Fix notification text visibility in dark mode

[utafrali]

Related issues/PRs

Closes #15560

Description

Notifications in dark mode were showing white text on white backgrounds, making them impossible to read. Added proper text and icon colors to the notification styles so they display correctly in the dark theme.

Steps to test

1. Switch to dark mode in settings
2. Trigger a notification (e.g., save library, close entry without saving)
3. Verify the text and close button are clearly visible

Mandatory checklist

• I own the copyright and license under MIT
• Manually tested in running JabRef
• Added/updated JUnit tests (if applicable)
• Screenshots provided (if visible change)
• Screenshot with single entry (issue number as title)
• Updated CHANGELOG.md (if visible change)
• User documentation PR if needed

[qodo-free-for-open-source-projects]

Review Summary by Qodo

Fix notification text visibility in dark mode

🐞 Bug fix

Walkthroughs

Description

• Fixed notification text visibility in dark mode
• Added proper text color styling for notification elements
• Styled notification close button and icons for dark theme
• Updated notification bar background color for better contrast

Diagram

flowchart LR
  A["Dark.css styles"] -->|Add background color| B["Notification bar pane"]
  A -->|Add text colors| C["Notification text elements"]
  A -->|Add icon colors| D["Close button and icons"]
  B --> E["Improved dark mode visibility"]
  C --> E
  D --> E

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File Changes

1. jabgui/src/main/resources/org/jabref/gui/Dark.css 🐞 Bug fix +14/-0

Add dark mode styling for notification visibility

• Added background color to notification bar pane using -jr-gray-3
• Applied light text color to notification title, label, and action buttons
• Styled close button graphic with light text color for visibility
• Added icon color styling for ikonli font icons in notifications

jabgui/src/main/resources/org/jabref/gui/Dark.css

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[qodo-free-for-open-source-projects]

Code Review by Qodo

🐞 Bugs (1)   📘 Rule violations (0)   📎 Requirement gaps (0)

🐞\ ⚙ Maintainability (1)

1. Duplicate notification background rule 🐞 ⚙

Description

Dark.css redefines .notification-bar > .pane background color to the same -jr-gray-3 value
already defined in Base.css, creating duplicate sources of truth for dark mode. Because Dark.css is
installed after Base.css for the dark theme, this duplicate rule will silently override any future
Base.css changes for notification backgrounds unless updated in both places.

Code

jabgui/src/main/resources/org/jabref/gui/Dark.css[R180-182]

.notification-bar > .pane {
+    -fx-background-color: -jr-gray-3;
+}

Evidence

Base.css already sets the notification pane background to -jr-gray-3. ThemeManager installs
Base.css first and the theme-specific stylesheet (Dark.css) second, so the Dark.css duplicate
selector wins by source order in dark mode, increasing the chance of future styling divergence.

jabgui/src/main/resources/org/jabref/gui/Dark.css[180-182]
jabgui/src/main/resources/org/jabref/gui/Base.css[1274-1277]
jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/gui/theme/ThemeManager.java[111-121]

Agent prompt

The issue below was found during a code review. Follow the provided context and guidance below and implement a solution

## Issue description
`Dark.css` duplicates the notification background rule already present in `Base.css`, which increases maintenance burden and can cause future style changes in `Base.css` to not take effect in dark mode.

## Issue Context
In dark theme, stylesheets are installed in order: `Base.css` first, then `Dark.css`. With identical selector specificity, the latter wins by source order.

## Fix Focus Areas
- jabgui/src/main/resources/org/jabref/gui/Dark.css[180-182]
- jabgui/src/main/resources/org/jabref/gui/Base.css[1274-1277]
- jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/gui/theme/ThemeManager.java[111-121]

## Proposed fix
Remove the redundant `.notification-bar > .pane { -fx-background-color: -jr-gray-3; }` from `Dark.css` (keep the text/icon color overrides), unless there is a specific dark-only background value intended—if so, use a dark-specific variable/value to justify the override.

ⓘ Copy this prompt and use it to remediate the issue with your preferred AI generation tools

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[jabref-machine]

You have removed the section "Checklist" from your pull request description. Please adhere to our pull request template.

[faneeshh]

Dark.css redefines .notification-bar > .pane background color to the same -jr-gray-3 value
already defined in Base.css, creating duplicate sources of truth for dark mode. Because Dark.css is
installed after Base.css for the dark theme, this duplicate rule will silently override any future
Base.css changes for notification backgrounds unless updated in both places.

@utafrali This needs fixing. You could remove or replace the original block.

[faneeshh]

You could also just remove the old Dark.css background override rather than setting it to the same value Base.css already provides. The only necessary additions are the text/icon color overrides.

[calixtus]

This will have merge conflicts as soon #15545 is merged and will have to wait until the other PR is merged.

[calixtus]

Btw, why did you rewrite our checklist? This is why the other check is failing? AI does that often. And we have a strict AI policy: Usage of AI has to be disclosed.

[calixtus]

Also dont use AI to communicate with us. Even if your english is not the best, its better to talk to a human.

[github-actions]

This pull requests was closed without merging. You have been unassigned from the respective issue #15560. In case you closed the PR for yourself, you can re-open it. Please also check After submission of a pull request in CONTRIBUTING.md.

[Maran23]

Funny enough, this does not even fix the issue. Just AI slop.