Menu Bar

/ NSApp.mainMenu · NSStatusBar.system /

also called menubar, system menu bar, top bar

The menu bar is the translucent strip across the top of the Mac screen. On the left are the system-owned Apple menu followed by the frontmost app’s main menu; the right side holds menu bar extras, followed by system status items and the clock. Every piece below has its own real name; hover a number to see exactly which part it names.

Anatomy — every part, named

1
App menus (main menu)NSApp.mainMenu
“The File Edit View menus at the top” have a real name: the app's main menu.
2
Menu bar extra (status item)NSStatusItem
“The little icon near the clock” is a status item in NSStatusBar.system; SwiftUI calls it MenuBarExtra.
3
Template iconNSImage.isTemplate
The monochrome glyph that recolors itself for light/dark menu bars — a template image, usually an SF Symbol.
4
Highlighted stateNSStatusBarButton.isHighlighted
The pale rounded pill behind the icon while its menu or popover is open — the hardest-to-describe pixel on this page.
5
MenuNSMenu
“The dropdown” from a menu bar icon is an NSMenu — translucent, rounded, vibrancy-backed.
6
Selection highlight (menu item)NSMenuItem
“The blue bar when you hover an option”: the menu item's selection highlight, tinted with the system accent color.
7
Separator itemNSMenuItem.separator()
“The little line between options” is a separator item.
8
Key equivalentNSMenuItem.keyEquivalent
“The ⌘Q text on the right side of a menu option” is the item's key equivalent.

Prompt — paste into your agent

Work on the macOS menu bar: the app's main menu (NSApp.mainMenu) sits on the left after the Apple menu; menu bar extras (NSStatusItem in NSStatusBar.system) sit on the right before the clock. Use the exact part names: status item, its highlighted state, NSMenu, NSMenuItem, separator item.

In code

The exact names this thing goes by in code — each row is one framework’s word for it. Use the row that matches your project (or paste it into your prompt).

AppKit	`NSApp.mainMenu`	the app's menus on the left
AppKit	`NSStatusBar.system`	the icon area on the right
SwiftUI	`MenuBarExtra`	one right-side icon, macOS 13+

Anatomy — every part, named

Prompt — paste into your agent

In code

See also

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