# ipados-design-guidelines

Apple Human Interface Guidelines for iPad, packaged as a skill: adaptive layouts, multitasking, sidebar navigation and pointer support.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 1200 installs · ★ 625
- Author: platform-design-skills
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/ehmo/platform-design-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/ipados/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-03-19
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/ipados-design-guidelines

## What it does

The skill loads a set of iPad rules into your agent. It covers adaptive size classes, Split View, Slide Over, Stage Manager, sidebar navigation, top toolbars and drag and drop between apps. When you ask for a screen to be built or reworked, the agent works from these rules instead of guessing.

The core point it keeps making: iPad is not a big iPhone. A stretched single-column layout wastes a large display, so in regular width the skill pushes column-based structures and stacks them in compact. Screen sizes from iPad Mini up to iPad Pro are called out, along with both orientations.

Multitasking is treated as a requirement, not a bonus. The app has to hold up at 1/3, 1/2 and 2/3 width, avoid assuming full-screen dimensions at launch, and keep scroll position when the window resizes. Code samples are SwiftUI — `NavigationSplitView`, `WindowGroup`, `.sidebarAdaptable`. If you have an iPhone app that was simply stretched onto iPad, that is worth fixing before release.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add ehmo/platform-design-skills --skill ipados-design-guidelines -a claude-code
```
```bash
npx skills add ehmo/platform-design-skills --skill ipados -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/ipados/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/ipados/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add ehmo/platform-design-skills --skill ipados -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/ipados/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add ehmo/platform-design-skills --skill ipados -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/ipados/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install ehmo/platform-design-skills ipados
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/ipados/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add ehmo/platform-design-skills --skill ipados -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/ehmo/platform-design-skills --path skills/ipados
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/ipados/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add ehmo/platform-design-skills --skill ipados -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/ehmo/platform-design-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/ipados/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- lay out a screen for both regular and compact size classes
- swap a bottom tab bar for sidebar navigation
- keep the app usable in Split View and Slide Over
- support multiple windows under Stage Manager
- preserve selection and scroll position on resize

## Example prompts
- build an iPad mail screen with a sidebar and a detail column
- check that my interface holds up at 1/3 width in Split View
- rewrite the layout so it resizes under Stage Manager and both orientations

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: a854cb0bcaf13bc7.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE a854cb0bcaf13bc7
````text
---
name: ipados-design-guidelines
description: Apple Human Interface Guidelines for iPad. Use when building iPad-optimized interfaces, implementing multitasking, pointer support, keyboard shortcuts, or responsive layouts. Triggers on tasks involving iPad, Split View, Stage Manager, sidebar navigation, or trackpad support.
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: platform-design-skills
  version: "1.0.0"
---

# iPadOS Design Guidelines

Comprehensive rules for building iPad-native apps following Apple's Human Interface Guidelines. iPad is not a big iPhone -- it demands adaptive layouts, multitasking support, pointer interactions, keyboard shortcuts, and inter-app drag and drop. These rules extend iOS patterns for the larger, more capable canvas.

---

## 1. Responsive Layout (CRITICAL)

### 1.1 Use Adaptive Size Classes

iPad presents two horizontal size classes: **regular** (full screen, large splits) and **compact** (Slide Over, narrow splits). Design for both. Never hardcode dimensions.

```swift
struct AdaptiveView: View {
    @Environment(\.horizontalSizeClass) var sizeClass

    var body: some View {
        if sizeClass == .regular {
            TwoColumnLayout()
        } else {
            StackedLayout()
        }
    }
}
```

### 1.2 Don't Scale Up iPhone UI

iPad layouts must be purpose-built. Stretching an iPhone layout across a 13" display wastes space and feels wrong. Use multi-column layouts, master-detail patterns, and increased information density in regular width.

### 1.3 Support All iPad Screen Sizes

Design for the full range: iPad Mini (8.3"), iPad (11"), iPad Air (11"/13"), and iPad Pro (11"/13"). Use flexible layouts that redistribute content rather than simply scaling.

### 1.4 Column-Based Layouts for Regular Width

In regular width, organize content into columns. Two-column is the most common (sidebar + detail). Three-column works for deep hierarchies (sidebar + list + detail). Avoid single-column full-width layouts on large screens.

```swift
struct ThreeColumnLayout: View {
    var body: some View {
        NavigationSplitView {
            SidebarView()
        } content: {
            ContentListView()
        } detail: {
            DetailView()
        }
    }
}
```

### 1.5 Respect Safe Areas

iPad safe areas differ from iPhone. Older iPads have no home indicator. iPads in landscape have different insets than portrait. Always use `safeAreaInset` and never hardcode padding for notches or indicators.

### 1.6 Support Both Orientations

iPad apps must work well in both portrait and landscape. Landscape is the dominant orientation for productivity. Portrait is common for reading. Adapt column counts and layout density to orientation.

---
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE a854cb0bcaf13bc7

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