zen-browser/desktop

Tab preview text illegible in front of light background

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#12410 opened on Feb 16, 2026

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 (3 comments) (2 reactions) (0 assignees)JavaScript (42,031 stars) (1,498 forks)batch import
Bugcomponent: tabsgood first issueplatform: macOS

Description

Preliminary Checks

  • I have read and understood the important section above.
  • I have searched existing issues and avoided creating duplicates.
  • I am not filing an enhancement request.
  • I have checked that this issue cannot be reproduced on Mozilla Firefox.
  • I have checked that this issue can be reproduced once I removed all my Mods and Custom CSS.

What happened?

When hovering over a tab to see its preview and title, if the open tab has a white/light background, the tab preview text becomes completely illegible due to the light background

Expected behavior

I would expect the text in the tab preview be dark enough to read in front of a white backgroun

Actual behavior

The text in the tab preview is not dark enough to read in front of a white background

Steps to reproduce

  1. Open a tab with a white page
  2. Hover over a closed tab to see the tab preview

Screenshots and videos

Version

1.18.8b

What platform are you seeing the problem on?

macOS - aarch64

What component is this issue related to?

Tabs

Relevant log output if applicable

Contributor guide

Tech stack
csshtml
Domain
frontend
Issue type
bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
2
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
under 1 hour
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
fresh
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
basic CSS knowledgebrowser developer tools
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
80
Research direction
The issue is a CSS styling bug where tab preview text is illegible on light backgrounds. Look for the CSS rules controlling the tab preview text color and background in the browser's UI, likely in files like `tab.css` or similar within the repository. Test different color values for the text or add a semi transparent background to ensure readability.