Stack Toolbar

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Learn how to use the iOS toolbar in Stack navigation with Expo Router.

Stack.Toolbar is an alpha API available on iOS only in Expo SDK 55 and later. The API is subject to breaking changes.

Stack.Toolbar lets you add native iOS toolbar items to your Stack screens. You can place buttons, menus, and custom views in the header (left or right side) or in the bottom toolbar area.

Adding header buttons

Use Stack.Toolbar.Button within Stack.Toolbar with placement="right" or placement="left" to add buttons to the navigation header. This is useful for actions like favoriting, sharing, or editing content.

app/notes/[id].tsx

import { useState } from 'react';
import { Stack } from 'expo-router';
import { View, Text, Alert } from 'react-native';

export default function NoteScreen() {
  const [isFavorite, setIsFavorite] = useState(false);

  return (
    <>
      <Stack.Toolbar placement="right">
        <Stack.Toolbar.Button
          icon={isFavorite ? 'star.fill' : 'star'}
          onPress={() => setIsFavorite(!isFavorite)}
        />
        <Stack.Toolbar.Button icon="square.and.arrow.up" onPress={() => Alert.alert('Share')} />
      </Stack.Toolbar>
      <Stack.Toolbar placement="left">
        <Stack.Toolbar.Button icon="sidebar.left" onPress={() => Alert.alert('Sidebar')} />
      </Stack.Toolbar>

      <View style={{ flex: 1, padding: 16 }}>
        <Text>Note content...</Text>
      </View>
    </>
  );
}

Icons

Toolbar buttons support two types of icons: SF Symbols and custom images.

SF Symbols

The easiest way to add icons is using SF Symbols, Apple's built-in icon library. Pass the symbol name directly to the icon prop:

<Stack.Toolbar.Button icon="star.fill" onPress={() => {}} />
<Stack.Toolbar.Button icon="square.and.arrow.up" onPress={() => {}} />
<Stack.Toolbar.Menu icon="ellipsis.circle">{/* ... */}</Stack.Toolbar.Menu>

You can browse available symbols in Apple's SF Symbols app.

Custom images

You can also use custom images. In header toolbars (placement="left" or placement="right"), pass an image source directly to the icon prop:

import { Stack } from 'expo-router';

export default function Page() {
  return (
    <>
      <Stack.Toolbar placement="right">
        <Stack.Toolbar.Button icon={require('./assets/expo.png')} onPress={() => {}} />
      </Stack.Toolbar>
      {/* Screen content */}
    </>
  );
}

In the bottom toolbar, use the useImage hook from expo-image and pass the result to the image prop:

import { Stack } from 'expo-router';
import { useImage } from 'expo-image';

export default function Page() {
  const customIcon = useImage('https://simpleicons.org/icons/expo.svg', {
    maxWidth: 24,
    maxHeight: 24,
  });

  return (
    <>
      <Stack.Toolbar>
        <Stack.Toolbar.Button image={customIcon} onPress={() => {}} />
      </Stack.Toolbar>
      {/* Screen content */}
    </>
  );
}

The useImage and image prop pattern for bottom toolbar custom images is a temporary API and may change in future releases.

Building action menus

For screens with multiple actions, use Stack.Toolbar.Menu to group them into a dropdown menu:

app/mail/[id].tsx

import { useState } from 'react';
import { Stack } from 'expo-router';
import { Alert } from 'react-native';

export default function EmailScreen() {
  const [isArchived, setIsArchived] = useState(false);

  return (
    <>
      <Stack.Toolbar placement="right">
        <Stack.Toolbar.Menu icon="ellipsis.circle">
          <Stack.Toolbar.MenuAction
            icon="arrowshape.turn.up.left"
            onPress={() => Alert.alert('Reply')}>
            Reply
          </Stack.Toolbar.MenuAction>

          <Stack.Toolbar.MenuAction
            icon="arrowshape.turn.up.right"
            onPress={() => Alert.alert('Forward')}>
            Forward
          </Stack.Toolbar.MenuAction>

          <Stack.Toolbar.MenuAction
            icon={isArchived ? 'tray.full' : 'archivebox'}
            isOn={isArchived}
            onPress={() => setIsArchived(!isArchived)}>
            {isArchived ? 'Unarchive' : 'Archive'}
          </Stack.Toolbar.MenuAction>

          <Stack.Toolbar.MenuAction icon="trash" destructive onPress={() => Alert.alert('Delete')}>
            Delete
          </Stack.Toolbar.MenuAction>
        </Stack.Toolbar.Menu>
      </Stack.Toolbar>
      {/* Email content */}
    </>
  );
}

The isOn prop on Stack.Toolbar.MenuAction shows a checkmark next to the action, useful for toggle states. The destructive prop styles the action in red to indicate a dangerous operation.

Nested submenus

For more complex menus, nest Stack.Toolbar.Menu inside another menu. Use the inline prop to display submenu items directly without collapsing:

import { useState } from 'react';
import { Stack } from 'expo-router';

export default function EmailScreen() {
  const [sortBy, setSortBy] = useState<'name' | 'date' | 'size'>('name');
  const [showHiddenFiles, setShowHiddenFiles] = useState(false);

  return (
    <>
      <Stack.Toolbar>
        <Stack.Toolbar.Menu icon="ellipsis.circle">
          {/* Inline submenu - options appear directly in the menu */}
          <Stack.Toolbar.Menu inline title="Sort By">
            <Stack.Toolbar.MenuAction isOn={sortBy === 'name'} onPress={() => setSortBy('name')}>
              Name
            </Stack.Toolbar.MenuAction>
            <Stack.Toolbar.MenuAction isOn={sortBy === 'date'} onPress={() => setSortBy('date')}>
              Date
            </Stack.Toolbar.MenuAction>
            <Stack.Toolbar.MenuAction isOn={sortBy === 'size'} onPress={() => setSortBy('size')}>
              Size
            </Stack.Toolbar.MenuAction>
          </Stack.Toolbar.Menu>

          {/* Nested submenu - opens as a separate menu */}
          <Stack.Toolbar.Menu title="Preferences">
            <Stack.Toolbar.MenuAction
              isOn={showHiddenFiles}
              onPress={() => setShowHiddenFiles(!showHiddenFiles)}>
              Show Hidden Files
            </Stack.Toolbar.MenuAction>
          </Stack.Toolbar.Menu>
        </Stack.Toolbar.Menu>
      </Stack.Toolbar>
      {/* Email content */}
    </>
  );
}

iOS apps commonly have a bottom toolbar for primary actions. To add one, use Stack.Toolbar without a placement prop (it defaults to "bottom"):

app/photos/index.tsx

import { Stack } from 'expo-router';
import { Alert } from 'react-native';

export default function PhotosScreen() {
  return (
    <>
      <Stack.Toolbar>
        <Stack.Toolbar.Button icon="photo.on.rectangle" onPress={() => Alert.alert('Select')}>
          Select
        </Stack.Toolbar.Button>
        <Stack.Toolbar.Spacer />
        <Stack.Toolbar.Button icon="plus" onPress={() => Alert.alert('Add')}>
          Add
        </Stack.Toolbar.Button>
      </Stack.Toolbar>
    </>
  );
}

Stack.Toolbar.Spacer creates flexible space between items, pushing them to opposite sides. This is how you achieve layouts like having buttons on both ends of the toolbar.

Bottom toolbars can only be used inside page components, not in layout files.

Adding badges to buttons

In header toolbars, you can add badges to indicate counts or status. Use Stack.Toolbar.Icon, Stack.Toolbar.Label, and Stack.Toolbar.Badge to compose the button content:

app/inbox.tsx

import { Stack } from 'expo-router';

export default function InboxScreen() {
  const unreadCount = 5;

  return (
    <>
      <Stack.Toolbar placement="right">
        <Stack.Toolbar.Button onPress={() => {}}>
          <Stack.Toolbar.Icon sf="bell" />
          <Stack.Toolbar.Label>Notifications</Stack.Toolbar.Label>
          {unreadCount > 0 && <Stack.Toolbar.Badge>{String(unreadCount)}</Stack.Toolbar.Badge>}
        </Stack.Toolbar.Button>
      </Stack.Toolbar>
      {/* Screen content */}
    </>
  );
}

Badges only work in header placements (left or right), not in the bottom toolbar.

Embedding custom views

When you need something beyond buttons and menus, use Stack.Toolbar.View to embed any React Native component:

app/search.tsx

import { Stack } from 'expo-router';
import { Pressable, Alert } from 'react-native';
import { SymbolView } from 'expo-symbols';

export default function SearchScreen() {
  return (
    <>
      <Stack.Toolbar>
        <Stack.Toolbar.View>
          <Pressable
            style={{ width: 32, height: 32, justifyContent: 'center', alignItems: 'center' }}
            onPress={() => {
              Alert.alert('Filter pressed');
            }}>
            <SymbolView name="line.3.horizontal.decrease.circle" size={24} />
          </Pressable>
        </Stack.Toolbar.View>
      </Stack.Toolbar>
      {/* Screen content */}
    </>
  );
}

Showing and hiding items dynamically

Use the hidden prop to toggle toolbar items based on state:

app/document.tsx

import { useState } from 'react';
import { Stack } from 'expo-router';

export default function DocumentScreen() {
  const [isEditing, setIsEditing] = useState(false);

  return (
    <>
      <Stack.Toolbar placement="right">
        <Stack.Toolbar.Button hidden={isEditing} icon="pencil" onPress={() => setIsEditing(true)} />
        <Stack.Toolbar.Button hidden={!isEditing} onPress={() => setIsEditing(false)}>
          Done
        </Stack.Toolbar.Button>
      </Stack.Toolbar>
      {/* Document content */}
    </>
  );
}

Common problems

White background flashes when navigating between screens

A white flash between screen transitions usually means the navigation stack is using a light background while your app uses a dark theme. This is especially noticeable when screens contain toolbar items, as the flash contrasts with the toolbar styling.

To fix this, wrap your root layout with React Navigation's <ThemeProvider> and pass the appropriate theme:

app/_layout.tsx

import { ThemeProvider, DarkTheme, DefaultTheme } from '@react-navigation/native';
import { Stack } from 'expo-router';
import { useColorScheme } from 'react-native';

export default function RootLayout() {
  const colorScheme = useColorScheme();

  return (
    <ThemeProvider value={colorScheme === 'dark' ? DarkTheme : DefaultTheme}>
      <Stack />
    </ThemeProvider>
  );
}

Large title does not collapse when scrolling

When using headerLargeTitle: true (or <Stack.Screen.Title large>) alongside Stack.Toolbar, the large title may not collapse on scroll. This happens when the scrollable view is not the direct first child of the screen component.

To fix this, ensure ScrollView or FlatList is the first child rendered by your screen component. If you need a wrapper, set collapsable={false} on it:

app/index.tsx

import { Stack } from 'expo-router';
import { ScrollView, View, Text } from 'react-native';

export default function Home() {
  return (
    <ScrollView>
      <Stack.Screen.Title large>Home</Stack.Screen.Title>
      <Text>Content here</Text>
    </ScrollView>
  );
}

If you need to wrap the ScrollView, set collapsable={false} on the wrapper:

app/index.tsx

import { Stack } from 'expo-router';
import { ScrollView, View, Text } from 'react-native';

export default function Home() {
  return (
    <View collapsable={false}>
      <ScrollView>
        <Stack.Screen.Title large>Home</Stack.Screen.Title>
        <Text>Content here</Text>
      </ScrollView>
    </View>
  );
}

Known limitations

iOS only

Stack.Toolbar is only available on iOS. On Android and web, the component will not render.

Cannot nest toolbars

You cannot nest Stack.Toolbar components inside each other.

Badge only in header placements

Stack.Toolbar.Badge is only supported when using placement="left" or placement="right". Badges are not displayed in the bottom toolbar.

Learn more

For complete API documentation, including all available props, see the Stack.Toolbar API reference.