Menus, Toolbars, and Commands
Use this skill when wiring menu items, toolbar items, or keyboard shortcuts.
Rules
- •Use native menu and toolbar APIs for the platform.
- •Use the didSelectButton(_:) selector naming rule for target/action handlers.
- •Enablement/validation belongs in controllers, not views.
- •Keyboard shortcuts must be explicit and discoverable (menu titles/shortcuts).
- •Avoid custom gesture shortcuts when a standard command exists.
UIKit (UIBarButtonItem + UIMenu)
- •Use UIBarButtonItem for navigation items.
- •Use UIMenu + UIAction for contextual actions and command groups.
- •Validation: update isEnabled and menu state from controller state.
UIKit example:
swift
@MainActor
final class ItemsViewController: UIViewController {
private lazy var addButton = UIBarButtonItem(
systemItem: .add,
primaryAction: UIAction { [weak self] _ in
self?.didSelectButton(nil)
},
menu: nil
)
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
navigationItem.rightBarButtonItem = addButton
let deleteAction = UIAction(title: "Delete", attributes: .destructive) { [weak self] _ in
self?.didSelectButton(nil)
}
navigationItem.rightBarButtonItem?.menu = UIMenu(children: [deleteAction])
}
@objc private func didSelectButton(_ sender: Any?) {
// handle action
}
}
AppKit (NSMenu + NSToolbar)
- •Use NSMenu for command discovery and keyboard shortcuts.
- •Use NSToolbarItem for primary actions.
- •Validate commands via validateUserInterfaceItem(_:) in controllers.
AppKit example:
swift
@MainActor
final class ItemsViewController: NSViewController, NSUserInterfaceValidations {
@objc private func didSelectButton(_ sender: Any?) {
// handle action
}
func validateUserInterfaceItem(_ item: NSValidatedUserInterfaceItem) -> Bool {
switch item.action {
case #selector(didSelectButton(_:)):
return canPerformAction()
default:
return true
}
}
private func canPerformAction() -> Bool {
true
}
}