SwiftUI Liquid Glass

Overview

Liquid Glass is the dynamic translucent material introduced in iOS 26 (and iPadOS 26, macOS 26, tvOS 26, watchOS 26). It blurs content behind it, reflects surrounding color and light, and reacts to touch and pointer interactions. Standard SwiftUI components (tab bars, toolbars, navigation bars, sheets) adopt Liquid Glass automatically when built with the iOS 26 SDK. Use the APIs below for custom views and controls.

See

references/liquid-glass.md

for the full API reference with additional examples.

Workflow

Choose the path that matches the request:

1. Implement a new feature with Liquid Glass

Identify target surfaces (cards, chips, floating controls, custom bars).
Decide shape, prominence, and whether each element needs interactivity.
Wrap grouped glass elements in a
```
GlassEffectContainer
```
.
Apply
```
.glassEffect()
```
after layout and appearance modifiers.
Add
```
.interactive()
```
only to tappable/focusable elements.
Add morphing transitions with
```
glassEffectID(_:in:)
```
where the view hierarchy changes with animation.
Gate with
```
if #available(iOS 26, *)
```
and provide a fallback for earlier versions.

2. Improve an existing feature with Liquid Glass

Find custom blur/material backgrounds that can be replaced with
```
.glassEffect()
```
.
Wrap sibling glass elements in
```
GlassEffectContainer
```
for blending and performance.

Replace custom glass-like buttons with

.buttonStyle(.glass)

.buttonStyle(.glassProminent)

Add morphing transitions where animated insertion/removal occurs.

3. Review existing Liquid Glass usage

Run through the Review Checklist below and verify each item.

Core API Summary

glassEffect(_:in:)

Applies Liquid Glass behind a view. Default:

.regular

variant in a

Capsule

shape.

swift

func glassEffect(
    _ glass: Glass = .regular,
    in shape: some Shape = DefaultGlassEffectShape()
) -> some View

Glass struct

Property / Method	Purpose
`.regular`	Standard glass material
`.clear`	Clear variant (minimal tint)
`.identity`	No visual effect (pass-through)
`.tint(_:)`	Add a color tint for prominence
`.interactive(_:)`	React to touch and pointer interactions

Chain them:

.regular.tint(.blue).interactive()

GlassEffectContainer

Wraps multiple glass views for shared rendering, blending, and morphing.

swift

GlassEffectContainer(spacing: 24) {
    // child views with .glassEffect()
}

The

spacing

controls when nearby glass shapes begin to blend. Match or exceed the interior layout spacing so shapes merge during animated transitions but remain separate at rest.

Morphing & Transitions

Modifier	Purpose
`glassEffectID(_:in:)`	Stable identity for morphing during view hierarchy changes
`glassEffectUnion(id:namespace:)`	Merge multiple views into one glass shape
`glassEffectTransition(_:)`	Control how glass appears/disappears

Transition types:

.matchedGeometry

(default when within spacing),

.materialize

(fade content + animate glass in/out),

.identity

(no transition).

Button Styles

swift

Button("Action") { }
    .buttonStyle(.glass)           // standard glass button

Button("Primary") { }
    .buttonStyle(.glassProminent)  // prominent glass button

Scroll Edge Effects and Background Extension (iOS 26+)

These complement Liquid Glass when building custom toolbars and scroll views:

swift

ScrollView {
    content
}
.scrollEdgeEffectStyle(.soft, for: .top)  // Fading edge effect at scroll boundaries

// Mirror and blur content at safe area edges (behind glass toolbars)
content
    .backgroundExtensionEffect()

ToolbarSpacer (iOS 26+)

Creates a visual break between items in toolbars containing Liquid Glass:

swift

.toolbar {
    ToolbarItem { Button("Edit") { } }
    ToolbarItem { ToolbarSpacer() }
    ToolbarItem { Button("Share") { } }
}

Code Examples

Basic glass effect with availability gate

swift

if #available(iOS 26, *) {
    Text("Status")
        .padding()
        .glassEffect(.regular.interactive(), in: .rect(cornerRadius: 16))
} else {
    Text("Status")
        .padding()
        .background(.ultraThinMaterial, in: RoundedRectangle(cornerRadius: 16))
}

Grouped glass elements in a container

swift

GlassEffectContainer(spacing: 24) {
    HStack(spacing: 24) {
        ForEach(tools) { tool in
            Image(systemName: tool.icon)
                .frame(width: 56, height: 56)
                .glassEffect(.regular.interactive())
        }
    }
}

Morphing transition

swift

@State private var isExpanded = false
@Namespace private var ns

var body: some View {
    GlassEffectContainer(spacing: 40) {
        HStack(spacing: 40) {
            Image(systemName: "pencil")
                .frame(width: 80, height: 80)
                .glassEffect()
                .glassEffectID("pencil", in: ns)

            if isExpanded {
                Image(systemName: "eraser.fill")
                    .frame(width: 80, height: 80)
                    .glassEffect()
                    .glassEffectID("eraser", in: ns)
            }
        }
    }

    Button("Toggle") {
        withAnimation { isExpanded.toggle() }
    }
    .buttonStyle(.glass)
}

Unioning views into a single glass shape

swift

@Namespace private var ns

GlassEffectContainer(spacing: 20) {
    HStack(spacing: 20) {
        ForEach(items.indices, id: \.self) { i in
            Image(systemName: items[i])
                .frame(width: 80, height: 80)
                .glassEffect()
                .glassEffectUnion(id: i < 2 ? "group1" : "group2", namespace: ns)
        }
    }
}

Tinted glass badge

swift

struct GlassBadge: View {
    let icon: String
    let tint: Color

    var body: some View {
        Image(systemName: icon)
            .font(.title2)
            .padding()
            .glassEffect(.regular.tint(tint), in: .rect(cornerRadius: 12))
    }
}

Do's and Don'ts

Do:

Use
```
GlassEffectContainer
```
whenever multiple glass views coexist.
Apply
```
.glassEffect()
```
after layout and appearance modifiers (padding, frame, font).
Use
```
.interactive()
```
only on tappable or focusable elements.
Match
```
GlassEffectContainer
```
spacing with the interior layout spacing.

Prefer

.buttonStyle(.glass)

.buttonStyle(.glassProminent)

over manual glass on buttons.

Gate with
```
if #available(iOS 26, *)
```
and provide a non-glass fallback.
Use
```
withAnimation
```
when toggling views that have
```
glassEffectID
```
for morphing.

Don't:

Apply Liquid Glass to every surface -- overuse distracts from content.

Nest

GlassEffectContainer

inside another

GlassEffectContainer

Add
```
.interactive()
```
to non-interactive decorative glass.
Use custom blur/material overlays when
```
.glassEffect()
```
can replace them.
Hard-code layout metrics that conflict with glass container spacing.
Forget to test with Reduce Transparency and Reduce Motion accessibility settings.

Review Checklist

Availability:
```
if #available(iOS 26, *)
```
present with fallback UI.
Container: Multiple glass views wrapped in
```
GlassEffectContainer
```
.
Modifier order:
```
.glassEffect()
```
applied after layout/appearance modifiers.
Interactivity:
```
.interactive()
```
used only where user interaction exists.
Transitions:
```
glassEffectID
```
used with
```
@Namespace
```
for morphing animations.
Transition type:
```
.matchedGeometry
```
for nearby effects;
```
.materialize
```
for distant ones.
Consistency: Shapes, tints, and spacing are uniform across related elements.
Performance: Glass effects are limited in number; container used for grouping.
Accessibility: Tested with Reduce Transparency and Reduce Motion enabled.
Button styles: Standard
```
.glass
```
/
```
.glassProminent
```
used for buttons.
Ensure types driving Liquid Glass effects are Sendable; apply glass effects on @MainActor context

Available MCP Tools

apple-docs: Use
```
fetchAppleDocumentation
```
to look up the latest SwiftUI Liquid Glass APIs (e.g., path
```
/documentation/SwiftUI/View/glassEffect(_:in:)
```
).
xcodebuildmcp: If available, use to build and test your project directly.

References

Full API guide:
```
references/liquid-glass.md
```
Apple docs: Applying Liquid Glass to custom views
Apple docs: Adopting Liquid Glass

swiftui-liquid-glass

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

SwiftUI Liquid Glass

Overview

Workflow

1. Implement a new feature with Liquid Glass

2. Improve an existing feature with Liquid Glass

3. Review existing Liquid Glass usage

Core API Summary

glassEffect(_:in:)

Glass struct

GlassEffectContainer

Morphing & Transitions

Button Styles

Scroll Edge Effects and Background Extension (iOS 26+)

ToolbarSpacer (iOS 26+)

Code Examples

Basic glass effect with availability gate

Grouped glass elements in a container

Morphing transition

Unioning views into a single glass shape

Tinted glass badge

Do's and Don'ts

Review Checklist

Available MCP Tools

References