diff --git a/flatlaf-core/src/main/java/com/formdev/flatlaf/FlatLaf.java b/flatlaf-core/src/main/java/com/formdev/flatlaf/FlatLaf.java
index 6fe7f5f4..28aba22a 100644
--- a/flatlaf-core/src/main/java/com/formdev/flatlaf/FlatLaf.java
+++ b/flatlaf-core/src/main/java/com/formdev/flatlaf/FlatLaf.java
@@ -344,6 +344,10 @@ public abstract class FlatLaf
 	public UIDefaults getDefaults() {
 		UIDefaults defaults = super.getDefaults();
 
+		// add flag that indicates whether the LaF is light or dark
+		// (can be queried without using FlatLaf API)
+		defaults.put( "laf.dark", isDark() );
+
 		// add resource bundle for localized texts
 		defaults.addResourceBundle( "com.formdev.flatlaf.resources.Bundle" );
 
diff --git a/flatlaf-testing/dumps/uidefaults/FlatDarkLaf_1.8.0_202.txt b/flatlaf-testing/dumps/uidefaults/FlatDarkLaf_1.8.0_202.txt
index c734a7a1..6052f589 100644
--- a/flatlaf-testing/dumps/uidefaults/FlatDarkLaf_1.8.0_202.txt
+++ b/flatlaf-testing/dumps/uidefaults/FlatDarkLaf_1.8.0_202.txt
@@ -1272,6 +1272,7 @@ infoText                       #bbbbbb    javax.swing.plaf.ColorUIResource [UI]
 
 #---- laf ----
 
+laf.dark                       true
 laf.scaleFactor                [active] 1.0
 
 
diff --git a/flatlaf-testing/dumps/uidefaults/FlatLightLaf_1.8.0_202.txt b/flatlaf-testing/dumps/uidefaults/FlatLightLaf_1.8.0_202.txt
index 98953b70..a7676c87 100644
--- a/flatlaf-testing/dumps/uidefaults/FlatLightLaf_1.8.0_202.txt
+++ b/flatlaf-testing/dumps/uidefaults/FlatLightLaf_1.8.0_202.txt
@@ -1277,6 +1277,7 @@ infoText                       #000000    javax.swing.plaf.ColorUIResource [UI]
 
 #---- laf ----
 
+laf.dark                       false
 laf.scaleFactor                [active] 1.0
 
 
diff --git a/flatlaf-testing/dumps/uidefaults/FlatTestLaf_1.8.0_202.txt b/flatlaf-testing/dumps/uidefaults/FlatTestLaf_1.8.0_202.txt
index 990177b5..5c238ae8 100644
--- a/flatlaf-testing/dumps/uidefaults/FlatTestLaf_1.8.0_202.txt
+++ b/flatlaf-testing/dumps/uidefaults/FlatTestLaf_1.8.0_202.txt
@@ -1269,6 +1269,7 @@ infoText                       #ff0000    javax.swing.plaf.ColorUIResource [UI]
 
 #---- laf ----
 
+laf.dark                       false
 laf.scaleFactor                [active] 1.0
 
 
diff --git a/flatlaf-theme-editor/src/main/resources/com/formdev/flatlaf/themeeditor/FlatLafUIKeys.txt b/flatlaf-theme-editor/src/main/resources/com/formdev/flatlaf/themeeditor/FlatLafUIKeys.txt
index 26f37430..ebc18cc3 100644
--- a/flatlaf-theme-editor/src/main/resources/com/formdev/flatlaf/themeeditor/FlatLafUIKeys.txt
+++ b/flatlaf-theme-editor/src/main/resources/com/formdev/flatlaf/themeeditor/FlatLafUIKeys.txt
@@ -913,6 +913,7 @@ inactiveCaptionBorder
 inactiveCaptionText
 info
 infoText
+laf.dark
 laf.scaleFactor
 menu
 menuText