diff --git a/dashboard/src/routes/+layout.svelte b/dashboard/src/routes/+layout.svelte
index 61631a6..e5c9288 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/routes/+layout.svelte
+++ b/dashboard/src/routes/+layout.svelte
@@ -72,11 +72,33 @@
 </div>
 
 <style>
+	:global(:root) {
+		/* Slate-based dark palette — the source of truth for tokens that
+		   per-page styles reference via `var(--name, fallback)`. Without
+		   these defaults the fallbacks (e.g. #666 muted text on #f5f5f5
+		   secondary background) render light-on-dark and bury content
+		   on dead-letters, files, users, invitations and queues pages. */
+		--bg-primary: #0f172a;
+		--bg-secondary: #0b1220;
+		--bg-elevated: #1e293b;
+		--text-primary: #e2e8f0;
+		--text-muted: #94a3b8;
+		--text-subtle: #64748b;
+		--border: #334155;
+		--border-subtle: #1e293b;
+		--color-link: #38bdf8;
+		--color-muted: #94a3b8;
+		--color-danger: #f87171;
+		--color-danger-bg: #7f1d1d;
+		--color-success: #34d399;
+		--color-warning: #fbbf24;
+	}
+
 	:global(html, body) {
 		margin: 0;
 		font-family: ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', sans-serif;
-		background: #0f172a;
-		color: #e2e8f0;
+		background: var(--bg-primary);
+		color: var(--text-primary);
 	}
 
 	.shell {