<!--docs:
title: "Bottom navigation"
layout: detail
section: components
excerpt: "Bottom navigation bars allow movement between primary destinations in an app."
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path: /catalog/bottomnavigation/
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-->

# Bottom navigation

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Bottom navigation bars allow movement between primary destinations in an app. Tapping on a bottom
navigation icon takes you directly to the associated view or refreshes the currently active view.

![A generic bottom navigation with the "music" item selected](docs/assets/bottom-nav-hero.png)

**Contents**

* [Using bottom navigation](#using-bottom-navigation)
* [Bottom navigation bar](#bottom-navigation-bar)

- - -

## Using bottom navigation

### Installing

In order to install bottom navigation with Cocoapods first add it to your `Podfile`:

```bash
pod 'MaterialComponents/BottomNavigation'
```
<!--{: .code-renderer.code-renderer--install }-->

Then, run the following command:

```bash
pod install
```

From there, import the relevant target or file and instantiate your view.

<!--<div class="material-code-render" markdown="1">-->
#### Swift
```swift
import MaterialComponents.MaterialBottomNavigation
```

#### Objective-C

```objc
#import "MaterialBottomNavigation.h"
```
<!--</div>-->

### Bottom navigation classes

`MDCBottomNavigationBar` is the iOS bottom navigation implementation. `MDCBottomNavigationBar` can be added to a view hierarchy like any `UIView`. Material Design recommends always placing bottom navigation components at the bottom of the screen.

`MDCBottomNavigationBar` works much like a `UITabBar` and both are populated with an array of `UITabBarItem` instances. However, `MDCBottomNavigationBar` is built with Material Design in mind and should be used with other Material Design components where possible to provide a consistent look and feel in an app. Additionally, while `MDCBottomNavigationBar` has similar features to `MDCTabBar`, `MDCTabBar` is chiefly intended for top navigation, whereas `MDCBottomNavigationBar`--as the name indicates--is intended for bottom navigation.

It is recommended that a bottom navigation bar contain anywhere from three to five items. If there are fewer than three destinations, consider using Material tabs instead. If your top-level navigation has more than six destinations, provide access to destinations not covered in bottom navigation through alternative locations, such as a navigation drawer.

Title visibility in `MDCBottomNavigationBar` can be configured in three ways:

1. To only show the title of the *selected* item.
1. To always show title regardless of any item's selection state
1. To never show title regardless of any item's selection state. 

The default behavior of `MDCBottomNavigationBar` is to only show the title for an item that is selected.

In landscape orientation, items can be configured to be justified or compactly clustered together. When items are justified the bottom navigation bar is fitted to the width of the device. Justified items can have their titles shown below their respective icons or adjacent to their respective icons.

## Making bottom navigation accessible

To help ensure your bottom navigation item is accessible to as many users as possible, please
be sure to review the following recommendations:

* Ensure that your `UITabBarItem` instances have their `accessibilityLabel` properties set. Setting a new
`accessibilityLabel` on a `UITabBarItem` will result in the corresponding bottom navigation
bar item's `accessibilityLabel` changing.

* Set an appropriate `accessibilityValue` value if your item has a badge value. For example,
an item with an inbox icon with a badge value for how many emails are unread. You should explicitly
set the `accessibilityValue` when the badge value doesn't provide enough context. For example, in an inbox
example simply having the value "10" doesn't provide enough context, instead the accessibility value should explain
what the badge value symbolizes. The default value if there is a badge value and you haven't set any
`accessibilityValue` will be that the `accessibilityValue` is the `badgeValue`.

#### Swift
```swift
tabBarItem.accessibilityValue = "10 unread emails"
```

#### Objective-C
```objc
tabBarItem.accessibilityValue = @"10 unread emails";
```

### Minimum touch size

Make sure that your bottom navigation bar respects the minimum touch area. The Material spec calls for
[touch areas that should be least 48 points high and 48 wide](https://material.io/design/layout/spacing-methods.html#touch-click-targets).

#### Swift
```swift
override func viewWillLayoutSubviews() {
  super.viewWillLayoutSubviews()
  let size = bottomNavBar.sizeThatFits(view.bounds.size)
  let bottomNavBarFrame = CGRect(x: 0,
    y: view.bounds.height - size.height,
    width: size.width,
    height: size.height
  )
  bottomNavBar.frame = bottomNavBarFrame
}

```

#### Objective-C
```objc
- (void)viewWillLayoutSubviews {
  [super viewWillLayoutSubviews];
  CGSize size = [_bottomNavigationBar sizeThatFits:self.view.bounds.size];
  CGRect bottomNavBarFrame = CGRectMake(0,
                                        CGRectGetHeight(self.view.bounds) - size.height,
                                        size.width,
                                        size.height);
  _bottomNavigationBar.frame = bottomNavBarFrame;
}

```

## Bottom navigation bar

![A bottom navigation item with home, mail, favorites, reader, and birthday sections](docs/assets/bottom-nav-example.png)

### Bottom navigation bar example

API and source code:

*   `MDCBottomNavigationBar`
    *   [Class source](https://github.com/material-components/material-components-ios/blob/develop/components/BottomNavigation/src/MDCBottomNavigationBar.h)

To achieve something like the example image above, add the following code to your view controller:

<!--<div class="material-code-render" markdown="1">-->
#### Swift

```swift
bottomNavBar = MDCBottomNavigationBar()
view.addSubview(bottomNavBar)
bottomNavBar.titleVisibility = MDCBottomNavigationBarTitleVisibilitySelected
bottomNavBar.alignment = MDCBottomNavigationBarAlignmentJustifiedAdjacentTitles

let homeItem = UITabBarItem(
    title: "Home",
    image: UIImage(named: "system_icons/home"),
    tag: 0)
let messagesItem = UITabBarItem(
    title: "Messages",
    image: UIImage(named: "system_icons/email"),
    tag: 0)
messagesItem.badgeValue = "8"
let favoritesItem = UITabBarItem(
    title: "Favorites",
    image: UIImage(named: "system_icons/favorite"),
    tag: 0)
favoritesItem.badgeValue = ""
let readerItem = UITabBarItem(
    title: "Reader",
    image: UIImage(named: "ic_reader"),
    tag: 0)
readerItem.badgeValue = "88"

let birthdayItem = UITabBarItem(
    title: "ic_birthday",
    image: UIImage(named: "system_icons/cake"),
    tag: 0)
birthdayItem.badgeValue = "888+"
bottomNavBar.items = [homeItem, messagesItem, favoritesItem, readerItem, birthdayItem]
bottomNavBar.selectedItem = messagesItem
```

#### Objective-C

```objc
self.bottomNavBar = [[MDCBottomNavigationBar alloc] init];
[self.view addSubview:self.bottomNavBar];
self.bottomNavBar.titleVisibility = MDCBottomNavigationBarTitleVisibilitySelected;
self.bottomNavBar.alignment = MDCBottomNavigationBarAlignmentJustifiedAdjacentTitles;

UITabBarItem *homeItem = [[UITabBarItem alloc] initWithTitle:@"Home"
                                                          image:[UIImage imageNamed:@"system_icons/home"]
                                                            tag:0];
UITabBarItem *messagesItem = [[UITabBarItem alloc] initWithTitle:@"Messages"
                                                          image:[UIImage imageNamed:@"system_icons/email"]
                                                            tag:0];
messagesItem.badgeValue = @"8";
UITabBarItem *favoritesItem =
    [[UITabBarItem alloc] initWithTitle:@"Favorites"
                                  image:[UIImage imageNamed:@"system_icons/favorite"]
                                    tag:0];
favoritesItem.badgeValue = @"";
UITabBarItem *readerItem = [[UITabBarItem alloc] initWithTitle:@"Reader"
                                                         image:[UIImage imageNamed:@"ic_reader"]
                                                           tag:0];
readerItem.badgeValue = @"88";
UITabBarItem *birthdayItem = [[UITabBarItem alloc] initWithTitle:@"ic_birthday"
                                                          image:[UIImage imageNamed:@"system_icons/cake"]
                                                            tag:0];
birthdayItem.badgeValue = @"888+";
self.bottomNavBar.items = @[ homeItem, messagesItem, favoritesItem, readerItem, birthdayItem ];
self.bottomNavBar.selectedItem = messagesItem;
```

<!--</div>-->

### Anatomy and key properties

The following is an anatomy diagram for the bottom navigation bar:

![Bottom navigation anatomy diagram](docs/assets/bottom-nav-anatomy.png)

1. Container
1. Inactive icon
1. Inactive text label
1. Active icon
1. Active text label

#### Container attributes

&nbsp;        | **Attribute**        | **Related methods**      | **Default value**
------------- | -------------------- | ------------------------ | -----------------
**Color**     | `barTintColor` | `-setBarTintColor:` <br/> `-barTintColor` | Surface color
**Elevation** | `elevation`      | `-setElevation:` <br/> `-elevation` | 8

#### Navigation item attributes

&nbsp;        | **Attribute**        | **Related methods**      | **Default value**
------------- | -------------------- | ------------------------ | -----------------
**Title**     | N/A                  | `-[UITabBarItem initWithTitle:image:tag:]` <br/> `-[UITabBarItem initWithTitle:image:selectedImage:]` | N/A
**Unselected color**   | `unselectedItemTintColor`| `-setUnselectedItemTintColor:` <br/> `-unselectedItemTintColor` | `[UIColor grayColor]`
**Selected color**     | `selectedItemTintColor`  | `-setSelectedItemTintColor:` <br/> `-selectedItemTintColor` | `[UIColor blackColor]`

#### Icon attributes

&nbsp;               | **Attribute**                         | **Related methods**                                              | **Default value**
-------------------- | ------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | -----------------
**Image**            | N/A                                   | `-[UITabBarItem initWithTitle:image:tag:]` <br/> `-[UITabBarItem initWithTitle:image:selectedImage:]` | N/A
**Selected image**  | `selectedImage`                         | `-[UITabBarItem setSelectedImage:]` <br/> `-[UITabBarItem selectedImage]` | `nil`
**Badge value**  | `badgeValue` | `-[UITabBarItem setBadgeValue:]` <br/> `-[UITabBarItem badgeValue]` | `nil`
**Badge color**  | `badgeColor` | `-[UITabBarItem setBadgeColor:]` <br/> `-[UITabBarItem badgeColor]` | `nil`

#### Text label attributes

&nbsp;                    | **Attribute**                          | **Related methods**                                                 | **Default value**
------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | -----------------
**Typography**            | `itemTitleFont`                        | `-setItemTitleFont:` <br/> `-itemTitleFont`                         | Headline 6
**Color**                 | `selectedItemTitleColor`               | `-setSelectedItemTitleColor` <br/> `-selectedItemTitleColor`         | `[UIColor blackColor]`