diff --git a/apps/desktop/electron/main.ts b/apps/desktop/electron/main.ts
index 4eb6d039c7..40c97fa9a1 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/electron/main.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/electron/main.ts
@@ -273,6 +273,7 @@ import { registerTerminalIpc } from './terminal-ipc'
 import { nativeOverlayWidth as computeNativeOverlayWidth, macTitleBarOverlayHeight } from './titlebar-overlay-width'
 import {
   backgroundMaterialFor,
+  defaultTranslucencyState,
   glassActive,
   glassSupportedOn,
   normalizeState as normalizeTranslucency,
@@ -878,7 +879,12 @@ function readPersistedTranslucency() {
   try {
     return normalizeTranslucency(JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(TRANSLUCENCY_CONFIG_PATH, 'utf8')), GLASS_SUPPORTED)
   } catch {
-    return normalizeTranslucency(null, GLASS_SUPPORTED)
+    // Nothing persisted yet — a first launch. Glass ships on, so the FIRST
+    // window has to be created with the glass backing already: a window born
+    // opaque cannot reliably be swapped to glass afterwards (see
+    // windowBackingOptions). nativeTheme is the only appearance signal main
+    // has this early; the renderer's first resolved send corrects it.
+    return defaultTranslucencyState(nativeTheme.shouldUseDarkColors ? 'dark' : 'light', GLASS_SUPPORTED, IS_WINDOWS)
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/apps/desktop/electron/translucency.test.ts b/apps/desktop/electron/translucency.test.ts
index 351fc72576..276c5c4b00 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/electron/translucency.test.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/electron/translucency.test.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ import {
   clampIntensity,
   DEFAULT_GLASS_MATERIAL,
   DEFAULT_GLASS_SCOPE,
+  defaultTranslucencyState,
+  defaultTranslucencyValues,
   GLASS_MATERIALS,
   GLASS_SCOPES,
   glassActive,
@@ -24,10 +26,13 @@ import {
   glassSupportedOn,
   glassSurfaceKeep,
   hudFrostFor,
+  normalizeBook,
   normalizeMaterial,
   normalizeMode,
   normalizeScope,
   normalizeState,
+  resolveTranslucency,
+  setTranslucencyValues,
   TRANSLUCENCY_CURVE,
   TRANSLUCENCY_MAX,
   TRANSLUCENCY_MIN,
@@ -548,3 +553,119 @@ describe('what an update actually changes natively', () => {
     expect(nativeDiff(clear(60), glass(60))).toEqual({ backing: true, material: true, opacity: true })
   })
 })
+
+/**
+ * The shipped defaults, per platform. These are the numbers a fresh profile
+ * gets before anyone opens Settings, so they are the ones most people will
+ * ever see — and they differ by platform because the lever means different
+ * things behind macOS vibrancy and Windows acrylic.
+ */
+describe('the defaults a fresh profile lands on', () => {
+  const mac = (appearance: 'dark' | 'light') => defaultTranslucencyValues(appearance, false)
+  const win = (appearance: 'dark' | 'light') => defaultTranslucencyValues(appearance, true)
+
+  it('ships glass on, not a lever resting at zero', () => {
+    for (const values of [mac('light'), mac('dark'), win('light'), win('dark')]) {
+      expect(values.intensity).toBeGreaterThan(0)
+      expect(glassActive({ ...values, mode: 'glass' })).toBe(true)
+    }
+
+    for (const appearance of ['light', 'dark'] as const) {
+      expect(defaultTranslucencyState(appearance, true, false).mode).toBe('glass')
+      expect(defaultTranslucencyState(appearance, true, true).mode).toBe('glass')
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('falls back to clear where no native material exists', () => {
+    expect(defaultTranslucencyState('dark', false, false).mode).toBe('clear')
+  })
+
+  it('tints light more heavily than dark, on both platforms', () => {
+    // A dark field already separates from what is behind it; a bright one
+    // needs real thinning before the desktop reads as a layer underneath.
+    expect(mac('light').intensity).toBeGreaterThan(mac('dark').intensity)
+    expect(win('light').intensity).toBeGreaterThan(win('dark').intensity)
+  })
+
+  it('asks far less of Windows, which composites its own tint in DWM', () => {
+    expect(win('light').intensity).toBeLessThan(mac('light').intensity)
+    expect(win('dark').intensity).toBeLessThan(mac('dark').intensity)
+  })
+
+  it('never fades a Windows window — setOpacity dims the composited backdrop', () => {
+    expect(win('light').fade).toBe(0)
+    expect(win('dark').fade).toBe(0)
+  })
+
+  it('defaults each platform onto a frost that platform can actually render', () => {
+    for (const appearance of ['light', 'dark'] as const) {
+      expect(glassMaterialsFor(true)).toContain(win(appearance).material)
+      expect(glassMaterialsFor(false)).toContain(mac(appearance).material)
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('opens the whole window, not just the sidebar rail', () => {
+    for (const values of [mac('light'), mac('dark'), win('light'), win('dark')]) {
+      expect(values.scope).toBe('window')
+    }
+  })
+})
+
+/**
+ * The per-appearance ladder: appearance slot → base → platform default, per
+ * key. This is what makes tuning light mode stay in light mode while an
+ * untouched dark keeps inheriting.
+ */
+describe('resolving the book for the painted appearance', () => {
+  const empty = normalizeBook(null, true)
+
+  it('falls all the way through to the platform default', () => {
+    expect(resolveTranslucency(empty, 'dark', false).intensity).toBe(defaultTranslucencyValues('dark', false).intensity)
+    expect(resolveTranslucency(empty, 'dark', true).intensity).toBe(defaultTranslucencyValues('dark', true).intensity)
+  })
+
+  it('scopes an edit to the appearance it was made in', () => {
+    const book = setTranslucencyValues(empty, 'light', { intensity: 90 })
+
+    expect(resolveTranslucency(book, 'light', false).intensity).toBe(90)
+    expect(resolveTranslucency(book, 'dark', false).intensity).toBe(defaultTranslucencyValues('dark', false).intensity)
+  })
+
+  it('carries a v1 state into BOTH appearances via base', () => {
+    // Someone who tuned a window before appearances were split keeps exactly
+    // what was on screen, in either appearance, until they edit one of them.
+    const migrated = normalizeBook({ intensity: 40, mode: 'glass' }, true)
+
+    expect(migrated.base.intensity).toBe(40)
+    expect(resolveTranslucency(migrated, 'light', false).intensity).toBe(40)
+    expect(resolveTranslucency(migrated, 'dark', false).intensity).toBe(40)
+  })
+
+  it('lets an appearance override base without disturbing the other', () => {
+    const tuned = setTranslucencyValues(normalizeBook({ intensity: 40, mode: 'glass' }, true), 'dark', {
+      intensity: 10
+    })
+
+    expect(resolveTranslucency(tuned, 'dark', false).intensity).toBe(10)
+    expect(resolveTranslucency(tuned, 'light', false).intensity).toBe(40)
+  })
+
+  it('inherits per KEY, not per appearance', () => {
+    // Editing only the tint in dark must leave dark's material still tracking
+    // base — a partial edit is not a full snapshot of the appearance.
+    const book = setTranslucencyValues(normalizeBook({ material: 'popover', mode: 'glass' }, true), 'dark', {
+      intensity: 33
+    })
+    const resolved = resolveTranslucency(book, 'dark', false)
+
+    expect(resolved.intensity).toBe(33)
+    expect(resolved.material).toBe('popover')
+  })
+
+  it('keeps mode global — clear vs glass is about the window, not the palette', () => {
+    const book = setTranslucencyValues({ ...empty, mode: 'clear' }, 'light', { intensity: 50 })
+
+    expect(resolveTranslucency(book, 'light', false).mode).toBe('clear')
+    expect(resolveTranslucency(book, 'dark', false).mode).toBe('clear')
+  })
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/electron/translucency.ts b/apps/desktop/electron/translucency.ts
index 72f936e9cc..eecaf57f1b 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/electron/translucency.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/electron/translucency.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ export {
   clampIntensity,
   DEFAULT_GLASS_MATERIAL,
   DEFAULT_GLASS_SCOPE,
+  defaultTranslucencyState,
+  defaultTranslucencyValues,
   GLASS_MATERIALS,
   GLASS_SCOPES,
   glassActive,
@@ -27,10 +29,13 @@ export {
   glassSupportedOn,
   glassSurfaceKeep,
   hudFrostFor,
+  normalizeBook,
   normalizeMaterial,
   normalizeMode,
   normalizeScope,
   normalizeState,
+  resolveTranslucency,
+  setTranslucencyValues,
   TRANSLUCENCY_CURVE,
   TRANSLUCENCY_MAX,
   TRANSLUCENCY_MIN,
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/en.ts b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/en.ts
index f5f0664aa4..1e9c8a8bd1 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/en.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/en.ts
@@ -523,8 +523,9 @@ export const en: Translations = {
       terminalFontPreview: 'Glyph preview',
       terminalFontReset: 'Use default',
       translucencyTitle: 'Window Translucency',
-      translucencyDesc: 'See your desktop through the whole window, text and all.',
-      translucencyGlassDesc: 'Matte glass: the desktop shows through as a smooth blur while text stays sharp.',
+      translucencyDesc: 'See your desktop through the whole window, text and all. Tuned separately for light and dark.',
+      translucencyGlassDesc:
+        'Matte glass: the desktop shows through as a smooth blur while text stays sharp. Tuned separately for light and dark.',
       translucencyModeClear: 'Clear',
       translucencyModeGlass: 'Glass',
       translucencyTintTitle: 'Tint',
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/store/translucency.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/store/translucency.test.ts
index 1e9e0cadc9..0aa334ae1d 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/store/translucency.test.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/store/translucency.test.ts
@@ -16,13 +16,17 @@ import { onPersistenceEvent, type PersistenceEvent } from '@/lib/storage'
 
 import {
   $translucency,
+  $translucencyBook,
   $translucencyPeek,
   beginTranslucencyPeek,
+  defaultTranslucencyValues,
   endTranslucencyPeek,
   GLASS_SUPPORTED,
   isChatWindow,
   resetTranslucencyPeek,
+  setAppearance,
   setTranslucency,
+  setTranslucencyFade,
   setTranslucencyMaterial,
   setTranslucencyMode,
   setTranslucencyScope,
@@ -31,7 +35,15 @@ import {
   TRANSLUCENCY_STEP
 } from './translucency'
 
-const KEY = 'hermes.desktop.translucency.v1'
+const KEY = 'hermes.desktop.translucency.v2'
+const LEGACY_KEY = 'hermes.desktop.translucency.v1'
+
+// The book is per-appearance; the tests below drive one appearance at a time.
+// Dark is the store's initial appearance, so it is also the reset target.
+// This suite pins navigator.platform to a Mac before import, so the Mac table
+// is the one in play — `GLASS_IS_WINDOWS` resolves false throughout.
+const DARK = defaultTranslucencyValues('dark', false)
+const LIGHT = defaultTranslucencyValues('light', false)
 
 const glassAttr = () => document.documentElement.hasAttribute('data-hermes-glass')
 const clearAttr = () => document.documentElement.hasAttribute('data-hermes-clear')
@@ -56,14 +68,8 @@ describe('window translucency lever', () => {
   // NB: this asserts the module's INITIAL value, so it deliberately reads the
   // atom before the beforeEach above can touch it — the previous version of
   // this test ran after the reset and so proved nothing about the default.
-  it('starts off, with glass pre-selected on macOS', () => {
-    expect(initialTranslucency).toEqual({
-      intensity: TRANSLUCENCY_MIN,
-      fade: TRANSLUCENCY_MIN,
-      mode: GLASS_SUPPORTED ? 'glass' : 'clear',
-      material: DEFAULT_GLASS_MATERIAL,
-      scope: DEFAULT_GLASS_SCOPE
-    })
+  it('starts on the dark appearance defaults, glass-backed on macOS', () => {
+    expect(initialTranslucency).toEqual({ ...DARK, mode: GLASS_SUPPORTED ? 'glass' : 'clear' })
   })
 
   it('accepts every step the slider can emit', () => {
@@ -116,18 +122,13 @@ describe('window translucency lever', () => {
 
       vi.advanceTimersByTime(200)
 
-      // One write, carrying the value the hand landed on.
+      // One write, carrying the value the hand landed on — recorded against
+      // the appearance being painted, not against the shared base.
       expect(writes).toHaveLength(1)
       expect(writes.at(-1)).toEqual({
         key: KEY,
         op: 'write',
-        value: JSON.stringify({
-          intensity: 23,
-          fade: 0,
-          mode: 'clear',
-          material: DEFAULT_GLASS_MATERIAL,
-          scope: DEFAULT_GLASS_SCOPE
-        })
+        value: JSON.stringify({ ...$translucencyBook.get(), dark: { intensity: 23 } })
       })
     } finally {
       stop()
@@ -150,13 +151,7 @@ describe('window translucency lever', () => {
       }
 
       expect(calls).toHaveLength(5)
-      expect(calls.at(-1)).toEqual({
-        intensity: 40,
-        fade: 0,
-        mode: 'clear',
-        material: DEFAULT_GLASS_MATERIAL,
-        scope: DEFAULT_GLASS_SCOPE
-      })
+      expect(calls.at(-1)).toEqual({ ...DARK, intensity: 40, mode: 'clear' })
     } finally {
       vi.useRealTimers()
     }
@@ -353,10 +348,7 @@ describe('cross-window sync', () => {
   // Under glass main touches nothing native on an intensity change, so a
   // sibling window's storage event is the ONLY way this window hears about it.
   it("adopts a sibling window's persisted state", () => {
-    window.localStorage.setItem(
-      KEY,
-      JSON.stringify({ intensity: 77, mode: 'clear', material: DEFAULT_GLASS_MATERIAL, scope: DEFAULT_GLASS_SCOPE })
-    )
+    window.localStorage.setItem(KEY, JSON.stringify({ mode: 'clear', base: {}, light: {}, dark: { intensity: 77 } }))
 
     window.dispatchEvent(new StorageEvent('storage', { key: KEY, newValue: 'x' }))
 
@@ -365,7 +357,7 @@ describe('cross-window sync', () => {
 
   it('ignores storage events for other keys', () => {
     setTranslucency(12)
-    window.localStorage.setItem(KEY, JSON.stringify({ intensity: 99, mode: 'clear' }))
+    window.localStorage.setItem(KEY, JSON.stringify({ mode: 'clear', base: {}, light: {}, dark: { intensity: 99 } }))
 
     window.dispatchEvent(new StorageEvent('storage', { key: 'hermes.desktop.zoom.v1', newValue: 'x' }))
 
@@ -451,3 +443,163 @@ describe('isChatWindow', () => {
     }
   })
 })
+
+// A tint that reads as a whisper over a dark palette is a milky sheet over a
+// light one, so the same lever has to mean a different amount in each
+// appearance. These are the contract for that split.
+describe('per-appearance settings', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    window.localStorage.clear()
+    $translucencyBook.set({ mode: 'glass', base: {}, light: {}, dark: {} })
+    setAppearance('dark')
+  })
+
+  afterEach(() => setAppearance('dark'))
+
+  it('ships each appearance its own defaults', () => {
+    expect($translucency.get()).toEqual({ ...DARK, mode: 'glass' })
+
+    setAppearance('light')
+    expect($translucency.get()).toEqual({ ...LIGHT, mode: 'glass' })
+  })
+
+  it('ships glass ON, so the feature is visible without being found first', () => {
+    expect($translucency.get().mode).toBe('glass')
+    expect($translucency.get().intensity).toBeGreaterThan(0)
+
+    setAppearance('light')
+    expect($translucency.get().intensity).toBeGreaterThan(0)
+  })
+
+  it('scopes an edit to the appearance it was made in', () => {
+    setAppearance('light')
+    setTranslucency(90)
+    setTranslucencyFade(7)
+
+    expect($translucency.get().intensity).toBe(90)
+    expect($translucency.get().fade).toBe(7)
+
+    // Dark never heard about it and keeps its own default.
+    setAppearance('dark')
+    expect($translucency.get().intensity).toBe(DARK.intensity)
+    expect($translucency.get().fade).toBe(DARK.fade)
+
+    // ...and light still holds the edit on the way back.
+    setAppearance('light')
+    expect($translucency.get().intensity).toBe(90)
+  })
+
+  it('carries an unset key over from the shared base', () => {
+    $translucencyBook.set({ mode: 'glass', base: { intensity: 44, scope: 'sidebar' }, light: {}, dark: {} })
+
+    // Neither appearance has an opinion, so both inherit base.
+    expect($translucency.get().intensity).toBe(44)
+    expect($translucency.get().scope).toBe('sidebar')
+
+    setAppearance('light')
+    expect($translucency.get().intensity).toBe(44)
+
+    // An edit overrides only the key it touches; the rest keeps inheriting.
+    setTranslucency(12)
+    expect($translucency.get().intensity).toBe(12)
+    expect($translucency.get().scope).toBe('sidebar')
+
+    setAppearance('dark')
+    expect($translucency.get().intensity).toBe(44)
+  })
+
+  // Clear vs glass is a choice about the window, not about the palette —
+  // splitting it would mean flipping appearance silently changed the mode.
+  it('keeps the mode global across appearances', () => {
+    setTranslucencyMode('clear')
+    expect($translucency.get().mode).toBe('clear')
+
+    setAppearance('light')
+    expect($translucency.get().mode).toBe('clear')
+  })
+
+  // Switching appearance changes what is painted but not what is stored, so
+  // it must not schedule a write.
+  it('does not persist on an appearance switch alone', () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    const writes: PersistenceEvent[] = []
+
+    const stop = onPersistenceEvent(event => {
+      if (event.op === 'write') {
+        writes.push(event)
+      }
+    })
+
+    try {
+      setAppearance('light')
+      setAppearance('dark')
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(400)
+
+      expect(writes).toHaveLength(0)
+    } finally {
+      stop()
+      vi.useRealTimers()
+    }
+  })
+})
+
+// A window someone already tuned must survive the upgrade unchanged — the new
+// per-appearance defaults may only fill in where nothing was ever set.
+describe('v1 → v2 migration', () => {
+  afterEach(() => {
+    window.localStorage.clear()
+    setAppearance('dark')
+  })
+
+  it('lands a tuned v1 state in base, so both appearances inherit it', async () => {
+    window.localStorage.clear()
+    window.localStorage.setItem(
+      LEGACY_KEY,
+      JSON.stringify({ intensity: 31, fade: 4, mode: 'glass', material: 'popover', scope: 'sidebar' })
+    )
+
+    vi.resetModules()
+    const fresh = await import('./translucency')
+
+    expect(fresh.$translucencyBook.get()).toEqual({
+      mode: 'glass',
+      base: { intensity: 31, fade: 4, material: 'popover', scope: 'sidebar' },
+      light: {},
+      dark: {}
+    })
+
+    fresh.setAppearance('light')
+    expect(fresh.$translucency.get()).toEqual({
+      intensity: 31,
+      fade: 4,
+      mode: 'glass',
+      material: 'popover',
+      scope: 'sidebar'
+    })
+  })
+
+  // The legacy rule: a non-zero v1 intensity with no mode was rendering as
+  // clear all along and has to keep doing so.
+  it('keeps a legacy mode-less state on clear', async () => {
+    window.localStorage.clear()
+    window.localStorage.setItem(LEGACY_KEY, JSON.stringify({ intensity: 25 }))
+
+    vi.resetModules()
+    const fresh = await import('./translucency')
+
+    expect(fresh.$translucency.get().mode).toBe('clear')
+    expect(fresh.$translucency.get().intensity).toBe(25)
+  })
+
+  it('prefers a v2 book over a stale v1 state', async () => {
+    window.localStorage.clear()
+    window.localStorage.setItem(LEGACY_KEY, JSON.stringify({ intensity: 25, mode: 'clear' }))
+    window.localStorage.setItem(KEY, JSON.stringify({ mode: 'glass', base: {}, light: {}, dark: { intensity: 8 } }))
+
+    vi.resetModules()
+    const fresh = await import('./translucency')
+
+    expect(fresh.$translucency.get().mode).toBe('glass')
+    expect(fresh.$translucency.get().intensity).toBe(8)
+  })
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/store/translucency.ts b/apps/desktop/src/store/translucency.ts
index 4bb0c89944..1c5e62bfdb 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/store/translucency.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/store/translucency.ts
@@ -1,18 +1,28 @@
 /**
  * Window translucency (see-through window).
  *
- * One lever, 0–100. 0 = off (fully opaque, the default). Two modes decide HOW
- * the desktop shows through — see `@hermes/shared/translucency`, which owns the
- * mapping both this store and the main process read.
+ * One lever, 0–100. Two modes decide HOW the desktop shows through — see
+ * `@hermes/shared/translucency`, which owns the mapping both this store and the
+ * main process read.
  *
- * The renderer owns the value and mirrors it to the main process over IPC.
- * Glass additionally needs page-level work, which lives here: the field
- * surfaces have to get out of the way for the platform material underneath the
- * web contents to read (see the `[data-hermes-glass]` block in styles.css).
+ * Settings are kept per light/dark appearance: a tint that reads as a whisper
+ * over a dark palette is a milky sheet over a light one. The book of settings
+ * is the persisted unit (`TranslucencyBook`); `$translucency` publishes the
+ * RESOLVED state for the appearance currently painted, so every consumer —
+ * the CSS field surfaces, the main process, the HUD — keeps reading one flat
+ * state and never has to know appearances were split.
+ *
+ * The renderer owns the value and mirrors the resolved state to the main
+ * process over IPC. Glass additionally needs page-level work, which lives
+ * here: the field surfaces have to get out of the way for the platform
+ * material underneath the web contents to read (see the `[data-hermes-glass]`
+ * block in styles.css).
  */
 
 import {
+  type Appearance,
   clampIntensity,
+  defaultTranslucencyValues,
   GLASS_MATERIALS,
   GLASS_SCOPES,
   type GlassMaterial,
@@ -20,21 +30,26 @@ import {
   glassMaterialsFor,
   type GlassScope,
   glassSurfaceKeep,
+  normalizeBook,
   normalizeMaterial,
   normalizeScope,
-  normalizeState,
+  resolveTranslucency,
+  setTranslucencyValues,
   TRANSLUCENCY_MAX,
   TRANSLUCENCY_MIN,
   TRANSLUCENCY_STEP,
+  type TranslucencyBook,
   type TranslucencyMode,
-  type TranslucencyState
+  type TranslucencyState,
+  type TranslucencyValues
 } from '@hermes/shared/translucency'
-import { atom } from 'nanostores'
+import { atom, computed } from 'nanostores'
 
 import { isMacPlatform, isWindowsPlatform } from '@/lib/platform'
 import { readJson, writeJson } from '@/lib/storage'
 
 export {
+  defaultTranslucencyValues,
   GLASS_MATERIALS,
   GLASS_SCOPES,
   glassMaterialForPicker,
@@ -44,6 +59,8 @@ export {
   TRANSLUCENCY_STEP
 }
 
+export type { Appearance }
+
 /**
  * Glass needs a native window material. Electron is authoritative (preload
  * sets `hermesDesktop.glassSupported` from `os.release()` so Win10 cannot
@@ -69,40 +86,65 @@ export const TRANSLUCENCY_SUPPORTED =
 /** Windows collapses the frost ladder — see `glassMaterialsFor`. */
 export const GLASS_IS_WINDOWS = GLASS_SUPPORTED && !isMacPlatform()
 
-const KEY = 'hermes.desktop.translucency.v1'
+// v1 held a flat state (one setting for both appearances); v2 is the book.
+// Reading v1 as the seed is what carries an already-tuned window across the
+// upgrade — normalizeBook lands those values in `base`, which both appearances
+// inherit until one of them is edited.
+const KEY = 'hermes.desktop.translucency.v2'
+const LEGACY_KEY = 'hermes.desktop.translucency.v1'
 
-// The v1 key used to hold a bare intensity (`"23"`). Normalization lives in the
-// shared module so this and the main process resolve the default the same way —
-// including the legacy rule, where a saved NON-ZERO intensity with no mode means
-// a profile that has been rendering as clear all along and must keep doing so.
-const read = (): TranslucencyState => {
-  const stored = readJson<unknown>(KEY)
+const read = (): TranslucencyBook =>
+  normalizeBook(readJson<unknown>(KEY) ?? readJson<unknown>(LEGACY_KEY), GLASS_SUPPORTED)
 
-  return normalizeState(stored && typeof stored === 'object' ? stored : { intensity: stored }, GLASS_SUPPORTED)
+/** The persisted book. Settings edits it; everything else reads `$translucency`. */
+export const $translucencyBook = atom<TranslucencyBook>(
+  typeof window === 'undefined' ? normalizeBook(null, false) : read()
+)
+
+/**
+ * Which palette is on screen. Published by the theme provider from its
+ * RENDERED mode (background luminance), not the light/dark preference — a
+ * skin that keeps a bright surface in "dark" wants light's tint.
+ */
+export const $appearance = atom<Appearance>('dark')
+
+export function setAppearance(appearance: Appearance): void {
+  if ($appearance.get() !== appearance) {
+    $appearance.set(appearance)
+  }
 }
 
-const initial: TranslucencyState = typeof window === 'undefined' ? normalizeState(null, false) : read()
+/** The resolved state for the painted appearance — the shape every consumer reads. */
+export const $translucency = computed([$translucencyBook, $appearance], (book, appearance) =>
+  resolveTranslucency(book, appearance, GLASS_IS_WINDOWS)
+)
 
-export const $translucency = atom<TranslucencyState>(initial)
+/** Write an edit against the appearance being painted. */
+const edit = (patch: Partial<TranslucencyValues>): void => {
+  $translucencyBook.set(setTranslucencyValues($translucencyBook.get(), $appearance.get(), patch))
+}
 
 export function setTranslucency(intensity: number): void {
-  $translucency.set({ ...$translucency.get(), intensity: clampIntensity(intensity) })
+  edit({ intensity: clampIntensity(intensity) })
 }
 
 export function setTranslucencyFade(fade: number): void {
-  $translucency.set({ ...$translucency.get(), fade: clampIntensity(fade) })
+  edit({ fade: clampIntensity(fade) })
 }
 
 export function setTranslucencyMode(mode: TranslucencyMode): void {
-  $translucency.set({ ...$translucency.get(), mode: mode === 'glass' && GLASS_SUPPORTED ? 'glass' : 'clear' })
+  $translucencyBook.set({
+    ...$translucencyBook.get(),
+    mode: mode === 'glass' && GLASS_SUPPORTED ? 'glass' : 'clear'
+  })
 }
 
 export function setTranslucencyMaterial(material: GlassMaterial): void {
-  $translucency.set({ ...$translucency.get(), material: normalizeMaterial(material) })
+  edit({ material: normalizeMaterial(material) })
 }
 
 export function setTranslucencyScope(scope: GlassScope): void {
-  $translucency.set({ ...$translucency.get(), scope: normalizeScope(scope) })
+  edit({ scope: normalizeScope(scope) })
 }
 
 // Glass thins surfaces only in real chat windows (the primary window and
@@ -313,13 +355,20 @@ if (typeof window !== 'undefined') {
 
   const persist = () => {
     storageTimer = null
-    writeJson(KEY, $translucency.get())
+    writeJson(KEY, $translucencyBook.get())
   }
 
+  // The RESOLVED state drives paint and IPC — main only ever cares about the
+  // appearance on screen. Switching light/dark therefore re-sends, which is
+  // exactly right: the window's tint and native opacity change with it.
   $translucency.subscribe(state => {
     applyGlassSurfaces(state)
     window.hermesDesktop?.setTranslucency?.(state)
+  })
 
+  // Persistence follows the BOOK, so an appearance switch (which changes the
+  // resolved state but not the settings) never schedules a pointless write.
+  $translucencyBook.subscribe(() => {
     if (storageTimer !== null) {
       window.clearTimeout(storageTimer)
     }
@@ -346,16 +395,9 @@ if (typeof window !== 'undefined') {
     }
 
     const next = read()
-    const current = $translucency.get()
 
-    if (
-      next.intensity !== current.intensity ||
-      next.fade !== current.fade ||
-      next.mode !== current.mode ||
-      next.material !== current.material ||
-      next.scope !== current.scope
-    ) {
-      $translucency.set(next)
+    if (JSON.stringify(next) !== JSON.stringify($translucencyBook.get())) {
+      $translucencyBook.set(next)
     }
   })
 
diff --git a/apps/shared/src/translucency.ts b/apps/shared/src/translucency.ts
index fe8ea43b5f..4469d54906 100644
--- a/apps/shared/src/translucency.ts
+++ b/apps/shared/src/translucency.ts
@@ -112,6 +112,86 @@ export interface TranslucencyState {
   scope: GlassScope
 }
 
+/**
+ * The half of the state that is scoped to the light/dark appearance.
+ *
+ * A tint that reads as a whisper over a dark palette is a milky sheet over a
+ * light one, so one shared number cannot serve both — the same setting has to
+ * mean a different amount in each appearance. `mode` stays global: clear vs
+ * glass is a choice about the window, not about the palette.
+ */
+export type TranslucencyValues = Omit<TranslucencyState, 'mode'>
+
+export type Appearance = 'light' | 'dark'
+
+/**
+ * Per-appearance defaults, per platform family. Glass ships ON: it is the
+ * better-looking half of the feature, and a lever that starts at zero is a
+ * feature nobody finds.
+ *
+ * The two platforms need different numbers because the lever means different
+ * things behind them. `intensity` is how much of the theme tint the renderer
+ * REMOVES (see `glassSurfaceKeep`), and what shows through underneath is a
+ * native material with its own weight:
+ *
+ * - macOS vibrancy is genuinely sheer, so the tint has to come most of the way
+ *   off before the desktop reads at all. Light leans heavy — a bright desktop
+ *   behind a bright window needs real thinning before the field separates —
+ *   with a single point of fade so the window edge reads as glass rather than
+ *   as paint. Dark takes far less: a dark field already separates, and the
+ *   tint that flatters light would smother it.
+ * - Windows acrylic composites its OWN tint in DWM before the page is drawn,
+ *   so the renderer's tint stacks on top of a backdrop that is already doing
+ *   the work. The same numbers that read as frost on a Mac read as a washed
+ *   sheet here; these stay low and let DWM carry it. Fade stays at zero —
+ *   `setOpacity` over a system backdrop dims the composited result rather than
+ *   deepening it.
+ *
+ * Both sit on the frost each platform renders best: 'header' and 'titlebar'
+ * are macOS-only rungs (on Windows they collapse onto mica — see
+ * `glassMaterialsFor`), while 'under-window' is the acrylic rung, the live
+ * blur closest to what macOS calls under-window.
+ */
+const DEFAULT_VALUES: Record<'mac' | 'windows', Record<Appearance, TranslucencyValues>> = {
+  mac: {
+    light: { intensity: 66, fade: 1, material: 'header', scope: 'window' },
+    dark: { intensity: 22, fade: 0, material: 'titlebar', scope: 'window' }
+  },
+  windows: {
+    light: { intensity: 20, fade: 0, material: 'under-window', scope: 'window' },
+    dark: { intensity: 5, fade: 0, material: 'under-window', scope: 'window' }
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * The untouched values for an appearance on this platform. Linux never reaches
+ * here — translucency is unsupported there, so nothing resolves.
+ */
+export function defaultTranslucencyValues(appearance: Appearance, isWindows: boolean): TranslucencyValues {
+  return DEFAULT_VALUES[isWindows ? 'windows' : 'mac'][appearance]
+}
+
+/**
+ * The renderer's book of translucency settings.
+ *
+ * `base` is the shared rung: a value the user set before appearances were
+ * split (a migrated v1 state), or one they have never touched. An appearance
+ * slot only carries the keys edited WHILE that appearance was painted, so
+ * changing the tint in light mode leaves dark's alone and an untouched dark
+ * still inherits whatever base says. That is the ladder — appearance over base
+ * over default, per key, so \"unset\" keeps carrying over.
+ *
+ * The book is renderer-owned. The main process is handed the RESOLVED state
+ * (see `resolveTranslucency`) because a window's backing, vibrancy and opacity
+ * only ever concern the appearance actually on screen.
+ */
+export interface TranslucencyBook {
+  mode: TranslucencyMode
+  base: Partial<TranslucencyValues>
+  light: Partial<TranslucencyValues>
+  dark: Partial<TranslucencyValues>
+}
+
 export const TRANSLUCENCY_MIN = 0
 export const TRANSLUCENCY_MAX = 100
 
@@ -213,6 +293,114 @@ export function normalizeState(payload: unknown, glassSupported: boolean): Trans
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * The resolved state a surface should assume before anyone has said otherwise.
+ *
+ * Main needs this at window CREATION on a first launch: the renderer has not
+ * reported yet, and a window created with the opaque backing cannot reliably
+ * be swapped to glass moments later (see `windowBackingOptions`). Guessing the
+ * appearance from `nativeTheme` is close enough — the renderer's first resolved
+ * send corrects any mismatch while the window is still young, and every launch
+ * after the first reads the persisted state instead.
+ */
+export function defaultTranslucencyState(
+  appearance: Appearance,
+  glassSupported: boolean,
+  isWindows: boolean
+): TranslucencyState {
+  return {
+    ...defaultTranslucencyValues(appearance, isWindows),
+    mode: normalizeMode(undefined, glassSupported)
+  }
+}
+
+/** Keep only the value keys actually present, each normalized. Unknown keys drop. */
+function normalizeValues(payload: unknown): Partial<TranslucencyValues> {
+  const record = payload && typeof payload === 'object' ? (payload as Record<string, unknown>) : {}
+  const out: Partial<TranslucencyValues> = {}
+
+  if (record.intensity !== undefined) {
+    out.intensity = clampIntensity(record.intensity)
+  }
+
+  if (record.fade !== undefined) {
+    out.fade = clampIntensity(record.fade)
+  }
+
+  if (record.material !== undefined) {
+    out.material = normalizeMaterial(record.material)
+  }
+
+  if (record.scope !== undefined) {
+    out.scope = normalizeScope(record.scope)
+  }
+
+  return out
+}
+
+/**
+ * Parse a persisted book, or migrate a flat v1 state into one.
+ *
+ * A v1 payload is a window someone already tuned, so its values land in `base`
+ * — every appearance inherits exactly what was on screen before the upgrade,
+ * and the new per-appearance defaults apply only where nothing was ever set.
+ * The legacy clear rule rides along: a non-zero v1 intensity with no mode was
+ * rendering as clear and keeps doing so.
+ */
+export function normalizeBook(payload: unknown, glassSupported: boolean): TranslucencyBook {
+  const record = payload && typeof payload === 'object' ? (payload as Record<string, unknown>) : {}
+  const migrating = record.base === undefined && record.light === undefined && record.dark === undefined
+
+  const base = normalizeValues(migrating ? record : record.base)
+  const legacyIntensity = migrating ? clampIntensity(record.intensity) : 0
+
+  return {
+    mode: normalizeMode(record.mode, glassSupported, legacyIntensity),
+    base,
+    light: normalizeValues(migrating ? null : record.light),
+    dark: normalizeValues(migrating ? null : record.dark)
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Flatten the book for one appearance: appearance slot → base → default.
+ *
+ * This is the only thing outside the renderer's settings surface that should
+ * ever be handed around — main, the CSS field surfaces, and every consumer of
+ * `$translucency` all want the resolved answer for what is painted right now.
+ */
+export function resolveTranslucency(
+  book: TranslucencyBook,
+  appearance: Appearance,
+  isWindows: boolean
+): TranslucencyState {
+  const fallback = defaultTranslucencyValues(appearance, isWindows)
+  const slot = book[appearance]
+
+  return {
+    mode: book.mode,
+    intensity: slot.intensity ?? book.base.intensity ?? fallback.intensity,
+    fade: slot.fade ?? book.base.fade ?? fallback.fade,
+    material: slot.material ?? book.base.material ?? fallback.material,
+    scope: slot.scope ?? book.base.scope ?? fallback.scope
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Record an edit against the appearance being painted.
+ *
+ * The edit is written to the appearance slot rather than to base, so tuning
+ * light mode is scoped to light mode. Base is left intact as the inheritance
+ * rung for whichever appearance has not been touched.
+ */
+export function setTranslucencyValues(
+  book: TranslucencyBook,
+  appearance: Appearance,
+  patch: Partial<TranslucencyValues>
+): TranslucencyBook {
+  return { ...book, [appearance]: { ...book[appearance], ...normalizeValues(patch) } }
+}
+
 /** Lever percent → native window opacity, floored so it stays usable. */
 function opacityRamp(lever: number): number {
   const ratio = clampIntensity(lever) / TRANSLUCENCY_MAX