---
title: appearance
framework: appkit
role: symbol
role_heading: Instance Property
path: appkit/nsappearancecustomization/appearance
---

# appearance

The appearance of the receiver, in an NSAppearance object.

## Declaration

```swift
var appearance: NSAppearance? { get set }
```

## Mentioned in

Choosing a Specific Appearance for Your macOS App

## Discussion

Discussion The default value for this property is nil, which means that the receiver uses the appearance it inherits from the nearest ancestor that has set an appearance. When you set appearance to a non-nil value, the receiver and the views it contains use the specified appearance.

## See Also

### Getting and Setting Appearance

- [Choosing a Specific Appearance for Your macOS App](appkit/choosing-a-specific-appearance-for-your-macos-app.md)
- [effectiveAppearance](appkit/nsappearancecustomization/effectiveappearance.md)