# Material UI Theming

> Guides Material UI theming and design tokens (createTheme, ThemeProvider, palette, colorSchemes, cssVariables, theme.vars, dark mode, TypeScript augmentation). Use when building or extending a theme, toggling light/dark, or aligning tokens across an app.

- Skill: `mui/material-ui-theming` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 5 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add mui/material-ui-theming`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/mui/material-ui-theming/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- License: MIT
- Author: mui (https://skillmd.com/u/mui)
- Updated: 2026-09-09
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/mui/material-ui-theming

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# Material UI theming and design tokens

Agent skill for theme creation, design tokens, light/dark, and CSS theme variables. SKILL.md is the entry; AGENTS.md is the full guide.

## When to apply

- `createTheme`, `ThemeProvider`, `useTheme`, `CssBaseline`
- `colorSchemes`, `useColorScheme`, storage / SSR behavior
- `cssVariables: true`, `theme.vars`, `applyStyles('dark', …)`
- Custom theme keys and TypeScript module augmentation

## Sections in AGENTS.md

| Area          | Topics                                                          |
| :------------ | :-------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Core setup    | Imports, provider placement, `useTheme`                         |
| Token map     | palette, typography, spacing, shape, breakpoints, components, … |
| Palette       | `main` / derived colors, `@mui/material/colors`, `mode`         |
| Color schemes | vs palette-only, hydration, `ThemeProvider` props               |
| CSS variables | `cssVariables`, reserved `vars`, flicker avoidance              |
| Composition   | Multi-step `createTheme`, `deepmerge`, nesting providers        |
| Custom tokens | Augmenting `Theme` / `ThemeOptions`                             |

## Full guide

Read [AGENTS.md](./AGENTS.md) for the complete instructions and links.

TypeScript snippets: [reference.md](./reference.md).

