Source: Apple Inc. Canonical content at https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/menus. 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.
Menus
Labels
For each menu item, write a label that clearly and succinctly describes it.
To be consistent with platform experiences, use title-style capitalization.
Remove articles like a , an , and the from menu-item labels to save space.
Show people when a menu item is unavailable.
Append an ellipsis to a menu item’s label when the action requires more information before it can complete.
Icons
Represent menu item actions with familiar icons.
Don’t display an icon if you can’t find one that clearly represents the menu item.
Use a single icon to introduce a group of similar items.
Organization
Prefer listing important or frequently used menu items first.
Consider grouping logically related items.
Prefer keeping all logically related commands in the same group, even if the commands don’t all have the same importance.
Be mindful of menu length.
Submenus
Use submenus sparingly.
Limit the depth and length of submenus.
Make sure a submenu remains available even when its nested menu items are unavailable.
Prefer using a submenu to indenting menu items.
Toggled items
Consider using a changeable label that describes an item’s current state.
Include a verb if a changeable label isn’t clear enough.
If necessary, display both menu items instead of one toggled item.
Consider using a checkmark to show that an attribute is currently in effect.
Consider offering a menu item that makes it easy to remove multiple toggled attributes.
In-game menus
Let players navigate in-game menus using the platform’s default interaction method.
Make sure your menus remain easy to open and read on all platforms you support.
Platform considerations
iOS, iPadOS
Small. A row of four items appears at the top of the menu, above a list that contains the remaining items. For each item in the top row, the menu displays a symbol or icon, but no label.
Medium. A row of three items appears at the top of the menu, above a list that contains the remaining items. For each item in the top row, the menu displays a symbol or icon above a short label.
Large (the default). The menu displays all items in a list.
Choose a small or medium menu layout when it can help streamline people’s choices.
visionOS
Prefer displaying a menu near the content it controls.
Prefer the subtle breakthrough effect in most cases.
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For the complete guidance, including worked examples and illustrations, see the canonical page: https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/menus