# SF Symbols from the Command Line and AI Agents > Source: > Published: 2026-09-27 00:00:00+00:00 SF Symbols 27 ships a command-line tool. Apple mentions it in the What's New window, next to a **Copy path** button, and pitches it for scripts and AI agents: It has two commands, `search` and `export`, and they cover more than looking up names. You can check a symbol against your deployment target, catch renames, and render PNGs without opening the app. ## Setting up The binary lives inside the app bundle: The path is long and has a space in it, so add an alias to your shell config: A symlink won't work. The tool looks for `SF Symbols.app` relative to its own path, so a link in `/usr/local/bin` fails to find its resources. The rest of the post uses plain `sfsymbols`. `sfsymbols help search` and `sfsymbols help export` list every option. ## Searching A bare query searches the whole catalog. Two flags make the output more useful: `--show-glyph` adds the symbol itself as the first column. It renders in Terminal on macOS, which falls back to SF Pro, but not in most editors. ### Match styles The default style, `permissive`, matches name components, aliases, tags, and lemmas, the same way the app's search does. That's why `weather` starts with winter sports: `--match-style` switches to two stricter styles that only look at names: - `nameContains` :`car.fill` matches`car.fill` and`cablecar.fill` . - `exactName` :`car.fill` matches only`car.fill` . ### Categories `--category-filter` takes the same categories as the app's sidebar. A plain `bolt` search starts with the bolt itself, while the `weather` category turns it into thunderstorms: An unknown key prints the full list, so `--category-filter help` is the fastest way to see them. My favorite is `whatsnew`, which answers "what did Apple add this year?": ### Reverse lookup Search works on code points too: You can also paste the glyph itself, for example one copied from a Figma file, and get the name back. ## Checking your deployment target `--min-platform` takes your deployment target, written as a platform and version with no space, like `iOS16`, and keeps only symbols available on that version. Repeat it for multiplatform apps, and a symbol has to pass every one. Without the filter, `sun.max` matches seven symbols: An app targeting iOS 15 and macOS 12 gets four of them: The filter knows about renames. `xmark.bin` exists on iOS 13, but under a different name: If your app supports iOS 13, `bin.xmark` is the name that works there. ### Rendering modes A symbol's availability isn't one number. `--json` splits it by rendering mode: `heart.fill` is on iOS 13, but multicolor rendering needs iOS 15. The plain text output only shows monochrome availability. ## Exporting `export` renders a symbol to PNG or PDF with the same options as the app's export panel: `--point-size` is a font size, not a canvas size. The file above is 198 × 198 pixels: the glyph's own bounds at 64 points, times three. For several formats at once, use `--output-dir` instead of `--output`. Files are named after the symbol: SVG, the default format, isn't an icon. It's the editable design template the app produces, with all weights, scales, and annotations on a 3300 × 2200 canvas. Use it as a starting point for a custom symbol. Rendering options don't apply to it. ## Letting agents verify symbols Agents are good at picking plausible symbol names and bad at knowing whether they exist. `checkmark.circle.badge` looks real, but the catalog doesn't have it: A few lines in `CLAUDE.md` or `AGENTS.md` make the agent check before it writes code: Now the agent searches, verifies, and only then writes `Image(systemName:)`. It can also run `export` to show you the candidates before touching the views.