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API Reference

Appearance

⚠️
The react-native-appearance package has been replaced by Appearance and useColorScheme from react-native. The react-native-appearance package will be removed from the Expo SDK in SDK 43.
react-native-appearance allows you to detect the user's preferred color scheme (light, dark or no-preference) on iOS 13+ and Android 10+.

Platform Compatibility

Android DeviceAndroid EmulatoriOS DeviceiOS SimulatorWeb

Installation

Terminal
→ expo install react-native-appearance

If you're installing this in a bare React Native app, you should also follow these additional installation instructions.

Configuration

You can configure supported appearance styles in managed apps inside app.json with the userInterfaceStyle key. You can also configure specific platform to support different appearance styles by setting either android.userInterfaceStyle or ios.userInterfaceStyle to preferred value. The available options are: automatic (follow system appearance settings and notify about any change user makes), light (restrict app to support light theme only), and dark (restrict app to support dark theme only). If this key is absent, the app will default to the light style.
Example app.json configuration:
{
  "expo": {
    "userInterfaceStyle": "automatic",
    "ios": {
      "userInterfaceStyle": "light"
    },
    "android": {
      "userInterfaceStyle": "dark"
    }
  }
}
In bare apps:
  • iOS: you can configure supported styles with the UIUserInterfaceStyle key in your app Info.plist.
  • Android: please follow steps from the react-native-appearance repo.

API

To import this library, use:
import { Appearance, AppearanceProvider, useColorScheme } from 'react-native-appearance';
Next you need to wrap your app root component with an AppearanceProvider.
import { AppearanceProvider } from 'react-native-appearance';

export default () => (
  <AppearanceProvider>
    <App />
  </AppearanceProvider>
);
Get the current color scheme imperatively with Appearance.getColorScheme() and listen to changes with Appearance.addChangeListener
let colorScheme = Appearance.getColorScheme();

let subscription = Appearance.addChangeListener(({ colorScheme }) => {
  // do something with color scheme
});

// when you're done
subscription.remove();
If you're using hooks, this is made even easier with the useColorScheme() hook:
function MyComponent() {
  let colorScheme = useColorScheme();

  if (colorScheme === 'dark') {
    // render some dark thing
  } else {
    // render some light thing
  }
}
Below you can find an example of a simple application utilizing color scheme of the system:
import React from 'react';
import { Text, SafeAreaView, StatusBar, StyleSheet } from 'react-native';
import { AppearanceProvider, useColorScheme } from 'react-native-appearance';

export default function AppContainer() {
  return (
    <AppearanceProvider>
      <App />
    </AppearanceProvider>
  );
}

function App() {
  const colorScheme = useColorScheme();

  const themeStatusBarStyle = colorScheme === 'light' ? 'dark-content' : 'light-content';
  const themeTextStyle = colorScheme === 'light' ? styles.lightThemeText : styles.darkThemeText;
  const themeContainerStyle =
    colorScheme === 'light' ? styles.lightContainer : styles.darkContainer;

  return (
    <SafeAreaView style={[styles.container, themeContainerStyle]}>
      <StatusBar barStyle={themeStatusBarStyle} />
      <Text style={[styles.text, themeTextStyle]}>Color scheme: {colorScheme}</Text>
    </SafeAreaView>
  );
}

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  container: {
    flex: 1,
    alignItems: 'center',
    justifyContent: 'center',
  },
  lightContainer: {
    backgroundColor: '#D0D0C0',
  },
  darkContainer: {
    backgroundColor: '#242C40',
  },
  lightThemeText: {
    color: '#242C40',
  },
  darkThemeText: {
    color: '#D0D0C0',
  },
});

Tips

While you're developing, you may want to change your simulator's or device's appearance.
  • If working with an iOS emulator locally, you can use the command + shift + a shortcut to toggle between light and dark mode.
  • If using an Android Emulator, you can run adb shell "cmd uimode night yes" to enable dark mode, and adb shell "cmd uimode night no" to disable dark mode.
  • If using a real device or an Android Emulator, you can toggle the system dark mode setting in the device's settings.