diff --git a/frontend/src/components/PlexSidebar.tsx b/frontend/src/components/PlexSidebar.tsx
index e797d62..bdd8f47 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/PlexSidebar.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/PlexSidebar.tsx
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ export default function PlexSidebar({
   }
 
   return (
-    <aside className="hidden md:block w-64 shrink-0 border-r border-border bg-surface/40 overflow-y-auto p-4 space-y-4">
+    <aside className="hidden md:block w-64 shrink-0 glass overflow-y-auto p-4 space-y-4">
       {/* Collapse control + active-filter count — mirrors the feed Sidebar so the Plex filter panel
           can be collapsed from the Plex page too (the collapsed rail + shared state already existed). */}
       <div className="flex items-center gap-1.5 min-w-0">
diff --git a/frontend/src/index.css b/frontend/src/index.css
index 233e523..d300e41 100644
--- a/frontend/src/index.css
+++ b/frontend/src/index.css
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
    real image sits behind the surfaces: app-wide when the per-scheme background image is on
    (`html[data-backdrop="on"]`), and on the Plex art-backed detail views (`.glass-media`, which
    have their own art backdrop even when the global image is off). When there's nothing behind the
-   glass (image off / light theme / perf), the :root defaults keep it solid & readable. ===== */
+   glass (image off / perf), the :root defaults keep it solid & readable. ===== */
 html[data-backdrop="on"],
 .glass-media {
   --glass-blur: 10px;
@@ -46,6 +46,16 @@ html[data-backdrop="on"],
   --glass-scrim: 30%;
 }
 
+/* Light theme carries no per-scheme background image, so the near-opaque :root (adaptive) glass
+   reads as flat white and every panel becomes an opaque island. Give light its OWN translucent tier
+   — one central override, every .glass* surface — so the ambient tint (and content) shows through
+   and glass stays glassy in light too. (Perf mode below still forces solid + no blur.) */
+html[data-theme="light"] {
+  --glass-surface-alpha: 62%;
+  --glass-card-alpha: 74%;
+  --glass-menu-alpha: 86%;
+}
+
 /* Per-scheme background image, painted on <body> (the app root is transparent so it shows through
    the whole app and the glass refracts it). A faded --bg overlay keeps it subtle; `fixed` so it
    doesn't scroll. Only when the backdrop is on (dark theme + the "Background image" setting). */
