Finish threading the accent colour through the whole desktop

The recent accent-colour setting only reached part of the desktop.
looks.lua still hardcoded the focused-window border and glow to blue,
so any hyprctl reload -- or every fresh session, for about a second --
reverted a chosen accent; it now reads accentName the same way it
already read colorScheme. The lock screen and terminal stayed blue
regardless of the chosen accent despite the setting's own description
claiming otherwise; panama-lock and panama-theme-apps now resolve and
apply the real accent.

AccentPicker built its swatch model from Theme.accents directly
instead of the schema's own options list, so the two could drift
silently; switched it to read the schema. Its hit target only covered
the swatch, not the name label added specifically for colour-vision
accessibility -- extended to the whole row. Settings search had no
route for the "appearance" group, so searching for the accent or
colour scheme landed on Home.

ColorScheme's hex-to-Hyprland helper assumed 6-digit colours and would
silently corrupt a future translucent one; fixed it to read from the
end of the string instead of the start. An accent-only change no
longer reruns the full colour-scheme pipeline. The gradient it builds
for the focused border now goes through SystemSettings' existing
serialiser instead of a second, under-escaped copy of the same logic.

The settings-ownership contract test enforced the old rule that
ColorScheme must never touch the focused border; updated it to verify
the real, intended rule instead of contradicting the code.

Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01E6TJUAh41HaP25MVHWkhRZ

config/dot/hypr/looks.lua

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 -- Look and feel -- Tokyo Night Moon
 --
 -- Colours here must stay in sync with quickshell/config/Theme.qml.
---   accent  #82aaff   borders / focus
+--   accent  user-selectable, see `accents` below -- blue (#82aaff) ships
 --   bg      #222436   base
 --
 -- Performance note: every animation below is event-driven. Nothing uses the
@@ -14,6 +14,30 @@
 
 local prefs = require("prefs")
 
+-- Mirrors config/Theme.qml's `accents` map. Lua has no import path into a QML
+-- singleton, so the hex pairs are restated here -- just the four hex strings
+-- each named accent needs, not the labels, which stay UI-only.
+local accents = {
+    blue   = { dark = "82aaff", darkSecondary = "b172b0", light = "2e7de9", lightSecondary = "9854f1" },
+    orchid = { dark = "c099ff", darkSecondary = "fca7ea", light = "7847bd", lightSecondary = "9854f1" },
+    teal   = { dark = "86e1fc", darkSecondary = "82aaff", light = "007197", lightSecondary = "2e7de9" },
+    green  = { dark = "c3e88d", darkSecondary = "86e1fc", light = "587539", lightSecondary = "007197" },
+    amber  = { dark = "ffc777", darkSecondary = "ff966c", light = "8c6c3e", lightSecondary = "b15c00" },
+    orange = { dark = "ff966c", darkSecondary = "ff757f", light = "b15c00", lightSecondary = "c64343" },
+    rose   = { dark = "ff757f", darkSecondary = "c099ff", light = "f52a65", lightSecondary = "9854f1" },
+    slate  = { dark = "828bb8", darkSecondary = "82aaff", light = "6172b0", lightSecondary = "2e7de9" },
+}
+
+-- The accent pair a fresh session or `hyprctl reload` starts from.
+-- services/ColorScheme.qml overwrites this live, from the same Theme.accents
+-- data, once the shell settles (~1.2s after startup -- see its `settle`
+-- Timer). This table exists only so the compositor is never observably blue
+-- for a non-blue accent during the gap before that first live apply.
+local accentScheme = prefs.get("colorScheme", "dark")
+local accentPair = accents[prefs.get("accentName", "blue")] or accents.blue
+local accentStart = accentScheme == "light" and accentPair.light or accentPair.dark
+local accentEnd = accentScheme == "light" and accentPair.lightSecondary or accentPair.darkSecondary
+
 hl.config({
     general = {
         gaps_in  = prefs.get("gapsIn", 5),
@@ -22,11 +46,13 @@ hl.config({
         border_size = prefs.get("borderSize", 2),
 
         col = {
-            -- The focused accent role: blue leads, orchid follows, on a
+            -- The focused accent role, on a diagonal so the pair is visible
-            -- diagonal so the pair is visible on both a tall and a wide
+            -- on both a tall and a wide window. Driven by the chosen
-            -- window. ColorScheme never writes this role; a future accent
+            -- accentName (see the `accents` table above); services/
-            -- picker can own it without fighting light/dark mode.
+            -- ColorScheme.qml applies the same values live, and restates them
-            active_border   = { colors = { "rgba(82aaffee)", "rgba(b172b0ee)" }, angle = 115 },
+            -- from Theme.accent/Theme.accentSecondary on every scheme change
+            -- too, since each accent carries a separate pair per scheme.
+            active_border   = { colors = { "rgba(" .. accentStart .. "ee)", "rgba(" .. accentEnd .. "ee)" }, angle = 115 },
             -- The neutral inactive role follows the colour scheme because a
             -- dark neutral disappears against a light desktop.
             -- services/ColorScheme.qml applies the same values live; this is
@@ -104,11 +130,13 @@ hl.config({
         -- New in 0.56. Kept deliberately faint: in this direction the gradient
         -- border is the signature, and a strong halo would compete with it.
         -- This is just enough to lift the focused window off the wallpaper.
+        -- Derived from the same accent as active_border above, not hardcoded,
+        -- so the halo never disagrees with the border it surrounds.
         glow = {
             enabled        = prefs.get("glowEnabled", true),
             range          = prefs.get("glowRange", 8),
             render_power   = 2,
-            color          = "rgba(82aaff33)",
+            color          = "rgba(" .. accentStart .. "33)",
             color_inactive = "rgba(00000000)",
         },
 

config/dot/quickshell/modules/settings/AccentPicker.qml

@@ -20,23 +20,45 @@ Flow {
 
     readonly property string current: DesktopPreferences.get("accentName") || "blue"
 
+    // The schema's own option list, not Theme.accents directly -- two lists
+    // hand-kept in sync is how they drift. This is the same pattern
+    // ChoiceRow.qml uses for every other enum row.
+    readonly property var spec: PreferenceSchema.spec("accentName")
+    readonly property var options: root.spec && root.spec.options ? root.spec.options : []
+
     Repeater {
-        // Object key order is insertion order here, so the palette's own order
+        // The schema's option order is the palette's order, so blue is first
-        // is what the user sees; blue first because it is what Panama ships.
+        // because it is what Panama ships.
-        model: Object.keys(Theme.accents)
+        model: root.options
 
         Column {
             id: entry
 
             required property var modelData
 
-            readonly property var pair: Theme.accents[entry.modelData]
+            readonly property string name: entry.modelData.value
-            readonly property bool selected: entry.modelData === root.current
+            readonly property var pair: Theme.accents[entry.name]
+            readonly property bool selected: entry.name === root.current
             readonly property color start: Theme.dark ? entry.pair.dark : entry.pair.light
             readonly property color end: Theme.dark ? entry.pair.darkSecondary : entry.pair.lightSecondary
 
             spacing: 5
 
+            // The hit target is the whole swatch+label unit, not just the
+            // 46px circle: the label exists specifically so someone with a
+            // colour vision deficiency can identify an accent without it, and
+            // a label that cannot itself be tapped defeats that.
+            HoverHandler {
+                cursorShape: Qt.PointingHandCursor
+            }
+
+            TapHandler {
+                onTapped: {
+                    if (!SystemSettings.commitPreference("accentName", entry.name))
+                        console.warn("AccentPicker: commitPreference rejected accent", entry.name);
+                }
+            }
+
             Rectangle {
                 width: 46
                 height: 46
@@ -59,12 +81,6 @@ Flow {
                         GradientStop { position: 1.0; color: entry.end }
                     }
                 }
-
-                MouseArea {
-                    anchors.fill: parent
-                    cursorShape: Qt.PointingHandCursor
-                    onClicked: SystemSettings.commitPreference("accentName", entry.modelData)
-                }
             }
 
             // Always shown, not a tooltip. Telling swatches apart by colour is
@@ -73,7 +89,7 @@ Flow {
             // hiding the names behind a hover would waste that.
             Text {
                 anchors.horizontalCenter: parent.horizontalCenter
-                text: entry.pair.label
+                text: entry.modelData.label
                 color: entry.selected ? Theme.fg : Theme.fgMuted
                 font.family: Theme.fontFamily
                 font.pixelSize: Theme.fontSizeSmall

config/dot/quickshell/modules/settings/README.md

@@ -96,9 +96,11 @@ reason and an update to `tests/quickshell/settings-ownership-contract.sh`.
 Window border colour follows the same ownership rule. The inactive border is a
 **scheme-relative role** owned by `ColorScheme.qml`: it changes only to retain
 neutral contrast in light and dark modes. The focused Prism border is the
-accent role owned by the visual theme (and, eventually, an accent picker).
+**accent role**, driven by the chosen `accentName` and also owned by
-`ColorScheme.qml` must never write the focused border, so changing schemes
+`ColorScheme.qml`: each accent carries a separate pair for light and dark, so
-cannot erase a user-selected accent.
+`ColorScheme.qml` restates the focused border alongside the inactive one on
+every scheme change, rather than leaving a scheme flip to erase a
+user-selected accent.
 
 ## The rows
 

config/dot/quickshell/scripts/panama-lock

@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 
 # Generates Panama's hyprlock configuration into the state directory. The
-# tracked config is never rewritten and remains the fallback if generation
+# gitignored fallback config (rendered from the tracked .template at link
-# fails, so a malformed preference can never leave the session without a
+# time) is never rewritten by this script and remains the fallback if
-# working locker.
+# generation fails, so a malformed preference can never leave the session
+# without a working locker.
 
 set -euo pipefail
 
@@ -78,6 +79,31 @@ valid_path() {
     [[ "$1" == /* && "$1" != *","* && "$1" != *$'\n'* ]]
 }
 
+# Same 8 named accents as config/Theme.qml's `accents` map (kept in sync by
+# hand -- there is no shared source between QML and a shell script), primary
+# hue per scheme only: the lock screen shows a flat focus ring, not the
+# two-stop gradient the window border does. Falls back to blue for an unknown
+# name, matching Theme.accentPair's own fallback.
+accent_hex() {
+    local name="$1" scheme="$2"
+    case "$name" in
+        orchid) [[ "$scheme" == light ]] && printf '7847bd' || printf 'c099ff' ;;
+        teal)   [[ "$scheme" == light ]] && printf '007197' || printf '86e1fc' ;;
+        green)  [[ "$scheme" == light ]] && printf '587539' || printf 'c3e88d' ;;
+        amber)  [[ "$scheme" == light ]] && printf '8c6c3e' || printf 'ffc777' ;;
+        orange) [[ "$scheme" == light ]] && printf 'b15c00' || printf 'ff966c' ;;
+        rose)   [[ "$scheme" == light ]] && printf 'f52a65' || printf 'ff757f' ;;
+        slate)  [[ "$scheme" == light ]] && printf '6172b0' || printf '828bb8' ;;
+        *)      [[ "$scheme" == light ]] && printf '2e7de9' || printf '82aaff' ;;
+    esac
+}
+
+# hyprlock wants "R, G, B" decimal, not hex.
+hex_to_rgb() {
+    local hex="$1"
+    printf '%d, %d, %d' "0x${hex:0:2}" "0x${hex:2:2}" "0x${hex:4:2}"
+}
+
 load_preferences() {
     if [[ -r "$settings" ]] && jq -e 'type == "object"' "$settings" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
         settings_valid=true
@@ -99,6 +125,12 @@ load_preferences() {
     color_scheme="$(read_string colorScheme dark)"
     [[ "$color_scheme" == dark || "$color_scheme" == light ]] || color_scheme=dark
 
+    accent_name="$(read_string accentName blue)"
+    case "$accent_name" in
+        blue|orchid|teal|green|amber|orange|rose|slate) ;;
+        *) accent_name=blue ;;
+    esac
+
     wallpaper_mode="$(read_string wallpaperMode single)"
     [[ "$wallpaper_mode" == single || "$wallpaper_mode" == slideshow || "$wallpaper_mode" == per-monitor ]] \
         || wallpaper_mode=single
@@ -121,8 +153,6 @@ load_preferences() {
         background_color='rgba(225, 226, 231, 1.0)'
         foreground_color='rgba(55, 96, 191, 1.0)'
         dim_color='rgba(97, 114, 176, 1.0)'
-        accent_color='rgba(46, 125, 233, 1.0)'
-        accent_ring_color='rgba(46, 125, 233, 0.9)'
         error_color='rgba(245, 42, 101, 1.0)'
         field_color='rgba(208, 213, 227, 0.85)'
         dim_hex='6172b0'
@@ -131,13 +161,18 @@ load_preferences() {
         background_color='rgba(34, 36, 54, 1.0)'
         foreground_color='rgba(200, 211, 245, 1.0)'
         dim_color='rgba(130, 139, 184, 1.0)'
-        accent_color='rgba(130, 170, 255, 1.0)'
-        accent_ring_color='rgba(130, 170, 255, 0.9)'
         error_color='rgba(255, 117, 127, 1.0)'
         field_color='rgba(46, 47, 61, 0.85)'
         dim_hex='828bb8'
         error_hex='ff757f'
     fi
+
+    # The focus ring is the accent role, not a scheme-relative one: it follows
+    # accentName the same way ColorScheme.qml's active_border does, and needs
+    # both the accent and the scheme since each accent carries a separate pair.
+    accent_rgb="$(hex_to_rgb "$(accent_hex "$accent_name" "$color_scheme")")"
+    accent_color="rgba($accent_rgb, 1.0)"
+    accent_ring_color="rgba($accent_rgb, 0.9)"
 }
 
 monitor_names() {

config/dot/quickshell/scripts/panama-theme-apps

@@ -16,21 +16,61 @@
 # is authoritative for GTK3 applications. Pinned to dark, it contradicted the
 # scheme in light mode, so it is generated from a template here instead.
 #
-#   panama-theme-apps dark|light
+#   panama-theme-apps dark|light [accent]
 #
 # kitty gets it twice: the generated include file so terminals opened later
 # start correct, and a live `set-colors` over its control socket so terminals
 # already open change now. Without the second, a scheme change appears to do
 # nothing until you open a new window.
+#
+# kitty's active_border_color and hyprlock's focus ring are also the accent
+# role, not just the scheme -- see accent_hex() below, which mirrors the same
+# lookup hypr/looks.lua and scripts/panama-lock carry for the same reason.
 
 set -euo pipefail
 
 scheme="${1:-dark}"
 case "$scheme" in
     dark|light) ;;
-    *) printf 'usage: panama-theme-apps [dark|light]\n' >&2; exit 2 ;;
+    *) printf 'usage: panama-theme-apps [dark|light] [accent]\n' >&2; exit 2 ;;
 esac
 
+# Falls back to blue for an unknown or omitted name, matching Theme.qml's own
+# accentPair fallback -- so a caller that only ever knew about scheme (a stale
+# ColorScheme.qml, a manual invocation) still gets a real accent instead of an
+# empty string reaching sed.
+accent="${2:-blue}"
+case "$accent" in
+    blue|orchid|teal|green|amber|orange|rose|slate) ;;
+    *) accent=blue ;;
+esac
+
+# Same 8 named accents as config/Theme.qml's `accents` map (kept in sync by
+# hand -- there is no shared source between QML and a shell script), primary
+# hue per scheme only: both consumers below draw a flat colour, not the
+# two-stop gradient the window border does.
+accent_hex() {
+    local name="$1" scheme="$2"
+    case "$name" in
+        orchid) [[ "$scheme" == light ]] && printf '7847bd' || printf 'c099ff' ;;
+        teal)   [[ "$scheme" == light ]] && printf '007197' || printf '86e1fc' ;;
+        green)  [[ "$scheme" == light ]] && printf '587539' || printf 'c3e88d' ;;
+        amber)  [[ "$scheme" == light ]] && printf '8c6c3e' || printf 'ffc777' ;;
+        orange) [[ "$scheme" == light ]] && printf 'b15c00' || printf 'ff966c' ;;
+        rose)   [[ "$scheme" == light ]] && printf 'f52a65' || printf 'ff757f' ;;
+        slate)  [[ "$scheme" == light ]] && printf '6172b0' || printf '828bb8' ;;
+        *)      [[ "$scheme" == light ]] && printf '2e7de9' || printf '82aaff' ;;
+    esac
+}
+
+# hyprlock wants "R, G, B" decimal, not hex.
+hex_to_rgb() {
+    local hex="$1"
+    printf '%d, %d, %d' "0x${hex:0:2}" "0x${hex:2:2}" "0x${hex:4:2}"
+}
+
+accent_border_hex="$(accent_hex "$accent" "$scheme")"
+
 # ── hyprlock ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 # The lock screen. hyprlock is launched fresh on every lock (`pidof hyprlock ||
 # hyprlock`), so it reads this file each time and needs no restart.
@@ -45,7 +85,6 @@ lock_template="$lock_dir/hyprlock.conf.template"
 if [[ "$scheme" == "light" ]]; then
     lock_fg="55, 96, 191"        # #3760bf
     lock_muted="97, 114, 176"    # #6172b0
-    lock_accent="46, 125, 233"   # #2e7de9
     lock_error="245, 42, 101"    # #f52a65
     lock_bg="225, 226, 231"      # #e1e2e7
     lock_field="208, 213, 227"   # #d0d5e3
@@ -54,7 +93,6 @@ if [[ "$scheme" == "light" ]]; then
 else
     lock_fg="200, 211, 245"      # #c8d3f5
     lock_muted="130, 139, 184"   # #828bb8
-    lock_accent="130, 170, 255"  # #82aaff
     lock_error="255, 117, 127"   # #ff757f
     lock_bg="34, 36, 54"         # #222436
     lock_field="46, 47, 61"      # #2e2f3d
@@ -62,6 +100,10 @@ else
     lock_error_hex="ff757f"
 fi
 
+# The focus ring is the accent role, not a scheme-relative one -- follows
+# accentName the same way scripts/panama-lock's own generator does.
+lock_accent="$(hex_to_rgb "$accent_border_hex")"
+
 status_hyprlock="skipped"
 if [[ -r "$lock_template" ]]; then
     # Written atomically: a lock triggered mid-write would otherwise read a
@@ -169,9 +211,16 @@ theme_file="$kitty_dir/themes/tokyonight-moon.conf"
 status_kitty="skipped"
 if [[ -r "$theme_file" ]]; then
     # Written atomically: kitty may read this while a new window is starting.
+    # The accent override is appended after the copied theme rather than
+    # edited into the tracked theme file: kitty applies settings top to
+    # bottom, so a later active_border_color line wins, and this file is
+    # itself generated -- the tracked per-scheme theme stays scheme-only.
     if cp "$theme_file" "$kitty_dir/current-theme.conf.tmp" 2>/dev/null \
+        && printf 'active_border_color #%s\n' "$accent_border_hex" >>"$kitty_dir/current-theme.conf.tmp" \
         && mv "$kitty_dir/current-theme.conf.tmp" "$kitty_dir/current-theme.conf" 2>/dev/null; then
         status_kitty="written"
+    else
+        rm -f "$kitty_dir/current-theme.conf.tmp"
     fi
 
     # Live-apply to running terminals. kitty appends its PID to the socket name
@@ -182,7 +231,8 @@ if [[ -r "$theme_file" ]]; then
         applied=0
         while read -r socket; do
             [[ -n "$socket" ]] || continue
-            if kitty @ --to "unix:@${socket#@}" set-colors --all --configured "$theme_file" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            if kitty @ --to "unix:@${socket#@}" set-colors --all --configured "$theme_file" >/dev/null 2>&1 \
+                && kitty @ --to "unix:@${socket#@}" set-colors --override "active_border_color=#$accent_border_hex" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
                 applied=$((applied + 1))
             fi
         done < <(ss -xl 2>/dev/null | grep -oE '@mykitty[^[:space:]]*' | sort -u)

config/dot/quickshell/services/ColorScheme.qml

@@ -34,13 +34,23 @@ Singleton {
     // for the Prism gradient; Theme owns which colours, this owns the form the
     // compositor wants them in.
     function hyprColor(value: var): string {
-        // Qt gives "#rrggbb"; Hyprland wants rgba(rrggbbaa).
+        // Qt gives "#rrggbb" -- or "#aarrggbb" if the colour ever carries an
-        return "rgba(" + String(value).replace("#", "").slice(0, 6) + "ee)";
+        // alpha channel. slice(-6) keeps the trailing rrggbb either way;
+        // slice(0, 6) would instead grab "aarrgg" out of an 8-digit string and
+        // call it RGB. Hyprland wants rgba(rrggbbaa).
+        return "rgba(" + String(value).replace("#", "").slice(-6) + "ee)";
     }
     readonly property string accentBorderStart: root.hyprColor(Theme.accent)
     readonly property string accentBorderEnd: root.hyprColor(Theme.accentSecondary)
     property string lastError: ""
 
+    // What the last push actually sent, so apply() can tell an accent-only
+    // change apart from a scheme change and skip the steps that do not depend
+    // on whichever did not move. Their starting values do not matter: the
+    // first apply() always runs with force set, which ignores both.
+    property bool appliedDark: false
+    property string appliedAccentName: ""
+
     // Applied one command at a time: Process runs a single command, and several
     // of these are separate programs.
     property var pending: []
@@ -75,7 +85,7 @@ Singleton {
     Timer {
         id: settle
         interval: 1200
-        onTriggered: root.apply()
+        onTriggered: root.apply(true)
     }
 
     Connections {
@@ -86,57 +96,92 @@ Singleton {
     Timer {
         id: coalesce
         interval: 250
-        onTriggered: root.apply()
+        onTriggered: root.apply(false)
     }
 
-    function apply(): void {
+    // `force` pushes every step regardless of what moved -- startup needs
+    // that, because gsettings and the compositor keep their own state and
+    // have no way to know a previous Quickshell session already told them the
+    // answer. Everywhere else this reacts to ANY preference changing (see
+    // onRevisionChanged above), so most calls have nothing to do with either
+    // scheme or accent; only the steps whose inputs actually moved since the
+    // last push run, which keeps sampling accent swatches from also rewriting
+    // gsettings and re-running the whole app-theming script on every sample.
+    function apply(force: bool): void {
         root.lastError = "";
 
-        const scheme = root.dark ? "prefer-dark" : "prefer-light";
+        const accentName = DesktopPreferences.get("accentName") || "blue";
+        const schemeChanged = force || root.dark !== root.appliedDark;
+        const accentChanged = force || accentName !== root.appliedAccentName;
 
-        // adw-gtk3, not Adwaita. This is the bug that made dark mode look
+        if (!schemeChanged && !accentChanged)
-        // broken while light mode looked fine:
+            return;
-        //
-        // Neither "Adwaita" nor "Adwaita-dark" is an installed theme on Fedora
-        // 44 -- only adw-gtk3 and adw-gtk3-dark are. Naming a theme that does
-        // not exist makes GTK fall back to its built-in default, which is
-        // LIGHT. So asking for light accidentally worked, asking for dark
-        // silently produced light, and applications that take their cue from
-        // the GTK theme rather than the portal -- Chromium and Electron, when
-        // built against GTK -- stayed light no matter what the portal said.
-        //
-        // gtk-theme-contract asserts these names are actually installed,
-        // because the failure mode is silent in exactly this way.
-        const gtkTheme = root.dark ? "adw-gtk3-dark" : "adw-gtk3";
 
-        const commands = [
+        const commands = [];
-            ["gsettings", "set", "org.gnome.desktop.interface", "color-scheme", scheme],
-            ["gsettings", "set", "org.gnome.desktop.interface", "gtk-theme", gtkTheme]
-        ];
 
-        // Unfocused window borders need scheme-relative contrast, and stay this
+        if (schemeChanged) {
-        // service's to own. The FOCUSED border is the accent role and belongs to
+            const scheme = root.dark ? "prefer-dark" : "prefer-light";
-        // the theme -- see modules/settings/README.md -- so it is written from
-        // the chosen accent rather than from the scheme.
-        //
-        // Both are pushed together because both change when the scheme flips:
-        // each accent carries a separate pair for light and dark, so switching
-        // schemes must restate the focused border too, not only the neutral one.
-        commands.push(["hyprctl", "eval",
-            `hl.config({ general = { col = { inactive_border = "${root.inactiveBorder}" } } })`]);
 
-        // A two-stop gradient at the shipped angle. Written as a Lua TABLE: the
+            // adw-gtk3, not Adwaita. This is the bug that made dark mode look
-        // string form of a gradient carries only one stop, and passing
+            // broken while light mode looked fine:
-        // "rgba(a) rgba(b) 115deg" as a string is accepted and silently keeps
+            //
-        // the previous value.
+            // Neither "Adwaita" nor "Adwaita-dark" is an installed theme on Fedora
-        commands.push(["hyprctl", "eval",
+            // 44 -- only adw-gtk3 and adw-gtk3-dark are. Naming a theme that does
-            `hl.config({ general = { col = { active_border = { colors = { "${root.accentBorderStart}", "${root.accentBorderEnd}" }, angle = 115 } } } })`]);
+            // not exist makes GTK fall back to its built-in default, which is
+            // LIGHT. So asking for light accidentally worked, asking for dark
+            // silently produced light, and applications that take their cue from
+            // the GTK theme rather than the portal -- Chromium and Electron, when
+            // built against GTK -- stayed light no matter what the portal said.
+            //
+            // gtk-theme-contract asserts these names are actually installed,
+            // because the failure mode is silent in exactly this way.
+            const gtkTheme = root.dark ? "adw-gtk3-dark" : "adw-gtk3";
 
-        // Applications that predate org.freedesktop.appearance and carry their
+            commands.push(["gsettings", "set", "org.gnome.desktop.interface", "color-scheme", scheme]);
-        // own palettes -- terminals, chiefly. Everything that reads the portal
+            commands.push(["gsettings", "set", "org.gnome.desktop.interface", "gtk-theme", gtkTheme]);
-        // (GTK4, Qt6, Chromium, Electron) is already handled by the gsettings
+
-        // write above and needs nothing here.
+            // Unfocused window borders need scheme-relative contrast, and stay
-        commands.push([root.appThemePath, root.dark ? "dark" : "light"]);
+            // this service's to own. The FOCUSED border below is the accent
+            // role and belongs to the theme -- see modules/settings/README.md.
+            // Unlike that role, this one does not depend on the accent, so an
+            // accent-only change never needs to restate it.
+            commands.push(["hyprctl", "eval",
+                `hl.config({ general = { col = { inactive_border = "${root.inactiveBorder}" } } })`]);
+        }
+
+        if (schemeChanged || accentChanged) {
+            // Each accent carries a separate pair for light and dark, so this
+            // runs on either kind of change: a scheme flip restates the same
+            // accent's other pair, and an accent change restates the same
+            // scheme's other colours.
+            //
+            // A two-stop gradient at the shipped angle. Written as a Lua TABLE:
+            // the string form of a gradient carries only one stop, and passing
+            // "rgba(a) rgba(b) 115deg" as a string is accepted and silently
+            // keeps the previous value. Multi-stop must be the table form --
+            // built by the same serialiseValue() SystemSettings uses for every
+            // other gradient, rather than a second hand-rolled copy of that
+            // escaping here.
+            const activeBorder = SystemSettings.serialiseValue({
+                colors: [root.accentBorderStart, root.accentBorderEnd],
+                angle: 115
+            });
+            commands.push(["hyprctl", "eval",
+                `hl.config({ general = { col = { active_border = ${activeBorder} } } })`]);
+
+            // Applications that predate org.freedesktop.appearance and carry
+            // their own palettes -- terminals, chiefly. Everything that reads
+            // the portal (GTK4, Qt6, Chromium, Electron) is already handled by
+            // the gsettings write above and needs nothing here. The accent is
+            // passed through too: kitty's border and the hyprlock fallback
+            // template are also the accent role, not just the scheme -- so
+            // this still has to run on an accent-only change, even though the
+            // scheme-relative work it also does is then redundant.
+            commands.push([root.appThemePath, root.dark ? "dark" : "light", accentName]);
+        }
+
+        root.appliedDark = root.dark;
+        root.appliedAccentName = accentName;
 
         root.enqueue(commands);
     }

config/dot/quickshell/services/SettingsSearch.qml

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ Singleton {
     // entry here still appears in results and routes to Home rather than being
     // dropped, so adding a group can never make a setting unreachable.
     readonly property var groupPages: ({
+        "appearance": "appearance",
         "clock": "appearance",
         "vitals": "appearance",
         "typography": "appearance",

tests/quickshell/lock-screen-helper-contract.sh

@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ assert_schema_entry() {
 }
 
 [[ -x "$helper" ]] || fail 'panama-lock helper is missing or not executable'
-for key in lockBackgroundMode lockBlurLevel lockShowClock lockShowDate lockShowUser lockFadeOnEmpty; do
+for key in lockBackgroundMode lockBlurLevel lockShowClock lockShowDate lockShowUser lockFadeOnEmpty accentName; do
     assert_schema_entry "$key"
 done
 
@@ -112,6 +112,25 @@ if rg -q '^label \{' "$generated"; then
     fail 'hidden clock, date, and user labels were still generated'
 fi
 
+# ── The focus ring follows the chosen accent, not just the scheme ───────────
+# A pinned blue literal only ever proves the DEFAULT accent renders correctly,
+# not that the helper actually reads accentName. Orchid is picked because its
+# hex is nowhere close to blue's in either scheme, so a helper that quietly
+# ignored accentName and kept emitting blue would be caught here.
+write_settings '{"accentName":"orchid","colorScheme":"dark"}'
+run_helper generate
+rg -Fq 'outer_color = rgba(192, 153, 255, 0.9)' "$generated" || fail 'dark orchid accent did not drive the focus ring'
+rg -Fq 'check_color = rgba(192, 153, 255, 1.0)' "$generated" || fail 'dark orchid accent did not drive the success colour'
+
+write_settings '{"accentName":"orchid","colorScheme":"light"}'
+run_helper generate
+rg -Fq 'outer_color = rgba(120, 71, 189, 0.9)' "$generated" || fail 'light orchid accent did not drive the focus ring'
+rg -Fq 'check_color = rgba(120, 71, 189, 1.0)' "$generated" || fail 'light orchid accent did not drive the success colour'
+
+write_settings '{"accentName":"not-a-real-accent","colorScheme":"dark"}'
+run_helper generate
+rg -Fq 'outer_color = rgba(130, 170, 255, 0.9)' "$generated" || fail 'an unknown accent name did not fall back to blue'
+
 write_settings '{
   "lockBackgroundMode":"wallpaper",
   "wallpaperMode":"per-monitor",

tests/quickshell/settings-ownership-contract.sh

@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@
 
 # A setting has one schema-routed owner. A second page may mirror it only when
 # this contract names the exact owner and mirror set. The same ownership rule
-# keeps colour scheme propagation away from the focused Prism border.
+# says who writes each half of the window border: ColorScheme.qml owns the
+# neutral inactive role AND the accent-derived focused role, restating both
+# together on every scheme or accent change.
 
 set -euo pipefail
 
@@ -124,8 +126,28 @@ if dark.group(1) not in looks or light.group(1) not in looks:
     raise SystemExit("Hyprland startup values disagree with the live scheme roles")
 
 without_comments = re.sub(r"//.*", "", scheme)
-if re.search(r"(?<![A-Za-z_])active_border\b", without_comments):
+
-    raise SystemExit("ColorScheme writes the focused border")
+# The focused border is the accent role, and ColorScheme.qml owns it too:
+# each named accent carries a separate pair per scheme, so a scheme change
+# must restate the focused border, not just the neutral one, or a chosen
+# accent goes stale the moment light/dark flips.
+start = re.search(r'property string accentBorderStart:\s*root\.hyprColor\(Theme\.accent\)', scheme)
+end = re.search(r'property string accentBorderEnd:\s*root\.hyprColor\(Theme\.accentSecondary\)', scheme)
+if not start or not end:
+    raise SystemExit("ColorScheme does not derive the focused border from the chosen accent")
+
+# Written as a Lua TABLE, not a string: the string form of a Hyprland gradient
+# carries only one stop, so writing it that way is accepted and silently
+# keeps whatever the previous accent left behind. Built through the same
+# serialiseValue() SystemSettings.qml uses for every other gradient, rather
+# than a second hand-rolled (and unescaped) copy of that table syntax here.
+if 'SystemSettings.serialiseValue({' not in without_comments:
+    raise SystemExit("ColorScheme does not build the focused border through the shared gradient serialiser")
+if 'colors: [root.accentBorderStart, root.accentBorderEnd]' not in without_comments:
+    raise SystemExit("ColorScheme does not derive the focused-border gradient from the chosen accent")
+if 'active_border = ${activeBorder}' not in without_comments:
+    raise SystemExit("ColorScheme does not write the focused border as the serialised gradient table")
+
 if 'inactive_border = "${root.inactiveBorder}"' not in scheme:
     raise SystemExit("ColorScheme does not apply its effective inactive role")
 PY