is a global variable that specifies to what front end object, if any, the kernel is currently connected.


$FrontEnd
is a global variable that specifies to what front end object, if any, the kernel is currently connected.
Details

- $FrontEnd is either a FrontEndObject, or Null.
- You can use Options, SetOptions, and CurrentValue on $FrontEnd to read and set global options for the front end.
- Options set for $FrontEnd are by default stored in the file "FrontEnd/init.m" located in $UserBaseDirectory, and are persistent between front end sessions.
See Also
$Notebooks $FrontEndSession $DefaultFrontEnd UsingFrontEnd LocalSymbol VersionedPreferences
Function Repository: FrontEndObjectQ
Tech Notes
History
Introduced in 1996 (3.0)
Text
Wolfram Research (1996), $FrontEnd, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/$FrontEnd.html.
CMS
Wolfram Language. 1996. "$FrontEnd." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/$FrontEnd.html.
APA
Wolfram Language. (1996). $FrontEnd. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/$FrontEnd.html
BibTeX
@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_$frontend, author="Wolfram Research", title="{$FrontEnd}", year="1996", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/$FrontEnd.html}", note=[Accessed: 13-August-2025]}
BibLaTeX
@online{reference.wolfram_2025_$frontend, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={$FrontEnd}, year={1996}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/$FrontEnd.html}, note=[Accessed: 13-August-2025]}