/tvos

name: tvos
description: Use when building Apple TV apps — focus-based navigation, Siri Remote interactions, or media/video streaming UI.
versions:
  tvos: 27.2
user-invocable: false
references: references/focus-system.md, references/media-playback.md, references/remote-control.md
related-skills: swift-core, swiftui-core, mcp-tools

<objective> Covers tvOS-specific development for the Apple TV living-room experience: the focus system for large-screen navigation, Liquid Glass styling on TV (tvOS 26), AVKit media playback, Siri Remote gesture handling, multi-user support, and game controller integration.

Includes tvOS 26+ guidance on system-applied Liquid Glass (buttons/images adopt it on focus, never added manually) and focus-state-driven scale effects.

Best practices: size UI elements to be readable from 10 feet, give clear visual focus feedback, keep navigation depth minimal, design remote-friendly gestures, optimize for media-first content, and support user switching. </objective>

tvOS Platform

tvOS-specific development for Apple TV living room experiences.

Agent Workflow (MANDATORY)

Before ANY implementation, spawn 3 agents in parallel, one `Agent` call each with a `name`:

1. **fuse-ai-pilot:explore-codebase** - Analyze existing tvOS patterns 2. **fuse-ai-pilot:research-expert** - Verify latest tvOS 27.2 docs via Context7/Exa 3. **mcp__apple-docs__search_apple_docs** - Check tvOS patterns

After implementation, run **fuse-ai-pilot:sniper** for validation.

---

Overview

When to Use

• Building Apple TV applications
• Video and audio streaming
• Focus-based navigation
• Siri Remote interactions
• Multi-user experiences
• Game controller support

Why tvOS Skill

| Feature | Benefit | |---------|---------| | Focus system | Large screen navigation | | Liquid Glass | Modern TV UI (tvOS 26) | | Media playback | AVKit integration | | Remote control | Siri Remote gestures |

---

tvOS 26 Features

Liquid Glass on TV

In tvOS, Liquid Glass appears throughout navigation and system experiences; **buttons and image views adopt it automatically when they gain focus** (HIG https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/materials). Don't add `glassEffect` manually - use standard styles and components.

TabView {
    Tab("Home", systemImage: "house") { HomeView() }   // system tab bar gets glass
}

Button("Watch Now") { }
    .buttonStyle(.bordered)   // standard style: system handles the focused appearance

Use standard materials (not glass) for content-layer overlays.

Focus System

struct ContentView: View {
    @FocusState private var focused: Bool

    var body: some View {
        Button("Play") { }
            .focused($focused)
            .scaleEffect(focused ? 1.1 : 1.0)
    }
}

---

Reference Guide

| Need | Reference | |------|-----------| | Focus, selection states | [focus-system.md](references/focus-system.md) | | AVKit, video playback | [media-playback.md](references/media-playback.md) | | Siri Remote, gestures | [remote-control.md](references/remote-control.md) |

---

Best Practices

1. **Large UI elements** - Controls 66x66 pt default, 56x56 pt minimum; body text 29 pt default, 23 pt minimum ([HIG accessibility](https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/accessibility)) 2. **Focus feedback** - Clear visual indication ([HIG focus](https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/focus-and-selection)) 3. **Simple navigation** - Minimal depth 4. **Remote-friendly** - Siri Remote gestures 5. **Media-first** - Optimize for video/audio 6. **Multi-user** - Support user switching