diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/DashboardHeader.test.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/DashboardHeader.test.tsx
index 6c656382deb..6a06e1ba612 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/DashboardHeader.test.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/DashboardHeader.test.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import { act, fireEvent, render, screen } from "@testing-library/react";
 import { DashboardHeader } from "./DashboardHeader";
+import { NAV_PRODUCT_LINK_CLASS } from "@/components/Navbar/navProductLinkClass";
 
 const { mockUsePluginMode, mockUseUISettings, state } = vi.hoisted(() => {
   const state = {
@@ -55,6 +56,16 @@ describe("DashboardHeader breadcrumb", () => {
     expect(screen.queryByText("Observability")).not.toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 
+  it("styles Docs with the shared product-link class instead of a muted toolbar button", () => {
+    render(<DashboardHeader page="logs" />);
+
+    const docs = screen.getByRole("link", { name: "Docs" });
+    for (const cls of NAV_PRODUCT_LINK_CLASS.trim().split(/\s+/)) {
+      expect(docs).toHaveClass(cls);
+    }
+    expect(docs).not.toHaveClass("text-muted-foreground");
+  });
+
   it("renders the tools divider centered rather than stretched to the top of the row", () => {
     const { container } = render(<DashboardHeader page="logs" />);
 
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/DashboardHeader.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/DashboardHeader.tsx
index 31f2a0b715a..fe824ce074d 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/DashboardHeader.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/DashboardHeader.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 "use client";
 
-import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button";
 import {
   Breadcrumb,
   BreadcrumbItem,
@@ -11,6 +10,7 @@ import {
 import { ToolbarSeparator } from "@/components/shared/ToolbarSeparator";
 import { getBreadcrumb } from "@/components/leftnav";
 import { BlogDropdown } from "@/components/Navbar/BlogDropdown/BlogDropdown";
+import { DocsLink } from "@/components/Navbar/DocsLink/DocsLink";
 import { CommunityEngagementButtons } from "@/components/Navbar/CommunityEngagementButtons/CommunityEngagementButtons";
 import { NotificationsBell } from "@/components/Navbar/NotificationsBell/NotificationsBell";
 import ViewSwitcher from "@/components/Navbar/ViewSwitcher";
@@ -62,15 +62,7 @@ export function DashboardHeader({ page }: DashboardHeaderProps) {
             <ToolbarSeparator />
           </>
         )}
-        <Button
-          variant="ghost"
-          size="sm"
-          nativeButton={false}
-          render={<a href="https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" />}
-          className="text-muted-foreground"
-        >
-          Docs
-        </Button>
+        <DocsLink />
         <BlogDropdown />
         {!hideCommunityLinks && <CommunityEngagementButtons />}
         <ToolbarSeparator />
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/Navbar/BlogDropdown/BlogDropdown.test.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/Navbar/BlogDropdown/BlogDropdown.test.tsx
index 0581a381a9a..4da50a266f0 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/Navbar/BlogDropdown/BlogDropdown.test.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/Navbar/BlogDropdown/BlogDropdown.test.tsx
@@ -66,6 +66,14 @@ describe("BlogDropdown", () => {
       expect(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /blog/i })).toBeInTheDocument();
     });
 
+    it("should keep the shared hover highlight rather than pinning the background transparent", () => {
+      renderWithProviders(<BlogDropdown />);
+
+      const trigger = screen.getByRole("button", { name: /blog/i });
+      expect(trigger).toHaveClass("hover:bg-accent");
+      expect(trigger.className).not.toMatch(/\bbg-\S*!/);
+    });
+
     it("should not render menu content before the trigger is hovered", () => {
       mockUseBlogPostsResult = { ...mockUseBlogPostsResult, data: { posts: MOCK_POSTS.slice(0, 1) } };
       renderWithProviders(<BlogDropdown />);
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/Navbar/BlogDropdown/BlogDropdown.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/Navbar/BlogDropdown/BlogDropdown.tsx
index c4ff1ec72dd..eaaf3301a8b 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/Navbar/BlogDropdown/BlogDropdown.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/Navbar/BlogDropdown/BlogDropdown.tsx
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ export const BlogDropdown: React.FC = () => {
       <DropdownMenuTrigger
         openOnHover
         closeDelay={100}
-        render={<Button variant="ghost" className={`${NAV_PRODUCT_LINK_CLASS} border-0! bg-transparent!`} />}
+        render={<Button variant="ghost" className={`${NAV_PRODUCT_LINK_CLASS} border-0!`} />}
       >
         Blog
         <ChevronDown className="size-2.5 text-muted-foreground" aria-hidden />
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/Navbar/DocsLink/DocsLink.test.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/Navbar/DocsLink/DocsLink.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..dec76041802
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/Navbar/DocsLink/DocsLink.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+import { render, screen } from "@testing-library/react";
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { NAV_PRODUCT_LINK_CLASS } from "@/components/Navbar/navProductLinkClass";
+import { DocsLink } from "./DocsLink";
+
+const sharedClasses = NAV_PRODUCT_LINK_CLASS.trim().split(/\s+/);
+
+describe("DocsLink", () => {
+  it("opens the docs in a new tab without leaking the opener", () => {
+    render(<DocsLink />);
+
+    const link = screen.getByRole("link", { name: "Docs" });
+    expect(link).toHaveAttribute("href", "https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/");
+    expect(link).toHaveAttribute("target", "_blank");
+    expect(link).toHaveAttribute("rel", "noopener noreferrer");
+  });
+
+  it("carries the same product-link styling as the Blog trigger, so the two never drift apart", () => {
+    render(<DocsLink />);
+
+    const link = screen.getByRole("link", { name: "Docs" });
+    for (const cls of sharedClasses) {
+      expect(link).toHaveClass(cls);
+    }
+    expect(link).not.toHaveClass("text-muted-foreground");
+  });
+
+  it("carries a focus ring, so tabbing to Docs looks like tabbing to Blog", () => {
+    render(<DocsLink />);
+
+    const link = screen.getByRole("link", { name: "Docs" });
+    expect(link).toHaveClass("focus-visible:ring-3");
+    expect(link).toHaveClass("focus-visible:ring-ring/50");
+  });
+
+  it("stays a link rather than being relabelled as a button by the Button primitive", () => {
+    render(<DocsLink />);
+
+    expect(screen.getByRole("link", { name: "Docs" })).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.queryByRole("button", { name: "Docs" })).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/Navbar/DocsLink/DocsLink.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/Navbar/DocsLink/DocsLink.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..9b4f4c90b64
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/Navbar/DocsLink/DocsLink.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+import { NAV_PRODUCT_LINK_CLASS } from "@/components/Navbar/navProductLinkClass";
+import { ChevronDown } from "lucide-react";
+import React from "react";
+
+export const DOCS_URL = "https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/";
+
+const ChevronWidthSpacer: React.FC = () => (
+  <ChevronDown className="pointer-events-none size-2.5 opacity-0" aria-hidden />
+);
+
+export const DocsLink: React.FC = () => (
+  <a href={DOCS_URL} target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" className={NAV_PRODUCT_LINK_CLASS}>
+    Docs
+    <ChevronWidthSpacer />
+  </a>
+);
+
+export default DocsLink;
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/Navbar/navProductLinkClass.ts b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/Navbar/navProductLinkClass.ts
index e0fd000ab97..56b0d51401d 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/Navbar/navProductLinkClass.ts
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/Navbar/navProductLinkClass.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
-/** Shared styling for Docs / Blog in the top nav (product navigation zone). */
+/** Shared styling for Docs / Blog in the top nav (product navigation zone). Focus ring matches the Button primitive. */
 export const NAV_PRODUCT_LINK_CLASS =
-  "inline-flex h-9 shrink-0 items-center justify-center gap-1 rounded-md px-2 text-sm font-medium leading-none text-foreground transition-colors hover:bg-accent ";
+  "inline-flex h-9 shrink-0 items-center justify-center gap-1 rounded-md px-2 text-sm font-medium leading-none text-foreground outline-none transition-colors hover:bg-accent focus-visible:ring-3 focus-visible:ring-ring/50 ";
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/ThemeToggle/ThemeToggle.test.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/ThemeToggle/ThemeToggle.test.tsx
index 41efedcd43a..c5dda3d3f7c 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/ThemeToggle/ThemeToggle.test.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/ThemeToggle/ThemeToggle.test.tsx
@@ -11,12 +11,7 @@ const renderToggle = () =>
     </ThemeProvider>,
   );
 
-const openMenu = async () => {
-  await userEvent.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "Theme" }));
-  await screen.findByRole("menu");
-};
-
-const pick = async (label: string | RegExp) => userEvent.click(screen.getByRole("menuitemradio", { name: label }));
+const toggle = () => screen.getByRole("button", { name: /Switch to (light|dark) mode/ });
 
 beforeEach(() => {
   localStorage.clear();
@@ -28,50 +23,49 @@ afterAll(() => {
 });
 
 describe("ThemeToggle", () => {
-  it("starts on light rather than following the system preference", async () => {
+  it("switches to dark on a single click, with no menu in between", async () => {
     renderToggle();
-    await openMenu();
 
-    expect(screen.getByRole("menuitemradio", { name: "Light" })).toBeChecked();
-    expect(screen.getByRole("menuitemradio", { name: /^Dark/ })).not.toBeChecked();
-    expect(screen.getByRole("menuitemradio", { name: "System" })).not.toBeChecked();
-  });
-
-  it("puts the dark class on the document and remembers the choice", async () => {
-    renderToggle();
-    await openMenu();
-
-    await pick(/^Dark/);
+    await userEvent.click(toggle());
 
+    expect(screen.queryByRole("menu")).not.toBeInTheDocument();
     expect(document.documentElement).toHaveClass("dark");
     expect(localStorage.getItem("theme")).toBe("dark");
   });
 
-  it("hands control back to the system preference when asked", async () => {
+  it("switches back to light on the next click", async () => {
     renderToggle();
-    await openMenu();
-    await pick(/^Dark/);
+    await userEvent.click(toggle());
 
-    await pick("System");
+    await userEvent.click(toggle());
+
+    expect(document.documentElement).not.toHaveClass("dark");
+    expect(localStorage.getItem("theme")).toBe("light");
+  });
+
+  it("names the mode the click will switch to, so the button says what it does", async () => {
+    renderToggle();
+    expect(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "Switch to dark mode (beta)" })).toBeInTheDocument();
+
+    await userEvent.click(toggle());
+
+    expect(await screen.findByRole("button", { name: "Switch to light mode" })).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it("leaves a stored system preference following the OS until the user clicks", () => {
+    localStorage.setItem("theme", "system");
+
+    renderToggle();
 
     expect(localStorage.getItem("theme")).toBe("system");
-    expect(document.documentElement).not.toHaveClass("dark");
   });
 
-  it("marks dark as beta in the menu, and leaves the other choices unmarked", async () => {
+  it("keeps the beta marker out of the toolbar label once dark is on", async () => {
     renderToggle();
-    await openMenu();
 
-    expect(screen.getByRole("menuitemradio", { name: /^Dark/ })).toHaveTextContent("Beta");
-    expect(screen.getByRole("menuitemradio", { name: "Light" })).not.toHaveTextContent("Beta");
-    expect(screen.getByRole("menuitemradio", { name: "System" })).not.toHaveTextContent("Beta");
-  });
+    await userEvent.click(toggle());
 
-  it("keeps the beta marker inside the menu rather than in the toolbar", async () => {
-    renderToggle();
-    await openMenu();
-    await pick(/^Dark/);
-
-    expect(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "Theme" })).not.toHaveTextContent("Beta");
+    expect(toggle()).not.toHaveTextContent("Beta");
+    expect(toggle()).toHaveAccessibleName("Switch to light mode");
   });
 });
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/ThemeToggle/ThemeToggle.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/ThemeToggle/ThemeToggle.tsx
index 3fbb3d2eb5b..2f941dbc2d2 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/ThemeToggle/ThemeToggle.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/ThemeToggle/ThemeToggle.tsx
@@ -1,57 +1,27 @@
 "use client";
 
-import { Monitor, Moon, Sun } from "lucide-react";
+import { Moon, Sun } from "lucide-react";
 import { useTheme } from "next-themes";
 import React from "react";
 
-import { Badge } from "@/components/ui/badge";
 import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button";
-import {
-  DropdownMenu,
-  DropdownMenuContent,
-  DropdownMenuRadioGroup,
-  DropdownMenuRadioItem,
-  DropdownMenuTrigger,
-} from "@/components/ui/dropdown-menu";
-
-const THEMES = [
-  { value: "system", label: "System", Icon: Monitor, beta: false },
-  { value: "light", label: "Light", Icon: Sun, beta: false },
-  { value: "dark", label: "Dark", Icon: Moon, beta: true },
-] as const;
 
 const ThemeToggle: React.FC = () => {
-  const { theme, setTheme, resolvedTheme } = useTheme();
+  const { setTheme, resolvedTheme } = useTheme();
+  const isDark = resolvedTheme === "dark";
+  const label = isDark ? "Switch to light mode" : "Switch to dark mode (beta)";
 
   return (
-    <DropdownMenu>
-      <DropdownMenuTrigger
-        render={
-          <Button variant="ghost" size="icon-sm" aria-label="Theme" title="Theme" className="text-muted-foreground" />
-        }
-      >
-        {resolvedTheme === "dark" ? <Moon /> : <Sun />}
-      </DropdownMenuTrigger>
-      <DropdownMenuContent align="end" className="w-40">
-        <DropdownMenuRadioGroup value={theme ?? "light"} onValueChange={setTheme}>
-          {THEMES.map(({ value, label, Icon, beta }) => (
-            <DropdownMenuRadioItem key={value} value={value}>
-              <Icon />
-              {label}
-              {beta && (
-                <Badge
-                  variant="secondary"
-                  className="px-1 py-0 text-[10px] font-medium text-muted-foreground"
-                  title="Dark mode is still being rolled out, so some surfaces may not be styled yet"
-                >
-                  Beta
-                </Badge>
-              )}
-            </DropdownMenuRadioItem>
-          ))}
-        </DropdownMenuRadioGroup>
-      </DropdownMenuContent>
-    </DropdownMenu>
+    <Button
+      variant="ghost"
+      size="icon-sm"
+      aria-label={label}
+      title={label}
+      className="text-muted-foreground"
+      onClick={() => setTheme(isDark ? "light" : "dark")}
+    >
+      {isDark ? <Moon /> : <Sun />}
+    </Button>
   );
 };
 
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/navbar.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/navbar.tsx
index 0cd3a0d44e5..f8dc74b97ab 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/navbar.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/navbar.tsx
@@ -9,12 +9,12 @@ import { clearTokenCookies } from "@/utils/cookieUtils";
 import { clearStoredReturnUrl, getLoginUrl } from "@/utils/returnUrlUtils";
 import useProxySettings from "@/app/(dashboard)/hooks/proxySettings/useProxySettings";
 import { Badge } from "@/components/ui/badge";
-import { ChevronDown, PanelLeftClose, PanelLeftOpen } from "lucide-react";
+import { PanelLeftClose, PanelLeftOpen } from "lucide-react";
 import Link from "next/link";
 import React from "react";
 import { BlogDropdown } from "./Navbar/BlogDropdown/BlogDropdown";
+import { DocsLink } from "./Navbar/DocsLink/DocsLink";
 import { CommunityEngagementButtons } from "./Navbar/CommunityEngagementButtons/CommunityEngagementButtons";
-import { NAV_PRODUCT_LINK_CLASS } from "./Navbar/navProductLinkClass";
 import { cn } from "@/lib/cva.config";
 import { NotificationsBell } from "./Navbar/NotificationsBell/NotificationsBell";
 import UserDropdown from "./Navbar/UserDropdown/UserDropdown";
@@ -143,16 +143,7 @@ const Navbar: React.FC<NavbarProps> = ({
               aria-label="Product documentation"
               className={`flex min-w-0 items-center gap-2 ${showWorkerSwitch ? "border-l border-border pl-4" : ""}`}
             >
-              <a
-                href="https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/"
-                target="_blank"
-                rel="noopener noreferrer"
-                className={NAV_PRODUCT_LINK_CLASS}
-              >
-                Docs
-                {/* Layout parity with Blog chevron — intentional single-level link */}
-                <ChevronDown className="pointer-events-none size-2.5 opacity-0" aria-hidden />
-              </a>
+              <DocsLink />
               <BlogDropdown />
             </nav>