Apple Web App

name: apple-web-app
description: "Use when implementing, debugging, or auditing how any website or web app looks and behaves on iPhone and iPad — in Safari or added to the Home Screen — or added to the Mac Dock from Safari: safe areas, Safari's status bar and address bar tinting, full-screen overlays, theme colour, keyboard, manifest, icons, splash screens, or installed navigation. Not for service workers, offline caching, or push."
metadata:
  source: hand-maintained by Joe Bell; derived from a production home-screen web app plus credited external sources
  reviewed: "2026-09-04 against iOS 26.x, macOS 26 / Safari 26"
  upstream: "https://github.com/joe-bell/skills/tree/main/skills/apple-web-app"
  version: "2026-10-15.1"

Websites and web apps on Apple devices

Choose the scope

Use this skill to give any website or web app a good experience on iPhone and iPad, in Safari itself or installed to the Home Screen, and for macOS Safari Add to Dock UI. Service workers, offline caching, background sync and push implementation belong elsewhere.

Infer the platform, requested outcome and existing architecture from the task and project. Ask only when a missing detail materially changes the solution. Apply guidance relevant to that platform and symptom. Preserve working layout, authentication and product choices unless they cause the requested issue. User instructions take precedence over this skill's defaults.

• Implement or debug: read the matching reference, make the focused change, and check its affected behavior and likely regressions.
• Audit: use the conformance checklist for all applicable recommendations. Report findings before modifying the site unless the user has also asked for fixes.
• Maintain this skill: follow maintenance.md. Ordinary site work does not require a skill update or upstream handoff.

Read only relevant references

Platform or problem	Reference
Mac Dock icons, title bar, display mode, navigation or storage	macos-add-to-dock.md
iOS head tags, manifest integration or icons	head-and-icons.md
iOS safe areas, scroll roots, cold launch or touch styling	layout-and-touch.md
iOS status bar, Safari bar tinting or light/dark appearance	theme-color-and-status-bar.md
iOS overlays, full-screen dims, keyboard or scroll locking	overlays-and-keyboard.md
iOS startup images	splash-screens.md; read ios-devices.md when generating or checking sizes
Install hints, installed navigation or storage continuity	install-ux.md
A suspected iOS release regression	ios-26-notes.md
Translating a relevant recipe into existing Tailwind v4 code	tailwind-css-v4.md

A Mac-only task starts with the Mac reference. Do not generate iOS startup images or add iOS safe-area work for it. Source: WebKit; Joe Bell, as recorded in macos-add-to-dock.md.

Essential constraints and evidence

• A zero safe-area inset is valid. Keep controls usable without assuming a positive top inset; never hide an app waiting for one. Source: Joe Bell; WebKit 301994, in sources.md.
• Preserve pinch zoom and text selection. Scope touch suppression to controls or media with an intentional replacement interaction. Source: Firtman; React Spectrum, in sources.md.
• Installed apps that hide browser controls need usable navigation back or out. Source: Firtman; Steiner, in install-ux.md.

Treat documented behavior, device observations, community workarounds and optional design preferences distinctly. Apply a version-specific workaround only when its symptom and environment match. A reported fix or bug status is historical evidence, not a guarantee for every later release. Read the cited source or recheck the target build when a changing fact determines the fix. Preserve existing test dates; do not relabel inherited findings as newly tested. Source provenance and retained observations: sources.md.

Verify the requested outcome

Use relevant entries from the conformance checklist. Check generated HTML, CSS, image dimensions and unauthenticated asset delivery where applicable. Device-specific appearance needs observation on the target installed app on a real device. Simulator or desktop emulation alone does not establish safe-area timing, status-bar sampling or splash selection. Source: Joe Bell, in sources.md.

When hardware or authenticated runtime access is unavailable, complete the independent checks and mark the remaining claims Unverified. State what was checked, what failed, and the specific remaining device check. Do not expand a focused fix into a full device matrix. Stop after the relevant checks pass unless a failure or new change warrants more verification.