Icon System

Relevant source files

• CHANGELOG.md
• README.md
• bom/pom.xml
• build-config/pom.xml
• code-parent/pom.xml
• components/pom.xml
• core/pom.xml
• extensions/codeeditor/pom.xml
• extensions/finder/pom.xml
• gwt/pom.xml
• icons/pom.xml
• j2cl/pom.xml
• layouts/pom.xml
• pom.xml
• showcase/pom.xml
• tokens/pom.xml

This page covers the patternfly-java-icons Maven module: its generated Java classes, the Node.js-based code generation pipeline, and how components consume icons. For the general build pipeline that runs this generation step, see Build Pipeline. For the analogous token generation system, see Design Tokens System.

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Module Overview

The patternfly-java-icons module (icons/) is a self-contained Maven module that provides all icon definitions used across the component library. It depends on patternfly-java-core and is in turn consumed by patternfly-java-components.

Module artifact: org.patternfly:patternfly-java-icons
Packaging: gwt-lib
GWT module name: org.patternfly.Icons

The two key generated files in this module are:

File	Package	Purpose
IconSets.java	org.patternfly.icon	Static factory methods grouped by icon set
IconSpecs.java	org.patternfly.icon	Raw SVG path data for each icon

Both files are excluded from license checks and Checkstyle enforcement pom.xml223-224 because they are generated artifacts and should not be edited by hand.

Sources: icons/pom.xml1-104 pom.xml223-224 pom.xml243-244

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Icon Sets

Four icon families are bundled. Each corresponds to a nested class inside IconSets:

Nested class	npm package	Icon family
IconSets.fas	@fortawesome/free-solid-svg-icons v5	FontAwesome Solid
IconSets.far	@fortawesome/free-regular-svg-icons v5	FontAwesome Regular
IconSets.fab	@fortawesome/free-brands-svg-icons v5	FontAwesome Brands
IconSets.patternfly	@patternfly/react-icons	PatternFly Icons

Icons are accessed using static imports on the nested class:

Each static method (e.g. book(), cube(), key()) returns a fresh PredefinedIcon instance.

Sources: icons/package.json1-17 README.md213-253

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Generation Pipeline

Diagram: Icon Generation Pipeline

Sources: icons/pom.xml59-94 icons/package.json1-17

Maven Build Steps

The frontend-maven-plugin in icons/pom.xml drives three sequential executions during the generate-sources phase icons/pom.xml59-94:

1. install-node-and-npm — Downloads the pinned Node.js version (v24.10.0).
2. yarn-install (npm install) — Installs all devDependencies from icons/package.json.
3. generate-icon-specs — Runs npm run generate, which executes icons/src/scripts/generate.mjs.

The script reads SVG definitions from the FontAwesome and PatternFly npm packages, converts icon names to camelCase Java identifiers, and writes out IconSpecs.java and IconSets.java.

Sources: icons/pom.xml59-103 icons/package.json5-6

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PredefinedIcon Class

PredefinedIcon (in org.patternfly.icon) is the return type of every factory method in IconSets. It acts as an SVG builder — it wraps the SVG element representing the icon and exposes methods for customization.

Key characteristics:

• It is a subtype of an SVG element builder (inheriting from Elemento's SVG builder API).
• It supports the fluent builder pattern: callers can chain modifier methods on it after retrieval.
• A new instance is returned each time a factory method is called, so icons are stateless and can be reused safely across calls.
• The static factory method PredefinedIcon.predefinedIcon(String iconName) (added in v0.4.3) allows constructing an icon by name string, as an alternative to importing the typed static factory.

Sources: README.md221-222 CHANGELOG.md155-157 CHANGELOG.md439-440

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Component Integration

WithIcon and WithIconAndText Interfaces

Components that accept icons implement one of two interfaces:

Interface	Location	Purpose
WithIcon	org.patternfly.component	Component accepts an icon only
WithIconAndText	org.patternfly.component	Component accepts both an icon and text

These interfaces define a common API (e.g. an icon(PredefinedIcon) method) so that all icon-capable components behave uniformly. An IconPosition enum controls whether the icon appears before (start) or after (end) the text.

Diagram: Icon Usage in Components

Sources: README.md221-253 CHANGELOG.md547-549

Usage Example

Sources: README.md226-252

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Module Dependency Position

The patternfly-java-icons module sits between core and components in the dependency chain. All components that need icons pull in this module transitively.

Diagram: Module Dependencies Involving Icons

Sources: icons/pom.xml35-40 components/pom.xml35-52 gwt/pom.xml47-67 j2cl/pom.xml35-44

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File Reference Summary

File	Role
icons/pom.xml	Maven module definition; drives npm install and code generation
icons/package.json	npm dependencies and generate script entry point
icons/src/scripts/generate.mjs	Node.js script that reads npm icon packages and emits Java source
icons/src/main/java/org/patternfly/icon/IconSets.java	Generated. Nested static classes fas, far, fab, patternfly with factory methods
icons/src/main/java/org/patternfly/icon/IconSpecs.java	Generated. Raw SVG path data per icon
icons/src/main/java/org/patternfly/icon/PredefinedIcon.java	Hand-written SVG builder wrapping icon data

Sources: icons/pom.xml42-57 pom.xml223-224