mac-design

1# Mac design
2 
3Apple already designed your app. Pick the right system parts, arrange them,
4and stay out of their way. Use the system first. Add custom design only
5where the system has nothing.
6 
7- The full checklist with sources: [design-rules.md](design-rules.md).
8  Use it for reviews.
9- Copyable SwiftUI code: [patterns.md](patterns.md).
10- The Settings window: [settings.md](settings.md).
11- Toolbars: which item goes where, per column: [toolbars.md](toolbars.md).
12- A left sidebar, a right panel, and a top bar that fit together, or no top
13  bar: [app-shell.md](app-shell.md).
14- The menu bar, context menus, and the Dock menu: [menus.md](menus.md).
15- Apple's current text on one topic, when a rule here is not enough:
16  `"${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/hig.sh" <topic>` (for example `toolbars`,
17  `sheets`). It prints the HIG page as plain text.
18- App-wide tokens (colors, radii, motion): call the Skill tool with
19  `design-system`.
20- How a feature works and what it says (names, flow, modals, errors,
21  accessibility): call the Skill tool with `ux-design`.
22- Spacing, alignment, and the checks that catch misalignment: call the
23  Skill tool with `layout-grid`.
24- Parts of your own instead of Apple's: call the Skill tool with
25  `design-kit`, or `design-from-app` to match an app the user names.
26 
27## Apple's eight principles
28 
29Use them as the review lens for every screen (HIG Design principles, 2026):
30 
311. **Purpose**: each feature costs people time, attention, and trust. Cut what does not earn it.
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