diff --git a/packages/dev/.env.example b/packages/dev/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f5e3035f39
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/dev/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+PAYLOAD_SECRET=ls3nd09adff9cmlq71j
diff --git a/packages/next/src/layouts/Root/index.tsx b/packages/next/src/layouts/Root/index.tsx
index 1738db036c..6a3d7dada5 100644
--- a/packages/next/src/layouts/Root/index.tsx
+++ b/packages/next/src/layouts/Root/index.tsx
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ import { RootProvider } from '@payloadcms/ui/providers'
 import { SanitizedConfig } from 'payload/types'
 import { createClientConfig } from '../../createClientConfig'
 
+import '@payloadcms/ui/scss/app.scss'
+
 export const metadata = {
   title: 'Next.js',
   description: 'Generated by Next.js',
diff --git a/packages/next/src/pages/Dashboard/index.tsx b/packages/next/src/pages/Dashboard/index.tsx
index a933ead8b1..d22727b98e 100644
--- a/packages/next/src/pages/Dashboard/index.tsx
+++ b/packages/next/src/pages/Dashboard/index.tsx
@@ -3,21 +3,24 @@ import React from 'react'
 import { RenderCustomComponent } from '@payloadcms/ui/elements'
 import { DefaultDashboard } from '@payloadcms/ui/views'
 
-export const Dashboard = ({ config: configPromise }: { config: Promise<SanitizedConfig> }) =>
-  async function () {
-    const config = await configPromise
+export const Dashboard = async ({
+  config: configPromise,
+}: {
+  config: Promise<SanitizedConfig>
+}) => {
+  const config = await configPromise
 
-    const CustomDashboardComponent = config.admin.components?.views?.Dashboard
+  const CustomDashboardComponent = config.admin.components?.views?.Dashboard
 
-    return (
-      <RenderCustomComponent
-        CustomComponent={
-          typeof CustomDashboardComponent === 'function' ? CustomDashboardComponent : undefined
-        }
-        DefaultComponent={DefaultDashboard}
-        componentProps={{
-          config,
-        }}
-      />
-    )
-  }
+  return (
+    <RenderCustomComponent
+      CustomComponent={
+        typeof CustomDashboardComponent === 'function' ? CustomDashboardComponent : undefined
+      }
+      DefaultComponent={DefaultDashboard}
+      componentProps={{
+        config,
+      }}
+    />
+  )
+}
diff --git a/packages/payload/src/collections/operations/create.ts b/packages/payload/src/collections/operations/create.ts
index e74a230f8f..e7dbd9f4aa 100644
--- a/packages/payload/src/collections/operations/create.ts
+++ b/packages/payload/src/collections/operations/create.ts
@@ -22,9 +22,9 @@ import { afterChange } from '../../fields/hooks/afterChange'
 import { afterRead } from '../../fields/hooks/afterRead'
 import { beforeChange } from '../../fields/hooks/beforeChange'
 import { beforeValidate } from '../../fields/hooks/beforeValidate'
-import { generateFileData } from '../../uploads/generateFileData'
-import { unlinkTempFiles } from '../../uploads/unlinkTempFiles'
-import { uploadFiles } from '../../uploads/uploadFiles'
+// import { generateFileData } from '../../uploads/generateFileData'
+// import { unlinkTempFiles } from '../../uploads/unlinkTempFiles'
+// import { uploadFiles } from '../../uploads/uploadFiles' TODO: this was temporarily commented out bc it throws Sharp compilation errors in Next.js
 import { commitTransaction } from '../../utilities/commitTransaction'
 import { initTransaction } from '../../utilities/initTransaction'
 import { killTransaction } from '../../utilities/killTransaction'
@@ -123,17 +123,18 @@ async function create<TSlug extends keyof GeneratedTypes['collections']>(
     // Generate data for all files and sizes
     // /////////////////////////////////////
 
-    const { data: newFileData, files: filesToUpload } = await generateFileData({
-      collection,
-      config,
-      data,
-      overwriteExistingFiles,
-      req,
-      throwOnMissingFile:
-        !shouldSaveDraft && collection.config.upload.filesRequiredOnCreate !== false,
-    })
+    // TODO: this was temporarily commented out bc it throws Sharp compilation errors in Next.js
+    // const { data: newFileData, files: filesToUpload } = await generateFileData({
+    //   collection,
+    //   config,
+    //   data,
+    //   overwriteExistingFiles,
+    //   req,
+    //   throwOnMissingFile:
+    //     !shouldSaveDraft && collection.config.upload.filesRequiredOnCreate !== false,
+    // })
 
-    data = newFileData
+    // data = newFileData
 
     // /////////////////////////////////////
     // beforeValidate - Fields
@@ -208,7 +209,7 @@ async function create<TSlug extends keyof GeneratedTypes['collections']>(
     // /////////////////////////////////////
 
     if (!collectionConfig.upload.disableLocalStorage) {
-      await uploadFiles(payload, filesToUpload, req.t)
+      // await uploadFiles(payload, filesToUpload, req.t) // TODO: this was temporarily commented out bc it throws Sharp compilation errors in Next.js
     }
 
     // /////////////////////////////////////
@@ -356,7 +357,7 @@ async function create<TSlug extends keyof GeneratedTypes['collections']>(
       result,
     })
 
-    await unlinkTempFiles({ collectionConfig, config, req })
+    // await unlinkTempFiles({ collectionConfig, config, req }) // TODO: this was temporarily commented out bc it throws Sharp compilation errors in Next.js
 
     // /////////////////////////////////////
     // Return results
diff --git a/packages/payload/src/fields/validations.ts b/packages/payload/src/fields/validations.ts
index ea2cc8c24e..9692c1e6cd 100644
--- a/packages/payload/src/fields/validations.ts
+++ b/packages/payload/src/fields/validations.ts
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ import type {
   Validate,
 } from './config/types'
 
-import canUseDOM from '../utilities/canUseDOM'
 import { getIDType } from '../utilities/getIDType'
 import { isNumber } from '../utilities/isNumber'
 import { isValidID } from '../utilities/isValidID'
@@ -53,7 +52,7 @@ export const text: Validate<unknown, unknown, TextField> = (
 
 export const password: Validate<unknown, unknown, TextField> = (
   value: string,
-  { config, maxLength: fieldMaxLength, minLength, payload, required, t },
+  { config, maxLength: fieldMaxLength, minLength, required, t },
 ) => {
   let maxLength: number
 
@@ -85,7 +84,7 @@ export const email: Validate<unknown, unknown, EmailField> = (value: string, { r
 
 export const textarea: Validate<unknown, unknown, TextareaField> = (
   value: string,
-  { config, maxLength: fieldMaxLength, minLength, payload, required, t },
+  { config, maxLength: fieldMaxLength, minLength, required, t },
 ) => {
   let maxLength: number
 
@@ -248,7 +247,7 @@ const validateFilterOptions: Validate = async (
   value,
   { id, data, filterOptions, payload, relationTo, req, siblingData, t, user },
 ) => {
-  if (!canUseDOM && typeof filterOptions !== 'undefined' && value) {
+  if (typeof filterOptions !== 'undefined' && value) {
     const options: {
       [collection: string]: (number | string)[]
     } = {}
@@ -343,7 +342,7 @@ export const upload: Validate<unknown, unknown, UploadField> = (value: string, o
     return options.t('validation:required')
   }
 
-  if (!canUseDOM && typeof value !== 'undefined' && value !== null) {
+  if (typeof value !== 'undefined' && value !== null) {
     const idField = options?.config?.collections
       ?.find((collection) => collection.slug === options.relationTo)
       ?.fields?.find((field) => fieldAffectsData(field) && field.name === 'id')
@@ -378,7 +377,7 @@ export const relationship: Validate<unknown, unknown, RelationshipField> = async
     }
   }
 
-  if (!canUseDOM && typeof value !== 'undefined' && value !== null) {
+  if (typeof value !== 'undefined' && value !== null) {
     const values = Array.isArray(value) ? value : [value]
 
     const invalidRelationships = values.filter((val) => {
diff --git a/packages/ui/package.json b/packages/ui/package.json
index 3ad5d78fc4..f233815349 100644
--- a/packages/ui/package.json
+++ b/packages/ui/package.json
@@ -15,7 +15,8 @@
       "import": "./src/exports/*.ts",
       "require": "./src/exports/*.ts",
       "types": "./src/exports/*.ts"
-    }
+    },
+    "./scss/app.scss": "./src/scss/app.scss"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@payloadcms/eslint-config": "workspace:*",
@@ -54,7 +55,8 @@
         "import": "./dist/exports/*.ts",
         "require": "./dist/exports/*.ts",
         "types": "./dist/exports/*.d.ts"
-      }
+      },
+      "./scss/app.scss": "./dist/scss/app.scss"
     },
     "main": "./dist/index.js",
     "registry": "https://registry.npmjs.org/",
diff --git a/packages/ui/src/providers/Locale/index.tsx b/packages/ui/src/providers/Locale/index.tsx
index ebcf84eced..b7b1d27d3f 100644
--- a/packages/ui/src/providers/Locale/index.tsx
+++ b/packages/ui/src/providers/Locale/index.tsx
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import React, { createContext, useContext, useEffect, useState } from 'react'
 
 import type { Locale } from 'payload/config'
 
-import { findLocaleFromCode } from 'payload/utilities' // TODO: import this from 'payload/utilities' when it's available
+import { findLocaleFromCode } from 'payload/dist/utilities/findLocaleFromCode' // TODO: import this from 'payload/utilities' when it's available
 import { useAuth } from '../Auth'
 import { useConfig } from '../Config'
 import { usePreferences } from '../Preferences'
diff --git a/packages/ui/src/providers/Root/index.tsx b/packages/ui/src/providers/Root/index.tsx
index 7fd8333c4d..582b0936f0 100644
--- a/packages/ui/src/providers/Root/index.tsx
+++ b/packages/ui/src/providers/Root/index.tsx
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ import { LocaleProvider } from '../Locale'
 import StepNav, { StepNavProvider } from '../../elements/StepNav'
 import { LoadingOverlayProvider } from '../../elements/LoadingOverlay'
 import { NavProvider } from '../../elements/Nav/context'
-import '../../scss/app.scss'
 
 type Props = {
   config: ClientConfig
diff --git a/packages/ui/src/providers/Theme/index.tsx b/packages/ui/src/providers/Theme/index.tsx
index e11d6d51d4..6da66a3445 100644
--- a/packages/ui/src/providers/Theme/index.tsx
+++ b/packages/ui/src/providers/Theme/index.tsx
@@ -1,68 +1,57 @@
 'use client'
-import React, { createContext, useCallback, useContext, useState } from 'react'
-
-export type Theme = 'dark' | 'light'
-
-export type ThemeContext = {
-  autoMode: boolean
-  setTheme: (theme: Theme) => void
-  theme: Theme
-}
+import React, { createContext, useCallback, useContext, useEffect, useState } from 'react'
+import canUseDOM from '../../utilities/canUseDOM'
+import { Theme, ThemeContext } from './types'
+import { getImplicitPreference, themeIsValid } from './utilities'
 
 const initialContext: ThemeContext = {
-  autoMode: true,
   setTheme: () => null,
   theme: 'light',
 }
 
 const Context = createContext(initialContext)
 
-const localStorageKey = 'payload-theme'
+export const themeLocalStorageKey = 'payload-theme'
 
-const getTheme = () => {
-  let theme: Theme
-  const themeFromStorage = window.localStorage.getItem(localStorageKey)
-
-  if (themeFromStorage === 'light' || themeFromStorage === 'dark') {
-    theme = themeFromStorage
-  } else {
-    theme =
-      window.matchMedia && window.matchMedia('(prefers-color-scheme: dark)').matches
-        ? 'dark'
-        : 'light'
-  }
-
-  document.documentElement.setAttribute('data-theme', theme)
-  return theme
-}
+export const defaultTheme = 'light'
 
 export const ThemeProvider: React.FC<{ children?: React.ReactNode }> = ({ children }) => {
-  const [theme, setThemeState] = useState<Theme>(getTheme)
-  const [autoMode, setAutoMode] = useState(() => {
-    const themeFromStorage = window.localStorage.getItem(localStorageKey)
-    return !themeFromStorage
-  })
+  const [theme, setThemeState] = useState<Theme | undefined>(
+    canUseDOM ? (document.documentElement.getAttribute('data-theme') as Theme) : undefined,
+  )
 
-  const setTheme = useCallback((themeToSet: 'auto' | Theme) => {
-    if (themeToSet === 'light' || themeToSet === 'dark') {
+  const setTheme = useCallback((themeToSet: Theme | null) => {
+    if (themeToSet === null) {
+      window.localStorage.removeItem(themeLocalStorageKey)
+      const implicitPreference = getImplicitPreference()
+      document.documentElement.setAttribute('data-theme', implicitPreference || '')
+      if (implicitPreference) setThemeState(implicitPreference)
+    } else {
       setThemeState(themeToSet)
-      setAutoMode(false)
-      window.localStorage.setItem(localStorageKey, themeToSet)
+      window.localStorage.setItem(themeLocalStorageKey, themeToSet)
       document.documentElement.setAttribute('data-theme', themeToSet)
-    } else if (themeToSet === 'auto') {
-      const existingThemeFromStorage = window.localStorage.getItem(localStorageKey)
-      if (existingThemeFromStorage) window.localStorage.removeItem(localStorageKey)
-      const themeFromOS =
-        window.matchMedia && window.matchMedia('(prefers-color-scheme: dark)').matches
-          ? 'dark'
-          : 'light'
-      document.documentElement.setAttribute('data-theme', themeFromOS)
-      setAutoMode(true)
-      setThemeState(themeFromOS)
     }
   }, [])
 
-  return <Context.Provider value={{ autoMode, setTheme, theme }}>{children}</Context.Provider>
+  useEffect(() => {
+    let themeToSet: Theme = defaultTheme
+    const preference = window.localStorage.getItem(themeLocalStorageKey)
+
+    if (themeIsValid(preference)) {
+      themeToSet = preference
+    } else {
+      const implicitPreference = getImplicitPreference()
+
+      if (implicitPreference) {
+        themeToSet = implicitPreference
+      }
+    }
+
+    document.documentElement.setAttribute('data-theme', themeToSet)
+    setThemeState(themeToSet)
+  }, [])
+
+  return <Context.Provider value={{ setTheme, theme }}>{children}</Context.Provider>
 }
 
 export const useTheme = (): ThemeContext => useContext(Context)
diff --git a/packages/ui/src/providers/Theme/types.ts b/packages/ui/src/providers/Theme/types.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e1778a8746
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/ui/src/providers/Theme/types.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+export type Theme = 'dark' | 'light'
+
+export type ThemeContext = {
+  setTheme: (theme: Theme) => void
+  theme: Theme
+}
diff --git a/packages/ui/src/providers/Theme/utilities.ts b/packages/ui/src/providers/Theme/utilities.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..94374f8a90
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/ui/src/providers/Theme/utilities.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+import { Theme } from './types'
+
+export function themeIsValid(string: string | null): string is Theme {
+  return string ? ['light', 'dark'].includes(string) : false
+}
+
+export const getImplicitPreference = (): Theme | null => {
+  const mediaQuery = '(prefers-color-scheme: dark)'
+  const mql = window.matchMedia(mediaQuery)
+  const hasImplicitPreference = typeof mql.matches === 'boolean'
+
+  if (hasImplicitPreference) {
+    return mql.matches ? 'dark' : 'light'
+  }
+
+  return null
+}
diff --git a/packages/ui/src/scss/app.scss b/packages/ui/src/scss/app.scss
index 5462ec4024..690f201c5c 100644
--- a/packages/ui/src/scss/app.scss
+++ b/packages/ui/src/scss/app.scss
@@ -68,6 +68,12 @@ html {
   @extend %body;
   background: var(--theme-bg);
   -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;
+  opacity: 0;
+
+  &[data-theme='dark'],
+  &[data-theme='light'] {
+    opacity: initial;
+  }
 
   &[data-theme='dark'] {
     --theme-bg: var(--theme-elevation-0);
diff --git a/packages/payload/src/utilities/canUseDOM.ts b/packages/ui/src/utilities/canUseDOM.ts
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/payload/src/utilities/canUseDOM.ts
rename to packages/ui/src/utilities/canUseDOM.ts
diff --git a/packages/ui/src/views/Dashboard/index.tsx b/packages/ui/src/views/Dashboard/index.tsx
index 5a7ed27240..48c21b9e23 100644
--- a/packages/ui/src/views/Dashboard/index.tsx
+++ b/packages/ui/src/views/Dashboard/index.tsx
@@ -21,11 +21,11 @@ export const DefaultDashboard: React.FC<{
   return (
     <div className={baseClass}>
       <Gutter className={`${baseClass}__wrap`}>
-        {/* {Array.isArray(beforeDashboard) &&
-          beforeDashboard.map((Component, i) => <Component key={i} />)} */}
-        {/* <DefaultDashboardClient /> */}
-        {/* {Array.isArray(afterDashboard) &&
-          afterDashboard.map((Component, i) => <Component key={i} />)} */}
+        {Array.isArray(beforeDashboard) &&
+          beforeDashboard.map((Component, i) => <Component key={i} />)}
+        <DefaultDashboardClient />
+        {Array.isArray(afterDashboard) &&
+          afterDashboard.map((Component, i) => <Component key={i} />)}
       </Gutter>
     </div>
   )
diff --git a/packages/ui/tsconfig.json b/packages/ui/tsconfig.json
index 130639454f..7819e40e8e 100644
--- a/packages/ui/tsconfig.json
+++ b/packages/ui/tsconfig.json
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
     "src/**/*.spec.tsx"
   ],
   "include": [
+    "src/scss/app.scss",
     "src/**/*.ts",
     "src/**/*.tsx",
     "src/**/*.d.ts",