App extensions

Share extensions, Photo editing, Action extensions, and system integrations

App extensions let users extend your app’s functionality within other apps and system contexts. This page covers common extension types beyond widgets, App Clips, and specialized categories.

Share extensions

Share extensions appear in the iOS Share Sheet, allowing users to share content to your app from any app.

Extension point

Property	Value
Type	share
Extension Point	com.apple.share-services
Frameworks	None (can use React Native with pods.rb)
App Groups	Enabled by default
Embedded Swift	Yes

Creating a share extension

npx create-target share

Configure accepted content types in Info.plist:

<key>NSExtensionAttributes</key>
<dict>
  <key>NSExtensionActivationRule</key>
  <dict>
    <key>NSExtensionActivationSupportsWebURLWithMaxCount</key>
    <integer>1</integer>
    <key>NSExtensionActivationSupportsImageWithMaxCount</key>
    <integer>10</integer>
  </dict>
</dict>

See the Share Extensions guide for implementation details.

Action extensions

Action extensions appear in the Share Sheet as headless actions that process content.

Extension point

Property	Value
Type	action
Extension Point	com.apple.services
Frameworks	None

Creating an action

npx create-target action

Actions can run JavaScript on web pages:

// targets/action/assets/index.js
class Action {
  run({ extensionName, completionFunction }) {
    // Process the page content
    const data = { title: document.title };
    completionFunction(data);
  }
  
  finalize() {
    // Runs after native code completes
  }
}

window.ExtensionPreprocessingJS = new Action();

Ensure NSExtensionJavaScriptPreprocessingFile: "index" in Info.plist.

Photo editing extensions

Photo editing extensions appear in the Photos app editing flow.

Extension point

Property	Value
Type	photo-editing
Extension Point	com.apple.photo-editing
Frameworks	Photos, PhotosUI

npx create-target photo-editing

Implement PHContentEditingController protocol to provide editing UI.

Spotlight extensions

Spotlight extensions index your app’s content for system search.

Extension point

Property	Value
Type	spotlight
Extension Point	com.apple.spotlight.import
Frameworks	None
Embedded Swift	Yes

npx create-target spotlight

Populate the search index from the extension:

import CoreSpotlight

let attributes = CSSearchableItemAttributeSet(itemContentType: kUTTypeText as String)
attributes.title = "My Item"
attributes.contentDescription = "Description"

let item = CSSearchableItem(
  uniqueIdentifier: "com.myapp.item.1",
  domainIdentifier: "items",
  attributeSet: attributes
)

CSSearchableIndex.default().indexSearchableItems([item])

CoreSpotlight delegate

The CoreSpotlight delegate extension handles search result taps.

Extension point

Property	Value
Type	spotlight-delegate
Extension Point	com.apple.spotlight.index
Frameworks	CoreSpotlight

npx create-target spotlight-delegate

Siri intent extensions

Intent extensions handle Siri requests and shortcuts.

Intent extension

Property	Value
Type	intent
Extension Point	com.apple.intents-service
Frameworks	Intents
Embedded Swift	Yes

npx create-target intent

Intent UI extension

Property	Value
Type	intent-ui
Extension Point	com.apple.intents-ui-service
Frameworks	IntentsUI
Embedded Swift	Yes

npx create-target intent-ui

App Intent extension (iOS 16+)

Property	Value
Type	app-intent
Extension Point	com.apple.appintents-extension
Product Type	com.apple.product-type.extensionkit-extension
Frameworks	AppIntents

npx create-target app-intent

Modern App Intents use the AppIntents framework instead of the legacy Intents framework.

Quick Look extensions

Quick Look extensions provide custom previews and thumbnails.

Thumbnail extension

Property	Value
Type	quicklook-thumbnail
Extension Point	com.apple.quicklook.thumbnail
Frameworks	QuickLookThumbnailing
Embedded Swift	Yes

npx create-target quicklook-thumbnail

Preview extension

Property	Value
Type	quicklook-preview
Extension Point	com.apple.quicklook.preview
Frameworks	QuickLook
Embedded Swift	Yes

npx create-target quicklook-preview

File Provider extensions

File Provider extensions integrate with the Files app.

File Provider

Property	Value
Type	file-provider
Extension Point	com.apple.fileprovider-nonui
Frameworks	UniformTypeIdentifiers
App Groups	Enabled by default

npx create-target file-provider

File Provider UI

Property	Value
Type	file-provider-ui
Extension Point	com.apple.fileprovider-actionsui
Frameworks	FileProviderUI

npx create-target file-provider-ui

Other extensions

Keyboard extension

Property	Value
Type	keyboard
Extension Point	com.apple.keyboard-service
App Groups	Enabled by default
Embedded Swift	Yes

npx create-target keyboard

Custom keyboards replace the system keyboard.

Credentials Provider

Property	Value
Type	credentials-provider
Extension Point	com.apple.authentication-services-credential-provider-ui

npx create-target credentials-provider

Password manager integration with AutoFill.

Matter extension

Property	Value
Type	matter
Extension Point	com.apple.matter.support.extension.device-setup
Embedded Swift	Yes

npx create-target matter

Smart home device setup for Matter accessories.

Background download

Property	Value
Type	bg-download
Extension Point	com.apple.background-asset-downloader-extension
App Groups	Enabled by default
Embedded Swift	Yes

npx create-target bg-download

Background asset downloads on managed devices.

Learn more

Share extensions

Build share extensions

Complete target list

All 40+ target types

Target config

Configure target settings

Entitlements

Configure extension entitlements