# Menus and commands Provide space-efficient, context-dependent access to commands and controls. ## Overview Use a menu to provide people with easy access to common commands. You can add items to a macOS or iPadOS app’s menu bar using the [`commands(content:)`](/documentation/SwiftUI/Scene/commands(content:)) scene modifier, or create context menus that people reveal near their current task using the [`contextMenu(menuItems:)`](/documentation/SwiftUI/View/contextMenu(menuItems:)) view modifier.  Create submenus by nesting [`Menu`](/documentation/SwiftUI/Menu) instances inside others. Use a [`Divider`](/documentation/SwiftUI/Divider) view to create a separator between menu elements. For design guidance, see in the Human Interface Guidelines. ## Topics ### Building a menu bar [Building and customizing the menu bar with SwiftUI](/documentation/SwiftUI/Building-and-customizing-the-menu-bar-with-SwiftUI) Provide a seamless, cross-platform user experience by building a native menu bar for iPadOS and macOS. ### Creating a menu [Populating SwiftUI menus with adaptive controls](/documentation/SwiftUI/Populating-SwiftUI-menus-with-adaptive-controls) Improve your app by populating menus with controls and organizing your content intuitively. [`Menu`](/documentation/SwiftUI/Menu) A control for presenting a menu of actions. [`menuStyle(_:)`](/documentation/SwiftUI/View/menuStyle(_:)) Sets the style for menus within this view. ### Creating context menus [`contextMenu(menuItems:)`](/documentation/SwiftUI/View/contextMenu(menuItems:)) Adds a context menu to a view. [`contextMenu(menuItems:preview:)`](/documentation/SwiftUI/View/contextMenu(menuItems:preview:)) Adds a context menu with a custom preview to a view. [`contextMenu(forSelectionType:menu:primaryAction:)`](/documentation/SwiftUI/View/contextMenu(forSelectionType:menu:primaryAction:)) Adds an item-based context menu to a view. ### Defining commands [`commands(content:)`](/documentation/SwiftUI/Scene/commands(content:)) Adds commands to the scene. [`commandsRemoved()`](/documentation/SwiftUI/Scene/commandsRemoved()) Removes all commands defined by the modified scene. [`commandsReplaced(content:)`](/documentation/SwiftUI/Scene/commandsReplaced(content:)) Replaces all commands defined by the modified scene with the commands from the builder. [`Commands`](/documentation/SwiftUI/Commands) Conforming types represent a group of related commands that can be exposed to the user via the main menu on macOS and key commands on iOS. [`CommandMenu`](/documentation/SwiftUI/CommandMenu) Command menus are stand-alone, top-level containers for controls that perform related, app-specific commands. [`CommandGroup`](/documentation/SwiftUI/CommandGroup) Groups of controls that you can add to existing command menus. [`CommandsBuilder`](/documentation/SwiftUI/CommandsBuilder) Constructs command sets from multi-expression closures. Like `ContentBuilder`, it supports up to ten expressions in the closure body. [`CommandGroupPlacement`](/documentation/SwiftUI/CommandGroupPlacement) The standard locations that you can place new command groups relative to. ### Getting built-in command groups [`SidebarCommands`](/documentation/SwiftUI/SidebarCommands) A built-in set of commands for manipulating window sidebars. [`TextEditingCommands`](/documentation/SwiftUI/TextEditingCommands) A built-in group of commands for searching, editing, and transforming selections of text. [`TextFormattingCommands`](/documentation/SwiftUI/TextFormattingCommands) A built-in set of commands for transforming the styles applied to selections of text. [`ToolbarCommands`](/documentation/SwiftUI/ToolbarCommands) A built-in set of commands for manipulating window toolbars. [`ImportFromDevicesCommands`](/documentation/SwiftUI/ImportFromDevicesCommands) A built-in set of commands that enables importing content from nearby devices. [`InspectorCommands`](/documentation/SwiftUI/InspectorCommands) A built-in set of commands for manipulating inspectors. [`EmptyCommands`](/documentation/SwiftUI/EmptyCommands) An empty group of commands. ### Showing a menu indicator [`menuIndicator(_:)`](/documentation/SwiftUI/View/menuIndicator(_:)) Sets the menu indicator visibility for controls within this view. [`menuIndicatorVisibility`](/documentation/SwiftUI/EnvironmentValues/menuIndicatorVisibility) The menu indicator visibility to apply to controls within a view. ### Responding to menu item interaction ### Configuring menu dismissal [`menuActionDismissBehavior(_:)`](/documentation/SwiftUI/View/menuActionDismissBehavior(_:)) Tells a menu whether to dismiss after performing an action. [`MenuActionDismissBehavior`](/documentation/SwiftUI/MenuActionDismissBehavior) The set of menu dismissal behavior options. ### Setting a preferred order [`menuOrder(_:)`](/documentation/SwiftUI/View/menuOrder(_:)) Sets the preferred order of items for menus presented from this view. [`menuOrder`](/documentation/SwiftUI/EnvironmentValues/menuOrder) The preferred order of items for menus presented from this view. [`MenuOrder`](/documentation/SwiftUI/MenuOrder) The order in which a menu presents its content. ### Deprecated types [`MenuButton`](/documentation/SwiftUI/MenuButton) A button that displays a menu containing a list of choices when pressed. [`PullDownButton`](/documentation/SwiftUI/PullDownButton) [`ContextMenu`](/documentation/SwiftUI/ContextMenu) A container for views that you present as menu items in a context menu. --- Copyright © 2026 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. | [Terms of Use](https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/terms/site.html) | [Privacy Policy](https://www.apple.com/privacy/privacy-policy)