diff --git a/dist/theme/bin/theme b/dist/theme/bin/theme
index c3cbf30..12f977c 100755
--- a/dist/theme/bin/theme
+++ b/dist/theme/bin/theme
@@ -322,17 +322,6 @@ theme_warn() {
 theme_run() {
 	local arg="${1:-}"
 
-	if [[ "$arg" == "--detect" ]]; then
-		theme_detect
-		printf '%s\n' "$THEME_APPEARANCE"
-		return 0
-	fi
-
-	if [[ "$arg" == "--list" ]]; then
-		theme_list
-		return 0
-	fi
-
 	theme_source_config
 
 	if ! theme_discover_provider; then
@@ -353,9 +342,7 @@ theme_run() {
 			;;
 	esac
 
-	if ! theme_detect "$override"; then
-		return 1
-	fi
+	theme_detect "$override"
 
 	"$THEME_PROVIDER" "$THEME_APPEARANCE" "$THEME_SOURCE"
 
diff --git a/scripts/theme/main_spec.sh b/scripts/theme/main_spec.sh
index 4df1a5c..f135058 100644
--- a/scripts/theme/main_spec.sh
+++ b/scripts/theme/main_spec.sh
@@ -98,6 +98,21 @@ Describe 'theme'
 			The output should be present
 		End
 
+		It 'falls back to THEME env var when set to light'
+			# Remove detector so it falls through to THEME env
+			rm -f "$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/theme/detectors.d/noop.sh"
+			export THEME=light
+			When run script "$BIN" -q --detect
+			The status should be success
+			The output should equal "light"
+		End
+
+		It 'rejects invalid override with --detect'
+			When run script "$BIN" --detect invalid
+			The status should be failure
+			The stderr should include "invalid appearance"
+		End
+
 		It 'falls back to light when THEME env var is invalid'
 			export THEME=invalid_value
 			# Clear any system-level detection by running in isolated env
@@ -399,6 +414,20 @@ EOF
 			The output should equal "PROVIDER_RAN"
 			The stderr should include "no detectors configured"
 		End
+
+		It 'handles non-existent handlers.d directory gracefully'
+			cat > "$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/theme/provider.sh" << 'EOF'
+theme_provider_test() {
+	echo "PROVIDER_RAN"
+}
+EOF
+			# Remove handlers.d directory entirely
+			rm -rf "$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/theme/handlers.d"
+			export THEME=dark
+			When run script "$BIN" -q
+			The status should be success
+			The output should equal "PROVIDER_RAN"
+		End
 	End
 
 	#═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
diff --git a/scripts/theme/run.sh b/scripts/theme/run.sh
index 61835b5..a57aea1 100644
--- a/scripts/theme/run.sh
+++ b/scripts/theme/run.sh
@@ -14,23 +14,11 @@ theme_warn() {
 }
 
 # Main orchestration function
-# Usage: theme_run [--detect|--list|dark|light|auto]
+# Usage: theme_run [dark|light|auto]
+# Note: --detect and --list are handled by main.sh before calling this
 theme_run() {
 	local arg="${1:-}"
 
-	# Handle --detect: only detect and print, no provider/handlers
-	if [[ "$arg" == "--detect" ]]; then
-		theme_detect
-		printf '%s\n' "$THEME_APPEARANCE"
-		return 0
-	fi
-
-	# Handle --list: list provider and handlers
-	if [[ "$arg" == "--list" ]]; then
-		theme_list
-		return 0
-	fi
-
 	# Source user configuration (provider.sh, handlers.d/*.sh)
 	theme_source_config
 
@@ -55,9 +43,8 @@ theme_run() {
 			;;
 	esac
 
-	if ! theme_detect "$override"; then
-		return 1
-	fi
+	# Note: override is validated above, so theme_detect can't fail here
+	theme_detect "$override"
 
 	# Call provider with appearance and source
 	"$THEME_PROVIDER" "$THEME_APPEARANCE" "$THEME_SOURCE"