Want to swap between dark and light mode quickly on Windows 11? Here's how to add the option to the context menu.

Windows 11 includes a light and dark mode setting you can switch between. This setting applies two alternative color schemes to apps and the Windows taskbar and Start menu.

The usual way to change those options is to click Custom on the Choose your mode drop-down menu in Settings’ Personalization tab. However, if you want to make those dark and light mode options more accessible, you can add them to the desktop context menu in Windows 11 with these methods.

The desktop context menu is somewhere you can add many useful options, but Windows doesn’t include any built-in settings for customizing it. You can, however, add dark/light mode options to the context menu by setting up registry scripts. This is how you can add a Windows dark/light mode setting to the desktop’s right-click menu with a registry script.

Now try out the new Windows mode context menu option. Right-click a part of your desktop and select Show more options. Move the cursor over the Windows mode submenu, and select a Light or Dark option there. That option changes the color scheme of the taskbar and Start menu.

You can add a dark/light App mode option to the context menu with a registry script much the same as a Windows mode one. However, you’ll need to copy and paste a different registry script code for it into Notepad. Follow the instructions above, but input this code in Notepad instead:

Double-click the App mode registry script file to add its option to the desktop’s right-click menu. Then you’ll also see an App mode option on the classic context menu. You can change UWP apps’ color schemes with that option. For example, Settings will have a white background if you select Light.

If you’re wondering how you can remove those dark/light mode options from the context menu, you’ll need to delete their keys from the registry. This is how you can erase their registry keys.

Winaero Tweaker is an excellent freeware program for customizing Windows 11’s context menu. It includes an option with which you can easily add Windows and app dark/light mode options to the context menu. You can add dark/light mode options to the right-click menu with Winaero Tweaker like this.

Check out the new dark/light mode options on Windows 11’s right-click context menu. Winaero Tweaker adds Windows mode and App mode options to the classic context menu much the same as the registry scripts. The only difference is that you’ll find those settings at the top, not the bottom, of the classic context menu.

You can remove those options within Winaero Tweaker. To do so, click Reset this page to default within the App Mode option. Or you can manually deselect the checkboxes there.

Adding dark/light mode options to the context menu will enable you to change Windows 11’s color scheme directly from the desktop. It’s much more convenient to have those options available there whenever you want to change them. Note that the above methods for adding dark/light mode options to the context menu will also work in Windows 10.

Jack has been a freelance tech journalist for more than a decade. He has covered Windows Vista, 7, 10, and 11 topics within a multitude of guides for MakeUseOf and numerous other websites.

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