diff --git a/web/index.html b/web/index.html
index d097f46fd4..b91e7b6b5e 100644
--- a/web/index.html
+++ b/web/index.html
@@ -14,6 +14,23 @@
     />
 
     <meta name="theme-color" content="#fff" />
+    <!-- Resolve the theme before first paint so the page never flashes light
+         and one-shot detectors (e.g. Dark Reader) see the real theme.
+         Keep in sync with ThemeProvider and THEME_STORAGE_KEYS.mode. -->
+    <script>
+      ;(function () {
+        var theme = 'system'
+        try {
+          theme = localStorage.getItem('newapi:theme:v1:mode') || 'system'
+        } catch (e) {}
+        if (theme !== 'dark' && theme !== 'light') {
+          theme = window.matchMedia('(prefers-color-scheme: dark)').matches
+            ? 'dark'
+            : 'light'
+        }
+        document.documentElement.classList.add(theme)
+      })()
+    </script>
     <!--umami-->
     <!--Google Analytics-->
   </head>
diff --git a/web/src/context/__tests__/theme-boot-script.test.ts b/web/src/context/__tests__/theme-boot-script.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..88361668b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/web/src/context/__tests__/theme-boot-script.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+/*
+Copyright (C) 2023-2026 QuantumNous
+
+This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as
+published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the
+License, or (at your option) any later version.
+
+This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
+GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+
+You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+along with this program. If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+For commercial licensing, please contact support@quantumnous.com
+*/
+import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { resolve } from 'node:path'
+
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+
+import { THEME_STORAGE_KEYS } from '@/lib/theme-storage'
+
+// The inline script in index.html must apply the theme class before React
+// mounts; Dark Reader checks `html.dark` only once while the page loads.
+const html = readFileSync(
+  resolve(import.meta.dirname, '../../../index.html'),
+  'utf8'
+)
+const bootScript = html.match(/<script>([\s\S]*?)<\/script>/)?.[1] ?? ''
+
+function runBootScript() {
+  new Function(bootScript)()
+}
+
+function mockSystemDarkMode(dark: boolean) {
+  vi.spyOn(window, 'matchMedia').mockImplementation(
+    (query: string) =>
+      ({
+        matches: dark && query === '(prefers-color-scheme: dark)',
+        media: query,
+      }) as MediaQueryList
+  )
+}
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  localStorage.clear()
+})
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  vi.restoreAllMocks()
+  localStorage.clear()
+  document.documentElement.classList.remove('light', 'dark')
+})
+
+describe('index.html theme boot script', () => {
+  it('applies the saved dark preference to html before React mounts', () => {
+    mockSystemDarkMode(false)
+    localStorage.setItem(THEME_STORAGE_KEYS.mode, 'dark')
+
+    runBootScript()
+
+    expect(document.documentElement).toHaveClass('dark')
+    expect(document.documentElement).not.toHaveClass('light')
+  })
+
+  it('applies the saved light preference even when the system is dark', () => {
+    mockSystemDarkMode(true)
+    localStorage.setItem(THEME_STORAGE_KEYS.mode, 'light')
+
+    runBootScript()
+
+    expect(document.documentElement).toHaveClass('light')
+    expect(document.documentElement).not.toHaveClass('dark')
+  })
+
+  it('follows the system dark mode when no preference is saved', () => {
+    mockSystemDarkMode(true)
+
+    runBootScript()
+
+    expect(document.documentElement).toHaveClass('dark')
+  })
+
+  it('follows the system light mode when the saved value is invalid', () => {
+    mockSystemDarkMode(false)
+    localStorage.setItem(THEME_STORAGE_KEYS.mode, 'sepia')
+
+    runBootScript()
+
+    expect(document.documentElement).toHaveClass('light')
+  })
+})
diff --git a/web/src/styles/theme.css b/web/src/styles/theme.css
index 1eaf75768d..8966c4fc9d 100644
--- a/web/src/styles/theme.css
+++ b/web/src/styles/theme.css
@@ -179,6 +179,9 @@ For commercial licensing, please contact support@quantumnous.com
 }
 
 .dark {
+  /* Native controls follow the theme; Dark Reader also reads this to detect
+     the built-in dark theme. */
+  color-scheme: dark;
   /* OpenAI-like dark mode with a crisp charcoal canvas. */
   --background: oklch(0.235 0 0);
   --foreground: oklch(0.965 0 0);