Theme Adapters

August 11, 2026 · View on GitHub

Django Control Room builds on dj-control-room-base, which ships theme adapters: small stylesheets that remap DCR --dcr-* design tokens onto the host admin skin's CSS variables so panels blend in with the rest of the admin.

Adapters live under dj_control_room_base/css/themes/. With the default THEME_AUTO_DETECT = True, the active skin is detected from INSTALLED_APPS and either a first-class adapter or a general light/dark pin is injected through the same pipeline as EXTRA_CSS. Turn it off to opt out and load an adapter manually:

DJ_CONTROL_ROOM_SETTINGS = {
    "THEME_AUTO_DETECT": True,  # default
    # Or opt out:
    # "THEME_AUTO_DETECT": False,
    # "EXTRA_CSS": ["dj_control_room_base/css/themes/unfold.css"],
}

See Configuration - Theme adapters for the settings reference. This page is a visual tour of what is currently supported.

Compatibility status

Admin skin	`INSTALLED_APPS` label	Status	Stylesheet
Classic Django admin	-	Built-in (no adapter needed)	-
django-unfold	`unfold`	First-class adapter	`themes/unfold.css`
django-jazzmin	`jazzmin`	First-class adapter	`themes/jazzmin.css`
django-grappelli	`grappelli`	First-class adapter	`themes/grappelli.css`
django-admin-interface	`admin_interface`	First-class adapter	`themes/admin-interface.css`
django-admin-dracula	`django_admin_dracula`	First-class adapter	`themes/dracula.css`
django-simpleui	`simpleui`	General light pin	`themes/general-light.css`
django-semantic-admin	`semantic_admin`	General light pin	`themes/general-light.css`
django-admin-kubi	`django_admin_kubi`	General light pin	`themes/general-light.css`
django-daisy	`django_daisy`	General light pin	`themes/general-light.css`
django-jet-reboot	`jet`	General light pin	`themes/general-light.css`
djangocms-admin-style	`djangocms_admin_style`	General light pin	`themes/general-light.css`
bootstrap-admin	`bootstrap_admin`	General light pin	`themes/general-light.css`

django-unfold

django-unfold themes are driven by --color-primary-*, --color-base-*, and --color-font-* CSS variables. themes/unfold.css remaps DCR accent, surface, border, and muted-text tokens onto those variables, including light and dark mode.

DJ_CONTROL_ROOM_SETTINGS = {
    "EXTRA_CSS": ["dj_control_room_base/css/themes/unfold.css"],
}

Django Control Room running with the django-unfold admin theme

django-jazzmin

django-jazzmin is built on Bootstrap 5 and ships Bootswatch skins via JAZZMIN_UI_TWEAKS["theme"]. themes/jazzmin.css maps DCR tokens onto Bootstrap CSS variables so panels track the active Jazzmin theme, including dark skins.

DJ_CONTROL_ROOM_SETTINGS = {
    "EXTRA_CSS": ["dj_control_room_base/css/themes/jazzmin.css"],
}

Django Control Room running with the django-jazzmin admin theme

Light themes	Dark themes
`cerulean`, `cosmo`, `flatly`, `journal`, `litera`, `lumen`, `lux`, `materia`, `minty`, `pulse`, `sandstone`, `simplex`, `sketchy`, `spacelab`, `united`, `yeti`	`cyborg`, `darkly`, `slate`, `solar`, `superhero`

See Jazzmin's ui_customisation docs for the full list.

django-grappelli

django-grappelli support via themes/grappelli.css, matching its teal accent and light-only look.

DJ_CONTROL_ROOM_SETTINGS = {
    "EXTRA_CSS": ["dj_control_room_base/css/themes/grappelli.css"],
}

Django Control Room running with the django-grappelli admin theme

django-admin-interface

django-admin-interface support via themes/admin-interface.css.

DJ_CONTROL_ROOM_SETTINGS = {
    "EXTRA_CSS": ["dj_control_room_base/css/themes/admin-interface.css"],
}

django-admin-dracula

django-admin-dracula overrides Django admin CSS with the Dracula palette and supports light / dark / auto via Django's data-theme toggle. themes/dracula.css remaps DCR tokens onto Dracula's variables so panels track both modes.

DJ_CONTROL_ROOM_SETTINGS = {
    "EXTRA_CSS": ["dj_control_room_base/css/themes/dracula.css"],
}

General light and dark pins (unsupported skins)

Skins without a first-class adapter get a pinned palette when auto-detect finds them first in INSTALLED_APPS:

themes/general-light.css for light-chrome skins (for example django-simpleui or django-semantic-admin)
themes/general-dark.css for dark-chrome skins

These pins keep panel surfaces aligned with the host chrome; they do not attempt brand remapping.

DJ_CONTROL_ROOM_SETTINGS = {
    "EXTRA_CSS": ["dj_control_room_base/css/themes/general-light.css"],
    # Or:
    # "EXTRA_CSS": ["dj_control_room_base/css/themes/general-dark.css"],
}

See Configuration - Theme adapters for the recognized app labels.

Build your own

Want to support another admin skin? Use unfold.css, jazzmin.css, grappelli.css, admin-interface.css, or dracula.css as a starting point and remap the --dcr-* tokens to match. Until then, a general light or dark pin keeps panels readable under that skin.

For more detail on how adapters are authored, see the dj-control-room-base themes docs.