100: '#1a202c',
200: '#2d3748',
300: '#4a5568',
400: '#718096',
500: '#a0aec0',
600: '#cbd5e0',
700: '#e2e8f0',
800: '#f7fafc',
900: '#f7fafc',
},
},
},
},
}


This will create a set of dark mode colors that you can use in your application. Next, you need to create a toggle button to switch between light mode and dark mode. You can do this by adding the following HTML and CSS to your project:

This will create a toggle button with a switch that can be used to change the color scheme of your app. Finally, you need to write some JavaScript to add functionality to the toggle button. You can do this by adding the following code to the script section of your HTML file:

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we learned how to implement dark mode in a Next JS 13 app directory using TailwindCSS. By following these steps, you can enhance the user experience of your web application and provide a more immersive and comfortable experience for your users. Remember, dark mode isn’t just a trend – it’s an important accessibility feature that can benefit a wide range of users. So go ahead and give it a try in your own projects!