diff --git a/client/src/webview/ColumnHeader.tsx b/client/src/webview/ColumnHeader.tsx
index d29aa1573..b0c298cf3 100644
--- a/client/src/webview/ColumnHeader.tsx
+++ b/client/src/webview/ColumnHeader.tsx
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ import { useRef } from "react";
 
 import { AgColumn, GridApi } from "ag-grid-community";
 
+import useTheme from "./useTheme";
+
 const getIconForColumnType = (type: string) => {
   switch (type.toLocaleLowerCase()) {
     case "float":
@@ -29,16 +31,15 @@ const ColumnHeader = ({
   column,
   currentColumn: getCurrentColumn,
   columnType,
-  theme,
   displayMenuForColumn,
 }: {
   api: GridApi;
   column: AgColumn;
   currentColumn: () => AgColumn | undefined;
   columnType: string;
-  theme: string;
   displayMenuForColumn: (api: GridApi, column: AgColumn, rect: DOMRect) => void;
 }) => {
+  const theme = useTheme();
   const ref = useRef<HTMLButtonElement>(undefined!);
   const currentColumn = getCurrentColumn();
   const currentSortedColumns = api.getColumnState().filter((c) => c.sort);
diff --git a/client/src/webview/ColumnMenu.tsx b/client/src/webview/ColumnMenu.tsx
index 366854714..27178c06f 100644
--- a/client/src/webview/ColumnMenu.tsx
+++ b/client/src/webview/ColumnMenu.tsx
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { AgColumn, ColumnState, GridApi } from "ag-grid-community";
 import GridMenu from "./GridMenu";
 import localize from "./localize";
 import { storeViewProperties } from "./useDataViewer";
+import useTheme from "./useTheme";
 
 export interface ColumnMenuProps {
   column: AgColumn;
@@ -15,7 +16,6 @@ export interface ColumnMenuProps {
   removeAllSorting: () => void;
   removeFromSort: () => void;
   sortColumn: (direction: "asc" | "desc") => void;
-  theme: string;
   top: number;
 }
 
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ const applyColumnState = (api: GridApi, state: ColumnState[]) => {
 
 export const getColumnMenu = (
   api: GridApi,
-  theme: ColumnMenuProps["theme"],
   column: AgColumn,
   { height, top, left }: DOMRect,
   dismissMenu: () => void,
@@ -37,7 +36,6 @@ export const getColumnMenu = (
   dismissMenu,
   hasSort: api.getColumnState().some((c) => c.sort),
   left,
-  theme,
   top: top + height,
   sortColumn: (direction: "asc" | "desc" | null) => {
     const newColumnState = api.getColumnState().filter((c) => c.sort);
@@ -85,9 +83,9 @@ const ColumnMenu = ({
   removeAllSorting,
   removeFromSort,
   sortColumn,
-  theme,
   top,
 }: ColumnMenuProps) => {
+  const theme = useTheme();
   const menuItems = [
     {
       name: localize("Sort"),
diff --git a/client/src/webview/DataViewer.tsx b/client/src/webview/DataViewer.tsx
index 6acfc1f5a..579c8b8a5 100644
--- a/client/src/webview/DataViewer.tsx
+++ b/client/src/webview/DataViewer.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 // Copyright © 2023, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA.  All Rights Reserved.
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
-import { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo } from "react";
+import { useCallback, useEffect } from "react";
 import { createRoot } from "react-dom/client";
 
 import { AgGridReact } from "ag-grid-react";
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import { AgGridReact } from "ag-grid-react";
 import ".";
 import ColumnMenu from "./ColumnMenu";
 import useDataViewer from "./useDataViewer";
+import useTheme from "./useTheme";
 
 import "./DataViewer.css";
 import "ag-grid-community/styles/ag-grid.css";
@@ -21,22 +22,8 @@ const gridStyles = {
 };
 
 const DataViewer = () => {
-  const theme = useMemo(() => {
-    const themeKind = document
-      .querySelector("[data-vscode-theme-kind]")
-      .getAttribute("data-vscode-theme-kind");
-
-    switch (themeKind) {
-      case "vscode-high-contrast-light":
-      case "vscode-light":
-        return "ag-theme-alpine";
-      case "vscode-high-contrast":
-      case "vscode-dark":
-        return "ag-theme-alpine-dark";
-    }
-  }, []);
-  const { columns, onGridReady, columnMenu, dismissMenu } =
-    useDataViewer(theme);
+  const theme = useTheme();
+  const { columns, onGridReady, columnMenu, dismissMenu } = useDataViewer();
 
   const handleKeydown = useCallback(
     (event) => {
diff --git a/client/src/webview/useDataViewer.ts b/client/src/webview/useDataViewer.ts
index 3f4c15fad..8536a35b5 100644
--- a/client/src/webview/useDataViewer.ts
+++ b/client/src/webview/useDataViewer.ts
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ export const storeViewProperties = (viewProperties: ViewProperties) =>
     data: { viewProperties },
   });
 
-const useDataViewer = (theme: string) => {
+const useDataViewer = () => {
   const [columns, setColumns] = useState<ColDef[]>([]);
   const [columnMenu, setColumnMenu] = useState<ColumnMenuProps | undefined>();
   const columnMenuRef = useRef<ColumnMenuProps | undefined>(columnMenu);
@@ -168,7 +168,6 @@ const useDataViewer = (theme: string) => {
       setColumnMenu(
         getColumnMenu(
           api,
-          theme,
           column,
           rect,
           () => setColumnMenu(undefined),
@@ -181,7 +180,7 @@ const useDataViewer = (theme: string) => {
         ),
       );
     },
-    [theme],
+    [],
   );
 
   useEffect(() => {
@@ -201,7 +200,6 @@ const useDataViewer = (theme: string) => {
           columnType: column.type,
           currentColumn: () => columnMenuRef.current?.column,
           displayMenuForColumn,
-          theme,
         },
         ...getColumnState(column.name),
         suppressHeaderKeyboardEvent: (
@@ -247,7 +245,7 @@ const useDataViewer = (theme: string) => {
 
       setColumns(columns);
     });
-  }, [columns.length, theme, displayMenuForColumn]);
+  }, [columns.length, displayMenuForColumn]);
 
   useEffect(() => {
     window.addEventListener("contextmenu", contextMenuHandler, true);
diff --git a/client/src/webview/useTheme.ts b/client/src/webview/useTheme.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cf78ce3d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/src/webview/useTheme.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+// Copyright © 2025, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA.  All Rights Reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+import { useEffect, useMemo, useState } from "react";
+
+const THEME_ATTRIBUTE = "data-vscode-theme-kind";
+const SELECTOR = `[${THEME_ATTRIBUTE}]`;
+
+/**
+ * This listens for changes to vscode's theme kind and updates our internal
+ * theme to match.
+ * @returns theme:string matching the ag grid theme for the vscode theme kind
+ */
+const useTheme = () => {
+  const [themeKind, setThemeKind] = useState(
+    document.querySelector(SELECTOR).getAttribute(THEME_ATTRIBUTE),
+  );
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const obs = new MutationObserver((record) =>
+      setThemeKind(
+        // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/consistent-type-assertions
+        (record[0].target as HTMLElement).getAttribute(THEME_ATTRIBUTE),
+      ),
+    );
+    obs.observe(document.querySelector(SELECTOR), {
+      attributes: true,
+      attributeFilter: [THEME_ATTRIBUTE],
+    });
+    return () => {
+      obs.disconnect();
+    };
+  }, []);
+
+  const theme = useMemo(() => {
+    switch (themeKind) {
+      case "vscode-high-contrast-light":
+      case "vscode-light":
+        return "ag-theme-alpine";
+      case "vscode-high-contrast":
+      case "vscode-dark":
+        return "ag-theme-alpine-dark";
+    }
+  }, [themeKind]);
+
+  return theme;
+};
+
+export default useTheme;