Apple HIG guidance for menu and button components including menus, context menus, dock menus, edit menus, the menu bar, toolbars, action buttons, pop-up buttons, pull-down buttons, disclosure controls, and standard buttons. Use this skill when the user says "how should my buttons look," "what goes i

Apple HIG: Menus and Buttons Check for .claude/apple design context.md before asking questions. Use existing context and only ask for information not already covered. Key Principles 1. Menus should be contextual and predictable. Standard items in standard locations. Follow platform conventions for ordering and grouping. 2. Use standard button styles. System defined styles communicate affordance and maintain visual consistency. Prefer them over custom designs. 3. Toolbars for frequent actions. Most commonly used commands in the toolbar. Rarely used actions belong in menus. 4. Menu bar is the primary command interface on macOS. Every command reachable from the menu bar. Toolbars and context menus supplement, not replace. 5. Context menus for secondary actions. Right click or long press, relevant to the item under the pointer. Never put a command only in a context menu. 6. Pop up buttons for mutually exclusive choices. Select exactly one option from a set. 7. Pull down buttons for action lists. No current selection; they offer a set of commands. 8. Action buttons consolidate related actions behind a single icon in toolbars or title bars. 9. Disclosure controls for progressive disclosure. Show or hide additional content. 10. Dock menus: short and focused on the most useful actions when the app is running. Reference Index Reference Topic Key content [menus.md](references/menus.md) General menu design Item ordering, grouping, shortcuts [context menus.md](references/context menus.md) Context menus Right click, long press, secondary actions [dock menus.md](references/dock menus.md) Dock menus macOS app level actions, running state [edit menus.md](references/edit menus.md) Edit menus Undo, copy, paste, standard items [the menu bar.md](references/the menu bar.md) Menu bar macOS primary command interface, structure [toolbars.md](references/toolbars.md) Toolbars Frequent actions, customization, placement [buttons.md](references/buttons.md) Buttons System styles, sizing, affordance [action button.md](references/action button.md) Action button Grouped secondary actions, toolbar use [pop up buttons.md](references/pop up buttons.md) Pop up buttons Mutually exclusive choice selection [pull down buttons.md](references/pull down buttons.md) Pull down buttons Action lists, no current selection [disclosure controls.md](references/disclosure controls.md) Disclosure controls Progressive disclosure, show/hide Output Format 1. Component recommendation which menu or button type and why. 2. Visual hierarchy placement, sizing, grouping within the interface. 3. Platform specific behavior across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, visionOS. 4. Keyboard shortcuts (macOS) standard and custom shortcuts for menu items and toolbar actions. Questions to Ask 1. Which platforms? 2. Primary or secondary action? 3. How many actions need to be available? 4. macOS menu bar app? Related Skills hig components search Search fields, page controls alongside toolbars and menus hig components controls Toggles, pickers, segmented controls complementing buttons hig components dialogs Alerts, sheets, popovers triggered by menu items or buttons hig inputs Keyboard shortcuts and pointer interactions with menus and toolbars Built by [Raintree Technology](https://raintree.technology) · [More developer tools](https://raintree.technology)

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