Built on the Agent Skills spec

Your AI agent just learned
Apple's design language.

Ask any design question. Get instant, platform-specific guidance grounded in Apple's Human Interface Guidelines — without reading 500 pages yourself.

Works with Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, and any agent that reads files. Built on the open Agent Skills specification.

Get started See what it does

git clone ...apple-hig-skills.git

Claude Code

Ask a question, get the right answer.

Real design decisions, grounded in Apple's guidelines. Your agent loads only the specific guidance it needs.

Building an iPad app?

Get guidance on sidebars vs. tab bars, split views, multitasking support, and pointer interactions — all specific to iPadOS conventions.

Platforms

Layout

Inputs

Adding Apple Pay?

Instant guidance on payment button placement, flow design, error states, and the specific UX patterns Apple requires for approval.

Technologies

Patterns

Making your app accessible?

Know the exact Dynamic Type sizes, contrast ratios, VoiceOver requirements, and accessibility patterns Apple expects.

Foundations

Technologies

Designing for visionOS?

Understand ornaments, volumes, immersive spaces, eye tracking, and spatial interaction patterns for Apple Vision Pro.

Platforms

Inputs

Layout

Getting dark mode right?

System colors, material backgrounds, elevation, and vibrancy — the full set of rules for a dark mode that feels native.

Foundations

Content

Designing notifications?

Notification grouping, Live Activities, action buttons, and how to respect user attention without being intrusive.

System

Patterns

Built for how you work.

Whether you're a solo developer or a full team, these skills meet you where you are.

Indie iOS developers

Ship faster with design decisions handled. Ask your AI agent instead of searching through hundreds of HIG pages.

Design teams using AI tools

Give Claude, Cursor, or Copilot the same HIG knowledge your senior designers have. Consistent guidance across your team.

Agencies and consultancies

Deliver Apple-quality design advice to clients without memorizing every guideline. Your AI becomes your HIG reference.

Teams building AI features

Need your AI-generated UI to feel native? These skills ensure your agent knows what Apple expects.

Skip the noise.

Your agent loads only the specific guidance it needs. A typical question uses ~4,000 tokens — not the 50,000+ that dumping the full HIG would cost.

50,000+

Full HIG dump

→

~4,000

With progressive disclosure

92%

Less context used

Step 1
~50 tokens
Discovery
The agent reads skill names and descriptions to find the right guidance. With 14 skills, this costs only ~700 tokens.
Step 2
~1,500 tokens
Activation
The matching SKILL.md loads with key principles, reference index, and output format — just the routing layer.
Step 3
~200 tokens
Context
Checks your project context for platform, tech stack, and constraints to tailor advice to your specific app.
Step 4
~2,000 tokens
Deep Reference
Only the exact HIG topic you asked about loads on demand. Not the entire guide — just what's relevant.

What's included.

14 skills covering 156 reference topics from Apple's Human Interface Guidelines.

Skill	Category	Description	Refs
Project Context	Setup	Creates a shared design context document so other HIG skills can tailor guidance to your app without repetitive questions.	—
Platforms	Platforms	Platform-specific design guidance for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, watchOS, and games.	7
Foundations	Foundations	Visual design foundations including color, typography, layout, icons, materials, motion, accessibility, and more.	18
Patterns	Patterns	UX patterns for onboarding, navigation, modality, feedback, drag-and-drop, searching, settings, and more.	25
Content	Components	Content display components: charts, collections, image views, web views, and more.	8
Layout	Components	Layout and organization: sidebars, split views, tab bars, windows, lists, and more.	12
Menus & Actions	Components	Menus and actions: buttons, context menus, toolbars, menu bar, pop-up buttons, and more.	11
Navigation	Components	Navigation and search: search fields, page controls, path controls.	3
Presentation	Components	Presentation components: alerts, action sheets, sheets, popovers, dialogs.	5
Selection & Input	Components	Selection and input controls: pickers, toggles, sliders, text fields, segmented controls, and more.	14
Status	Components	Status and progress: progress indicators, status bars, activity rings.	3
System	Components	System experiences: widgets, Live Activities, notifications, App Clips, complications, and more.	9
Inputs	Inputs	Input methods: gestures, keyboards, Apple Pencil, pointers, game controllers, Digital Crown, and more.	13
Technologies	Technologies	Apple technology integrations: Siri, Apple Pay, HealthKit, ARKit, Sign in with Apple, and more.	28

Open Standard

Built on Agent Skills.

Agent Skills is a universal spec for packaging reusable knowledge for AI agents. Think of it as plugins for AI — but instead of code libraries, they package expertise.

Read the specification

Portable

Works with any AI agent that reads files — Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, Windsurf, and custom agents.

Versionable

Semantic versioning, update checking, and git-based distribution. Install via clone, submodule, or the CLI.

Universal

One format instead of fragmented .cursorrules, CLAUDE.md, and copilot-instructions.md files.

Compatible with

Claude Code

Cursor

GitHub Copilot

Windsurf

Custom Agents

30 seconds to set up

Get started.

Clone into your project's .claude/ directory and start asking design questions.

git clone https://github.com/raintree-technology/apple-hig-skills.git .claude/apple-hig-skills

Then try your first question

Your AI agent just learnedApple's design language.