Web

Customizing Icons

Font Awesome icons can be customized even further using your own CSS. We've even added CSS Custom Properties to our style toolkit options.

Before You Get Started

Make sure you're:

Customize with CSS Custom Properties

Our styling toolkit provides a lot of utility, including size, rotate, stack, and animate icons. Using the CSS custom properties (opens new window) below, we've added easy ways to customize aspects of our styling toolkit's features.

CSS Custom Property Details Accepted Values
--fa-style-family Set Font Awesome icon family "Font Awesome 6 Free"
"Font Awesome 6 Pro"
"Font Awesome 6 Duotone"
"Font Awesome 6 Brands"
"Font Awesome 6 Sharp"
--fa-style Set Font Awesome icon style Any valid Font Awesome style weight
--fa-display Set display of an icon Any valid CSS display value (opens new window)
--fa-inverse Set color of an inverted icon Any valid CSS color value (opens new window)
Icons in a List
--fa-li-margin Set margin around icon Any valid CSS margin value (opens new window)
--fa-li-width Set width of icon Any valid CSS width value (opens new window)
Rotating Icons
--fa-rotate-angle Set rotation angle of.fa-rotate-by Any valid CSS transform rotate value (opens new window)
Animating Icons
--fa-animation-delay Set an initial delay for animation Any valid CSS animation-direction value (opens new window)
--fa-animation-direction Set direction for animation Any valid CSS animation-direction value (opens new window)
--fa-animation-duration Set duration for animation Any valid CSS animation-duration value (opens new window)
--fa-animation-iteration-count Set number of iterations for animation Any valid CSS animation-iteration-count value (opens new window)
--fa-animation-timing Set how the animation progresses through frames Any valid CSS animation-timing-function value (opens new window)
--fa-beat-scale Set the max value an fa-beat icon will scale Any valid CSS number value (opens new window)
--fa-fade-opacity Set lowest opacity value an fa-fade icon will fade to 0 1.0
--fa-beat-fade-opacity Set lowest opacity value an fa-beat-fade icon will fade to and from 0 1.0
--fa-beat-fade-scale Set max value that an icon will scale Set the max value an fa-beat-fade icon will scale
--fa-flip-x Set an fa-flip icon's x-coordinate of the vector denoting the axis of rotation Any valid CSS number value (opens new window) between 0 and 1
--fa-flip-y Set an fa-flip icon'sy-coordinate of the vector denoting the axis of rotation Any valid CSS number value (opens new window) between 0 and 1
--fa-flip-z Set an fa-flip icon's z-coordinate of the vector denoting the axis of rotation Any valid CSS number value (opens new window) between 0 and 1
--fa-flip-angle Set an fa-flip icon's rotation angle. A positive angle denotes a clockwise rotation, a negative angle a counter-clockwise one. Any valid CSS angle value (opens new window)
Bordered Icons
--fa-border-color Set border color Any valid CSS border-color value (opens new window)
--fa-border-padding Set padding around icon Any valid CSS padding value (opens new window)
--fa-border-radius Set border radius Any valid CSS border-radius value (opens new window)
--fa-border-style Set border style Any valid CSS border-style value (opens new window)
--fa-border-width Set border width Any valid CSS border-width value (opens new window)
Pulled Icons
--fa-pull-margin Set margin around icon Any valid CSS margin value (opens new window)
Stacking Icons
--fa-stack-z-index Set z-index of a stacked icon Any valid CSS z-index value (opens new window)
--fa-inverse Set color of an inverted stacked icon Any valid CSS color value (opens new window)
Duotone Icons
--fa-primary-color Set primary layer color Any valid CSS color value (opens new window)
--fa-primary-opacity Set primary layer opacity 0 1.0
--fa-secondary-color Set secondary layer color Any valid CSS color value (opens new window)
--fa-secondary-opacity Set secondary layer opacity 0 1.0
Layering Text and Counters
--fa-counter-background-color Set fa-layers-counter's background color Any valid CSS color value (opens new window)
--fa-counter-border-radius Set fa-layers-counter's border radius Any valid CSS border-radius value (opens new window)
--fa-counter-line-height Set fa-layers-counter's line-height Any valid CSS line-height value (opens new window)
--fa-counter-max-width Set fa-layers-counter's max-width Any valid CSS width value (opens new window)
--fa-counter-min-width Set fa-layers-counter's min-width Any valid CSS width value (opens new window)
--fa-counter-padding Set fa-layers-counter's padding Any valid CSS padding value (opens new window)
--fa-counter-scale Set how much fa-layers-counter is scaled up/down Any valid CSS transform scale value (opens new window)
--fa-top Set top offset of .fa-layers-top-left or layers-top-right Any valid CSS top value (opens new window)
--fa-right Set right offset of .fa-layers-top-right or layers-bottom-right Any valid CSS right value (opens new window)
--fa-bottom Set bottom offset of .fa-layers-bottom-left or layers-bottom-right Any valid CSS bottom value (opens new window)
--fa-left Set left offset of .fa-layers-top-left or layers-bottom-left Any valid CSS left value (opens new window)
--fa-inverse Set color of an inverted stacked icon Any valid CSS color value (opens new window)
Pseudo-elements
--fa-font-solid Sets the font property to use the solid style (font-family and font-weight) in pseudo-element custom CSS rules
--fa-font-regular Sets the font property to use the regular style (font-family and font-weight) in pseudo-element custom CSS rules
--fa-font-light Sets the font property to use the solid style (font-family and font-weight) in pseudo-element custom CSS rules
--fa-font-thin Sets the font property to use the thin style (font-family and font-weight) in pseudo-element custom CSS rules
--fa-font-duotone Sets the font property to use the duotone style (font-family and font-weight) in pseudo-element custom CSS rules
--fa-font-brands Sets the font property to use the brands style (font-family and font-weight) in pseudo-element custom CSS rules
--fa-font-sharp-solid Sets the font property to use the sharp family and solid style (font-family and font-weight) in pseudo-element custom CSS rules
--fa-font-sharp-regular Sets the font property to use the sharp family and regular style (font-family and font-weight) in pseudo-element custom CSS rules
--fa-font-sharp-light Sets the font property to use the sharp family and light style (font-family and font-weight) in pseudo-element custom CSS rules


Fast Style Switching
--fa-style-family-classic Sets the font-family to "Font Awesome 6 Pro" in Pro projects)
Sets the font-family "Font Awesome 6 Free" in Free projects.
--fa-style-family-sharp Sets the font-family to "Font Awesome 6 Sharp" in Pro projects)

Using Custom Properties in a Project

CSS custom properties (opens new window) are still a pretty new thing for most folks. Here are some ways you can define them within your project…

Setting Properties with CSS :root

You can define custom properties at CSS :root pseudo-class (opens new window) level. This will make any icons that use a styling toolkit's feature inherit the properties by default.

<!-- by default, everything will be in v6's Classic regular style and in the holiday spirit -->
<style>
  :root {
    --fa-style-family: "Font Awesome 6 Pro";
    --fa-style: 400;
    --fa-border-color: red;
    --fa-primary-color: green;
    --fa-secondary-color: red;
  }
</style>

Setting Properties with Project-Based CSS Rules

You can also set custom properties inside of your project's CSS, in the <head> of a page or in a separate stylesheet. These properties will be scoped to just elements that match the selector of the rule you've included them in.

<style>
  /* setting a decorative icon dropcap before a block of text */
  .ye-olde-icon-dropcap {
    --fa-border-color: WhiteSmoke;
    --fa-border-padding: 2em;
    --fa-border-radius: 0.25em;
    --fa-pull-margin: 2em;

    font-size: 8em;
  }

  /* playing DJ with fa-record-vinyl */
  .track-quick-spin {
    --fa-spin-duration: 0.25s;
    --fa-spin-iteration-count: 1;
    --fa-spin-timing: ease-out;
  }

  .track-vocals {
    --fa-spin-duration: 10s;
    --fa-spin-timing: ease-in-out;
    --fa-spin-iteration-count: 2;
  }

  .track-dope-hook {
    --fa-spin-duration: 10s;
    --fa-spin-iteration-count: 10;
  }

  /* Mo' Malfoy! Mo' Malfoy! Mo' Malfoy! */
  .theme-slytherin {
    --fa-primary-color: darkgreen;
    --fa-secondary-color: silver;
  }

  /* extra sharp flavor */
  .theme-sharp {
    font: var(--fa-font-sharp-solid);
  }
</style>

Setting Properties with Inline Styles

Many of the examples in these docs define CSS custom properties using inline styling by adding a style attribute to an element. This is best for one-offs or very custom colored/styled duotone icons that you won't need to change at a system level.

<!-- rotating an icon -->
<i class="fa-solid fa-bomb fa-rotate-by" style="--fa-rotate-angle: 45deg;"></i>

<!-- using inline styles to define duotone icon custom properties -->
<i
  class="fa-duotone fa-crow"
  style="--fa-primary-color: dodgerblue; --fa-secondary-color: gold;"
></i>

Be careful of specificity and cascade!

CSS Custom properties that are redefined will trump each other. Defining a property in :root {} and then defining the same property in a rule or inline will result in the :root style being overridden.

Add Your Own Custom Styling with CSS

Everything you can typically control with CSS is up for grabs — from color to display to alignment. We recommend targeting icons in your CSS in a couple of different ways. You can also add your own custom styling to Font Awesome icons by adding your own CSS rules in your project's code.

Styling Case Recommended Selector
Custom styling all icons Add a consistent custom class to all icons (e.g. .icon, .[projectprefix]-icon, or .fa-icon)

You can also use style-classes for the in-use icon styles
.fa-solid { ... }
.fa-regular { ... }
.fa-light { ... }
.fa-thin { ... }
.fa-duotone { ... }
.fa-brands { ... }
.fa-sharp-solid { ... }
Custom styling a specific icon Use the individual icon name, prefixed with .fa-
.fa-user { ... }
.fa-font-awesome { ... }

Here's a quick example of using those selectors to add custom color to Font Awesome icons:

<!-- reference your copy of Font Awesome in the head -->
<head>
  <link href="/your-path-to-fontawesome/css/fontawesome.css" rel="stylesheet">
  <link href="/your-path-to-fontawesome/css/brands.css" rel="stylesheet">
  <link href="/your-path-to-fontawesome/css/solid.css" rel="stylesheet">
  <link href="/your-path-to-fontawesome/css/sharp-solid.css" rel="stylesheet">
</head>

<!-- Add some style -->
<style>
  /* custom styling for all icons */
  .fa-solid,
  .fa-brands, 
  .fa-sharp-solid {
    background-color: papayawhip;
    border-radius: 0.2em;
    padding: 0.3em;
  }

  /* custom styling for specific icons */
  .fa-fish {
    color: salmon;
  }

  .fa-frog {
    color: green;
  }

  .fa-user-ninja.vanished {
    opacity: 0.2;
  }

  .fa-facebook {
    color: rgb(59, 91, 152);
  }
</style>

<!-- Add some Icons -->
<body>
  <i class="fa-solid fa-fish"></i>
  <i class="fa-solid fa-frog"></i>
  <i class="fa-solid fa-user-ninja vanished"></i>
  <i class="fa-brands fa-facebook"></i>
  <i class="fa-sharp fa-solid fa-fish"></i>
</body>

Writing Custom CSS with our SVG + JS framework

When using our SVG framework, remember that Font Awesome-based <i> DOM elements are replaced with new <svg> elements by default. Be sure that your CSS rules target the right elements.