What’s an app intent?

Generated on 8/1/2024

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An app intent is a way to expose your app's functionality to the system, allowing it to be used outside of the app itself. It consists of a summary of what it does, which starts with the app followed by a verb, and includes the parameters that people need to fill out before the intent is run. App intents can be combined with other intents into shortcuts to create powerful new flows that they could not do alone.

App intents are designed to surface app functionality to system experiences, including Spotlight, the action button, squeeze widgets, controls, and Siri. They also appear as actions in the Shortcuts app, where users can explore, remix, and add them to create custom shortcuts.

For more detailed guidance on designing app intents, you can refer to the session Design App Intents for system experiences.

Relevant Sessions

  1. Design App Intents for system experiences
  2. Bring your app’s core features to users with App Intents