# Icons & Names

> Source: `src/content/docs/actors/appearance.mdx`
> Canonical URL: https://rivet.dev/docs/actors/appearance
> Description: Customize actors with display names and icons for the Rivet inspector and dashboard.

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# Icons & Names

Actors can be customized with a display name and icon that appear in the Rivet inspector & dashboard. This helps identify actors at a glance when managing your application.

## Configuration

Set the `name` and `icon` properties in your actor's `options`:

## Icon Formats

The `icon` property accepts two formats:

### Emoji

Use any emoji character directly:

### FontAwesome Icons

Use [FontAwesome](https://fontawesome.com/search) icon names without the "fa" prefix:

## Default Behavior

If no `icon` is specified, actors display the default actor icon. If no `name` is specified, the actor's registry key (e.g., `chatRoom`, `gameServer`) is displayed instead.

## Examples

Here are some common patterns:

## Advanced: Run Handler Metadata

For library developers creating reusable run handlers, you can bundle icon and name metadata directly with the `run` property. This allows libraries to provide sensible defaults without requiring users to configure them manually.

Instead of returning a function from your run handler factory, return an object with `name`, `icon`, and `run`:

Users can then use this directly:

This run-handler metadata is currently applied through the registry and serverless metadata paths. The native runtime and inspector config read the actor's `options.name` and `options.icon` directly, so set those explicitly if you need the name or icon to appear everywhere.

Actor-level `options.name` and `options.icon` always take precedence, allowing users to override library defaults:

The built-in `workflow()` helper uses this pattern to automatically display the workflow icon for workflow-based actors.

_Source doc path: /docs/actors/appearance_