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One button, two regions: the action, and the attached arrow menu

Combo Button

/ NSComboButton · NSComboButton.Style.split /

also called split button, menu-arrow button, action-and-menu button, NSComboButton

A combo button combines two adjacent targets: a main button that immediately performs the default action and a small arrow button that opens related alternatives. A pop-up button instead shows the current selected value, while a pull-down button opens a menu from the whole control and has no separate primary-action region. NSComboButton is available on macOS 13 and later.

If you called it…

“the button with a separate little arrow attached”“one button that clicks and also has a dropdown”“the split action button with a menu on the right”“primary button joined to a tiny chevron button”“button where the label acts and the arrow opens choices”

…you meant a combo button.

Anatomy — every part, named

  1. 1
    Primary action regionNSComboButton.action

    “The main half that does the thing immediately” is the primary action region.

  2. 2
    Menu disclosure regionNSComboButton.menu

    “The separate little arrow attached to the button” is the menu disclosure region.

  3. 3
    Split dividerNSComboButton.Style.split

    “The tiny line between the label and arrow” is the split divider.

Prompt — paste into your agent

Use a Combo Button with NSComboButton (macOS 13+) in split style: clicking the main region performs the primary action, while the attached arrow region opens its NSMenu. Do not use a pop-up button, which displays a current selection, or a pull-down button, whose whole button opens an action menu.

Debug prompt — when it misbehaves

Paste this, then describe what you’re seeing — it hands your agent the classic failure modes to rule out first.

Debug my macOS combo button (NSComboButton, macOS 13+). Rule out: unified vs split style confusion — in unified the whole button shows the menu, in split only the arrow section does; the menu property empty so the arrow does nothing; running on macOS 12 or earlier where NSComboButton does not exist and a popup-button fallback is needed. The symptom:

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).

AppKitNSComboButtonmacOS 13+
AppKitNSComboButton.Style.splitseparate action and menu regions
SwiftUIButton + Menuno single native SwiftUI equivalent

See also

Pop-Up Button vs. Pull-Down Button vs. Combo BoxmacOSToolbar (Unified Title Bar)macOSContext MenumacOS

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