juniorCSS
What is the currentColor keyword?
Updated Apr 28, 2026
Short answer
currentColor acts as a dynamic CSS variable that inherently holds the computed value of the color property of the element.
Deep explanation
It is incredibly useful for writing DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) CSS. If you apply currentColor to a border or background, it will automatically adopt whatever text color the element (or its parent) currently has. SVG icons utilize this heavily to inherit colors from their surrounding text.
Real-world example
Styling SVG icons inside a button so they automatically change color when the button text color changes on hover.
Common mistakes
- Applying `currentColor` to an element that doesn't have an explicitly defined or inherited color, leading to unexpected default browser colors.
Follow-up questions
- Can currentColor be used with gradients?