Coding on WHITE Backgrounds

I still can’t get over how people code with a white background. It’s one of those things that continues to baffle me, even after years of seeing it as the default in so many tools. Sure, for quick edits—like tweaking a file in GitHub or reviewing a merge request in GitLab—it’s fine. But when it comes to sitting down and actually writing or debugging code, a bright white editor just feels wrong. It’s harsh on the eyes, especially during long sessions or in low-light environments, and it often leads to more strain and fatigue than necessary.

There’s something about dark themes that feels more natural in the context of coding. The contrast is softer, syntax highlighting pops in a more readable way, and the overall visual hierarchy tends to be clearer. Perhaps it’s also just what I’m used to—decades of coding in dark editors like VS Code, Sublime, or even Vim—but it’s also a matter of ergonomics. I’ve tried switching back to light themes a few times, thinking maybe it’s just a preference I’ve conditioned myself into… and every time, I’ve quickly abandoned the idea with slightly squintier eyes.

Interestingly though, I wouldn’t write a Word document with a black background. There’s clearly a contextual difference—when writing prose or working on presentations, light backgrounds feel more familiar and more “correct” in a way. Maybe it’s cultural or psychological—documents have historically been on paper, and paper is white. But code, at least for me, lives in a different visual space. It’s more matrix than manuscript. When I open a dark-themed terminal with green or orange text, it feels like home.

Below is just a snippet of code from LangChain—displayed in the typical white GitHub interface—as a reference point. It’s perfectly readable, sure, but imagine staring at that for eight hours a day. Give me a dark theme, a monospaced font, and some carefully tuned syntax colors any day. Maybe I’m in the minority, or maybe it’s just a generational thing, but for now, I’ll continue squinting in confusion at anyone who prefers coding in bright, blinding light.