mkdocs-material/docs/setup/changing-the-colors.md

template
overrides/main.html

Changing the colors

As any proper Material Design implementation, Material for MkDocs supports Google's original color palette, which can be easily configured through mkdocs.yml. Furthermore, colors can be customized with a few lines of CSS to fit your brand's identity by using CSS variables.

Configuration

Color palette

Color scheme

:octicons-file-code-24: Source · :octicons-milestone-24: Default: default

Material for MkDocs supports two color schemes: a light mode, which is just called default, and a dark mode, which is called slate. The color scheme can be set via mkdocs.yml:

theme:
  palette:
    scheme: default

:material-cursor-default-click-outline: Click on a tile to change the color scheme:

default slate

The color scheme can also be set based on user preference, which makes use of the prefers-color-scheme media query, by setting the value in mkdocs.yml to preference:

theme:
  palette:
    scheme: preference

Primary color

:octicons-file-code-24: Source · :octicons-milestone-24: Default: indigo

The primary color is used for the header, the sidebar, text links and several other components. In order to change the primary color, set the following value in mkdocs.yml to a valid color name:

theme:
  palette:
    primary: indigo

:material-cursor-default-click-outline: Click on a tile to change the primary color:

red pink purple deep purple indigo blue light blue cyan teal green light green lime yellow amber orange deep orange brown grey blue grey black white

Accent color

:octicons-file-code-24: Source · :octicons-milestone-24: Default: indigo

The accent color is used to denote elements that can be interacted with, e.g. hovered links, buttons and scrollbars. It can be changed in mkdocs.yml by choosing a valid color name:

theme:
  palette:
    accent: indigo

:material-cursor-default-click-outline: Click on a tile to change the accent color:

red pink purple deep purple indigo blue light blue cyan teal green light green lime yellow amber orange deep orange

---

!!! warning "Accessibility – not all color combinations work well"

With __2__ (color schemes) __x 21__ (primary colors) __x 17__ (accent color)
= __714__ combinations, it's impossible to ensure that all configurations
provide a good user experience (e.g. _yellow on light background_). Make
sure that the color combination of your choosing provides enough contrast
and tweak CSS variables where necessary.

Color palette toggle

:octicons-file-code-24: Source · :octicons-beaker-24: Experimental · :octicons-heart-fill-24:{: .tx-heart } Insiders only{: .tx-insiders }

Material for MkDocs Insiders makes it possible to define multiple color palettes, including a scheme, primary and accent color each, and let the user choose. Define them via mkdocs.yml:

theme:
  palette:
    - scheme: default
      primary: indigo
      accent: indigo
      toggle:
        icon: material/toggle-switch
        name: Switch to light mode
    - scheme: slate
      primary: blue
      accent: blue
      toggle:
        icon: material/toggle-switch-off-outline
        name: Switch to dark mode

The toggle field allows to specify an icon and name for each palette. The toggle is rendered next to the search bar and will cycle through all defined color palettes:

icon{: #icon }

:octicons-milestone-24: Default: none · :octicons-alert-24: Required – This field must point to a valid icon path referencing any icon bundled with the theme, or the build will not succeed. Some popular combinations:

• :material-toggle-switch-off-outline: + :material-toggle-switch: – material/toggle-switch-off-outline + material/toggle-switch
• :material-weather-sunny: + :material-weather-night: – material/weather-sunny + material/weather-night
• :material-eye-outline: + :material-eye: – material/eye-outline + material/eye
• :material-lightbulb-outline: + :material-lightbulb: – material/lightbulb-outline + material/lightbulb

name{: #name }

:octicons-milestone-24: Default: none · :octicons-alert-24: Required – This field is used as the toggle's title attribute and should be set to a discernable name to improve accessibility.

Give this feature a try on the official documentation built with Material for MkDocs Insiders!

Customization

Custom colors

:octicons-file-code-24: Source · :octicons-mortar-board-24: Difficulty: easy

Material for MkDocs implements colors using CSS variables (custom properties). If you want to customize the colors beyond the palette (e.g. to use your brand-specific colors), you can add an additional stylesheet and tweak the values of the CSS variables.

Let's say you're :fontawesome-brands-youtube:{: style="color: #EE0F0F" } YouTube, and want to set the primary color to your brand's palette. Just add:

:root {
  --md-primary-fg-color:        #EE0F0F;
  --md-primary-fg-color--light: #ECB7B7;
  --md-primary-fg-color--dark:  #90030C;
}

See the file containing the color definitions for a list of all CSS variables.

Custom color schemes

:octicons-file-code-24: Source · :octicons-mortar-board-24: Difficulty: easy

Besides overriding specific colors, you can create your own, named color scheme by wrapping the definitions in the #!css [data-md-color-scheme="..."] attribute selector, which you can then set via mkdocs.yml as described in the color schemes section:

[data-md-color-scheme="youtube"] {
  --md-primary-fg-color:        #EE0F0F;
  --md-primary-fg-color--light: #ECB7B7;
  --md-primary-fg-color--dark:  #90030C;
}

Additionally, the slate color scheme defines all of it's colors via hsla color functions and deduces its colors from the --md-hue CSS variable. You can tune the slate theme with:

[data-md-color-scheme="slate"] {
  --md-hue: 210; /* [0, 360] */
}