Get rid of Dark Reader's Global Dark Sites List [Firefox Guide]
The Problem with Dark Reader's Default Settings
Dark Reader is a fantastic browser addon that applies dark mode to websites automatically. However, it comes with a significant limitation: a built-in list of websites where Dark Reader intentionally disables itself. This "global dark sites list" contains over 1,200 entries for websites that supposedly have native dark themes.
The problem? This list often causes more harm than good. Many of these sites don't actually have functional dark themes, their dark mode implementation is incomplete, or the dark theme gets broken in site updates and the global dark sites list doesn't reflect the change until someone reports it and the Dark Reader devs get around to editing the list, and you update the extension to get the new list. The result is a situation where Dark Reader randomly refuses to work, leaving you with blinding white sections of the page. Seriously, why is this "feature" even a thing?
The solution is simple (for power users at least): empty the dark sites list entirely, forcing Dark Reader to apply dark mode to every website consistently.
In this post, I'll explain How to Disable/Delete Dark Reader's Built-in Dark Sites List completely by editing the addon file itself. There currently seems to be no other way to do this.
What You'll Need
To follow this guide, you need a Firefox variant that allows you to disable addon signing checks, for example:
- FireDragon (this is what I'm using)
- Firefox ESR (Extended Support Release)
- Firefox Developer Edition
- Firefox Nightly
- Librewolf
- Waterfox
Standard Firefox doesn't allow this modification unfortunately.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Locate the Dark Reader Extension File
The Dark Reader addon files are stored in your Firefox profile directory. Open your file manager and navigate to:
On Linux:
On Windows:
Note: Replace [Firefox-Variant] with the appropriate directory name (e.g., firedragon for FireDragon, librewolf for Librewolf, etc.). The [your-profile] part is typically something like default or a random string of characters—if you only have one profile, there's usually only one folder to look in.
Look for the file named:
addon@darkreader.org.xpi
This is the Dark Reader addon file.
Step 2: Open the .xpi Archive
The .xpi file is simply a ZIP archive with a different extension. To open it:
- Right-click on
addon@darkreader.org.xpi - Select "Open With" → Archive Manager (or your preferred archive application like Ark, File Roller, or 7-Zip)
- The addon will open like a regular folder, showing you all the files inside
Step 3: Find and Edit the Dark Sites List
Navigate to the following path within the archive:
config/dark-sites.config
This file contains the list of approximately 1,274 website URL patterns where Dark Reader is disabled. Each line represents one website pattern.
- Right-click on
dark-sites.config - Select "Open With" → Text Editor (use a simple text editor like gedit, Kate, or Mousepad)
- Select all the text (Ctrl+A)
- Delete everything to completely empty the file
- Save the file (Ctrl+S)
- Close the text editor
Back in your archive manager, you should see a prompt asking whether you want to update the .xpi file with the changes. Click "Yes" to save your modifications back into the addon file.
Important: Different archive managers may handle this differently. If yours doesn't ask to update, you may need to manually save or export the modified archive. The key is ensuring that the empty dark-sites.config file is saved back into the .xpi file.
Step 4: Allow Unsigned Addons in Your Browser
Because you've modified Dark Reader, Firefox will no longer recognize it as a signed addon (standard Firefox doesn't allow this). You need to disable the signature requirement in your browser settings.
- Open a new tab and type
about:configin the address bar - Press Enter
- You may see a warning about entering the advanced settings area—click "Accept the Risk and Continue"
- In the search box, type:
xpinstall.signatures.required - You should see one entry appear
- Click the toggle button on the right side to change it from
truetofalse
The setting should now show as disabled.
Step 5: Reinstall the Modified Addon
Now you need to reinstall the modified Dark Reader extension:
- Open your file manager and navigate back to the extensions folder:
~/.config/[Firefox-Variant]/[your-profile].default/extensions/ - Drag the modified
addon@darkreader.org.xpifile into a Firefox window (or use the addon installation interface) - Firefox should prompt you to install the addon—click "Add" to confirm
Step 6: Restart Your Browser (probably optional)
Close and reopen Firefox completely to ensure all changes take effect. I edited the .xpi file while it was open and in use in FireDragon, which was probably not the best idea, so I restarted after replacing it. It's fine though.
That's it!
Once you've restarted Firefox, test Dark Reader on a website you know has a poor or missing native dark theme. You should now see Dark Reader's dark mode applied to the entire page, with no white sections or exceptions.
By emptying the dark sites list, you gain consistent, predictable dark mode across all websites. Yes, this means some websites with genuinely good native dark themes will also get the Dark Reader treatment (which may look slightly different), but this is far less annoying than the random gaps in coverage you get with the default list.
Bonus: If a particular website looks terrible with Dark Reader applied, you can always add a site-specific exception directly in Dark Reader's settings, which is much more flexible than being stuck with a pre-determined list.
Hopefully someday the Dark Reader devs will allow this list to be overridden in a more user-friendly way.
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Posted in: Technology by admin on October 23, 2026 @ 7:24 am