Source: Apple Inc. Canonical content at https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/buttons. This file is a structured index of that content, snapshot 2025-02-02. Apple HIG text and imagery are © Apple Inc.; this repository provides organization and cross-referencing for AI agent consumption only.

Buttons

Style. A visual style based on size, color, and shape.
Content. A symbol (or icon), text label, or both that a button displays to convey its purpose.
Role. A system-defined role that identifies a button’s semantic meaning and can affect its appearance.

Best practices

Make buttons easy for people to use.

Always include a press state for a custom button.

Style

In general, use a button that has a prominent visual style for the most likely action in a view.

Use style — not size — to visually distinguish the preferred choice among multiple options.

Avoid applying a similar color to button labels and content layer backgrounds.

Content

Ensure that each button clearly communicates its purpose.

Try to associate familiar actions with familiar icons.

Consider using text when a short label communicates more clearly than an icon.

Role

Normal. No specific meaning.
Primary. The button is the default button — the button people are most likely to choose.
Cancel. The button cancels the current action.
Destructive. The button performs an action that can result in data destruction.

Assign the primary role to the button people are most likely to choose.

Don’t assign the primary role to a button that performs a destructive action, even if that action is the most likely choice.

Platform considerations

iOS, iPadOS

Configure a button to display an activity indicator when you need to provide feedback about an action that doesn’t instantly complete.

macOS

Push buttons

Use a flexible-height push button only when you need to display tall or variable height content.

Append a trailing ellipsis to the title when a push button opens another window, view, or app.

Consider supporting spring loading.

Square buttons

Use square buttons in a view, not in the window frame.

Prefer using a symbol in a square button.

Avoid using labels to introduce square buttons.

Help buttons

Use the system-provided help button to display your help documentation.

When possible, open the help topic that’s related to the current context.

Include no more than one help button per window.

Position help buttons where people expect to find them.

Use a help button within a view, not in the window frame.

Avoid displaying text that introduces a help button.

Image buttons

Use an image button in a view, not in the window frame.

Include about 10 pixels of padding between the edges of the image and the button edges.

If you need to include a label, position it below the image button.

visionOS

Prefer buttons that have a discernible background shape and fill.

When a button appears on top of a glass window, use the thin material as the button’s background.
When a button appears floating in space, use the glass material for its background.

Avoid creating a custom button that uses a white background fill and black text or icons.

In general, prefer circular or capsule-shape buttons.

Provide enough space around a button to make it easy for people to look at it.

Choose the right shape if you need to display text-labeled buttons in a stack or row.

Use standard controls to take advantage of the audible feedback sounds people already know.

watchOS

Use a toolbar to place buttons in the corners.

Prefer buttons that span the width of the screen for primary actions in your app.

Use toolbar buttons to provide either navigation to related areas or contextual actions for the view’s content.

Use the same height for vertical stacks of one- and two-line text buttons.

For the complete guidance, including worked examples and illustrations, see the canonical page: https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/buttons

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referencesbuttons.md