diff --git a/docs/web-ui/css-vars.md b/docs/web-ui/css-vars.md
index 90ba5f9c..daf8b2b0 100644
--- a/docs/web-ui/css-vars.md
+++ b/docs/web-ui/css-vars.md
@@ -71,6 +71,12 @@ default palette). Default hexes shown are Catppuccin Mocha.
 | `--muted`      | `mix(base05 55.5%, base00)` | `#7f849c`   | secondary / dimmed text                                         |
 | `--subtext0`   | `mix(base05 77.7%, base00)` | `#a6adc8`   | toolbar/status text; dimmer than `--fg`, lighter than `--muted` |
 
+The shares in the `--muted` and `--subtext0` rows are the dark palette's. The light
+palette keeps more of the text colour (85% and 93%, set in `colors.css` as
+`--muted-share` and `--subtext0-share`), because the dark shares leave its dimmed
+text at 2.4:1 against a card, short of the 4.5:1 AA asks for. A palette that sets
+neither variable, such as a generated one, keeps the dark shares.
+
 ## Common mistakes
 
 The Catppuccin colour names **don't** map 1:1 to the variable names.
diff --git a/frontend/packages/shared/src/colors.css b/frontend/packages/shared/src/colors.css
index 927a842b..f9fdd650 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/shared/src/colors.css
+++ b/frontend/packages/shared/src/colors.css
@@ -128,6 +128,9 @@
     --base0D: var(--latte-base0D);
     --base0E: var(--latte-base0E);
     --base0F: var(--latte-base0F);
+    /* Dimmed text on the light palette: see `--muted-share` in theme.css. */
+    --muted-share: 85%;
+    --subtext0-share: 93%;
   }
 }
 
@@ -159,6 +162,9 @@
   --base0D: var(--latte-base0D);
   --base0E: var(--latte-base0E);
   --base0F: var(--latte-base0F);
+  /* Dimmed text on the light palette: see `--muted-share` in theme.css. */
+  --muted-share: 85%;
+  --subtext0-share: 93%;
 }
 :root[data-theme="dark"] {
   --base00: var(--mocha-base00);
diff --git a/frontend/packages/shared/src/theme.css b/frontend/packages/shared/src/theme.css
index f26561f5..a1d3d389 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/shared/src/theme.css
+++ b/frontend/packages/shared/src/theme.css
@@ -36,14 +36,19 @@
   ); /* terminal / code bg, below --bg */
   --muted: color-mix(
     in srgb,
-    var(--base05) 55.5%,
+    var(--base05) var(--muted-share, 55.5%),
     var(--base00)
   ); /* secondary / dimmed text */
   --subtext0: color-mix(
     in srgb,
-    var(--base05) 77.7%,
+    var(--base05) var(--subtext0-share, 77.7%),
     var(--base00)
   ); /* toolbar/status text; dimmer than --fg, lighter than --muted */
+  /* `--muted-share` and `--subtext0-share` are how much of the text colour each
+     mix keeps. A palette whose background is light sets them higher in
+     `colors.css`: at the dark palette's 55.5% the light one's muted text was
+     2.4:1 against its card background, short of the 4.5:1 AA asks for. A palette
+     that sets neither keeps the shares above. */
 
   /* `--muted`, above, is mixed toward `--base00`/`--bg` — correct for
      dimmed text on the page background, wrong for dimmed text sitting on