/app-intents

name: app-intents
description: "Implement App Intents for Siri, Shortcuts, Spotlight, widgets, Control Center, and Apple Intelligence on iOS. Covers AppIntent actions, AppEntity and EntityQuery models, AppShortcutsProvider phrases, IndexedEntity Spotlight indexing, WidgetConfigurationIntent, SnippetIntent, and assistant schemas. Use when exposing app actions or entities to system surfaces."

App Intents (iOS 26+)

Implement, review, and extend App Intents to expose app functionality to Siri, Shortcuts, Spotlight, widgets, Control Center, and Apple Intelligence.

Contents

• [Triage Workflow](#triage-workflow)
• [AppIntent Protocol](#appintent-protocol)
• [`@Parameter`](#parameter)
• [AppEntity](#appentity)
• [EntityQuery (4 Variants)](#entityquery-4-variants)
• [AppEnum](#appenum)
• [AppShortcutsProvider](#appshortcutsprovider)
• [System Surface Integration](#system-surface-integration)
• [iOS 26 Additions](#ios-26-additions)
• [Common Mistakes](#common-mistakes)
• [Review Checklist](#review-checklist)
• [References](#references)

Triage Workflow

Step 1: Choose the action, boundary, and surface

Start from 1-3 valuable actions people want outside the app, not from its screen hierarchy. Record one design row per action: user goal; inline result or app destination; shared domain operation; parameters and entity query; confirmation/authentication; target surface and protocol. Use one explicit runtime route for app handoff instead of scattering navigation side effects through intents.

Then choose the system feature and protocol that fit that action:

| Surface | Protocol | Since | |---|---|---| | Siri / Shortcuts | `AppIntent` | iOS 16 | | Configurable widget | `WidgetConfigurationIntent` | iOS 17 | | Control Center | `ControlConfigurationIntent` | iOS 18 | | Spotlight search | `IndexedEntity` | iOS 18 | | Apple Intelligence | `@AppIntent(schema:)` | iOS 18 | | Interactive snippets | `SnippetIntent` | iOS 26 | | Visual Intelligence | `IntentValueQuery` | iOS 26 |

Step 2: Define the data model

• Prefer `AppEntity` shadow models for app data exposed to the system.
• Create `AppEnum` types for fixed parameter choices.
• Choose the right `EntityQuery` variant for resolution.
• Mark searchable entities with `IndexedEntity` and `indexingKey` metadata.

Step 3: Implement the intent

• Conform to `AppIntent` (or a specialized sub-protocol).
• Declare `@Parameter` properties for all user-facing inputs.
• Implement `perform() async throws -> some IntentResult`.
• Add `parameterSummary` for Shortcuts UI.
• Register phrases via `AppShortcutsProvider`.

Step 4: Verify

• Build and run in the target system surface to confirm discovery, parameter resolution, cancellation, confirmation, authentication, result rendering, and app handoff.
• If a step fails, reset the fixture, fix the smallest intent/entity/query boundary, and rerun the same action from the same surface before adding another action.
• Test Siri phrases with the intent preview in Xcode.
• Confirm `IndexedEntity` instances are indexed in a named Spotlight index.
• Check widget configuration for `WidgetConfigurationIntent` intents.

AppIntent Protocol

The system instantiates the struct via `init()`, sets parameters, then calls `perform()`. Declare a `title` and `parameterSummary` for Shortcuts UI.

struct OrderSoupIntent: AppIntent {
    static var title: LocalizedStringResource = "Order Soup"
    static var description = IntentDescription("Place a soup order.")

    @Parameter(title: "Soup") var soup: SoupEntity
    @Parameter(title: "Quantity", default: 1) var quantity: Int

    static var parameterSummary: some ParameterSummary {
        Summary("Order \(\.$soup)") { \.$quantity }
    }

    func perform() async throws -> some IntentResult {
        try await OrderService.shared.place(soup: soup.id, quantity: quantity)
        return .result(dialog: "Ordered \(quantity) \(soup.name).")
    }
}

Optional members: `description` (`IntentDescription`), `openAppWhenRun` (`Bool`), `isDiscoverable` (`Bool`), `authenticationPolicy` (`IntentAuthenticationPolicy`).

`@Parameter`

Declare each user-facing input with `@Parameter`. Non-optional parameters are required; the system requests values when needed. Defaults pre-fill a useful value. Optional parameters are not requested automatically, so ask for them in `perform()` when the intent cannot continue without a value.

// Required; the system asks for a value when needed
@Parameter(title: "Count")
var count: Int

// Required and pre-filled
@Parameter(title: "Count", default: 1)
var count: Int

// Optional; request it yourself if it becomes necessary
@Parameter(title: "Count")
var count: Int?

Supported value types

Primitives: `Bool`, `Int`, `Double`, `String`, `Duration`, `Date`, `Decimal`, `Measurement`, and `URL`. Collections: `Array` and `Set` of supported element types. Framework: `IntentPerson`, `IntentFile`. Custom: any `AppEntity` or `AppEnum`.

Common initializer patterns

// Basic
@Parameter(title: "Name")
var name: String

// With default
@Parameter(title: "Count", default: 5)
var count: Int

// Numeric slider
@Parameter(title: "Volume", controlStyle: .slider, inclusiveRange: (0, 100))
var volume: Int

// Options provider (dynamic list)
@Parameter(title: "Category", optionsProvider: CategoryOptionsProvider())
var category: Category

// File with content types
@Parameter(title: "Document", supportedContentTypes: [.pdf, .plainText])
var document: IntentFile

// Measurement with unit
@Parameter(title: "Distance", defaultUnit: .miles, supportsNegativeNumbers: false)
var distance: Measurement<UnitLength>

See [references/appintents-advanced.md](references/appintents-advanced.md) for all initializer variants.

AppEntity

Prefer shadow models that mirror app data and expose only system-facing fields. Direct model conformance is allowed when the model is lightweight, stable, and appropriate for App Intents l