fix(coding-agent): resolve theme export variables closes #2707

packages/coding-agent/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -75,6 +75,10 @@ After runtime replacement, use `runtimeHost.session` as the new live session and
 
 - Added label timestamps to the session tree with a `Shift+T` toggle in `/tree`, smart date formatting, and timestamp preservation through branching ([#2691](https://github.com/badlogic/pi-mono/pull/2691) by [@w-winter](https://github.com/w-winter))
 
+### Fixed
+
+- Fixed theme `export` colors to resolve theme variables the same way as `colors`, so `/export` HTML backgrounds now honor entries like `pageBg: "base"` instead of requiring inline hex values ([#2707](https://github.com/badlogic/pi-mono/issues/2707))
+
 ## [0.64.0] - 2026-03-29
 
 ### New Features

packages/coding-agent/src/modes/interactive/theme/theme.ts

@@ -915,16 +915,12 @@ export function getThemeExportColors(themeName?: string): {
 		if (!exportSection) return {};
 
 		const vars = themeJson.vars ?? {};
-		const resolve = (value: string | number | undefined): string | undefined => {
+		const resolve = (value: ColorValue | undefined): string | undefined => {
 			if (value === undefined) return undefined;
-			if (typeof value === "number") return ansi256ToHex(value);
+			const resolved = resolveVarRefs(value, vars);
-			if (value.startsWith("$")) {
+			if (typeof resolved === "number") return ansi256ToHex(resolved);
-				const resolved = vars[value];
+			if (resolved === "") return undefined;
-				if (resolved === undefined) return undefined;
+			return resolved;
-				if (typeof resolved === "number") return ansi256ToHex(resolved);
-				return resolved;
-			}
-			return value;
 		};
 
 		return {

packages/coding-agent/test/theme-export.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+import { mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, readFileSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "os";
+import { join } from "path";
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { getThemeExportColors } from "../src/modes/interactive/theme/theme.js";
+
+type ThemeFile = {
+	name: string;
+	vars?: Record<string, string | number>;
+	colors: Record<string, string | number>;
+	export?: {
+		pageBg?: string | number;
+		cardBg?: string | number;
+		infoBg?: string | number;
+	};
+};
+
+describe("getThemeExportColors", () => {
+	let tempRoot: string;
+	let previousAgentDir: string | undefined;
+
+	beforeEach(() => {
+		tempRoot = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "pi-theme-export-"));
+		previousAgentDir = process.env.PI_CODING_AGENT_DIR;
+		process.env.PI_CODING_AGENT_DIR = join(tempRoot, "agent");
+		mkdirSync(join(process.env.PI_CODING_AGENT_DIR, "themes"), { recursive: true });
+	});
+
+	afterEach(() => {
+		rmSync(tempRoot, { recursive: true, force: true });
+		if (previousAgentDir === undefined) {
+			delete process.env.PI_CODING_AGENT_DIR;
+		} else {
+			process.env.PI_CODING_AGENT_DIR = previousAgentDir;
+		}
+	});
+
+	it("resolves export variable references using the same syntax as colors", () => {
+		const darkTheme = JSON.parse(
+			readFileSync(new URL("../src/modes/interactive/theme/dark.json", import.meta.url), "utf-8"),
+		) as ThemeFile;
+
+		const customTheme: ThemeFile = {
+			...darkTheme,
+			name: "custom-export-vars",
+			vars: {
+				...(darkTheme.vars ?? {}),
+				pageBgVar: "#112233",
+				pageBgAlias: "pageBgVar",
+				infoBgVar: "#445566",
+				cardBgVar: "#223344",
+			},
+			export: {
+				pageBg: "pageBgAlias",
+				cardBg: "cardBgVar",
+				infoBg: "infoBgVar",
+			},
+		};
+
+		writeFileSync(
+			join(process.env.PI_CODING_AGENT_DIR!, "themes", "custom-export-vars.json"),
+			JSON.stringify(customTheme, null, 2),
+		);
+
+		expect(getThemeExportColors("custom-export-vars")).toEqual({
+			pageBg: "#112233",
+			cardBg: "#223344",
+			infoBg: "#445566",
+		});
+	});
+
+	it("resolves recursive vars and converts 256-color export values to hex", () => {
+		const darkTheme = JSON.parse(
+			readFileSync(new URL("../src/modes/interactive/theme/dark.json", import.meta.url), "utf-8"),
+		) as ThemeFile;
+
+		const customTheme: ThemeFile = {
+			...darkTheme,
+			name: "custom-export-recursive",
+			vars: {
+				...(darkTheme.vars ?? {}),
+				deepPageBg: "#abcdef",
+				pageBgAlias: "deepPageBg",
+				cardBgAnsi: 24,
+			},
+			export: {
+				pageBg: "pageBgAlias",
+				cardBg: "cardBgAnsi",
+				infoBg: "",
+			},
+		};
+
+		writeFileSync(
+			join(process.env.PI_CODING_AGENT_DIR!, "themes", "custom-export-recursive.json"),
+			JSON.stringify(customTheme, null, 2),
+		);
+
+		expect(getThemeExportColors("custom-export-recursive")).toEqual({
+			pageBg: "#abcdef",
+			cardBg: "#005f87",
+			infoBg: undefined,
+		});
+	});
+});