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Glance Canonical Layouts

Android (Google)OfficialCreated by Google LLCDistributed by Android (Google)

  • Skill
  • Tool integration
  • Software development
  • Apache-2.0
  • Low risk
  • Has scripts

From the author

Use this skill to create home screen widgets using Jetpack Glance Canonical Layouts from the Android Platform Samples project, or when asked to implement standard widget layout patterns (including Check List, Image Grid, Snap Scrolling, and Standard Toolbar).
— the description by Google LLC

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

This skill provides a collection of reference implementations for Android home screen widgets using Jetpack Glance. It includes pre-built canonical layout patterns such as check lists, image grids, toolbars, and snap-scrolling layouts. Users can integrate these patterns into their Android projects by copying the provided reference files, configuring the widget provider, and registering the receiver in the Android manifest.

What it does

  • Provides source code for standard widget layout patterns like Action List, Check List, and Image Grid.
  • Offers guidance on configuring widget providers with SizeMode.Exact.
  • Includes necessary XML definitions for app widget providers.
  • Supplies supporting utility classes for theme, color, and action handling.
  • Details dependency requirements for Jetpack Glance and image loading libraries.
  • Provides troubleshooting steps for common issues like background color rendering.

When to use it

  • When you need to implement a standard widget layout pattern in an Android app using Jetpack Glance.
  • When you require a consistent design structure for home screen widgets.
  • When you need to integrate specific features like snap scrolling or search toolbars into your widget.
  • When you are setting up a new Glance-based widget and want to follow established reference implementations.

Advantages

  • Reduces development time by providing ready-to-use layout templates.
  • Ensures consistency with recommended Android widget design patterns.
  • Provides clear instructions on manifest registration and dependency management.
  • Includes modular components that can be adapted to specific app requirements.

Usage examples

“How do I implement a check list widget in my Android app?”
The agent will provide the CheckListAppWidget.kt, CheckListLayout.kt, and associated XML files, along with instructions to register the receiver in your AndroidManifest.xml.
“Create a search toolbar widget for my app.”
The agent will guide you to copy the SearchToolBarAppWidget.kt and SearchToolBarLayout.kt files and configure the widget provider with the required size mode.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

    https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/android/glance-canonical-layouts/download
  2. Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip glance-canonical-layouts.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by Google LLC

To implement a widget Canonical Layout that follows the recommended design patterns:

  1. The project MUST use Jetpack Glance.

  2. You MUST locate the requested layout from the list under Canonical Layout Reference Files.

  3. Copy the layout reference files into your project's target app module (e.g., src/main/java/ and src/main/res/) in one step to implement the exact design and reduce the number of tool calls.

  4. You MUST set override val sizeMode: SizeMode = SizeMode.Exact in the widget provider class.

  5. Validate that your project compiles, updating sample package declarations, import paths, and class names to match the target app's package name.

  6. Clean your project's widget code, removing unused classes (for example, unused buttons).

  7. You MUST register the widget receiver in AndroidManifest.xml inside <application> after <activity>, ensuring android:resource="@xml/..." matches the filename of the copied Widget Info XML. Otherwise, the widget won't appear in the widget picker:

<br />

<receiver android:name=".glance.MyReceiver"
    android:exported="true">
    <intent-filter>
        <action android:name="android.appwidget.action.APPWIDGET_UPDATE" />
    </intent-filter>
    <meta-data
        android:name="android.appwidget.provider"
        android:resource="@xml/my_app_widget_info" />
</receiver>

<br />

Dependencies

Add Jetpack Glance dependencies to the app module's build.gradle.kts (dependencies block):

  • androidx.glance:glance-appwidget:1.2.0 or higher

  • androidx.glance:glance-material3:1.2.0 or higher

  • androidx.glance:glance-appwidget-preview:1.2.0 or higher

  • androidx.glance:glance-preview:1.2.0 or higher

Use version 1.3.0-alpha02 or higher with compileSdk = 37 and Android Gradle Plugin (AGP) 9.1.0 or higher (for example, agp = "9.1.0" in gradle/libs.versions.toml) when implementing Snap Scrolling.

If copying sample data repositories that load bitmaps with Coil (such as FakeImageGridDataRepository.kt, FakeImageTextListDataRepository.kt, or FakeTextWithImageRepository.kt), also add an image loading library dependency such as io.coil-kt:coil (e.g., implementation("io.coil-kt:coil:2.7.0")) if one doesn't already exist.

Canonical layout reference files

Action list layout (action_list)
Check list layout (check_list)
Expressive toolbar layout (expressive_toolbar)
Image grid layout (image_grid)
Image text list layout (image_text_list)
Long text layout (long_text)
Search toolbar layout (search_toolbar)
Full-bleed image layout and snap scrolling (snap_scrolling)
Standard toolbar layout (standard_toolbar)
Text with image layout (text_with_image)

Troubleshooting

  1. Background Colors : Use GlanceModifier.background(Color) directly for solid background colors rather than ColorProvider, otherwise the background will be transparent.

  2. When using ColorProvider (outside of the background), avoid import errors :

    1. Import type: import androidx.glance.unit.ColorProvider

    2. Use fully qualified creator: androidx.glance.color.ColorProvider(dayColor, nightColor)

Checklist

  • [ ] Did you register the widget in the AndroidManifest?

  • [ ] Did you copy the corresponding Widget Info XML file and leave the given values including minWidth, minHeight, and minResizeHeight unchanged?

  • [ ] Did you use the given Glance Theme color values from the corresponding Layout Composable file?

  • [ ] Did you use dimension resource references for android:minWidth and android:minHeight in appwidget-provider XML definitions?

  • [ ] Did you override val sizeMode: SizeMode = SizeMode.Exact in the widget provider class?

Files

references/collections/layout/CheckListLayout.kt

package com.example.platform.ui.appwidgets.glance.layout.collections.layout

import androidx.annotation.DrawableRes
import androidx.compose.runtime.Composable
import androidx.compose.ui.unit.Dp
import androidx.compose.ui.unit.dp
import androidx.compose.ui.unit.sp
import androidx.glance.GlanceModifier
import androidx.glance.GlanceTheme
import androidx.glance.ImageProvider
import androidx.glance.LocalContext
import androidx.glance.LocalSize
import androidx.glance.action.Action
import androidx.glance.appwidget.components.CircleIconButton
import androidx.glance.appwidget.components.Scaffold
import androidx.glance.appwidget.components.TitleBar
import androidx.glance.layout.fillMaxSize
import androidx.glance.layout.fillMaxWidth
import androidx.glance.layout.padding
import androidx.glance.preview.ExperimentalGlancePreviewApi
import androidx.glance.preview.Preview
import androidx.glance.text.FontWeight
import androidx.glance.text.Text
import androidx.glance.text.TextStyle
import com.example.platform.ui.appwidgets.R
import com.example.platform.ui.appwidgets.glance.layout.collections.data.FakeCheckListDataRepository.Companion.demoData
import com.example.platform.ui.appwidgets.glance.layout.collections.layout.CheckListLayoutDimensions.checkListRowStartPadding
import com.example.platform.ui.appwidgets.glance.layout.collections.layout.CheckListLayoutDimensions.checkListRowEndPadding
import com.example.platform.ui.appwidgets.glance.layout.collections.layout.CheckListLayoutDimensions.scaffoldHorizontalPadding
import com.example.platform.ui.appwidgets.glance.layout.collections.layout.CheckListLayoutDimensions.verticalItemSpacing
import com.example.platform.ui.appwidgets.glance.layout.collections.layout.CheckListLayoutDimensions.widgetPadding
import com.example.platform.ui.appwidgets.glance.layout.collections.layout.CheckListLayoutSize.Companion.isWiderThan
import com.example.platform.ui.appwidgets.glance.layout.collections.layout.CheckListLayoutSize.Companion.showTitleBar
import com.example.platform.ui.appwidgets.glance.layout.collections.layout.CheckListLayoutSize.Small
import com.example.platform.ui.appwidgets.glance.layout.utils.ActionUtils.actionStartDemoActivity
import com.example.platform.ui.appwidgets.glance.layout.utils.LargeWidgetPreview
import com.example.platform.ui.appwidgets.glance.layout.utils.MediumWidgetPreview
import com.example.platform.ui.appwidgets.glance.layout.utils.SmallWidgetPreview

/**
 * A layout focused on presenting list of items in a check list. Content is displayed in a
 * [Scaffold] below an app-specific title bar.
 *
 * The layout is a variation of [ActionListLayout], where on-check, item is removed from list once
 * updated in the backend. The layout assumes checklist items follow a certain order, so, in
 * larger sizes, instead of displaying items in a grid, the layout shows additional trailing
 * actions per item. However, if grid works for your use case, you can switch over to it to
 * support large sizes.
 *
 * In this sample, user sees the checked state until the item is removed from the list in the
 * backing database. By showing the checked state, it is clear to the user that tapping did
 * something. Specifically, for similar looking texts, it may not be immediately obvious to the
 * user that item was removed; the intermediate checked state gives that clarity.
 *
 * @param title the text to be displayed as title of the widget, e.g. name of your widget or app.
 * @param titleIconRes a tintable icon that represents your app or brand, that can be displayed
 *                     with the provided [title]. In this sample, we use icon from a drawable
 *                     resource, but you should use an appropriate icon source for your use case.
 * @param titleBarActionIconRes resource ID of a tintable icon that can be displayed as
 *                              an icon button within the title bar area of the widget. For
 *                              example, a search icon to launch search for finding specific
 *                              items.
 * @param titleBarActionIconContentDescription description of the [titleBarActionIconRes] button
 *                                             to be used by the accessibility services.
 * @param titleBarAction action to be performed on click of the [titleBarActionIconRes] button.
 * @param items list of items to be included in the list; typically includes a short title and a
 *              supporting text.
 * @param checkedItems list of keys of items that are in checked state.
 * @param checkedIconRes tintable icon to be pressed to clear an item.
 * @param unCheckedIconRes tintable icon to be pressed to check an item.
 * @param checkButtonContentDescription description of the unchecked button to be used by the
 *                                     accessibility services; in checked state, button is
 *                                     not clickable.
 * @param onCheck handler to perform the specific action on click of icon; in
 *                          a to-do list this can be the handler removing the item from the list.

 *
 * @see [CheckListItem] for accepted inputs.
 * @see [com.example.platform.ui.appwidgets.glance.layout.collections.CheckListAppWidgetReceiver]
 */
@Composable
fun CheckListLayout(
  title: String,
  @DrawableRes titleIconRes: Int,
  @DrawableRes titleBarActionIconRes: Int,
  titleBarActionIconContentDescription: String,
  titleBarAction: Action,
  items: List<CheckListItem>,
  checkedItems: List<String>,
  @DrawableRes checkedIconRes: Int,
  @DrawableRes unCheckedIconRes: Int,
  checkButtonContentDescription: String,
  onCheck: (String) -> Unit,
) {
  val checkListLayoutSize = CheckListLayoutSize.fromLocalSize()

  fun titleBar(): @Composable (() -> Unit) = {
    TitleBar(
      startIcon = ImageProvider(titleIconRes),
      // Based on your widget content, you may skip the title in smaller sizes.
      title = title.takeIf { checkListLayoutSize != Small } ?: "",
      iconColor = GlanceTheme.colors.primary,
      textColor = GlanceTheme.colors.onSurface,
      actions = {
        CircleIconButton(
          imageProvider = ImageProvider(titleBarActionIconRes),
          contentDescription = titleBarActionIconContentDescription,
          contentColor = GlanceTheme.colors.secondary,
          backgroundColor = null, // transparent
          onClick = titleBarAction
        )
      }
    )
  }

  val scaffoldTopPadding = if (showTitleBar()) {
    0.dp
  } else {
    widgetPadding
  }

  Scaffold(
    backgroundColor = GlanceTheme.colors.widgetBackground,
    horizontalPadding = scaffoldHorizontalPadding,
    modifier = GlanceModifier.padding(
      top = scaffoldTopPadding,
      bottom = widgetPadding
    ),
    titleBar = if (showTitleBar()) {
      titleBar()
    } else {
      null
    }
  ) {
    if (items.isEmpty()) {
      EmptyListContent()
    } else {
      Content(
        items = items,
        checkedItems = checkedItems,
        onCheck = onCheck,
        checkedIconRes = checkedIconRes,
        unCheckedIconRes = unCheckedIconRes,
        checkButtonContentDescription = checkButtonContentDescription,
      )
    }
  }
}

@Composable
private fun Content(
  items: List<CheckListItem>,
  checkedItems: List<String>,
  onCheck: (String) -> Unit,
  @DrawableRes checkedIconRes: Int,
  @DrawableRes unCheckedIconRes: Int,
  checkButtonContentDescription: String,
) {
  RoundedScrollingLazyColumn(
    modifier = GlanceModifier.fillMaxSize(),
    items = items,
    verticalItemsSpacing = verticalItemSpacing,
    itemContentProvider = { item ->
      CheckListItem(
        item = item,
        isChecked = checkedItems.contains(item.key),
        onCheck = onCheck,
        checkedIconRes = checkedIconRes,
        unCheckedIconRes = unCheckedIconRes,
        checkButtonContentDescription = checkButtonContentDescription,
      )
    }
  )
}

/**
 * A list item that displays a checkable item with a title, a supporting text, and trailing icon
 * buttons.
 *
 * Uses single line title (1-2 words), and 2-line supporting text (~ 50-55 characters)
 */
@Composable
private fun CheckListItem(
  item: CheckListItem,
  @DrawableRes checkedIconRes: Int,
  @DrawableRes unCheckedIconRes: Int,
  checkButtonContentDescription: String,
  onCheck: (String) -> Unit,
  modifier: GlanceModifier = GlanceModifier,
  isChecked: Boolean,
) {
    val listItemEndPadding = if (item.hasTrailingIcons) {
        0.dp
    } else {
        checkListRowEndPadding
    }

  @Composable
  fun CheckButton() {
    CircleIconButton(
      imageProvider = if (isChecked) {
        ImageProvider(checkedIconRes)
      } else {
        ImageProvider(unCheckedIconRes)
      },
      backgroundColor = null, // to show transparent background
      contentColor = GlanceTheme.colors.secondary,
      contentDescription = checkButtonContentDescription,
      enabled = !isChecked,
      onClick = { onCheck(item.key) },
      key = "${LocalSize.current} ${item.key}"
    )
  }

  @Composable
  fun Title() {
    Text(
      text = item.title,
      style = CheckListLayoutTextStyles.titleText,
      maxLines = 2,
    )
  }

  @Composable
  fun SupportingText() {
    Text(
      text = item.supportingText,
      style = CheckListLayoutTextStyles.supportingText,
      maxLines = 2,
    )
  }

  @Composable
  fun TrailingActions() {
    TrailingIconButtonSet(
      leadingButtonRes = R.drawable.sample_edit_icon,
      leadingButtonContentDescription = "Edit",
      leadingButtonOnClick = actionStartDemoActivity(message = "Edit click on item: ${item.key}"),
      middleButtonRes = R.drawable.sample_snooze_icon,
      middleButtonContentDescription = "Snooze",
      middleButtonOnClick = actionStartDemoActivity(message = "Snooze click on item: ${item.key}"),
      trailingButtonRes = R.drawable.sample_delete_icon,
      trailingButtonContentDescription = "Delete",
      trailingButtonOnClick = actionStartDemoActivity(message = "Delete click on item: ${item.key}"),
    )
  }

  // List item itself is not clickable, as it contains more trailing actions.
  ListItem(
      modifier = modifier.fillMaxWidth()
          .padding(start = checkListRowStartPadding, end = listItemEndPadding),
    contentSpacing = 0.dp, // Since check box's tap target covers the needed visual spacing
    leadingContent = { CheckButton() },
    headlineContent = { Title() },
    supportingContent = { SupportingText() },
    trailingContent = takeComposableIf(item.hasTrailingIcons)
    { TrailingActions() },
  )
}

@Composable
private fun TrailingIconButtonSet(
  @DrawableRes leadingButtonRes: Int,
  leadingButtonContentDescription: String,
  leadingButtonOnClick: Action,
  @DrawableRes middleButtonRes: Int,
  middleButtonContentDescription: String,
  middleButtonOnClick: Action,
  @DrawableRes trailingButtonRes: Int,
  trailingButtonContentDescription: String,
  trailingButtonOnClick: Action,
) {
  val checkListLayoutSize = CheckListLayoutSize.fromLocalSize()

  if (checkListLayoutSize.isWiderThan(CheckListLayoutSize.Medium)) {
    CircleIconButton(
      imageProvider = ImageProvider(leadingButtonRes),
      backgroundColor = null, // to show transparent background
      contentColor = GlanceTheme.colors.secondary,
      contentDescription = leadingButtonContentDescription,
      onClick = leadingButtonOnClick,
    )
    if (checkListLayoutSize.isWiderThan(CheckListLayoutSize.Large)) {
      CircleIconButton(
        imageProvider = ImageProvider(middleButtonRes),
        backgroundColor = null, // to show transparent background
        contentColor = GlanceTheme.colors.secondary,
        contentDescription = middleButtonContentDescription,
        onClick = middleButtonOnClick,
      )
    }
    if (checkListLayoutSize.isWiderThan(CheckListLayoutSize.XLarge)) {
      CircleIconButton(
        imageProvider = ImageProvider(trailingButtonRes),
        backgroundColor = null, // to show transparent background
        contentColor = GlanceTheme.colors.secondary,
        contentDescription = trailingButtonContentDescription,
        onClick = trailingButtonOnClick,
      )
    }
  }
}

/** Returns the provided [block] composable if [predicate] is true, else returns null */
@Composable
private inline fun takeComposableIf(
  predicate: Boolean,
  crossinline block: @Composable () -> Unit,
): (@Composable () -> Unit)? {
  return if (predicate) {
    { block() }
  } else null
}

/**
 * Holds data corresponding to each item in a
 * [com.example.platform.ui.appwidgets.glance.layout.collections.layout.CheckListLayout].
 *
 * @param key a unique identifier for a specific item
 * @param title a short text (1-2 words) representing the item
 * @param supportingText a compact text (~50-55 characters) supporting the [title]; this allows
 *                       keeping the title short and glanceable, as well as helps support smaller
 *                       widget sizes.
 */
data class CheckListItem(
  val key: String,
  val title: String,
  val supportingText: String,
  val hasTrailingIcons: Boolean = false,
)

/**
 * Size of the widget per the reference breakpoints. Each size has its own display
 * characteristics such as - displaying containers on list items, font sizes, etc.
 *
 * In this layout, only width breakpoints are used to scale the layout.
 */
private enum class CheckListLayoutSize(val maxWidth: Dp) {
  // Smaller fonts, no title in title-bar
  Small(maxWidth = 260.dp),

  // larger fonts, title present, no trailing actions
  Medium(maxWidth = 304.dp),

  // 1 trailing action
  Large(maxWidth = 348.dp),

  // 2 trailing actions
  XLarge(maxWidth = 396.dp),

  // 3 trailing actions
  XXLarge(maxWidth = Dp.Infinity);

  companion object {
    /**
     * Returns the corresponding [CheckListLayoutSize] to be considered for the current widget size.
     */
    @Composable
    fun fromLocalSize(): CheckListLayoutSize {
      val size = LocalSize.current

      CheckListLayoutSize.values().forEach {
        if (size.width < it.maxWidth) {
          return it
        }
      }
      throw IllegalStateException("No mapped size ")
    }

    fun CheckListLayoutSize.isWiderThan(checkListLayoutSize: CheckListLayoutSize): Boolean {
      return this.maxWidth > checkListLayoutSize.maxWidth
    }

    @Composable
    fun showTitleBar(): Boolean {
      return LocalSize.current.height >= 180.dp
    }
  }
}

private object CheckListLayoutTextStyles {
  /**
   * Style for the text displayed as title within each item.
   */
  val titleText: TextStyle
    @Composable get() = TextStyle(
      fontWeight = FontWeight.Medium,
      fontSize = if (CheckListLayoutSize.fromLocalSize() == Small) {
        14.sp // M3 Title Small
      } else {
        16.sp // M3 Title Medium
      },
      color = GlanceTheme.colors.onSurface
    )

  /**
   * Style for the text displayed as supporting text within each item.
   */
  val supportingText: TextStyle
    @Composable get() =
      TextStyle(
        fontWeight = FontWeight.Normal,
        fontSize = 12.sp, // M3 Label Medium
        color = GlanceTheme.colors.secondary
      )
}

private object CheckListLayoutDimensions {
  val widgetPadding = 12.dp

  val verticalItemSpacing = 4.dp

  // Full width scrollable content
  val scaffoldHorizontalPadding = 0.dp
  // Match with the padding applied to the app icon in title bar; this allow us to vertically align
  // the app icon with check icon button.
  val checkListRowStartPadding = 2.dp
  // Padding to be applied on right of each item if there isn't a icon button on right.
  val checkListRowEndPadding = widgetPadding
}

/**
 * Preview sizes of layout at the configured width breakpoints.
 */
@OptIn(ExperimentalGlancePreviewApi::class)
@Preview(widthDp = 259, heightDp = 200)
@Preview(widthDp = 303, heightDp = 200)
@Preview(widthDp = 350, heightDp = 200)
private annotation class CheckListBreakpointPreviews

/**
 * Previews for the check list layout.
 *
 * First we look at the previews at defined breakpoints, tweaking them as necessary. In addition,
 * the previews at standard sizes allows us to quickly verify updates across min / max and common
 * widget sizes without needing to run the app or manually place the widget.
 */
@CheckListBreakpointPreviews
@SmallWidgetPreview
@MediumWidgetPreview
@LargeWidgetPreview
@Composable
private fun CheckListLayoutPreview() {
  val context = LocalContext.current
  CheckListLayout(
    title = context.getString(R.string.sample_check_list_app_widget_name),
    titleIconRes = R.drawable.sample_pin_icon,
    titleBarActionIconRes = R.drawable.sample_add_icon,
    titleBarActionIconContentDescription = context.getString(
      R.string.sample_add_button_text,
    ),
    titleBarAction = actionStartDemoActivity("Add icon in title bar"),
    items = demoData,
    checkedItems = listOf("1"),
    checkButtonContentDescription = context.getString(
      R.string.sample_mark_done_button_content_description,
    ),
    checkedIconRes = R.drawable.sample_checked_circle_icon,
    unCheckedIconRes = R.drawable.sample_circle_icon,
    onCheck = {},
  )
}

Requirements and compatibility

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Security

What our scanner noticed· Low risk

  • Scripts that your agent may run

This skill includes scripts that your agent may run. Read them before you use it.

A static scan is not a guarantee. Skills are third-party content: review a skill before you let an agent use it.

Attribution and licence

Created by
Google LLC
Publisher
Android (Google) (Official)
Distributed by
Android (Google)
Source
android/skills · system/glance-canonical-layouts · commit bf68e2d
Licence
Apache License 2.0 (redistribution allowed)
  • LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE.txt)
  • ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
Synced

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