Bootstrap v5.3.5 was released as a hotfix for a regression from upstream in Autoprefixer that caused floating form labels to always be “floated” in Firefox due to unintended CSS output.
Read the GitHub v5.3.5 changelog for a full list of changes (including a ton of documentation and dependency updates) in this release.
Bootstrap v5.3.3 is here with bug fixes, documentation improvements, and more follow-up enhancements for color modes. Keep reading for the highlights!
Highlights
Fixed a breaking change introduced with color modes where it was required to manually import variables-dark.scss when building Bootstrap with Sass. Now, _variables.scss will automatically import _variables-dark.scss. If you were already importing _variables-dark.scss manually, you should keep doing it as it won’t break anything and will be the way to go in v6.
Fixed a regression in the selector engine that wasn’t able to handle multiple IDs anymore.
Color modes
Badges now use the .text-bg-* text utilities to be certain that the text is always readable (especially when the customized colors are different in light and dark modes).
Fixed our color-modes.js script to handle the case where the OS is set to light mode and the auto color mode is used on the website. If you copied the script from our docs, you should apply this change to your own script.
Fixed color schemes description in the color modes documentation to show that color-scheme() only accept light and dark values as parameters.
Miscellaneous
Allowed <dl>, <dt> and <dd> in the sanitizer.
Dropped evenly items distribution for modal and offcanvas headers.
Fixed the accordion CSS selectors to avoid inheritance issues when nesting accordions.
Fixed the focus box-shadow for the validation stated form controls.
Fixed the focus ring on focused checked buttons.
Fixed the product example mobile navbar toggler.
Changed the RTL processing of carousel control icons.
Docs
Dropped unnecessary right margin for example code blocks.
Bootstrap v5.3.2 is here with bug fixes, documentation improvements, and more follow-up enhancements for color modes. Keep reading for the highlights!
Highlights
Passing a percentage unit to the global abs() is deprecated since Dart Sass v1.65.0. It resulted in a deprecation warning when compiling Bootstrap with Dart Sass. This has been fixed internally by changing the values passed to the divide() function. The divide() function has not been fixed itself so that we can keep supporting node-sass cross-compatibility. In v6, this won’t be an issue as we plan to drop support for node-sass.
Using multiple ids in a collapse target wasn’t working anymore and has been fixed.
Color modes
Increased color contrast of form range track background in light and dark modes.
Fixed table state rendering for color modes with a focus on the striped table in dark mode to increase color contrast.
Bootstrap Icons v1.11.0 has arrived with 100 new icons—including new floppy disk icons, additional brand icons, new person icons, new emojis, some birthday cake, a few new science icons, and more. We’re now at over 2,000 icons!
100 new icons
Here’s a quick look at all the new icons in v1.11.0:
I’ve also started adding a new added tag to icon pages with this release. So far I’ve only tagged v1.10.0 and v1.11.0 versions, but more will come. Once those are all tagged, you’ll be able to search for icons added in each release. Stay tuned!
Looking for more new icons? Head to the issue tracker to check for open requests or submit a new one.
The Figma file is now published to the Figma Community! It’s the same Bootstrap Icons Figma file you’ve seen from previous releases, just a little more accessible to those using the app.
It’s official, the final stable release of v5.3.0 has landed! It’s been a monumental effort to revamp our codebase for CSS variables and color modes, one that will see continued changes leading up to an eventual Bootstrap 6. And we’re so excited to finally ship it!
On top of all the work that’s gone into this release, a lot has happened behind the scenes since we shipped our pre-releases. Keep reading to learn everything that’s new in v5.3.0.
Keep reading for the deep dive on all the top new features.
Dark mode
Bootstrap’s core has been rewritten to provide first-class support for dark mode. Moreover, Bootstrap now supports any number of color modes, allowing you to build your own custom themes or more nuanced color modes. Let’s take a look at how our new dark mode works first.
Bootstrap’s new dark mode is opt-in by default, meaning you’ll need to set a data-bs-theme attribute on the root <html> element to change the entire page’s design. This was done to best support custom color modes beyond light and dark—more on that later. It also helps folks who aren’t ready for dark mode in their own designs.
Need a more isolated dark mode? You can also set the color mode on a parent element like the .dropdown shown below. This will only affect the dropdown and its children instead of the entire page.
Dark mode styles are written with and generated through the new color-mode() Sass mixin. The mixin allows you to write styles specific to a particular color mode, like dark mode.
Together with the new $color-mode-type Sass variable, you can also change how color modes behave in Bootstrap. The default value is data, which tells Bootstrap to generate CSS selectors that scope the color mode’s styles to the data attributes you’ve seen above.
The other supported value is media-query, which generates media query selectors instead. This is helpful for those who want light and dark modes, automatically, and without a user override.
While we haven’t written a new JavaScript plugin for toggling color modes, we’ve written a great script for toggling color modes via data-bs-theme in our docs. Our implementation defaults to a user’s operating system color mode (auto), but also allows users to override that with a particular mode (light or dark) that’s recorded in local storage for easy reference on future page loads. You can use and adapt this script as needed.
New color mode variables
There’s also a new _variables-dark.scss stylesheet that houses dark mode-specific Sass variables. This is where we modify mostly global values, and some component-specific values, for dark mode. We recommend creating separate Sass stylesheets for additional custom color modes (e.g., a blue theme might have _variables-blue.scss). We expect this stylesheet to be simplified in our next major release as we continue to streamline the code base.)
Dark mode colors are all derived from our theme colors, meaning you can easily change the color mode palettes by updating the original theme colors. This means we’re not using our already tinted and shaded colors (e.g., shade-color($danger, 60%) instead of red-800 for the new danger emphasis color).
Bootstrap v5.3.0 ships with dark mode enabled, but you can also disable it by updating the boolean $enable-dark-mode Sass variable.
If you’re using the CDN or starter template, using the new color modes is straightforward. Add the data-bs-theme attribute with light or dark values to the <html> element and you’ll be using either the light or dark theme.
When we set out to add dark mode support to Bootstrap, we didn’t want to just add a dark mode. We wanted to build the foundations for a color mode system that could be used to create any number of themes and color modes. That’s why we lead with the data-bs-theme attribute and the new color-mode() Sass mixin, and why we’ve added so many new CSS variables in these latest releases.
To add a custom color mode, create your own data-bs-theme selector with a custom value as the name of your color mode, then modify any Sass and CSS variables as needed. We created a separate _variables-dark.scss stylesheet to house Bootstrap’s dark mode-specific Sass variables, but that’s not required for you.
For example, you can create a “blue theme” with the selector data-bs-theme="blue". In your custom Sass or CSS file, add the new selector and override any global or component CSS variables as needed. If you’re using Sass, you can also use Sass’s functions within your CSS variable overrides.
Heads up! Applying color modes to elements that aren’t the <html> or <body> elements requires classes like .text-body and .bg-body. This is because many HTML elements have no set color or background to style until you add them yourself. We’ve included them here for you just in case.
[data-bs-theme="blue"]{// CSS variable overrides and styles
}
<divdata-bs-theme="blue"> ...
</div>
Refreshed color palette
We’ve revamped our color palette to include all new Sass variables, CSS variables, and utilities for setting color, background-color, and border-color. Our foreground and background colors have been expanded to include new secondary, tertiary, and emphasis colors, while our theme colors have been expanded on to include their subtle background colors, subtle border colors, and darker text colors.
We’ve rebuilt some components (like list groups and alerts) to use these new variables in their source Sass and compiled CSS so that they respond to the color mode changes.
New link helpers and utilities
Link styling has infinitely better in v5.3.0 with a slew of all-new link helpers and utilities. First up, we’ve added styles to place icons like Bootstrap Icons alongside links with the new icon link helper.
On the utilities side, we have new classes for setting link color opacity, underline offset, underline color, and underline opacity. Explore the new links utilities.
Lastly, we’ve added a new .link-body-emphasis helper alongside our colored links. This creates a colored link using our color mode responsive emphasis color.
There’s a new .nav variant and modifier class with .nav-underline. Add .nav-underline to a .nav to get a simpler bottom border under the active nav link. See the docs for an example.
Beyond all the color mode updates, new helpers, and new utilities, we have a ton of other quality-of-life updates in this release. Here’s a quick rundown of the highlights:
Navs now have new :focus-visible styles that better match our custom button focus styles.
CSS variable-based border-width utilities have been reverted to set their property directly (as was done before v5.2.0). This avoids inheritance issues across nested elements, including tables.
Added new .border-black utility to match our .text-black and .bg-black utilities.
Deprecated the .text-muted utility and $text-muted Sass variable. It’s been replaced by .text-body-secondary and $body-secondary-color.
Added a check for interpolated variables to catch compilation errors with Node Sass when using Sass variables in calc() functions.
Started using --bs-border-radius variables across more components.
Added .d-inline-grid utility class.
Fixed .tooltip-inner placement when using variations in fallbackPlacements.
Fix selectors for dark mode carousel overrides when compiling with $color-mode-type: media-query.
Updated the styling of floating labels when “floated” to include a background-color to help with multiple lines of text in textareas. This also fixes the colors when form elements are disabled in floating forms.
Updated RFS to v10.0.0.
Next up
We’ll be shipping some patch releases for v5.3.x in the coming weeks to address any issues that come up. We’ll also be working on v5.4.0, which will primarily focus on improvements to our utilities API and related code. Stay tuned for more updates on that front!
Hot on the heels of our second alpha, we’re releasing a third (and unexpected) alpha for v5.3.0 today with some fixes for some Node Sass compilation errors. In addition, we’ve added a handful of other updates. We’re still on target to ship our stable release soon!
Once again, if you’re new to the v5.3.0 alpha releases, please read through the Migration guide for the first alpha and last month’s second alpha.
Here’s a look at what’s changed in this quick release:
Fixed wrong interpolated variables with node-sass/Hugo.
Added a check for interpolated variables to catch compilation errors with Node Sass when using Sass variables in calc() functions.
Started using --bs-border-radius variables across more components.
Added .d-inline-grid utility class.
Fixed .tooltip-inner placement when using variations in fallbackPlacements.
Fix selectors for dark mode carousel overrides when compiling with $color-mode-type: media-query.
Updated the styling of floating labels when “floated” to include a background-color to help with multiple lines of text in textareas. This also fixes the colors when form elements are disabled in floating forms.
Our second alpha release of v5.3.0 has landed with a ton of enhancements and bug fixes for our new color modes! There’s still more to come, but we’ve held off shipping until we ironed out enough issues. Huzzah, we have!
This v5.3.0 release is a monumental update for Bootstrap 5. It’s big enough that it could’ve been a v6 on its own, but we wanted to do right by the community and get color modes out the door without the massive major release upgrade. We’re getting super close now, so bear with us as we continue to chip away at this.
Removed several duplicate and unused root CSS variables.
Color modes
Dark mode colors are now derived from our theme colors (e.g., $primary) in Sass, rather than color-specific tints or shades (e.g., $blue-300). This allows for a more automated dark mode when customizing the default theme colors.
Added Sass maps for generating theme colors for dark mode text, subtle background, and subtle border.
Snippet examples are now ready for dark mode with updated markup and reduced custom styles.
Added color-scheme: dark to dark mode CSS to change OS level controls like scrollbars
Form validation border-color and text color states now respond to dark mode, thanks to new Sass and CSS variables.
Dropped recently added form control background CSS variables and reassigned the Sass variables to use CSS variables instead. This simplifies the styling across color modes and avoids an issue where form controls in dark mode wouldn’t update properly.
Our box-shadows will once again always stay dark instead of inverting to white when in dark mode.
Improved HTML and JavaScript for our color mode toggle script. The selector for changing the active SVG has been improved, and the markup made more accessible with ARIA attributes.
Improved docs code syntax colors and more across light and dark modes.
Removed the ability to nest light mode components within dark mode. This was super incomplete unfortunately and just isn’t practical without quadrupling our selectors for every component. Maybe in v6!
Typography
We no longer set a color for $headings-color-dark or --bs-heading-color for dark mode. To avoid several problems of headings within components appearing the wrong color, we’ve set the Sass variable to null and added a null check like we use on the default light mode.
Components
Cards now have a color set on them to improve rendering across color modes.
Added a new .nav-underline variant for our navigation with a simpler bottom border under the active nav link. See the docs for an example.
Navs now have new :focus-visible styles that better match our custom button focus styles.
Helpers
Added a new .icon-link helper to quickly place and align Bootstrap Icons alongside a textual link. Icon links support our new link utilities, too.
Added a new focus ring helper for removing the default outline and setting a custom box-shadow focus ring.
Utilities
Renamed Sass and CSS variables ${color}-text to ${color}-text-emphasis to match their associated utilities.
Added new .link-body-emphasis helper alongside our colored links. This creates a colored link using our color mode responsive emphasis color.
Added new link utilities for link color opacity, underline offset, underline color, and underline opacity. Explore the new links utilities.
CSS variable-based border-width utilities have been reverted to set their property directly (as was done before v5.2.0). This avoids inheritance issues across nested elements, including tables.
Added new .border-black utility to match our .text-black and .bg-black utilities.
Deprecated Deprecated the .text-muted utility and $text-muted Sass variable. It’s been replaced by .text-body-secondary and $body-secondary-color.
Docs
Updated docs page table of contents to use Scrollspy (shoutout to our v3 docs!).
Revamped syntax highlighting colors for code snippets across color modes.
Improved content and rendering of several docs callouts.
Document more color mode features and usage suggestions.
Added theme toggling to examples pages.
Updated dependencies across the board, including in our guides.
Known issues
While not an exhaustive list, here’s some of the stuff we’re going to be working on before calling this release stable. You can track these and more in the v5.3.0-stable project on GitHub.
Add new functionality to utilities with mixins and functions.
Some components need another pass at enabling full-color mode responsiveness. Bear in mind, some components like buttons won’t get full-color mode adaptivity until v6.
Labels in disabled floating forms have incorrect rendering.
Docs need to be updated for modifying theme colors across color modes.
Examples need another pass for dark mode support, new screenshots, and more.
Improve click/tap area for range inputs.
Up next will be the stable release of v5.3.0. Originally this was planned as a beta, but I think we’re getting close enough to call this final with one more release.
It’s a Christmas miracle—Bootstrap v5.3.0-alpha1 has arrived just in time for the holiday break! This release brings new color mode support, an expanded color palette with variables and utilities, and more.
We’re keeping things short and simple in this blog post with deeper dives into the new color modes and more coming in future posts. For now, we want you to enjoy the holiday break and come back next year feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. Keep reading for what’s new and we’ll see you next year!
Dark mode and color modes
Bootstrap now supports an explicit opt-in for creating multiple color modes via the data-bs-theme attribute on the root <html> element. We opted for a data attribute solution so that you can create any number of themes instead of just light and dark. We use a new Sass mixin, color-mode(), to generate our dark mode styles with either a data attribute (the default) or a media query. The latter is useful if you only have two color modes and want automatic color mode changing via CSS.
For those wanting to build something more advanced, you can read how we built our own color mode picker with JavaScript that respects the device or operating system setting by default, but still allows someone to override it with an explicit theme.
If you’re using the CDN or starter template, using the new color modes is straightforward. Add the data-bs-theme attribute with light or dark values to the <html> element and you’ll be using either the light or dark theme.
Want to use CSS media queries to change the color mode instead? You can also build Bootstrap with Sass and customize how you use color modes. Read the docs to learn more. You can even create custom color modes.
Expanded color palette
We have a huge new color palette update with new Sass variables, CSS variables, and utilities to boot. Foreground and background colors have new secondary, tertiary, and emphasis colors to choose from, while our theme colors have expanded on to include their subtle background colors, subtle border colors, and darker text colors. We’ve rebuilt some components (like list groups and alerts) to use these new variables in their source Sass and compiled CSS so that they respond to the color mode changes.
Added new CSS variables for grid breakpoints, link colors, close button, alert links, forms, and more. In addition, many components have been updated to use more global CSS variables like --bs-border-color to better respond to changing color modes.
Floating forms have been updated to be more bulletproof and now include proper support for textareas.
Added many new utilities, including fw-medium, overflow and object-fit utilities, z-index, and more. Plus, border-radius utilities have been updated so that you can combine .rounded-{top|bottom|start|end} with .rounded-{0-5|pill|circle}.
Fixed some Popper tooltip and popover consistency issues.
As we iron out the release with your feedback and bug reports, we’ll also be updating the Bootstrap Blog and Bootstrap Icons sites to use the new themes soon. We’ll also continue to refine how our components and utilities work with the new color modes, adding Sass testing to improve our coverage of how folks build with Bootstrap, and much more.
@mdo
April 04, 2025
