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# nibName

The name of the view controller’s nib file, if one was specified.

```
var nibName: String? { get }
```

## Discussion

This property contains the value specified at initialization time to the [`init(nibName:bundle:)`](/documentation/UIKit/UIViewController/init(nibName:bundle:)) method. The value of this property may be `nil`.

If you use a nib file to store your view controller’s view, it is recommended that you specify that nib file explicitly when initializing your view controller. However, if you do not specify a nib name, and do not override the [`loadView()`](/documentation/UIKit/UIViewController/loadView()) method in your custom subclass, the view controller searches for a nib file using other means. Specifically, it looks for a nib file with an appropriate name (without the `.nib` extension) and loads that nib file whenever its view is requested. Specifically, it looks (in order) for a nib file with one of the following names:

1. If the view controller class name ends with the word ‘Controller’, as in `MyViewController`, it looks for a nib file whose name matches the class name without the word ‘Controller’, as in `MyView.nib`.
2. It looks for a nib file whose name matches the name of the view controller class. For example, if the class name is `MyViewController`, it looks for a `MyViewController.nib` file.

> Note:
> Nib names that include a platform-specific identifier such as `~iphone` or `~ipad` are loaded only on a device of the corresponding type. For example, a nib name of `MyViewController~ipad.nib` is loaded only on iPad. If your app supports both platform types, you must provide versions of your nib files for each platform.

## See Also

[`-  initWithNibName:bundle:`](/documentation/UIKit/UIViewController/init(nibName:bundle:))

Creates a view controller with the nib file in the specified bundle.


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