This is an old post, nowadays I use a chromebook with a web IDE running on my server, which is set to dark theme.

Some programmers use flux, which makes sense if you need to view pictures, but I prefer to invert the colors, system wide.

Debian (ubuntu)

sudo apt-get install xcalib

and bind the following to your desired keyboard shortcut:

xcalib -a -i #alter invert

my current keyboard shortcut is SUPER (windows logo) + N (negative).

Windows

WINDOWS_LOGO + R, type “magnify”, press ENTER, click on the settings wheel, select “turn on color inversion”, exit settings, make sure the zoom level is on 100% and “Views” is set to full screen.

OSx

Click on the apple icon in the top left corner, system preferences, accessibility, keyboard, Open Keyboard Preferences, shortcuts, accessibility, invert colors

And now just use: CTRL + ALT + CMD + 8

Chrome (OS)

There was an awesome extension, Hacker Vision, but now that its payed, good luck finding something, or just use it for free (since, after the trial, you can just use the code).