How do I implement tvOS sidebar in SwiftUI

Generated on 7/31/2024

1 search

Tailscan

This post is brought to you by Tailscan, the best devtool for Tailwind CSS.

To implement a sidebar in tvOS using SwiftUI, you can leverage the new features introduced in tvOS 18. Here's a step-by-step guide based on the information from the WWDC sessions:

  1. Use NavigationSplitView API: If you are building a new sidebar, you can use the existing NavigationSplitView APIs to create a sidebar with the new appearance.

  2. Adopt Sidebar Adaptable Style: If your app currently uses a TabView, you can easily switch to a sidebar with just one line of code by setting the TabView style to sidebarAdaptable. This will transform your tab bar into a sidebar.

    TabView {
        // Your tab items here
    }
    .tabViewStyle(.sidebarAdaptable)
    
  3. Customize Sidebar Content: You can use TabSection to represent groups in the sidebar. Tabs will appear in the declared order in the tab bar, and sections will be sorted after individual tabs in the sidebar.

    TabView {
        TabSection {
            // Your section content here
        }
        .tabItem {
            Label("Section", systemImage: "star")
        }
        
        // Other tabs
    }
    .tabViewStyle(.sidebarAdaptable)
    
  4. Enable Sidebar in UIKit: If you are using UITabBarController in UIKit, you can set the tabBarController's mode to tabSidebar to achieve a similar effect.

    tabBarController.mode = .tabSidebar
    

For more detailed information and examples, you can refer to the following sessions:

These sessions provide comprehensive insights and examples on how to implement and customize the sidebar in your tvOS app using SwiftUI.