diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index a47d0b01..b128a7d3 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 project('zoitechat', 'c',
-  version: '2.17.0',
+  version: '2.17.1',
   meson_version: '>= 0.47.0',
   default_options: [
     'c_std=gnu89',
diff --git a/src/common/cfgfiles.c b/src/common/cfgfiles.c
index 8c17dc0d..c147fb47 100644
--- a/src/common/cfgfiles.c
+++ b/src/common/cfgfiles.c
@@ -433,6 +433,7 @@ const struct prefs vars[] =
 	{"gui_tab_dialogs", P_OFFINT (hex_gui_tab_dialogs), TYPE_BOOL},
 	{"gui_tab_dots", P_OFFINT (hex_gui_tab_dots), TYPE_BOOL},
 	{"gui_tab_icons", P_OFFINT (hex_gui_tab_icons), TYPE_BOOL},
+	{"gui_dark_mode", P_OFFINT (hex_gui_dark_mode), TYPE_BOOL},
 	{"gui_tab_layout", P_OFFINT (hex_gui_tab_layout), TYPE_INT},
 	{"gui_tab_middleclose", P_OFFINT (hex_gui_tab_middleclose), TYPE_BOOL},
 	{"gui_tab_newtofront", P_OFFINT (hex_gui_tab_newtofront), TYPE_INT},
diff --git a/src/common/zoitechat.h b/src/common/zoitechat.h
index 2a5d466e..41eb98ac 100644
--- a/src/common/zoitechat.h
+++ b/src/common/zoitechat.h
@@ -131,6 +131,7 @@ struct zoitechatprefs
 	unsigned int hex_gui_tab_dialogs;
 	unsigned int hex_gui_tab_dots;
 	unsigned int hex_gui_tab_icons;
+	unsigned int hex_gui_dark_mode;
 	unsigned int hex_gui_tab_scrollchans;
 	unsigned int hex_gui_tab_server;
 	unsigned int hex_gui_tab_sort;
diff --git a/src/fe-gtk/chanview-tree.c b/src/fe-gtk/chanview-tree.c
index 02d43bfa..9dd8359e 100644
--- a/src/fe-gtk/chanview-tree.c
+++ b/src/fe-gtk/chanview-tree.c
@@ -182,6 +182,7 @@ cv_tree_init (chanview *cv)
 
 	((treeview *)cv)->tree = GTK_TREE_VIEW (view);
 	((treeview *)cv)->scrollw = win;
+	chanview_apply_theme (cv);
 	gtk_widget_show (view);
 }
 
diff --git a/src/fe-gtk/chanview.c b/src/fe-gtk/chanview.c
index 9f360865..ea5113b7 100644
--- a/src/fe-gtk/chanview.c
+++ b/src/fe-gtk/chanview.c
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 #include "maingui.h"
 #include "gtkutil.h"
 #include "chanview.h"
+#include "palette.h"
 
 /* treeStore columns */
 #define COL_NAME 0		/* (char *) */
@@ -103,6 +104,37 @@ static int cv_find_number_of_chan (chanview *cv, chan *find_ch);
 
 /* ==== ABSTRACT CHANVIEW ==== */
 
+void
+chanview_apply_theme (chanview *cv)
+{
+	GtkWidget *w;
+	treeview *tv;
+
+	if (cv == NULL)
+		return;
+
+	/* Only the tree implementation has a GtkTreeView we can explicitly style. */
+	if (cv->func_init != cv_tree_init)
+		return;
+
+	tv = (treeview *) cv;
+	if (tv->tree == NULL)
+		return;
+
+	w = GTK_WIDGET (tv->tree);
+	if (prefs.hex_gui_dark_mode)
+	{
+		gtk_widget_modify_base (w, GTK_STATE_NORMAL, &colors[COL_BG]);
+		gtk_widget_modify_text (w, GTK_STATE_NORMAL, &colors[COL_FG]);
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		/* Revert back to theme defaults. */
+		gtk_widget_modify_base (w, GTK_STATE_NORMAL, NULL);
+		gtk_widget_modify_text (w, GTK_STATE_NORMAL, NULL);
+	}
+}
+
 static char *
 truncate_tab_name (char *name, int max)
 {
diff --git a/src/fe-gtk/chanview.h b/src/fe-gtk/chanview.h
index 2f911a5a..88ef9413 100644
--- a/src/fe-gtk/chanview.h
+++ b/src/fe-gtk/chanview.h
@@ -48,6 +48,13 @@ gboolean chan_remove (chan *ch, gboolean force);
 gboolean chan_is_collapsed (chan *ch);
 chan * chan_get_parent (chan *ch);
 
+/*
+ * Apply ZoiteChat's optional "dark mode" styling to the channel list.
+ *
+ * This is a no-op for implementations that don't have a tree view.
+ */
+void chanview_apply_theme (chanview *cv);
+
 #define FOCUS_NEW_ALL 1
 #define FOCUS_NEW_ONLY_ASKED 2
 #define FOCUS_NEW_NONE 0
diff --git a/src/fe-gtk/fe-gtk.c b/src/fe-gtk/fe-gtk.c
index c5ede069..da415d25 100644
--- a/src/fe-gtk/fe-gtk.c
+++ b/src/fe-gtk/fe-gtk.c
@@ -317,6 +317,7 @@ void
 fe_init (void)
 {
 	palette_load ();
+	palette_apply_dark_mode (prefs.hex_gui_dark_mode);
 	key_init ();
 	pixmaps_init ();
 
diff --git a/src/fe-gtk/maingui.c b/src/fe-gtk/maingui.c
index 4b69c8d5..0052cc29 100644
--- a/src/fe-gtk/maingui.c
+++ b/src/fe-gtk/maingui.c
@@ -2480,7 +2480,20 @@ mg_create_userlist (session_gui *gui, GtkWidget *box)
 	if (prefs.hex_gui_ulist_style)
 	{
 		gtk_widget_set_style (ulist, input_style);
+	}
+
+	/*
+	 * Keep the user list in sync with the chat palette.
+	 *
+	 * - When "Use the text box font and colors" is enabled, we already want the
+	 *   palette background.
+	 * - When "Dark mode" is enabled, we also force the user list to use the
+	 *   palette colors so it doesn't stay blindingly white on GTK2 themes.
+	 */
+	if (prefs.hex_gui_ulist_style || prefs.hex_gui_dark_mode)
+	{
 		gtk_widget_modify_base (ulist, GTK_STATE_NORMAL, &colors[COL_BG]);
+		gtk_widget_modify_text (ulist, GTK_STATE_NORMAL, &colors[COL_FG]);
 	}
 
 	mg_create_meters (gui, vbox);
diff --git a/src/fe-gtk/palette.c b/src/fe-gtk/palette.c
index 46445179..6415f2c2 100644
--- a/src/fe-gtk/palette.c
+++ b/src/fe-gtk/palette.c
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
 #include <sys/types.h>
 #include <sys/stat.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
@@ -32,6 +33,7 @@
 #include "palette.h"
 
 #include "../common/zoitechat.h"
+#include "../common/zoitechatc.h" /* prefs */
 #include "../common/util.h"
 #include "../common/cfgfiles.h"
 #include "../common/typedef.h"
@@ -87,6 +89,76 @@ GdkColor colors[] = {
 	{0, 0xa4a4, 0x0000, 0x0000}, /* 41 spell checker color (red) */
 };
 
+/* User palette snapshot (what we write to colors.conf) */
+static GdkColor user_colors[MAX_COL + 1];
+static gboolean user_colors_valid = FALSE;
+
+/* ZoiteChat's curated dark palette (applies when prefs.hex_gui_dark_mode is enabled). */
+static const GdkColor dark_colors[MAX_COL + 1] = {
+	/* mIRC colors 0-15 */
+	{0, 0xe5e5, 0xe5e5, 0xe5e5}, /* 0 white */
+	{0, 0x3c3c, 0x3c3c, 0x3c3c}, /* 1 black (dark gray for contrast) */
+	{0, 0x5656, 0x9c9c, 0xd6d6}, /* 2 blue */
+	{0, 0x0d0d, 0xbcbc, 0x7979}, /* 3 green */
+	{0, 0xf4f4, 0x4747, 0x4747}, /* 4 red */
+	{0, 0xcece, 0x9191, 0x7878}, /* 5 light red / brown */
+	{0, 0xc5c5, 0x8686, 0xc0c0}, /* 6 purple */
+	{0, 0xd7d7, 0xbaba, 0x7d7d}, /* 7 orange */
+	{0, 0xdcdc, 0xdcdc, 0xaaaa}, /* 8 yellow */
+	{0, 0xb5b5, 0xcece, 0xa8a8}, /* 9 light green */
+	{0, 0x4e4e, 0xc9c9, 0xb0b0}, /* 10 aqua */
+	{0, 0x9c9c, 0xdcdc, 0xfefe}, /* 11 light aqua */
+	{0, 0x3737, 0x9494, 0xffff}, /* 12 light blue */
+	{0, 0xd6d6, 0x7070, 0xd6d6}, /* 13 pink */
+	{0, 0x8080, 0x8080, 0x8080}, /* 14 gray */
+	{0, 0xc0c0, 0xc0c0, 0xc0c0}, /* 15 light gray */
+	/* mIRC colors 16-31 (repeat) */
+	{0, 0xe5e5, 0xe5e5, 0xe5e5}, {0, 0x3c3c, 0x3c3c, 0x3c3c},
+	{0, 0x5656, 0x9c9c, 0xd6d6}, {0, 0x0d0d, 0xbcbc, 0x7979},
+	{0, 0xf4f4, 0x4747, 0x4747}, {0, 0xcece, 0x9191, 0x7878},
+	{0, 0xc5c5, 0x8686, 0xc0c0}, {0, 0xd7d7, 0xbaba, 0x7d7d},
+	{0, 0xdcdc, 0xdcdc, 0xaaaa}, {0, 0xb5b5, 0xcece, 0xa8a8},
+	{0, 0x4e4e, 0xc9c9, 0xb0b0}, {0, 0x9c9c, 0xdcdc, 0xfefe},
+	{0, 0x3737, 0x9494, 0xffff}, {0, 0xd6d6, 0x7070, 0xd6d6},
+	{0, 0x8080, 0x8080, 0x8080}, {0, 0xc0c0, 0xc0c0, 0xc0c0},
+
+	/* selection colors */
+	{0, 0xffff, 0xffff, 0xffff}, /* 32 COL_MARK_FG */
+	{0, 0x2626, 0x4f4f, 0x7878}, /* 33 COL_MARK_BG */
+
+	/* foreground/background */
+	{0, 0xd4d4, 0xd4d4, 0xd4d4}, /* 34 COL_FG */
+	{0, 0x1e1e, 0x1e1e, 0x1e1e}, /* 35 COL_BG */
+
+	/* interface colors */
+	{0, 0x4040, 0x4040, 0x4040}, /* 36 COL_MARKER (marker line) */
+	{0, 0x3737, 0x9494, 0xffff}, /* 37 COL_NEW_DATA (tab: new data) */
+	{0, 0xd7d7, 0xbaba, 0x7d7d}, /* 38 COL_HILIGHT (tab: nick mentioned) */
+	{0, 0xf4f4, 0x4747, 0x4747}, /* 39 COL_NEW_MSG (tab: new message) */
+	{0, 0x8080, 0x8080, 0x8080}, /* 40 COL_AWAY (tab: away) */
+	{0, 0xf4f4, 0x4747, 0x4747}, /* 41 COL_SPELL (spellcheck underline) */
+};
+
+void
+palette_user_set_color (int idx, const GdkColor *col)
+{
+	if (!col)
+		return;
+	if (idx < 0 || idx > MAX_COL)
+		return;
+
+	if (!user_colors_valid)
+	{
+		memcpy (user_colors, colors, sizeof (user_colors));
+		user_colors_valid = TRUE;
+	}
+
+	user_colors[idx].red = col->red;
+	user_colors[idx].green = col->green;
+	user_colors[idx].blue = col->blue;
+	user_colors[idx].pixel = 0;
+}
+
 void
 palette_alloc (GtkWidget * widget)
 {
@@ -141,6 +213,10 @@ palette_load (void)
 		g_free (cfg);
 		close (fh);
 	}
+
+	/* Snapshot the user's palette for dark mode toggling. */
+	memcpy (user_colors, colors, sizeof (user_colors));
+	user_colors_valid = TRUE;
 }
 
 void
@@ -148,6 +224,11 @@ palette_save (void)
 {
 	int i, j, fh;
 	char prefname[256];
+	const GdkColor *outpal = colors;
+
+	/* Don't clobber the user's colors.conf with the dark palette. */
+	if (prefs.hex_gui_dark_mode && user_colors_valid)
+		outpal = user_colors;
 
 	fh = zoitechat_open_file ("colors.conf", O_TRUNC | O_WRONLY | O_CREAT, 0600, XOF_DOMODE);
 	if (fh != -1)
@@ -156,16 +237,64 @@ palette_save (void)
 		for (i = 0; i < 32; i++)
 		{
 			g_snprintf (prefname, sizeof prefname, "color_%d", i);
-			cfg_put_color (fh, colors[i].red, colors[i].green, colors[i].blue, prefname);
+			cfg_put_color (fh, outpal[i].red, outpal[i].green, outpal[i].blue, prefname);
 		}
 
 		/* our special colors are mapped at 256+ */
 		for (i = 256, j = 32; j < MAX_COL+1; i++, j++)
 		{
 			g_snprintf (prefname, sizeof prefname, "color_%d", i);
-			cfg_put_color (fh, colors[j].red, colors[j].green, colors[j].blue, prefname);
+			cfg_put_color (fh, outpal[j].red, outpal[j].green, outpal[j].blue, prefname);
 		}
 
 		close (fh);
 	}
 }
+
+static gboolean
+palette_color_eq (const GdkColor *a, const GdkColor *b)
+{
+	return a->red == b->red && a->green == b->green && a->blue == b->blue;
+}
+
+gboolean
+palette_apply_dark_mode (gboolean enable)
+{
+	GdkColor old_colors[MAX_COL + 1];
+	GdkColormap *cmap;
+	int i;
+	gboolean changed = FALSE;
+
+	memcpy (old_colors, colors, sizeof (old_colors));
+
+	/* Ensure we have a snapshot of the user's palette before overriding anything. */
+	if (!user_colors_valid)
+	{
+		memcpy (user_colors, colors, sizeof (user_colors));
+		user_colors_valid = TRUE;
+	}
+
+	if (enable)
+		memcpy (colors, dark_colors, sizeof (colors));
+	else
+		memcpy (colors, user_colors, sizeof (colors));
+
+	/* Allocate the new colors for GTK's colormap. */
+	cmap = gdk_colormap_get_system ();
+	for (i = 0; i <= MAX_COL; i++)
+		gdk_colormap_alloc_color (cmap, &colors[i], FALSE, TRUE);
+
+	for (i = 0; i <= MAX_COL; i++)
+	{
+		if (old_colors[i].red != colors[i].red ||
+			 old_colors[i].green != colors[i].green ||
+			 old_colors[i].blue != colors[i].blue)
+		{
+			changed = TRUE;
+			break;
+		}
+	}
+
+	return changed;
+}
+
diff --git a/src/fe-gtk/palette.h b/src/fe-gtk/palette.h
index 2a451429..7290b709 100644
--- a/src/fe-gtk/palette.h
+++ b/src/fe-gtk/palette.h
@@ -38,4 +38,24 @@ void palette_alloc (GtkWidget * widget);
 void palette_load (void);
 void palette_save (void);
 
+/* Keep a copy of the user's palette so dark mode can be toggled without losing it. */
+void palette_user_set_color (int idx, const GdkColor *col);
+
+/*
+ * Apply ZoiteChat's built-in "dark mode" palette.
+ *
+ * When enabled, ZoiteChat switches to a curated dark-friendly palette for:
+ *  - message colors (mIRC palette)
+ *  - selection colors
+ *  - tab highlight colors
+ *  - chat/user/channel list background + foreground
+ *
+ * The user's palette is preserved in-memory and written to colors.conf even
+ * while dark mode is enabled, so disabling dark mode restores the previous
+ * colors without surprises.
+ *
+ * Returns TRUE if any palette entries were changed.
+ */
+gboolean palette_apply_dark_mode (gboolean enable);
+
 #endif
diff --git a/src/fe-gtk/setup.c b/src/fe-gtk/setup.c
index ba9de165..e7bf6cd7 100644
--- a/src/fe-gtk/setup.c
+++ b/src/fe-gtk/setup.c
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@
 #include "fe-gtk.h"
 #include "gtkutil.h"
 #include "maingui.h"
+#include "chanview.h"
 #include "palette.h"
 #include "pixmaps.h"
 #include "menu.h"
@@ -53,6 +54,8 @@ static int last_selected_page = 0;
 static int last_selected_row = 0; /* sound row */
 static gboolean color_change;
 static struct zoitechatprefs setup_prefs;
+static GSList *color_selector_widgets;
+static GtkWidget *dark_mode_toggle_widget;
 static GtkWidget *cancel_button;
 static GtkWidget *font_dialog = NULL;
 
@@ -341,6 +344,17 @@ static const setting color_settings[] =
 	{ST_END, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0}
 };
 
+static const setting dark_mode_setting =
+{
+	ST_TOGGLE,
+	N_("Enable dark mode"),
+	P_OFFINTNL(hex_gui_dark_mode),
+	N_("Applies ZoiteChat's built-in dark palette to the chat buffer, channel list, and user list.\n"
+	   "This includes message colors, selection colors, and interface highlights.\n"),
+	0,
+	0
+};
+
 static const char *const dccaccept[] =
 {
 	N_("Ask for confirmation"),
@@ -1401,6 +1415,28 @@ setup_create_page (const setting *set)
 	return tab;
 }
 
+static void
+setup_color_selectors_set_sensitive (gboolean sensitive)
+{
+	GSList *l = color_selector_widgets;
+	while (l)
+	{
+		GtkWidget *w = (GtkWidget *) l->data;
+		if (GTK_IS_WIDGET (w))
+			gtk_widget_set_sensitive (w, sensitive);
+		l = l->next;
+	}
+}
+
+static void
+setup_dark_mode_ui_toggle_cb (GtkToggleButton *but, gpointer userdata)
+{
+	(void) but;
+	(void) userdata;
+	/* Keep color selectors usable even when dark mode is enabled. */
+	setup_color_selectors_set_sensitive (TRUE);
+}
+
 static void
 setup_color_ok_cb (GtkWidget *button, GtkWidget *dialog)
 {
@@ -1434,6 +1470,10 @@ setup_color_ok_cb (GtkWidget *button, GtkWidget *dialog)
 	/* is this line correct?? */
 	gdk_colormap_free_colors (gtk_widget_get_colormap (button), &old_color, 1);
 
+	/* Keep a copy of the user's palette so we can restore it after dark mode. */
+	if (!prefs.hex_gui_dark_mode)
+		palette_user_set_color ((int)(col - colors), col);
+
 	gtk_widget_destroy (dialog);
 }
 
@@ -1495,6 +1535,9 @@ setup_create_color_button (GtkWidget *table, int num, int row, int col)
 	style->bg[GTK_STATE_NORMAL] = colors[num];
 	gtk_widget_set_style (but, style);
 	g_object_unref (style);
+
+	/* Track all color selector widgets (used for dark mode UI behavior). */
+	color_selector_widgets = g_slist_prepend (color_selector_widgets, but);
 }
 
 static void
@@ -1524,6 +1567,9 @@ setup_create_other_color (char *text, int num, int row, GtkWidget *tab)
 static GtkWidget *
 setup_create_color_page (void)
 {
+	color_selector_widgets = NULL;
+	dark_mode_toggle_widget = NULL;
+
 	GtkWidget *tab, *box, *label;
 	int i;
 
@@ -1570,8 +1616,11 @@ setup_create_color_page (void)
 	setup_create_other_colorR (_("Away user:"), COL_AWAY, 10, tab);
 	setup_create_other_color (_("Highlight:"), COL_HILIGHT, 11, tab);
 	setup_create_other_colorR (_("Spell checker:"), COL_SPELL, 11, tab);
-
-	setup_create_header (tab, 15, N_("Color Stripping"));
+	dark_mode_toggle_widget = setup_create_toggleL (tab, 13, &dark_mode_setting);
+	g_signal_connect (G_OBJECT (dark_mode_toggle_widget), "toggled",
+					G_CALLBACK (setup_dark_mode_ui_toggle_cb), NULL);
+	setup_color_selectors_set_sensitive (TRUE);
+setup_create_header (tab, 15, N_("Color Stripping"));
 
 	/* label = gtk_label_new (_("Strip colors from:"));
 	gtk_misc_set_alignment (GTK_MISC (label), 0.0, 0.5);
@@ -2048,10 +2097,25 @@ static void
 setup_apply_to_sess (session_gui *gui)
 {
 	mg_update_xtext (gui->xtext);
+	chanview_apply_theme ((chanview *) gui->chanview);
 
 	if (prefs.hex_gui_ulist_style)
 		gtk_widget_set_style (gui->user_tree, input_style);
 
+	if (prefs.hex_gui_ulist_style || prefs.hex_gui_dark_mode)
+	{
+		gtk_widget_modify_base (gui->user_tree, GTK_STATE_NORMAL, &colors[COL_BG]);
+		if (prefs.hex_gui_dark_mode)
+			gtk_widget_modify_text (gui->user_tree, GTK_STATE_NORMAL, &colors[COL_FG]);
+		else
+			gtk_widget_modify_text (gui->user_tree, GTK_STATE_NORMAL, NULL);
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		gtk_widget_modify_base (gui->user_tree, GTK_STATE_NORMAL, NULL);
+		gtk_widget_modify_text (gui->user_tree, GTK_STATE_NORMAL, NULL);
+	}
+
 	if (prefs.hex_gui_input_style)
 	{
 		extern char cursor_color_rc[];
@@ -2168,6 +2232,7 @@ setup_apply (struct zoitechatprefs *pr)
 	int do_ulist = FALSE;
 	int do_layout = FALSE;
 	int do_identd = FALSE;
+	int old_dark_mode = prefs.hex_gui_dark_mode;
 
 	if (strcmp (pr->hex_text_background, prefs.hex_text_background) != 0)
 		new_pix = TRUE;
@@ -2238,6 +2303,19 @@ setup_apply (struct zoitechatprefs *pr)
 
 	memcpy (&prefs, pr, sizeof (prefs));
 
+	/*
+	 * "Dark mode" applies ZoiteChat's built-in dark palette to the chat views.
+	 *
+	 * IMPORTANT: don't short-circuit this call.
+	 * We MUST run palette_apply_dark_mode() when the toggle changes, otherwise
+	 * the preference flips but the palette stays the same (aka: "nothing happens").
+	 */
+	{
+		gboolean pal_changed = palette_apply_dark_mode (prefs.hex_gui_dark_mode);
+		if (prefs.hex_gui_dark_mode != old_dark_mode || pal_changed)
+			color_change = TRUE;
+	}
+
 #ifdef WIN32
 	/* merge hex_font_main and hex_font_alternative into hex_font_normal */
 	old_desc = pango_font_description_from_string (prefs.hex_text_font_main);
@@ -2333,6 +2411,13 @@ setup_close_cb (GtkWidget *win, GtkWidget **swin)
 {
 	*swin = NULL;
 
+	if (color_selector_widgets)
+	{
+		g_slist_free (color_selector_widgets);
+		color_selector_widgets = NULL;
+		dark_mode_toggle_widget = NULL;
+	}
+
 	if (font_dialog)
 	{
 		gtk_widget_destroy (font_dialog);