[SOUMITRO-SAHA]

Fixes #824

Problem

With the Win98 theme, input fields painted .bg(t.background) + .text_color(t.foreground), and the theme sets both to #000000 — typed text was invisible in the command palette (Cmd+Shift+P), the picker (Cmd+P), help, prompt, worktree, machine-add, settings (machine rename, font picker search), feedback and the changes commit-message field.

Selected text was unreadable too: the theme's selection is opaque #000080 (navy) and selected glyphs keep their black ink.

Fix

Input fields take the theme's input color as their background — no hardcoded values, each theme decides:

• win98 ships colors.input: #ffffff → the white Win98 text box with black text
• stock themes derive a translucent field wash (#ffffff24 dark / #00000026 light), so fields read as fields in every theme

Fields that had no background of their own (settings font-picker search, changes commit message) get bg(t.input) as well, so they are readable under win98 too.

Selection readability (defaults/themes/win98.json): theme files require opaque #rrggbb for palette fields but allow #rrggbbaa in colors, and the terminal drops alpha when it reads this token. So a colors.selection: "#00008080" override gives panels a translucent navy band (black selected text reads on the white field) while the terminal keeps its authentic opaque navy selection.

Docs: defaults/AGENTS.md and defaults/herdr.d.ts now describe input as "text fields, a stronger border".

Testing

• just test: 148 bun + 490 cargo tests pass
• herdr-app check passes for all six changed mods
• Verified live on macOS in an isolated home: win98 palette, picker, prompt and settings fields are white with readable text; selected text readable; main layout (atom-one-dark) shows only the subtle field wash; terminal selection unchanged

[SOUMITRO-SAHA]

Demo recording — left: dev build with this PR · right: production app — both on the Win98 layout.

What to look for:

• Command palette (Cmd+Shift+P), typing "test": right side — the field is black and the typed text is invisible; left side — the white Win98 text box, every keystroke readable.
• Picker (Cmd+P), typing "test": same story — invisible on the right, white field with readable text on the left.
• Settings → Machines → Rename, select the name: right side — black text on the navy selection band, unreadable; left side — same navy selection, text readable (panels get the translucent band; terminals keep the opaque navy).

2026-11-15_02-24-11.mp4