App bars are containers that provide the user access to key features and navigation items. There are two types of app bars, top app bars and bottom app bars. Their respective appearance and purpose are as follows:

|      Type      |            Appearance            |                                                                   Purpose                                                                   |
|----------------|----------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Top app bar    | Across the top of the screen.    | Provides access to key tasks and information. Generally hosts a title, core action items, and certain navigation items.                     |
| Bottom app bar | Across the bottom of the screen. | Typically includes core navigation items. May also provide access to other key actions, such as through a contained floating action button. |

![An example of a top and bottom app bar.](https://developer.android.com/static/develop/ui/compose/images/components/appbars.svg)**Figure 1.**A top app bar (left) and a bottom app bar (right).

To implement a top app bar and bottom app bar, use the[`TopAppBar`](https://developer.android.com/reference/kotlin/androidx/compose/material3/package-summary#TopAppBar(kotlin.Function0,androidx.compose.ui.Modifier,kotlin.Function0,kotlin.Function1,androidx.compose.foundation.layout.WindowInsets,androidx.compose.material3.TopAppBarColors,androidx.compose.material3.TopAppBarScrollBehavior))and[`BottomAppBar`](https://developer.android.com/reference/kotlin/androidx/compose/material3/package-summary#BottomAppBar(androidx.compose.ui.Modifier,androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color,androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color,androidx.compose.ui.unit.Dp,androidx.compose.foundation.layout.PaddingValues,androidx.compose.foundation.layout.WindowInsets,kotlin.Function1))composables, respectively. They let you create consistent interfaces that encapsulate navigation and action controls, and which are aligned with Material Design principles.
| **Important:** App bars are generally passed to the`Scaffold`composable, which has specific parameters to receive them. For more information about how`Scaffold`provides a convenient way of structuring your app, visit the[`Scaffold`page](https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/compose/components/scaffold).

## Top app bars

The following table outlines the four types of top app bars:

|                                       Type                                        |                                                          Example                                                           |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| **Small**: For screens that don't require a lot of navigation or actions.         | ![Small top app bar](https://developer.android.com/static/develop/ui/compose/images/components/appbar-small.svg)           |
| **Center aligned**: For screens that have a single, primary action.               | ![Center aligned top app bar](https://developer.android.com/static/develop/ui/compose/images/components/appbar-center.svg) |
| **Medium**: For screens that require a moderate amount of navigation and actions. | ![Medium top app bar](https://developer.android.com/static/develop/ui/compose/images/components/appbar-medium.svg)         |
| **Large**: For screens that require a lot of navigation and actions.              | ![Large top app bar](https://developer.android.com/static/develop/ui/compose/images/components/appbar-large.svg)           |

### API surface

The various composables that allow you to implement the four different top app bars are quite similar. They share several key parameters:

- `title`: The text that appears across the app bar.
- `navigationIcon`: The primary icon for navigation. Appears on the left of the app bar.
- `actions`: Icons that provide the user access to key actions. They appear on the right of the app bar.
- `scrollBehavior`: Determines how the top app bar responds to scrolling of the scaffold's inner content.
- `colors`: Determines how the app bar appears.

### Scroll behavior

You can control how the app bar responds when the user scrolls the given scaffold's inner content. To do so, create an instance of[`TopAppBarScrollBehavior`](https://developer.android.com/reference/kotlin/androidx/compose/material3/TopAppBarScrollBehavior)and pass it to your top app bar for the`scrollBehavior`parameter.

There are three types of`TopAppBarScrollBehavior`. They are as follows:

- `enterAlwaysScrollBehavior`: When the user pulls up the scaffold's inner content, the top app bar collapses. The app bar expands when the user then pulls down the inner content.
- `exitUntilCollapsedScrollBehavior`: Similar to`enterAlwaysScrollBehavior`, though the app bar additionally expands when the user reaches the end of the scaffold's inner content.
- `pinnedScrollBehavior`: The app bar remains in place and does not react to scrolling.

The following examples implement several of these options.

### Examples

The following sections provide implementations for the four different types of top app bars, including varying examples of how you can control scroll behavior.

#### Small

To create a small top app bar, use the[`TopAppBar`](https://developer.android.com/reference/kotlin/androidx/compose/material3/package-summary#TopAppBar(kotlin.Function0,androidx.compose.ui.Modifier,kotlin.Function0,kotlin.Function1,androidx.compose.foundation.layout.WindowInsets,androidx.compose.material3.TopAppBarColors,androidx.compose.material3.TopAppBarScrollBehavior))composable. The following example implements a basic top app bar that contains only a title.

The following example does not pass`TopAppBar`a value for`scrollBehavior`and it therefore does not react to scrolling of the inner content.

<br />

```kotlin
@Composable
fun SmallTopAppBarExample() {
    Scaffold(
        topBar = {
            TopAppBar(
                colors = TopAppBarDefaults.topAppBarColors(
                    containerColor = MaterialTheme.colorScheme.primaryContainer,
                    titleContentColor = MaterialTheme.colorScheme.primary,
                ),
                title = {
                    Text("Small Top App Bar")
                }
            )
        },
    ) { innerPadding ->
        ScrollContent(innerPadding)
    }
}https://github.com/android/snippets/blob/95aeebd507b29719a9e7d5a839f101bbbe42ea72/compose/snippets/src/main/java/com/example/compose/snippets/components/AppBar.kt#L189-L206
```

<br />

This implementation appears as follows:
![An example of a small top app bar.](https://developer.android.com/static/develop/ui/compose/images/components/appbar-small.png)**Figure 2.**A small top app bar.

#### Center aligned

The center aligned top app bar is essentially the same as the small app bar, though the title is centered within the component. To implement it, use the dedicated[`CenterAlignedTopAppBar`](https://developer.android.com/reference/kotlin/androidx/compose/material3/package-summary#CenterAlignedTopAppBar(kotlin.Function0,androidx.compose.ui.Modifier,kotlin.Function0,kotlin.Function1,androidx.compose.foundation.layout.WindowInsets,androidx.compose.material3.TopAppBarColors,androidx.compose.material3.TopAppBarScrollBehavior))composable.

This example uses`enterAlwaysScrollBehavior()`to get the value that it passes for`scrollBehavior`. As such, the bar collapses when the user scrolls the scaffold's inner content.

<br />

```kotlin
@Composable
fun CenterAlignedTopAppBarExample() {
    val scrollBehavior = TopAppBarDefaults.pinnedScrollBehavior(rememberTopAppBarState())

    Scaffold(
        modifier = Modifier.nestedScroll(scrollBehavior.nestedScrollConnection),

        topBar = {
            CenterAlignedTopAppBar(
                colors = TopAppBarDefaults.topAppBarColors(
                    containerColor = MaterialTheme.colorScheme.primaryContainer,
                    titleContentColor = MaterialTheme.colorScheme.primary,
                ),
                title = {
                    Text(
                        "Centered Top App Bar",
                        maxLines = 1,
                        overflow = TextOverflow.Ellipsis
                    )
                },
                navigationIcon = {
                    IconButton(onClick = { /* do something */ }) {
                        Icon(
                            imageVector = Icons.AutoMirrored.Filled.ArrowBack,
                            contentDescription = "Localized description"
                        )
                    }
                },
                actions = {
                    IconButton(onClick = { /* do something */ }) {
                        Icon(
                            imageVector = Icons.Filled.Menu,
                            contentDescription = "Localized description"
                        )
                    }
                },
                scrollBehavior = scrollBehavior,
            )
        },
    ) { innerPadding ->
        ScrollContent(innerPadding)
    }
}https://github.com/android/snippets/blob/95aeebd507b29719a9e7d5a839f101bbbe42ea72/compose/snippets/src/main/java/com/example/compose/snippets/components/AppBar.kt#L212-L254
```

<br />

This implementation appears as follows:
![An example of a center-aligned top app bar.](https://developer.android.com/static/develop/ui/compose/images/components/appbar-centered.png)**Figure 3.**A center-aligned top app bar.

#### Medium

The medium top app bar places the title beneath any additional icons. To create one, use the[`MediumTopAppBar`](https://developer.android.com/reference/kotlin/androidx/compose/material3/package-summary#MediumTopAppBar(kotlin.Function0,androidx.compose.ui.Modifier,kotlin.Function0,kotlin.Function1,androidx.compose.foundation.layout.WindowInsets,androidx.compose.material3.TopAppBarColors,androidx.compose.material3.TopAppBarScrollBehavior))composable.

Like the previous snippet, this example uses`enterAlwaysScrollBehavior()`to get the value that it passes for`scrollBehavior`.

<br />

```kotlin
@Composable
fun MediumTopAppBarExample() {
    val scrollBehavior = TopAppBarDefaults.enterAlwaysScrollBehavior(rememberTopAppBarState())

    Scaffold(
        modifier = Modifier.nestedScroll(scrollBehavior.nestedScrollConnection),
        topBar = {
            MediumTopAppBar(
                colors = TopAppBarDefaults.topAppBarColors(
                    containerColor = MaterialTheme.colorScheme.primaryContainer,
                    titleContentColor = MaterialTheme.colorScheme.primary,
                ),
                title = {
                    Text(
                        "Medium Top App Bar",
                        maxLines = 1,
                        overflow = TextOverflow.Ellipsis
                    )
                },
                navigationIcon = {
                    IconButton(onClick = { /* do something */ }) {
                        Icon(
                            imageVector = Icons.AutoMirrored.Filled.ArrowBack,
                            contentDescription = "Localized description"
                        )
                    }
                },
                actions = {
                    IconButton(onClick = { /* do something */ }) {
                        Icon(
                            imageVector = Icons.Filled.Menu,
                            contentDescription = "Localized description"
                        )
                    }
                },
                scrollBehavior = scrollBehavior
            )
        },
    ) { innerPadding ->
        ScrollContent(innerPadding)
    }
}https://github.com/android/snippets/blob/95aeebd507b29719a9e7d5a839f101bbbe42ea72/compose/snippets/src/main/java/com/example/compose/snippets/components/AppBar.kt#L260-L301
```

<br />

This implementation appears as follows, with a demonstration of how the scroll behavior from`enterAlwaysScrollBehavior()`appears:
**Figure 4.**A medium top app bar that collapses as the user scrolls up and expands as the user scrolls down.

#### Large

A large top app bar is similar to the medium, though the padding between the title and the icons is greater and it occupies more space on screen overall. To create one, use the[`LargeTopAppBar`](https://developer.android.com/reference/kotlin/androidx/compose/material3/package-summary#LargeTopAppBar(kotlin.Function0,androidx.compose.ui.Modifier,kotlin.Function0,kotlin.Function1,androidx.compose.foundation.layout.WindowInsets,androidx.compose.material3.TopAppBarColors,androidx.compose.material3.TopAppBarScrollBehavior))composable.

Unlike the preceding snippets, this example uses`exitUntilCollapsedScrollBehavior()`to get the value that it passes for`scrollBehavior`. As such, the bar collapses when the user scrolls the scaffold's inner content, but then expands when the user scrolls to the end of the inner content.

<br />

```kotlin
@Composable
fun LargeTopAppBarExample() {
    val scrollBehavior = TopAppBarDefaults.exitUntilCollapsedScrollBehavior(rememberTopAppBarState())

    Scaffold(
        modifier = Modifier.nestedScroll(scrollBehavior.nestedScrollConnection),
        topBar = {
            LargeTopAppBar(
                colors = TopAppBarDefaults.topAppBarColors(
                    containerColor = MaterialTheme.colorScheme.primaryContainer,
                    titleContentColor = MaterialTheme.colorScheme.primary,
                ),
                title = {
                    Text(
                        "Large Top App Bar",
                        maxLines = 1,
                        overflow = TextOverflow.Ellipsis
                    )
                },
                navigationIcon = {
                    IconButton(onClick = { /* do something */ }) {
                        Icon(
                            imageVector = Icons.AutoMirrored.Filled.ArrowBack,
                            contentDescription = "Localized description"
                        )
                    }
                },
                actions = {
                    IconButton(onClick = { /* do something */ }) {
                        Icon(
                            imageVector = Icons.Filled.Menu,
                            contentDescription = "Localized description"
                        )
                    }
                },
                scrollBehavior = scrollBehavior
            )
        },
    ) { innerPadding ->
        ScrollContent(innerPadding)
    }
}https://github.com/android/snippets/blob/95aeebd507b29719a9e7d5a839f101bbbe42ea72/compose/snippets/src/main/java/com/example/compose/snippets/components/AppBar.kt#L307-L348
```

<br />

This implementation appears as follows:
![A screen in an app with a bottom app bar that holds for action icons on the left side, and a floating action button on the right.](https://developer.android.com/static/develop/ui/compose/images/components/appbar-large.png)**Figure 5.**An example implementation of a large top app bar.

## Bottom app bar

To create a bottom app bar, use the`BottomAppBar`composable. Using this composable is quite similar to the top app bar composables described in the preceding sections of this page. You pass composables for the following key parameters:

- `actions`: A series of icons that appear on the left side of the bar. These are commonly either key actions for the given screen, or navigation items.
- `floatingActionButton`: The floating action button that appears on the right side of the bar.

<br />

```kotlin
@Composable
fun BottomAppBarExample() {
    Scaffold(
        bottomBar = {
            BottomAppBar(
                actions = {
                    IconButton(onClick = { /* do something */ }) {
                        Icon(Icons.Filled.Check, contentDescription = "Localized description")
                    }
                    IconButton(onClick = { /* do something */ }) {
                        Icon(
                            Icons.Filled.Edit,
                            contentDescription = "Localized description",
                        )
                    }
                    IconButton(onClick = { /* do something */ }) {
                        Icon(
                            Icons.Filled.Mic,
                            contentDescription = "Localized description",
                        )
                    }
                    IconButton(onClick = { /* do something */ }) {
                        Icon(
                            Icons.Filled.Image,
                            contentDescription = "Localized description",
                        )
                    }
                },
                floatingActionButton = {
                    FloatingActionButton(
                        onClick = { /* do something */ },
                        containerColor = BottomAppBarDefaults.bottomAppBarFabColor,
                        elevation = FloatingActionButtonDefaults.bottomAppBarFabElevation()
                    ) {
                        Icon(Icons.Filled.Add, "Localized description")
                    }
                }
            )
        },
    ) { innerPadding ->
        Text(
            modifier = Modifier.padding(innerPadding),
            text = "Example of a scaffold with a bottom app bar."
        )
    }
}https://github.com/android/snippets/blob/95aeebd507b29719a9e7d5a839f101bbbe42ea72/compose/snippets/src/main/java/com/example/compose/snippets/components/AppBar.kt#L138-L183
```

<br />

This implementation appears as follows:
![A screen in an app with a bottom app bar that holds for action icons on the left side, and a floating action button on the right.](https://developer.android.com/static/develop/ui/compose/images/components/appbar-bottom.png)**Figure 6.**An example implementation of a bottom app bar.**Note:** You can also use`BottomAppBar`without passing a value for`actions`and`floatingActionButton`. In that case, you can create a custom bottom app bar by filling`BottomAppBar`with content as you would other containers.

## Additional resources

- [Material3 docs - Top app bar](https://m3.material.io/components/top-app-bar/overview)
- [Material3 docs - Bottom app bar](https://m3.material.io/components/bottom-app-bar/overview)
- [Scaffold](https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/compose/components/scaffold)