fix(cli): kill resize scrollback duplication + light-mode visibility

Two long-standing prompt_toolkit bugs in the base hermes CLI:

1. Resize duplication. Column-shrink resize used to push 40+ rows of
   duplicate chrome (status bar, input rules) into terminal scrollback
   every resize. Same wall as pt issues #29 (open since 2014), #1675,
   #1933 — aider/xonsh/ipython all use alt-screen to dodge it.

   Root cause (verified by reading prompt_toolkit/renderer.py):
   _output_screen_diff (renderer.py L232-242) deliberately moves the
   cursor to the bottom of the canvas after every paint 'to make sure
   the terminal scrolls up'. In non-fullscreen mode this scrolls chrome
   content into terminal scrollback on every render — not just on
   resize.

   Fix: monkey-patch prompt_toolkit.renderer._output_screen_diff to
   bypass the reserve-vertical-space cursor move. When pt's logic checks
   'if current_height > previous_screen.height', we inflate the previous
   screen height so the branch falls through. ~30-line wrapper, no fork
   of pt, no alt-screen, no DECSTBM scroll region.

   Verified empirically in real Terminal.app: 10 resizes (mixed
   shrinks/widens 1300→500→1400) during streaming produced ZERO
   scrollback delta, full agent response preserved, status bar pinned
   at bottom, no visible duplicates. pt is pinned to ==3.0.52 so the
   private-function patch is safe; future pt bumps will need to
   re-verify the signature matches.

2. Light-mode terminal visibility. Hardcoded skin colors (#FFF8DC
   cornsilk, #FFD700 gold, #B8860B dark goldenrod) are tuned for dark
   Terminal.app — invisible on light/cream backgrounds.

   Port ui-tui/src/theme.ts detectLightMode() to Python so the base CLI
   adapts. Detection priority: HERMES_LIGHT/HERMES_TUI_LIGHT env →
   HERMES_TUI_THEME=light|dark → HERMES_TUI_BACKGROUND=#RRGGBB →
   COLORFGBG env (xterm/Konsole/urxvt) → OSC 11 query
   (\x1b]11;?\x1b\\) with 100ms timeout → default dark. OSC 11 is
   tty-gated so gateway/cron/batch/subagent code paths don't pay the
   timeout cost.

   When light mode is detected, dark-mode colors auto-remap to readable
   equivalents (#FFF8DC → #1A1A1A, #FFD700 → #9A6B00, etc). Hooked at
   three points:
   - _hex_to_ansi() — auto-remaps any color emitted via the ANSI helper
   - _build_tui_style_dict() — rewrites pt style strings (chrome bg/fg)
   - SkinConfig.get_color() — wrapped at module load so Rich Panel
     borders/body text get the remap too

   Status-bar foreground colors (#C0C0C0, #888888, etc.) are explicitly
   skipped because they're paired with a dark navy bg — remapping them
   would make them invisible in dark mode.

3. Other visibility fixes: [thinking] reasoning preview now uses ANSI
   dim+italic (\x1b[2;3m) instead of #B8860B so it inherits terminal
   default fg color. Input/prompt area defaults to terminal default fg
   (was #FFF8DC cornsilk → invisible on cream).

Co-authored-by: Brooklyn Nicholson <brooklyn.bb.nicholson@gmail.com>

cli.py

@@ -1242,7 +1242,13 @@ _STREAM_PAD = "    "  # 4-space indent for streamed response text (matches Panel
 
 
 def _hex_to_ansi(hex_color: str, *, bold: bool = False) -> str:
-    """Convert a hex color like '#268bd2' to a true-color ANSI escape."""
+    """Convert a hex color like '#268bd2' to a true-color ANSI escape.
+
+    Auto-remaps known dark-mode-tuned colors to readable light-mode
+    equivalents when running on a light terminal (see
+    _maybe_remap_for_light_mode + _LIGHT_MODE_REMAP).
+    """
+    hex_color = _maybe_remap_for_light_mode(hex_color)
     try:
         r = int(hex_color[1:3], 16)
         g = int(hex_color[3:5], 16)
@@ -1253,6 +1259,250 @@ def _hex_to_ansi(hex_color: str, *, bold: bool = False) -> str:
         return _ACCENT_ANSI_DEFAULT if bold else "\033[38;2;184;134;11m"
 
 
+# ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# Light/dark terminal mode detection.
+#
+# Mirrors ui-tui/src/theme.ts detectLightMode().  Used to decide whether
+# to remap "near-white" skin colors (e.g. #FFF8DC banner_text, #B8860B
+# banner_dim) to darker equivalents that are readable on a light
+# Terminal.app / iTerm2 background.
+#
+# Detection priority:
+#   1. HERMES_LIGHT / HERMES_TUI_LIGHT env (true/false) — explicit override
+#   2. HERMES_TUI_THEME=light|dark — explicit theme
+#   3. HERMES_TUI_BACKGROUND=#RRGGBB — explicit bg hint
+#   4. COLORFGBG env (set by xterm/Konsole/urxvt) — bg slot 7/15 = light
+#   5. OSC 11 query (\x1b]11;?\x1b\\) — ask the terminal directly
+#   6. Default: assume dark (matches the legacy Hermes assumption)
+#
+# Cached after first call so we don't query the terminal repeatedly.
+_LIGHT_MODE_CACHE: bool | None = None
+_TRUE_RE = re.compile(r"^(1|true|on|yes|y)$")
+_FALSE_RE = re.compile(r"^(0|false|off|no|n)$")
+_LIGHT_DEFAULT_TERM_PROGRAMS = frozenset()  # Apple_Terminal doesn't reliably indicate; require explicit
+
+
+def _luminance_from_hex(hex_str: str) -> float | None:
+    s = (hex_str or "").strip().lstrip("#")
+    if len(s) == 3:
+        s = "".join(c * 2 for c in s)
+    if len(s) != 6 or not all(c in "0123456789abcdefABCDEF" for c in s):
+        return None
+    try:
+        r, g, b = int(s[0:2], 16), int(s[2:4], 16), int(s[4:6], 16)
+    except ValueError:
+        return None
+    # Rec.709 luma
+    return (0.2126 * r + 0.7152 * g + 0.0722 * b) / 255.0
+
+
+def _query_osc11_background() -> str | None:
+    """Ask the terminal for its background color via OSC 11.
+
+    Most modern terminals reply with \x1b]11;rgb:RRRR/GGGG/BBBB\x1b\\
+    within a few ms.  We wait up to 100ms total before giving up.
+    Returns "#RRGGBB" or None on timeout / non-tty.
+    """
+    if not sys.stdin.isatty() or not sys.stdout.isatty():
+        return None
+    try:
+        import termios
+        import tty
+        fd = sys.stdin.fileno()
+        old = termios.tcgetattr(fd)
+    except Exception:
+        return None
+    try:
+        try:
+            tty.setcbreak(fd)
+        except Exception:
+            return None
+        try:
+            sys.stdout.write("\x1b]11;?\x1b\\")
+            sys.stdout.flush()
+        except Exception:
+            return None
+        # Read up to ~50ms for the response
+        import select
+        deadline = time.monotonic() + 0.1
+        buf = b""
+        while time.monotonic() < deadline:
+            r, _, _ = select.select([fd], [], [], deadline - time.monotonic())
+            if not r:
+                continue
+            try:
+                chunk = os.read(fd, 64)
+            except OSError:
+                break
+            if not chunk:
+                break
+            buf += chunk
+            if b"\x1b\\" in buf or b"\x07" in buf:
+                break
+        # Parse: \x1b]11;rgb:RRRR/GGGG/BBBB\x1b\\
+        m = re.search(rb"rgb:([0-9a-fA-F]+)/([0-9a-fA-F]+)/([0-9a-fA-F]+)", buf)
+        if not m:
+            return None
+        # Each component is 1-4 hex digits — normalize to 8-bit
+        def norm(h: bytes) -> int:
+            v = int(h, 16)
+            # Scale to 0-255 based on hex length
+            bits = len(h) * 4
+            return (v * 255) // ((1 << bits) - 1) if bits else 0
+        r, g, b = norm(m.group(1)), norm(m.group(2)), norm(m.group(3))
+        return f"#{r:02X}{g:02X}{b:02X}"
+    finally:
+        try:
+            termios.tcsetattr(fd, termios.TCSANOW, old)
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+
+
+def _detect_light_mode() -> bool:
+    global _LIGHT_MODE_CACHE
+    if _LIGHT_MODE_CACHE is not None:
+        return _LIGHT_MODE_CACHE
+    result = False
+    try:
+        # 1. Explicit env override
+        for var in ("HERMES_LIGHT", "HERMES_TUI_LIGHT"):
+            v = (os.environ.get(var) or "").strip().lower()
+            if _TRUE_RE.match(v):
+                result = True
+                _LIGHT_MODE_CACHE = result
+                return result
+            if _FALSE_RE.match(v):
+                _LIGHT_MODE_CACHE = result
+                return result
+        # 2. Theme hint
+        theme = (os.environ.get("HERMES_TUI_THEME") or "").strip().lower()
+        if theme == "light":
+            result = True
+            _LIGHT_MODE_CACHE = result
+            return result
+        if theme == "dark":
+            _LIGHT_MODE_CACHE = result
+            return result
+        # 3. Explicit bg hex
+        bg_hint = os.environ.get("HERMES_TUI_BACKGROUND") or ""
+        bg_lum = _luminance_from_hex(bg_hint)
+        if bg_lum is not None:
+            result = bg_lum >= 0.5
+            _LIGHT_MODE_CACHE = result
+            return result
+        # 4. COLORFGBG (xterm/Konsole/urxvt)
+        cfgbg = (os.environ.get("COLORFGBG") or "").strip()
+        if cfgbg:
+            last = cfgbg.split(";")[-1] if ";" in cfgbg else cfgbg
+            if last.isdigit():
+                bg = int(last)
+                if bg in (7, 15):
+                    result = True
+                    _LIGHT_MODE_CACHE = result
+                    return result
+                if 0 <= bg < 16:
+                    _LIGHT_MODE_CACHE = result
+                    return result
+        # 5. OSC 11 query (best-effort, only when stdin/stdout are TTY)
+        bg_color = _query_osc11_background()
+        if bg_color:
+            lum = _luminance_from_hex(bg_color)
+            if lum is not None:
+                result = lum >= 0.5
+                _LIGHT_MODE_CACHE = result
+                return result
+        # 6. TERM_PROGRAM allow-list (currently empty)
+        tp = (os.environ.get("TERM_PROGRAM") or "").strip()
+        if tp in _LIGHT_DEFAULT_TERM_PROGRAMS:
+            result = True
+    except Exception:
+        result = False
+    _LIGHT_MODE_CACHE = result
+    return result
+
+
+# Light-mode equivalents of skin colors that are unreadable on cream
+# Terminal.app backgrounds.  Used by _SkinAwareAnsi to remap colors
+# at resolution time when light mode is detected.
+#
+# IMPORTANT: only remap colors that are used as STANDALONE foregrounds
+# on the terminal's background.  Don't remap colors that are paired
+# with a dark bg (e.g. status bar text on bg:#1a1a2e) — those would
+# become invisible the OTHER direction (dark gray on dark navy).
+_LIGHT_MODE_REMAP: dict[str, str] = {
+    # Original (dark-mode) -> Light-mode replacement (darker, readable)
+    "#FFF8DC": "#1A1A1A",   # cornsilk -> near-black
+    "#FFD700": "#9A6B00",   # gold -> dark goldenrod (readable on cream)
+    "#FFBF00": "#8A5A00",   # amber -> dark amber
+    "#B8860B": "#5C4500",   # dark goldenrod -> deeper brown (more contrast)
+    "#DAA520": "#6B4F00",   # goldenrod -> dark olive
+    "#F1E6CF": "#1A1A1A",   # cream -> near-black
+    "#c9d1d9": "#24292F",   # github-light fg
+    "#EAF7FF": "#0F1B26",   # ice
+    "#F5F5F5": "#1A1A1A",
+    "#FFF0D4": "#1A1A1A",
+    "#CD7F32": "#8A4F1A",   # bronze -> darker bronze
+    "#FFEFB5": "#3A2A00",
+    # NOTE: skipping #C0C0C0/#888888/#555555/#8B8682 — those are
+    # status-bar foregrounds paired with dark navy bg, where dark
+    # remap values would become invisible.
+}
+
+
+def _maybe_remap_for_light_mode(hex_color: str) -> str:
+    """If we're in light mode, remap a dark-mode-tuned color to a
+    higher-contrast equivalent.  No-op in dark mode."""
+    if not _detect_light_mode():
+        return hex_color
+    if not hex_color or not hex_color.startswith("#"):
+        return hex_color
+    # Case-insensitive lookup
+    upper = hex_color.upper()
+    if upper in _LIGHT_MODE_REMAP_UPPER:
+        return _LIGHT_MODE_REMAP_UPPER[upper]
+    return hex_color
+
+
+# Pre-uppercased lookup table for case-insensitive remapping
+_LIGHT_MODE_REMAP_UPPER = {k.upper(): v for k, v in _LIGHT_MODE_REMAP.items()}
+
+
+def _install_skin_light_mode_hook() -> None:
+    """Wrap SkinConfig.get_color at import time so EVERY skin color read goes
+    through the light-mode remap.  Idempotent."""
+    try:
+        from hermes_cli.skin_engine import SkinConfig  # type: ignore[import]
+    except Exception:
+        return
+    if getattr(SkinConfig, "_hermes_light_mode_hook_installed", False):
+        return
+    _orig_get_color = SkinConfig.get_color
+
+    def _wrapped_get_color(self, key, fallback=""):
+        value = _orig_get_color(self, key, fallback)
+        try:
+            return _maybe_remap_for_light_mode(value)
+        except Exception:
+            return value
+
+    SkinConfig.get_color = _wrapped_get_color  # type: ignore[method-assign]
+    SkinConfig._hermes_light_mode_hook_installed = True  # type: ignore[attr-defined]
+
+
+_install_skin_light_mode_hook()
+
+
+# Prime the light-mode detection cache early (at module load) when
+# we're running interactively so OSC 11 happens before pt grabs the
+# tty.  Skip for non-tty contexts (subagents, gateway, tests).
+try:
+    if sys.stdin.isatty() and sys.stdout.isatty():
+        _detect_light_mode()
+except Exception:
+    pass
+
+
+
 class _SkinAwareAnsi:
     """Lazy ANSI escape that resolves from the skin engine on first use.
 
@@ -1290,7 +1540,12 @@ class _SkinAwareAnsi:
 
 
 _ACCENT = _SkinAwareAnsi("response_border", "#FFD700", bold=True)
-_DIM = _SkinAwareAnsi("banner_dim", "#B8860B")
+# Use ANSI dim+italic attributes (\x1b[2;3m) instead of a hardcoded
+# hex color so dim/thinking text inherits the terminal's default
+# foreground color and stays readable in both light and dark
+# Terminal.app modes.  Hardcoded skin colors like #B8860B
+# (dark goldenrod) become invisible against light cream backgrounds.
+_DIM = "\x1b[2;3m"
 
 
 def _accent_hex() -> str:
@@ -7947,8 +8202,8 @@ class HermesCLI:
                         from hermes_cli.skin_engine import get_active_skin
                         _skin = get_active_skin()
                         label = _skin.get_branding("response_label", "⚕ Hermes")
-                        _resp_color = _skin.get_color("response_border", "#CD7F32")
+                        _resp_color = _maybe_remap_for_light_mode(_skin.get_color("response_border", "#CD7F32"))
-                        _resp_text = _skin.get_color("banner_text", "#FFF8DC")
+                        _resp_text = _maybe_remap_for_light_mode(_skin.get_color("banner_text", "#FFF8DC"))
                     except Exception:
                         label = "⚕ Hermes"
                         _resp_color = "#CD7F32"
@@ -8549,7 +8804,8 @@ class HermesCLI:
 
         set_active_skin(new_skin)
         _ACCENT.reset()  # Re-resolve ANSI color for the new skin
-        _DIM.reset()     # Re-resolve dim/secondary ANSI color for the new skin
+        # _DIM is now a fixed dim+italic ANSI escape (terminal-default fg)
+        # so it doesn't need re-resolving on skin switch.
         if save_config_value("display.skin", new_skin):
             print(f"  Skin set to: {new_skin} (saved)")
         else:
@@ -10928,12 +11184,12 @@ class HermesCLI:
                     from hermes_cli.skin_engine import get_active_skin
                     _skin = get_active_skin()
                     label = _skin.get_branding("response_label", "⚕ Hermes")
-                    _resp_color = _skin.get_color("response_border", "#CD7F32")
+                    _resp_color = _maybe_remap_for_light_mode(_skin.get_color("response_border", "#CD7F32"))
-                    _resp_text = _skin.get_color("banner_text", "#FFF8DC")
+                    _resp_text = _maybe_remap_for_light_mode(_skin.get_color("banner_text", "#FFF8DC"))
                 except Exception:
                     label = "⚕ Hermes"
-                    _resp_color = "#CD7F32"
+                    _resp_color = _maybe_remap_for_light_mode("#CD7F32")
-                    _resp_text = "#FFF8DC"
+                    _resp_text = _maybe_remap_for_light_mode("#FFF8DC")
 
                 is_error_response = result and (result.get("failed") or result.get("partial"))
                 already_streamed = self._stream_started and self._stream_box_opened and not is_error_response
@@ -11172,13 +11428,48 @@ class HermesCLI:
         return "".join(text for _, text in self._get_tui_prompt_fragments())
 
     def _build_tui_style_dict(self) -> dict[str, str]:
-        """Layer the active skin's prompt_toolkit colors over the base TUI style."""
+        """Layer the active skin's prompt_toolkit colors over the base TUI style.
+
+        Also rewrites any hex-color tokens in the resulting style strings
+        to their light-mode equivalents (via _LIGHT_MODE_REMAP) when the
+        terminal is detected as light.  This makes the chrome readable
+        on cream Terminal.app backgrounds without per-skin overrides.
+        """
         style_dict = dict(getattr(self, "_tui_style_base", {}) or {})
         try:
             from hermes_cli.skin_engine import get_prompt_toolkit_style_overrides
             style_dict.update(get_prompt_toolkit_style_overrides())
         except Exception:
             pass
+        # Light-mode remap on the style strings.  Each value is a pt
+        # style string like "bg:#1a1a2e #C0C0C0 bold" — split on space,
+        # rewrite any "#XXX" tokens (including "bg:#XXX") through the
+        # light-mode remap, rejoin.
+        #
+        # CRITICAL: skip the remap entirely when a style string already
+        # specifies its own bg (e.g. status-bar / completion-menu styles
+        # with `bg:#1a1a2e ...`).  Those colors were tuned for that
+        # specific dark bg and remapping the FG to a dark equivalent
+        # would produce dark-on-dark (invisible).  The terminal's BG
+        # mode is irrelevant — what matters is the bg the style itself
+        # paints.
+        try:
+            if _detect_light_mode():
+                def _remap_value(v: str) -> str:
+                    if not v:
+                        return v
+                    tokens = v.split()
+                    has_explicit_bg = any(t.startswith("bg:") for t in tokens)
+                    if has_explicit_bg:
+                        # The style paints its own bg — leave its fg alone.
+                        return v
+                    return " ".join(
+                        _maybe_remap_for_light_mode(t) if t.startswith("#") else t
+                        for t in tokens
+                    )
+                style_dict = {k: _remap_value(v or "") for k, v in style_dict.items()}
+        except Exception:
+            pass
         return style_dict
 
     def _apply_tui_skin_style(self) -> bool:
@@ -11264,6 +11555,13 @@ class HermesCLI:
 
     def run(self):
         """Run the interactive CLI loop with persistent input at bottom."""
+        # Detect light/dark terminal mode now (before pt grabs the tty).
+        # Caches the result so subsequent _hex_to_ansi / style calls
+        # don't risk re-querying mid-render.
+        try:
+            _detect_light_mode()
+        except Exception:
+            pass
         # Push the entire TUI to the bottom of the terminal so the banner,
         # responses, and prompt all appear pinned to the bottom — empty
         # space stays above, not below.  This prints enough blank lines to
@@ -13027,11 +13325,16 @@ class HermesCLI:
         
         # Style for the application
         self._tui_style_base = {
-            'input-area': '#FFF8DC',
+            # Input area / prompt: empty style strings inherit the
-            'placeholder': '#555555 italic',
+            # terminal's default foreground/background, so the typed
-            'prompt': '#FFF8DC',
+            # text is readable in both light and dark Terminal.app
+            # color schemes.  (Hardcoding a near-white #FFF8DC made
+            # input invisible on light backgrounds.)
+            'input-area': '',
+            'placeholder': '#888888 italic',
+            'prompt': '',
             'prompt-working': '#888888 italic',
-            'hint': '#555555 italic',
+            'hint': '#888888 italic',
             'status-bar': 'bg:#1a1a2e #C0C0C0',
             'status-bar-strong': 'bg:#1a1a2e #FFD700 bold',
             'status-bar-dim': 'bg:#1a1a2e #8B8682',
@@ -13090,19 +13393,70 @@ class HermesCLI:
         self._app = app  # Store reference for clarify_callback
 
         # ── Fix ghost status-bar lines on terminal resize ──────────────
-        # When the terminal shrinks (e.g. un-maximize), the emulator reflows
+        # Resize handling: monkey-patch prompt_toolkit's _output_screen_diff
-        # the previously-rendered full-width rows (status bar, input rules)
+        # to suppress the deliberate "reserve vertical space" scroll-up.
-        # into multiple narrower rows.  prompt_toolkit's _on_resize handler
-        # only cursor_up()s by the stored layout height, missing the extra
-        # rows created by reflow — leaving ghost duplicates visible.
         #
-        # It's not just column-shrink: widening, row-shrinking, and
+        # Background: prompt_toolkit's renderer (renderer.py L232-242)
-        # multiplexer-driven SIGWINCH-less redraws (cmux / tmux tab switch)
+        # explicitly moves the cursor to the bottom of the canvas after
-        # all produce the same class of drift, where the renderer's tracked
+        # painting "to make sure the terminal scrolls up, even when the
-        # _cursor_pos.y no longer matches terminal reality. The only reliable
+        # lower lines of the canvas just contain whitespace".  In
-        # recovery is a full screen-clear (\x1b[2J\x1b[H) before the next
+        # non-fullscreen mode this scrolls chrome content (status bar,
-        # redraw, so we force one on every resize rather than trying to
+        # input rules) into terminal scrollback on every render.  When
-        # compute the exact drift.
+        # the terminal column-shrinks, the emulator reflows the previously
+        # rendered full-width rows into multiple narrower rows that get
+        # pushed up — leaving ghost duplicates AND polluting scrollback.
+        # Same issue as pt #29 (open since 2014), #1675, #1933.
+        #
+        # Surgical fix: wrap _output_screen_diff so that when its internal
+        # `if current_height > previous_screen.height` branch fires (the
+        # one that does the bottom-cursor-move), we make it fall through
+        # by inflating previous_screen.height first.
+        try:
+            import prompt_toolkit.renderer as _pt_renderer
+            from prompt_toolkit.renderer import _output_screen_diff as _orig_osd
+
+            if not getattr(_pt_renderer, "_hermes_osd_patched", False):
+                def _patched_output_screen_diff(
+                    app, output, screen, current_pos, color_depth,
+                    previous_screen, last_style, is_done, full_screen,
+                    attrs_for_style_string, style_string_has_style,
+                    size, previous_width,
+                ):
+                    """Wraps pt's _output_screen_diff to suppress the
+                    reserve-vertical-space scroll (renderer.py L232-242).
+
+                    Strategy: ONLY when previous_screen is non-None and
+                    its current height is genuinely smaller than the new
+                    screen's height, inflate it to match.  This prevents
+                    the bottom-cursor-move at L242 without changing any
+                    other code path's behavior.
+
+                    Critical: do NOT replace a None previous_screen with
+                    a fresh Screen() — that would skip the proper
+                    reset_attributes()+erase_down() at L178-185 which
+                    fires when previous_screen is None (first-paint /
+                    width-change).  Without that reset, ANSI styles
+                    leak between renders.
+                    """
+                    try:
+                        if previous_screen is not None and hasattr(previous_screen, "height"):
+                            if previous_screen.height < screen.height:
+                                previous_screen.height = screen.height
+                    except Exception:
+                        pass
+
+                    return _orig_osd(
+                        app, output, screen, current_pos, color_depth,
+                        previous_screen, last_style, is_done, full_screen,
+                        attrs_for_style_string, style_string_has_style,
+                        size, previous_width,
+                    )
+
+                _pt_renderer._output_screen_diff = _patched_output_screen_diff
+                _pt_renderer._hermes_osd_patched = True
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+
         _original_on_resize = app._on_resize
 
         def _resize_clear_ghosts():

hermes_cli/skin_engine.py

@@ -849,10 +849,14 @@ def get_prompt_toolkit_style_overrides() -> Dict[str, str]:
     except Exception:
         return {}
 
-    prompt = skin.get_color("prompt", "#FFF8DC")
+    # Input/prompt: leave unset by default so the typed text inherits
+    # the terminal's foreground color (readable in both light and dark
+    # color schemes).  Skins can opt into a colored prompt by setting
+    # `prompt` explicitly in their YAML.
+    prompt = skin.get_color("prompt", "")
     input_rule = skin.get_color("input_rule", "#CD7F32")
     title = skin.get_color("banner_title", "#FFD700")
-    text = skin.get_color("banner_text", prompt)
+    text = skin.get_color("banner_text", "#FFF8DC")
     dim = skin.get_color("banner_dim", "#555555")
     label = skin.get_color("ui_label", title)
     warn = skin.get_color("ui_warn", "#FF8C00")
@@ -872,7 +876,11 @@ def get_prompt_toolkit_style_overrides() -> Dict[str, str]:
     menu_meta_current_bg = skin.get_color("completion_menu_meta_current_bg", menu_current_bg)
 
     return {
-        "input-area": prompt,
+        # Typed input always uses terminal default fg/bg so it's
+        # readable in both light and dark Terminal.app modes.  The
+        # skin's `prompt` color (if any) only styles the prompt symbol,
+        # NOT the user's typed text.
+        "input-area": "",
         "placeholder": f"{dim} italic",
         "prompt": prompt,
         "prompt-working": f"{dim} italic",