# UX Pattern Comparison Packs

Use comparison packs when multiple nearby patterns could fit the same interface request.

- [Accordion vs tabs vs side navigation vs filter panel](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/accordion-vs-tabs-vs-side-navigation-vs-filter-panel.md): Use accordion for several related show-hide sections on one page. Use tabs for peer panels, side navigation for separate local pages, and filter panel for grouped controls that narrow a result set.
- [Account creation vs start page vs onboarding vs password creation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/account-creation-vs-start-page-vs-onboarding-vs-password-creation.md): Use account creation when a persistent account is necessary, start page for task entry before a service begins, onboarding for first-use activation, and password creation for choosing one new reusable secret inside a broader account flow.
- [Action menu vs menu button vs button group vs command palette](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/action-menu-vs-menu-button-vs-button-group-vs-command-palette.md): Use an action menu for a contextual list of commands on one resource or selection, a menu button for the trigger and popup mechanics, a button group for a few visible peer commands, and a command palette for broad searchable command discovery.
- [Action sheet vs action menu vs bottom sheet vs confirmation dialog](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/action-sheet-vs-action-menu-vs-bottom-sheet-vs-confirmation-dialog.md): Use an action sheet for a small platform-presented choice set tied to a user-initiated action, an action menu for the command taxonomy, a bottom sheet for mobile contextual content with detents, and a confirmation dialog for a focused consequence decision.
- [Activity feed vs feed vs activity log vs notification center](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/activity-feed-vs-feed-vs-activity-log-vs-notification-center.md): Use activity feed for recent work and collaboration events users can catch up on, feed for broad stream reading, activity log for evidence and audit investigation, and notification center for durable notification triage.
- [Activity log vs timeline vs notification center vs search history](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/activity-log-vs-timeline-vs-notification-center-vs-search-history.md): Use activity log for inspectable event records with actor/action/object evidence; use timeline for summarized chronological history, notification center for user triage, and search history for user-managed query activity.
- [Adaptive defaults vs settings management vs preference center vs recommendations](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/adaptive-defaults-vs-settings-management-vs-preference-center-vs-recommendations.md): Use adaptive defaults when the product proposes starting values from context or prior behavior; settings management when users inspect and change durable configuration; preference center when users manage communication, consent, privacy, and personalization choices; and recommendations when the system ranks optional items or actions.
- [Address entry vs text input vs autocomplete vs dependent fields](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/address-entry-vs-text-input-vs-autocomplete-vs-dependent-fields.md): Use address entry when a service must capture a deliverable or contact address as structured, reviewable parts; use text input for one short freeform value, autocomplete for resolving a known suggestion, and dependent fields for a local country-to-region or type-to-detail relationship.
- [Advanced search vs basic search vs filter panel vs search scope selector](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/advanced-search-vs-basic-search-vs-filter-panel-vs-search-scope-selector.md): Use advanced search when users must construct precise fielded, Boolean, grouped, or syntax-backed queries; use basic search for one query input, filter panel for narrowing a returned result set by visible controls, and search scope selector for choosing where the query runs.
- [Age gate vs consent prompt vs permission request vs sensitive-data reveal vs privacy settings vs cookie banner](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/age-gate-vs-consent-prompt-vs-permission-request-vs-sensitive-data-reveal-vs-privacy-settings-vs-cookie-banner.md): Use age gate when eligibility, content access, or child-safety obligations depend on age or age band; use consent prompt for a specific data or action choice, permission request for device or resource access, sensitive-data reveal for intentional exposure, privacy settings for durable controls, and cookie banner for tracking consent.
- [Agent plan preview vs task list vs recommended next action vs human approval gate vs step navigation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/agent-plan-preview-vs-task-list-vs-recommended-next-action-vs-human-approval-gate-vs-step-navigation.md): Use agent plan preview when an AI agent will execute a multi-step plan and users need to inspect, edit, approve, or constrain the plan before execution; task list for known user-owned tasks; recommended next action for one contextual suggestion; human approval gate for a paused runtime authorization point; and step navigation for a fixed user journey.
- [Agent progress trace vs agent plan preview vs streaming response vs activity log vs progress bar vs human approval gate](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/agent-progress-trace-vs-agent-plan-preview-vs-streaming-response-vs-activity-log-vs-progress-bar-vs-human-approval-gate.md): Use agent progress trace for live multi-step agent execution after work starts; agent plan preview before execution; streaming response for generated output chunks; activity log for retained evidence; progress bar for measurable bounded work; and human approval gate for one paused authorization checkpoint.
- [AI agent acts without approval vs human approval gate vs agent plan preview vs agent progress trace vs tool-use visibility vs dangerous-action review](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/ai-agent-acts-without-approval-vs-human-approval-gate-vs-agent-plan-preview-vs-agent-progress-trace-vs-tool-use-visibility-vs-dangerous-action-review.md): Flag AI agent acts without approval when an agent executes high-impact side effects before users authorize the exact action and payload. Use the related patterns for runtime approval gates, pre-run plan inspection, live execution monitoring, tool detail inspection, or single-action payload review.
- [AI answer without sources vs source grounding display vs citation display vs confidence / uncertainty display vs streaming response vs correction feedback](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/ai-answer-without-sources-vs-source-grounding-display-vs-citation-display-vs-confidence-uncertainty-display-vs-streaming-response-vs-correction-feedback.md): Flag AI answer without sources when a generated answer makes evidence-dependent claims with no visible source route or no-source state. Use the related patterns for answer-wide evidence coverage, claim-level citations, reliability display, source-pending generation, or post-answer correction.
- [AI confidence shown as fake precision vs confidence / uncertainty display vs meter vs source grounding display vs warning text vs human approval gate](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/ai-confidence-shown-as-fake-precision-vs-confidence-uncertainty-display-vs-meter-vs-source-grounding-display-vs-warning-text-vs-human-approval-gate.md): Flag AI confidence shown as fake precision when raw or uncalibrated model scores are presented as exact user-facing confidence. Use the related patterns for honest uncertainty display, bounded scalar gauges, source evidence coverage, severe consequence warnings, or approval checkpoints.
- [AI limitation onboarding vs onboarding vs inline message vs warning text vs confidence uncertainty display vs source grounding display vs scope clarification vs human approval gate](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/ai-limitation-onboarding-vs-onboarding-vs-inline-message-vs-warning-text-vs-confidence-uncertainty-display-vs-source-grounding-display-vs-scope-clarification-vs-human-approval-gate.md): Use AI limitation onboarding to teach AI capabilities, limits, data scope, uncertainty, review needs, safe trial, feedback, and fallback before users rely on an AI feature; onboarding for product activation; inline message for local guidance; warning text for a risky action; confidence uncertainty display for reliability of one output; source grounding display for evidence coverage; scope clarification for an ambiguous request; and human approval gate for pausing execution.
- [AI output audit trail vs activity log vs source grounding display vs confidence uncertainty display vs editable AI output vs regenerate retry vs agent progress trace vs human approval gate](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/ai-output-audit-trail-vs-activity-log-vs-source-grounding-display-vs-confidence-uncertainty-display-vs-editable-ai-output-vs-regenerate-retry-vs-agent-progress-trace-vs-human-approval-gate.md): Use AI output audit trail for durable generated-output lineage across prompt snapshot, response snapshot, model version, source snapshot, tool calls, safety events, user actions, versions, approvals, downstream use, retention, and redaction; activity log for broad event search; source grounding display for current answer evidence; confidence uncertainty display for reliability before action; editable AI output for revising generated text; regenerate retry for producing another answer version; agent progress trace for live run monitoring; and human approval gate for pausing execution.
- [Alert dialog vs alert vs modal dialog vs confirmation dialog](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/alert-dialog-vs-alert-vs-modal-dialog-vs-confirmation-dialog.md): Use an alert dialog for an urgent message that blocks the current workflow until users respond; use alert for urgent non-modal status, modal dialog for a short contained task, and confirmation dialog for a user-initiated consequence decision.
- [Alert vs inline message vs toast notification vs confirmation dialog](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/alert-vs-inline-message-vs-toast-notification-vs-confirmation-dialog.md): Use an alert for urgent current-task status that needs immediate notice without taking focus; use inline message for object-local feedback, toast for disposable transient feedback, and confirmation dialog when users must choose before a consequential action proceeds.
- [Ambiguous destructive action copy vs destructive action confirmation vs typed confirmation vs dangerous-action review vs confirmation fatigue vs warning text](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/ambiguous-destructive-action-copy-vs-destructive-action-confirmation-vs-typed-confirmation-vs-dangerous-action-review-vs-confirmation-fatigue-vs-warning-text.md): Flag ambiguous destructive action copy when labels hide what will be destroyed, preserved, cancelled, revoked, or executed. Use the related patterns when the issue is the review surface, exact target gate, high-impact payload review, prompt overuse, or before-action warning copy.
- [Approval workflow vs review before submit vs permission recovery vs invite user](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/approval-workflow-vs-review-before-submit-vs-permission-recovery-vs-invite-user.md): Use approval workflow for routing a submitted request to authorized decision makers, review before submit for the requester's final edit gate, permission recovery for requesting access after denial, and invite user for granting another person access through an invitation lifecycle.
- [Assignment vs task list vs review queue vs approval workflow](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/assignment-vs-task-list-vs-review-queue-vs-approval-workflow.md): Use assignment to set or change who is responsible for a specific work item, task list to show fixed task rows with status, review queue to triage many items needing work, and approval workflow to route a submitted request through governed decisions.
- [Audit log vs activity log vs AI output audit trail vs version history vs notification center](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/audit-log-vs-activity-log-vs-ai-output-audit-trail-vs-version-history-vs-notification-center.md): Audit log is the governed evidence system for security, compliance, forensic, and administrator-accountability review. Activity log is broader event inspection, AI output audit trail preserves one generated output's lineage, version history preserves restorable content snapshots, and notification center supports personal triage.
- [Automation rule builder vs human approval gate vs approval workflow vs settings management vs complete complex form vs recommended next action](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/automation-rule-builder-vs-human-approval-gate-vs-approval-workflow-vs-settings-management-vs-complete-complex-form-vs-recommended-next-action.md): Use automation rule builder for authoring reusable trigger-condition-action rules; human approval gate for one paused runtime automation step; approval workflow for routed request decisions; settings management for persistent configuration; complete complex form for one-time dependency-heavy submission; and recommended next action for optional contextual guidance.
- [Autosave form vs single-page form vs multi-step form vs inline edit](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/autosave-form-vs-single-page-form-vs-multi-step-form-vs-inline-edit.md): Use autosave form when progress should be preserved automatically while users work through fields, with visible saving, saved, failed, retry, and leave-page states rather than relying on one final Save button.
- [Autosave recovery vs autosave form vs draft state vs retry](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/autosave-recovery-vs-autosave-form-vs-draft-state-vs-retry.md): Autosave recovery handles the moment background saving did not protect the latest work. Autosave form defines the normal background-save model, draft state manages a durable unpublished object, and retry repeats a failed operation with the same request context.
- [Back link vs breadcrumbs vs pagination](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/back-link-vs-breadcrumbs-vs-pagination.md): Use a Back link for one-step return in a transaction, breadcrumbs for canonical hierarchy orientation, and pagination for moving through an ordered collection.
- [Bank details vs text input vs input mask vs review before submit](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/bank-details-vs-text-input-vs-input-mask-vs-review-before-submit.md): Use bank details when a product must capture account-identification parts for payout, debit, refund, payroll, or payment initiation; use text input for ordinary short values, input mask for formatting a stable field, and review before submit for final verification after capture.
- [Banner vs alert vs inline message vs toast notification](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/banner-vs-alert-vs-inline-message-vs-toast-notification.md): Use a banner for product, service, account, or section-level information that belongs at the top of a broader interface; use alert for urgent current-task status, inline message for object-local context, and toast for short disposable feedback.
- [Basic search vs command palette](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/basic-search-vs-command-palette.md): Use basic search when users are retrieving content from a known collection. Use a command palette when users need a keyboard-first way to execute commands or jump to destinations across a broad product.
- [Block / mute vs report abuse vs notification preferences vs follow / subscribe vs permission denied state vs comments](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/block-mute-vs-report-abuse-vs-notification-preferences-vs-follow-subscribe-vs-permission-denied-state-vs-comments.md): Use block / mute when a user changes personal visibility, interaction, or delivery boundaries for a person, account, conversation, channel, app, bot, word, or thread; use report abuse for safety review, notification preferences for broad delivery rules, follow / subscribe for future updates from one object, permission denied state for access boundaries, and comments for ordinary discussion.
- [Booking vs scheduling vs checkout vs date picker](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/booking-vs-scheduling-vs-checkout-vs-date-picker.md): Use booking when a customer reserves an offered slot, service, staff member, room, seat, or appointment; scheduling when an organizer coordinates calendars and attendees; checkout when the primary commitment is a purchase; and date/time pickers only for field-level selection.
- [Bottom sheet vs sheet vs drawer vs bottom navigation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/bottom-sheet-vs-sheet-vs-drawer-vs-bottom-navigation.md): Use a bottom sheet for mobile lower-edge contextual details or controls with detents, a sheet for broader temporary child tasks, a drawer for side-adjacent inspection, and bottom navigation for persistent top-level mobile destinations.
- [Breadcrumbs vs tabs vs bottom navigation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/breadcrumbs-vs-tabs-vs-bottom-navigation.md): Use breadcrumbs for secondary hierarchy orientation, tabs for peer panels in one page context, and bottom navigation for persistent mobile access to top-level destinations.
- [Browse by category vs basic search vs filter panel vs tabs](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/browse-by-category-vs-basic-search-vs-filter-panel-vs-tabs.md): Use browse by category when users explore a known taxonomy before choosing a destination, basic search when they already have a query, filter panel when they narrow a current result set, and tabs when switching sibling panels within one page.
- [Bulk import vs file upload vs drag-and-drop upload vs multi-step form](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/bulk-import-vs-file-upload-vs-drag-and-drop-upload-vs-multi-step-form.md): Use bulk import when a structured file creates or updates many records and needs mapping, validation, repair, confirmation, and an import report; use file upload or drag-and-drop for attachments, and multi-step form for guided single-record entry.
- [Button group vs segmented control vs menu button vs confirmation dialog](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/button-group-vs-segmented-control-vs-menu-button-vs-confirmation-dialog.md): Use a button group for a small visible set of related commands, a segmented control for one active local mode, a menu button for hidden secondary commands, and a confirmation dialog after a risky command needs review.
- [Calendar view vs date picker vs timeline vs list view](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/calendar-view-vs-date-picker-vs-timeline-vs-list-view.md): Use calendar view when scheduled items must be understood by date, time, duration, recurrence, and visual overlap; use date picker, timeline, or list view when the task is narrower.
- [Camera capture vs file upload vs permission request vs sensitive-data reveal vs full-screen takeover vs drag-and-drop upload](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/camera-capture-vs-file-upload-vs-permission-request-vs-sensitive-data-reveal-vs-full-screen-takeover-vs-drag-and-drop-upload.md): Use camera capture when the product asks users to create new media from a live camera preview and then review, retake, crop, or submit it. Use file upload for existing files, permission request for the access ask, sensitive-data reveal for hiding captured private content, full-screen takeover for temporary focused modes, and drag-and-drop upload for pointer-based file transfer.
- [Card grid vs card list vs collection vs table](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/card-grid-vs-card-list-vs-collection-vs-table.md): Use card grid for multi-column visual browsing of peer objects; use card list for single-column rich reading, collection for a named managed set, and table for aligned attribute comparison.
- [Card list vs list view vs collection vs browse by category](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/card-list-vs-list-view-vs-collection-vs-browse-by-category.md): Use card list for a vertical sequence of rich, bounded object summaries; use list view for dense row scanning, collection for a named managed set, and browse by category for taxonomy navigation.
- [Carousel auto-advance without pause vs carousel vs tabs vs recommendations vs pagination](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/carousel-auto-advance-without-pause-vs-carousel-vs-tabs-vs-recommendations-vs-pagination.md): Flag unpausable auto-advance when timed rotation changes content without immediate control; use carousel only for small controlled slide sets, tabs for named panels, recommendations for ranked suggestions with feedback, and pagination for large ordered results.
- [Carousel vs tabs vs recommendations vs pagination](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/carousel-vs-tabs-vs-recommendations-vs-pagination.md): Use carousel for a small ordered set of peer slides in one visual slot, tabs for sibling content panels, recommendations for ranked suggested items, and pagination for moving through ordered result pages.
- [Change review vs review before submit vs approval workflow vs review queue](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/change-review-vs-review-before-submit-vs-approval-workflow-vs-review-queue.md): Use change review when users inspect proposed edits or diffs and decide whether to accept, reject, apply, batch, or request changes; use review before submit for a user's final answer check, approval workflow for routed authorization, and review queue for triaging many items.
- [Character count vs textarea vs text input vs inline validation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/character-count-vs-textarea-vs-text-input-vs-inline-validation.md): Use character count when a real text limit needs visible, recoverable feedback; use textarea for multiline writing, text input for short one-line answers, and inline validation for field-specific correction after interaction.
- [Chart drilldown vs data visualization vs details panel vs table](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/chart-drilldown-vs-data-visualization-vs-details-panel-vs-table.md): Use Chart drilldown when a chart mark represents an aggregate that can be explored through a governed hierarchy without leaving the analytic context; use the alternatives when the task is top-level pattern reading, object inspection, or exact row work.
- [Chat interface vs prompt box vs threaded discussion vs comments vs feed](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/chat-interface-vs-prompt-box-vs-threaded-discussion-vs-comments-vs-feed.md): Use chat interface for ordered multi-turn conversation with user and assistant turns, transcript state, follow-up context, response lifecycle, and conversation history; prompt box for the single request composer; threaded discussion for human forum-style replies; comments for object-level notes; and feed for time-ordered activity or content streams.
- [Checkbox group vs multi-select](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/checkbox-group-vs-multi-select.md): Use checkbox groups when a small set of independent choices should stay visible. Use multi-select when the option set is large enough that compact picking is necessary.
- [Checkout vs payment card entry vs review before submit vs step navigation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/checkout-vs-payment-card-entry-vs-review-before-submit-vs-step-navigation.md): Use checkout for the end-to-end purchase commitment flow that coordinates cart summary, customer details, delivery, payment handoff, review, place-order action, error recovery, and confirmation; use payment card entry for secure card capture, review before submit for a final editable gate, and step navigation for progress display across a longer flow.
- [Chip selection vs filter chips vs checkbox group vs segmented control](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/chip-selection-vs-filter-chips-vs-checkbox-group-vs-segmented-control.md): Use chip selection when a short set of terse chips is the user's answer, filter chips when chips narrow a result set, checkbox group when independent choices need fuller labels, and segmented control when one compact local mode is active.
- [Citation display vs chat interface vs streaming response vs related links vs tooltip](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/citation-display-vs-chat-interface-vs-streaming-response-vs-related-links-vs-tooltip.md): Use citation display for claim-level evidence and source preview next to generated or summarized claims; chat interface for the whole conversation transcript; streaming response for partial generated output as it arrives; related links for an onward navigation list; and tooltip for a brief hover or focus hint.
- [Collection vs list view vs browse by category vs related links](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/collection-vs-list-view-vs-browse-by-category-vs-related-links.md): Use collection when users need a named, curated or saved set of items with purpose, ownership, count, ordering, and item-management behavior; use list view for row scanning, browse by category for taxonomy exploration, and related links for a small onward-link set from one page.
- [Combobox vs autocomplete vs select vs text input](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/combobox-vs-autocomplete-vs-select-vs-text-input.md): Use a combobox when one field owns a popup and the interaction depends on expanded state, active option movement, acceptance, cancellation, and selected-value synchronization; use autocomplete for known-value completion behavior, select for short finite choices, and text input for arbitrary free text.
- [Comments vs textarea vs feed vs activity log](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/comments-vs-textarea-vs-feed-vs-activity-log.md): Use comments for object-attached discussion and review notes, textarea for the field used to write longer text, feed for stream consumption, and activity log for durable event history.
- [Compare view vs table vs card grid vs details panel](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/compare-view-vs-table-vs-card-grid-vs-details-panel.md): Use Compare view when users intentionally select a small set of similar items and need side-by-side attribute tradeoff support; use table, card grid, or details panel when the task is general row scanning, browsing, or inspecting one object.
- [Complete complex form vs single-page form vs multi-step form vs wizard](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/complete-complex-form-vs-single-page-form-vs-multi-step-form-vs-wizard.md): Use a complete complex form when a product configuration has many related sections that must stay inspectable together, with section status, cross-section validation, draft preservation, and a review-ready save contract.
- [Complete multiple tasks vs step navigation vs process list vs multi-step form](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/complete-multiple-tasks-vs-step-navigation-vs-process-list-vs-multi-step-form.md): Use complete multiple tasks for a saved transaction hub where users can complete independent sections over one or more sessions; step navigation for a linear in-flow sequence; process list for public journey guidance; and multi-step form for one guided form path.
- [Conditional reveal fields vs dependent fields vs radio group vs single-question page](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/conditional-reveal-fields-vs-dependent-fields-vs-radio-group-vs-single-question-page.md): Use conditional reveal fields when a selected answer should reveal one directly related follow-up field or short supporting question in the same local context.
- [Confidence / uncertainty display vs source grounding display vs citation display vs meter vs warning text](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/confidence-uncertainty-display-vs-source-grounding-display-vs-citation-display-vs-meter-vs-warning-text.md): Use confidence / uncertainty display for prediction reliability and calibrated confidence before users act; source grounding display for source coverage; citation display for claim-level evidence; meter for a bounded scalar gauge; and warning text for severe consequence wording before an action.
- [Confirm email vs email address entry vs account creation vs password reset](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/confirm-email-vs-email-address-entry-vs-account-creation-vs-password-reset.md): Use confirm email when the product must prove mailbox access for an already captured address; use email address entry for collecting and validating the address text, account creation for establishing a persistent account, and password reset for replacing a forgotten password through a recovery artifact.
- [Confirm phone vs phone number entry vs confirm email vs two-factor authentication](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/confirm-phone-vs-phone-number-entry-vs-confirm-email-vs-two-factor-authentication.md): Use confirm phone when a captured phone number must be proven reachable by a text-message or voice security code; use phone number entry for collecting and reviewing the number, confirm email for mailbox-access proof, and two-factor authentication when an enrolled factor protects sign-in or a sensitive action.
- [Confirmation fatigue vs confirmation dialog vs destructive action confirmation vs undo vs warning text vs dangerous-action review](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/confirmation-fatigue-vs-confirmation-dialog-vs-destructive-action-confirmation-vs-undo-vs-warning-text-vs-dangerous-action-review.md): Flag confirmation fatigue when routine or reversible actions are repeatedly blocked by low-value prompts; use confirmation dialog, destructive action confirmation, undo, warning text, or dangerous-action review according to consequence, reversibility, and inspectable risk.
- [Confirmation page vs success confirmation vs review before submit vs notification banner](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/confirmation-page-vs-success-confirmation-vs-review-before-submit-vs-notification-banner.md): Use a confirmation page as the final endpoint after a transaction; use success confirmation for durable proof inside an ongoing task, review before submit before commit, and notification banner for previous-page outcomes while the journey continues.
- [Conflict resolution vs conflict state vs review before submit vs autosave recovery](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/conflict-resolution-vs-conflict-state-vs-review-before-submit-vs-autosave-recovery.md): Conflict resolution is the guided decision workflow after a conflict is detected. Conflict state signals and preserves competing versions, review before submit checks the user's own answers before final commit, and autosave recovery preserves work after failed or uncertain saving.
- [Conflict state vs sync state vs draft state vs error state](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/conflict-state-vs-sync-state-vs-draft-state-vs-error-state.md): Use conflict state when two valid competing changes overlap and require a merge, choose, discard, or save-copy decision; use sync state for reconciliation progress, draft state for unpublished versions, and error state for failures without competing valid versions.
- [Consent prompt vs cookie banner vs preference center vs notification preferences vs permission sharing vs human approval gate](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/consent-prompt-vs-cookie-banner-vs-preference-center-vs-notification-preferences-vs-permission-sharing-vs-human-approval-gate.md): Use consent prompt when a user must make an active opt-in to a specific optional data use or participation purpose; use cookie banner for device storage and tracking choices, preference center for later account-level settings, notification preferences for channel subscriptions, permission sharing for granting another person access, and human approval gate for approving a proposed action before execution.
- [Context menu vs action menu vs menu button vs popover](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/context-menu-vs-action-menu-vs-menu-button-vs-popover.md): Use a context menu for commands invoked at a specific object or pointer/focus location, an action menu for the command taxonomy, a menu button for a visible named trigger, and a popover for small contextual content or controls that are not command menus.
- [Cookie banner vs banner vs notification banner vs site alert](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/cookie-banner-vs-banner-vs-notification-banner-vs-site-alert.md): Use a cookie banner when the product needs informed consent or refusal for non-essential cookies and similar tracking technologies; use banner for broad interface context, notification banner for before-heading service notices, and site alert for urgent sitewide information.
- [Cookie consent vs cookie banner vs consent prompt vs preference center vs privacy settings vs legal acceptance](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/cookie-consent-vs-cookie-banner-vs-consent-prompt-vs-preference-center-vs-privacy-settings-vs-legal-acceptance.md): Use cookie consent for the actual purpose-level decision, storage blocking, consent record, renewal, and withdrawal model for cookies and similar technologies; use cookie banner for the entry surface, consent prompt for non-cookie optional data-use consent, preference center for durable settings, privacy settings for broader privacy controls, and legal acceptance for terms or policy agreement.
- [Correction feedback vs query correction vs inline validation vs comments vs regenerate / retry vs editable AI output](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/correction-feedback-vs-query-correction-vs-inline-validation-vs-comments-vs-regenerate-retry-vs-editable-ai-output.md): Use correction feedback when users need to correct an AI answer, claim, source, recommendation, or behavior after output and choose feedback scope, consent, receipt, and review handling; query correction for search query rewriting before results; inline validation for one input field; comments for human discussion; regenerate / retry for another AI attempt; and editable AI output for directly revising generated content.
- [Create user profile vs account creation vs onboarding vs single-page form](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/create-user-profile-vs-account-creation-vs-onboarding-vs-single-page-form.md): Use create user profile for a visible personal profile, account creation for persistent credentials, onboarding for first-use activation, and single-page form for compact related data capture that is not identity presentation.
- [Custom dashboard vs dashboard layout vs saved view vs preference center](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/custom-dashboard-vs-dashboard-layout-vs-saved-view-vs-preference-center.md): Use custom dashboard for persisted widget composition, dashboard layout for a coherent fixed monitoring page, saved view for one data surface's presentation state, and preference center for account or communication preferences.
- [Dangerous-action review vs destructive action confirmation vs typed confirmation vs human approval gate vs review before submit vs security warning](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/dangerous-action-review-vs-destructive-action-confirmation-vs-typed-confirmation-vs-human-approval-gate-vs-review-before-submit-vs-security-warning.md): Use dangerous-action review for pre-execution inspection of high-impact actions that may affect money, access, production systems, legal status, customers, external recipients, sensitive data, or safety. Use destructive action confirmation for permanent loss, typed confirmation for exact target verification, human approval gate for paused automation requiring an eligible reviewer, review before submit for ordinary user-entered answers, and security warning for detected unsafe destinations or objects.
- [Dark-pattern consent vs consent prompt vs cookie consent vs cookie banner vs legal acceptance vs preference center](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/dark-pattern-consent-vs-consent-prompt-vs-cookie-consent-vs-cookie-banner-vs-legal-acceptance-vs-preference-center.md): Flag dark-pattern consent when a consent or tracking choice is shaped to obtain agreement through hidden refusal, unequal effort, preselection, bundling, pressure, obstruction, or processing before choice; use consent prompt for the corrected optional data-use opt-in, cookie consent for purpose-level cookie runtime enforcement, cookie banner for the first-layer cookie surface, legal acceptance for required terms, and preference center for later durable settings.
- [Dashboard layout vs data visualization vs table vs saved view](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/dashboard-layout-vs-data-visualization-vs-table-vs-saved-view.md): Use dashboard layout for a coordinated page of multiple monitoring widgets, data visualization for one encoded analytic view, table for exact row work, and saved view for a named presentation state of one data surface.
- [Data export vs bulk import vs audit log vs table vs sensitive-data reveal](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/data-export-vs-bulk-import-vs-audit-log-vs-table-vs-sensitive-data-reveal.md): Use data export for scoped copy, archive, transfer, or portability workflows. Bulk import brings structured records in, audit log preserves governed event evidence, table or data grid export handles visible rows, and sensitive-data reveal briefly exposes one protected value.
- [Data grid vs table vs inline edit vs pagination](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/data-grid-vs-table-vs-inline-edit-vs-pagination.md): Use a data grid for dense interactive row-and-column work with managed cell focus; use a table for semantic comparison, inline edit for local value changes, and pagination to divide long result sets.
- [Data visualization vs table vs map view vs activity log](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/data-visualization-vs-table-vs-map-view-vs-activity-log.md): Use Data visualization when encoded visual patterns reveal magnitude, trend, distribution, composition, or relationship; use table, map view, or activity log when exact records, geography, or event evidence drives the task.
- [Date input vs input mask vs text input vs select](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/date-input-vs-input-mask-vs-text-input-vs-select.md): Use date input for exact known dates entered as day, month, and year; use input mask for fixed-format codes, text input for ordinary one-line text, and select only for constrained date parts or known option sets.
- [Date picker vs date input vs select vs text input](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/date-picker-vs-date-input-vs-select-vs-text-input.md): Use a date picker when users choose a single date with calendar context, availability, or day-of-week meaning; use date input for known exact dates, select for short fixed date choices, and text input for fuzzy date wording.
- [Date range picker vs date picker vs date input vs filter panel](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/date-range-picker-vs-date-picker-vs-date-input-vs-filter-panel.md): Use a date range picker when users must choose a continuous start and end period; use a date picker for one calendar date, date input for known exact dates, and a filter panel when date is only one criterion among many.
- [Dead-end empty state vs empty state vs no-results recovery vs error state](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/dead-end-empty-state-vs-empty-state-vs-no-results-recovery-vs-error-state.md): Flag dead-end empty state when the UI is blank or actionless. Replace it with empty state, no-results recovery, or error state according to the proven cause.
- [Delete account vs destructive action confirmation vs typed confirmation vs data export vs settings management vs restore from trash](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/delete-account-vs-destructive-action-confirmation-vs-typed-confirmation-vs-data-export-vs-settings-management-vs-restore-from-trash.md): Use delete account for account-level closure and associated data deletion. Use destructive action confirmation for one destructive object command, typed confirmation for severe target verification, data export for keeping a copy before deletion, settings management for durable configuration, and restore from trash for reversible deletion recovery.
- [Dependent fields vs select vs inline validation vs complete complex form](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/dependent-fields-vs-select-vs-inline-validation-vs-complete-complex-form.md): Use dependent fields when one completed controlling answer determines which later field values are valid, available, required, cleared, or stale.
- [Destructive action confirmation vs confirmation dialog vs undo vs warning text](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/destructive-action-confirmation-vs-confirmation-dialog-vs-undo-vs-warning-text.md): Use destructive action confirmation for a named destructive commit with loss inventory and safe cancellation; use confirmation dialog for other high-consequence decisions, undo for recoverable routine actions, and warning text for consequence copy before the user starts the action.
- [Details panel vs drawer vs hover card vs accordion](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/details-panel-vs-drawer-vs-hover-card-vs-accordion.md): Use a details panel for durable selected-object inspection inside the current layout, drawer for a temporary edge surface, hover card for transient pre-navigation preview, and accordion for in-flow section reveal.
- [Disabled button with no explanation vs inline validation vs error summary](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/disabled-button-no-explanation-vs-inline-validation-vs-error-summary.md): Use visible requirements or validation recovery instead of an unexplained disabled action; choose inline validation for local field repair and error summary for submitted multi-error recovery.
- [Disabled controls without recovery vs disabled button no explanation vs inline validation vs error summary vs permission recovery vs fallback path](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/disabled-controls-without-recovery-vs-disabled-button-no-explanation-vs-inline-validation-vs-error-summary-vs-permission-recovery-vs-fallback-path.md): Use disabled controls without recovery for inert controls that strand the user with no path to satisfy, request, retry, route around, or stop safely. Use the related patterns for narrower explanation, field correction, submitted-form recovery, access recovery, or alternate-route decisions.
- [Disclosure details vs accordion vs inline message vs related links](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/disclosure-details-vs-accordion-vs-inline-message-vs-related-links.md): Use disclosure details for one optional in-place explanation, accordion for several related show-hide sections, inline message for visible contextual feedback, and related links for onward destinations.
- [Draft state vs autosave form vs inline edit vs complete complex form](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/draft-state-vs-autosave-form-vs-inline-edit-vs-complete-complex-form.md): Use draft state when an object or content item has a recoverable unpublished version that must be resumed, compared, discarded, or published separately from the active version.
- [Drag and drop vs touch gesture vs long press vs drag-and-drop upload vs kanban board vs sort controls](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/drag-and-drop-vs-touch-gesture-vs-long-press-vs-drag-and-drop-upload-vs-kanban-board-vs-sort-controls.md): Use drag and drop for moving an object from a source to a destination, position, group, or order. Use touch gesture for broad gesture rules, long press for sustained-contact invocation, drag-and-drop upload for OS file drops, kanban board for workflow columns, and sort controls for rule-based ordering.
- [Drag-and-drop upload vs file upload vs multi-step form vs text input](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/drag-and-drop-upload-vs-file-upload-vs-multi-step-form-vs-text-input.md): Use drag-and-drop upload when desktop users benefit from dropping one or more files into a visible target; use ordinary file upload for the reliable baseline, multi-step form for journey structure, and text input when a typed value is enough.
- [Drawer vs modal dialog vs navigation drawer vs filter panel](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/drawer-vs-modal-dialog-vs-navigation-drawer-vs-filter-panel.md): Use a drawer for supplemental side content tied to the current page, modal dialog for a blocking contained task, navigation drawer for destinations, and filter panel for narrowing the current result set.
- [Drawer with no close or return path vs drawer vs modal dialog vs navigation drawer vs details panel](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/drawer-with-no-close-or-return-path-vs-drawer-vs-modal-dialog-vs-navigation-drawer-vs-details-panel.md): Flag drawer with no close or return path when an edge panel opens but users cannot reliably dismiss it, use Escape or back, recover focus, preserve selection, handle dirty state, or return from a responsive full-screen state. Use a drawer when close and focus return are explicit, a modal dialog when background interaction must be blocked, a navigation drawer for destinations, and a details panel for durable side-by-side inspection.
- [Editable AI output vs inline edit vs prompt box vs streaming response vs citation display vs source grounding display](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/editable-ai-output-vs-inline-edit-vs-prompt-box-vs-streaming-response-vs-citation-display-vs-source-grounding-display.md): Use editable AI output for generated output after creation that users revise with provenance, source mapping, citation preservation, tracked changes, review, save, copy, regenerate, and apply controls; inline edit for ordinary in-place record fields; prompt box for the request before generation; streaming response for partial generated output as it arrives; citation display for claim-level source previews; and source grounding display for whole-answer evidence coverage.
- [Email address entry vs text input vs inline validation vs error summary](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/email-address-entry-vs-text-input-vs-inline-validation-vs-error-summary.md): Use email address entry when the product needs a contactable email address with email-specific keyboard, autocomplete, validation, typo recovery, review, and optional access confirmation; use text input for ordinary short text, inline validation for local correction, and error summary for submitted-form recovery.
- [Empty state vs no-results recovery vs error state](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/empty-state-vs-no-results-recovery-vs-error-state.md): Use an empty state when nothing exists yet, no-results recovery when filters or search excluded everything, and an error state when the system failed to produce expected content.
- [Escalate to human vs handoff summary vs chat interface vs review queue vs human approval gate vs recommended next action](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/escalate-to-human-vs-handoff-summary-vs-chat-interface-vs-review-queue-vs-human-approval-gate-vs-recommended-next-action.md): Use escalate to human for the user-facing route from AI, automation, chatbot, or self-service into a human channel; handoff summary for the context packet received after transfer; chat interface for the whole conversation surface; review queue for staff triage of many escalated items; human approval gate for authorizing a specific paused automation step; and recommended next action for optional guidance that may include escalation.
- [Exit this page quickly vs security warning vs sensitive-data reveal vs session timeout vs privacy settings vs back link](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/exit-this-page-quickly-vs-security-warning-vs-sensitive-data-reveal-vs-session-timeout-vs-privacy-settings-vs-back-link.md): Use exit this page quickly when a user viewing sensitive content may need to immediately hide the current page and move to a neutral destination; use security warning for risky sites or files, sensitive-data reveal for exposing secrets under user control, session timeout for authenticated inactivity, privacy settings for durable data controls, and back link for ordinary navigation.
- [Exit warning vs autosave form vs draft state vs confirmation dialog](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/exit-warning-vs-autosave-form-vs-draft-state-vs-confirmation-dialog.md): Exit warning interrupts an attempted departure when leaving would lose unrecoverable work or context. Autosave form prevents loss by saving progress, draft state exposes a durable unpublished version, and confirmation dialog confirms an explicit risky action rather than navigation away.
- [Expandable row vs table vs details panel vs accordion](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/expandable-row-vs-table-vs-details-panel-vs-accordion.md): Use expandable row for row-local detail inside a table or list; use table for always-visible shared columns, details panel for durable selected-object inspection, and accordion for page-section disclosure.
- [Faceted search vs no-results recovery](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/faceted-search-vs-no-results-recovery.md): Faceted search helps users narrow large result sets; no-results recovery handles the moment when narrowing or search leaves no useful path forward.
- [Fake undo vs undo vs toast notification vs restore from trash vs destructive action confirmation vs autosave recovery](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/fake-undo-vs-undo-vs-toast-notification-vs-restore-from-trash-vs-destructive-action-confirmation-vs-autosave-recovery.md): Flag fake undo when the UI advertises reversal but cannot restore the exact prior state; use undo, toast, trash restore, confirmation, or autosave recovery according to reversibility, timing, and recovery evidence.
- [Fallback path vs retry vs error state vs service unavailable page](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/fallback-path-vs-retry-vs-error-state-vs-service-unavailable-page.md): Fallback path gives users a different route to continue or complete the task when the primary path is blocked. Retry repeats the same operation, error state explains and recovers from a failure in place, and service unavailable page owns a whole-service closure or outage route.
- [Feed vs card list vs recommendations vs notification center](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/feed-vs-card-list-vs-recommendations-vs-notification-center.md): Use feed for a dynamic stream of article-like updates; use card list for bounded object summaries, recommendations for ranked suggestions, and notification center for durable actionable alerts.
- [File upload vs text input vs single-question page vs multi-step form](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/file-upload-vs-text-input-vs-single-question-page-vs-multi-step-form.md): Use file upload when the user must attach a document or media file; use text input for typed values, a single-question page to decide whether evidence is needed, and a multi-step form when upload is one guarded step in a longer journey.
- [Filter chips vs filter panel vs multi-select](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/filter-chips-vs-filter-panel-vs-multi-select.md): Use filter chips for a compact set of high-frequency result filters, a filter panel for grouped criteria management, and multi-select for choosing several form values from a longer option set.
- [Filter panel vs faceted search vs no-results recovery](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/filter-panel-vs-faceted-search-vs-no-results-recovery.md): Use a filter panel to expose and apply filtering controls, faceted search to structure a large result-narrowing journey, and no-results recovery after the current search or filters produce an empty set.
- [Filter reset that clears unrelated search vs filter panel vs basic search vs filter chips vs saved search](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/filter-reset-that-clears-unrelated-search-vs-filter-panel-vs-basic-search-vs-filter-chips-vs-saved-search.md): Flag filter reset that clears unrelated search when a Clear filters, Reset filters, chip removal, or preset reset also erases independent query text, saved search criteria, search history, URL state, sort, pagination policy, or view state without saying so. Use filter panel and filter chips for filter criteria, basic search for query text, and saved search when query plus filters are intentionally stored together.
- [Focus traversal vs keyboard shortcut vs skip link vs modal dialog vs toolbar vs data grid](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/focus-traversal-vs-keyboard-shortcut-vs-skip-link-vs-modal-dialog-vs-toolbar-vs-data-grid.md): Use focus traversal for predictable movement through interactive elements with Tab, Shift+Tab, initial focus, visible focus, and focus return. Use keyboard shortcut for direct command acceleration, skip link for bypassing repeated blocks, modal dialog for contained modal focus, toolbar for grouped view-scoped controls, and data grid for managed two-dimensional cell focus.
- [Follow / subscribe vs notification center vs mentions vs activity feed](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/follow-subscribe-vs-notification-center-vs-mentions-vs-activity-feed.md): Use follow or subscribe when a user intentionally opts into future updates from a specific item, thread, channel, space, repository, or saved view; use notification center for retained delivery, mentions for directed attention, and activity feed for broad catch-up.
- [Full-screen takeover vs modal dialog vs sheet vs single-page form](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/full-screen-takeover-vs-modal-dialog-vs-sheet-vs-single-page-form.md): Use full-screen takeover for a temporary mode that needs the entire viewport but must return to the invoking context, modal dialog for compact blocking tasks, sheet for adaptive child tasks, and single-page form for routable standalone completion.
- [Global navigation vs breadcrumbs vs bottom navigation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/global-navigation-vs-breadcrumbs-vs-bottom-navigation.md): Use global navigation for persistent movement across top-level product or service sections, breadcrumbs for hierarchy orientation, and bottom navigation for a small set of mobile primary destinations.
- [Graceful degradation vs fallback path vs offline state vs service unavailable page](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/graceful-degradation-vs-fallback-path-vs-offline-state-vs-service-unavailable-page.md): Graceful degradation keeps the same task usable on the same surface when an enhancement, browser capability, script, media layer, device API, or third-party widget is missing. Fallback path moves users to a different route, offline state handles connectivity loss, and service unavailable page handles whole-service closure.
- [Handoff summary vs assignment vs summary box vs activity log](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/handoff-summary-vs-assignment-vs-summary-box-vs-activity-log.md): Use handoff summary when responsibility or conversation context transfers to another person, team, shift, agent, or system and the receiver needs concise current state, what happened, open questions, next actions, risks, and source links; use assignment for ownership selection, summary box for page key facts, and activity log for historical evidence.
- [Haptic feedback vs touch gesture vs toast notification vs error state vs confirmation dialog vs progress bar](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/haptic-feedback-vs-touch-gesture-vs-toast-notification-vs-error-state-vs-confirmation-dialog-vs-progress-bar.md): Use haptic feedback when a tactile pulse confirms direct manipulation, boundary crossing, selection, warning, or completion without carrying essential information alone. Use touch gesture for input recognition, toast notification for transient visual status, error state for blocking recovery, confirmation dialog for explicit risk decisions, and progress bar for measurable duration.
- [Header / top app bar vs global navigation vs bottom navigation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/header-vs-global-navigation-vs-bottom-navigation.md): Use a header or top app bar for current-view title, navigation affordance, and view-level actions; use global navigation for top-level product destinations; use bottom navigation for compact mobile destination switching.
- [Hidden destructive account deletion vs delete account vs destructive action confirmation vs typed confirmation vs data export vs privacy settings](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/hidden-destructive-account-deletion-vs-delete-account-vs-destructive-action-confirmation-vs-typed-confirmation-vs-data-export-vs-privacy-settings.md): Flag hidden destructive account deletion when account closure or associated data erasure is concealed, disguised, obstructed, or committed without account-level review; use delete account for the corrected account closure workflow, destructive action confirmation for one object delete, typed confirmation for exact target verification, data export for downloading a copy, and privacy settings for active-account controls.
- [Hover card vs tooltip vs popover vs disclosure details](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/hover-card-vs-tooltip-vs-popover-vs-disclosure-details.md): Use a hover card for a rich preview of a linked or referenced object on hover or focus, a tooltip for short noninteractive description, a popover for user-managed local content or light controls, and disclosure details for inline expandable explanation that stays in page flow.
- [Human approval gate vs approval workflow vs review queue vs review before submit vs recommended next action](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/human-approval-gate-vs-approval-workflow-vs-review-queue-vs-review-before-submit-vs-recommended-next-action.md): Use human approval gate for pausing AI or automation before a high-impact step can run; approval workflow for routed request approval over time; review queue for triaging many items; review before submit for a requester's final editable check; and recommended next action for optional context-sensitive guidance.
- [Icon-only ambiguous action vs confirmation dialog vs undo](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/icon-only-ambiguous-action-vs-confirmation-dialog-vs-undo.md): Use clear labels before users act, confirmation when a clearly chosen high-risk action needs review, and undo when a named reversible action has already completed.
- [In-page anchor navigation vs breadcrumbs vs side navigation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/in-page-anchor-navigation-vs-breadcrumbs-vs-side-navigation.md): Use in-page anchor navigation for sections within one long page, breadcrumbs for parent hierarchy, and side navigation for related pages inside a local section.
- [Inaccessible custom select vs select vs autocomplete vs multi-select](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/inaccessible-custom-select-vs-select-vs-autocomplete-vs-multi-select.md): Use native select for simple single-choice lists, autocomplete for searchable known values, multi-select for multiple values, and flag custom dropdowns that do not implement the full accessibility and form contract.
- [Infinite scroll with no footer access vs feed vs pagination vs card list vs skip link](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/infinite-scroll-with-no-footer-access-vs-feed-vs-pagination-vs-card-list-vs-skip-link.md): Flag infinite scroll with no footer access when automatic loading prevents users from reaching footer utilities, legal links, help, feedback, language, or an end state. Use feed for controlled dynamic streams, pagination for stable result pages, card list for bounded object collections, and skip links as a bypass aid rather than a substitute for reachable footer access.
- [Infinite spinner vs loading skeleton vs error state](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/infinite-spinner-vs-loading-skeleton-vs-error-state.md): Use a bounded loading treatment while work is genuinely pending, switch to skeleton for predictable content structure, and move to error or recovery when the operation fails or exceeds a useful wait.
- [Inline edit vs text input vs single-page form vs modal dialog](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/inline-edit-vs-text-input-vs-single-page-form-vs-modal-dialog.md): Use inline edit when a displayed value can switch into a local edit control in place, with explicit save/cancel, validation, and dirty-state protection while the surrounding context remains visible.
- [Inline message vs toast notification vs error state vs inline validation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/inline-message-vs-toast-notification-vs-error-state-vs-inline-validation.md): Use an inline message for persistent contextual status beside one object or section; use toast for disposable transient feedback, error state for blocked recovery, and inline validation for one field's correction.
- [Inline validation vs error summary](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/inline-validation-vs-error-summary.md): Use inline validation to explain a specific field problem near the field. Use an error summary to help users recover from one or more form errors from the top of a page or step.
- [Input mask vs text input vs inline validation vs autocomplete](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/input-mask-vs-text-input-vs-inline-validation-vs-autocomplete.md): Use an input mask only when a typed value has a stable, predictable character structure that benefits from live grouping or fixed literals while users type.
- [Input prefix/suffix vs input mask vs text input vs inline validation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/input-prefix-suffix-vs-input-mask-vs-text-input-vs-inline-validation.md): Use input prefix/suffix when a constant symbol, unit, abbreviation, or icon clarifies the value while the user's typed value should remain clean.
- [Invite user vs account creation vs object picker vs permission recovery](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/invite-user-vs-account-creation-vs-object-picker-vs-permission-recovery.md): Use invite user for sending and managing another person's access invitation, account creation for the current user's own account, object picker for selecting an existing entity, and permission recovery for requesting access after a denial.
- [Kanban board vs table vs calendar view vs list view](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/kanban-board-vs-table-vs-calendar-view-vs-list-view.md): Use Kanban board when work items move through visible workflow states and WIP/bottleneck signals matter; use table, calendar view, or list view when the organizing axis is different.
- [Keyboard shortcut vs command palette vs menu menubar vs toolbar vs undo vs redo](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/keyboard-shortcut-vs-command-palette-vs-menu-menubar-vs-toolbar-vs-undo-vs-redo.md): Use a keyboard shortcut for a direct key combination that invokes one known command. Use command palette for searchable command discovery, menu menubar for persistent command grouping, toolbar for visible view-scoped controls, and undo or redo for edit-history semantics.
- [Language selector vs settings management vs preference center vs adaptive defaults](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/language-selector-vs-settings-management-vs-preference-center-vs-adaptive-defaults.md): Use language selector when users need an in-context way to switch the current content or product language; settings management when language is one durable app preference among many; preference center when language is tied to communication, consent, or profile choices; and adaptive defaults when browser or account signals only preselect an initial language.
- [Legal acceptance vs consent prompt vs review before submit vs checkbox group vs confirmation dialog vs typed confirmation vs age gate](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/legal-acceptance-vs-consent-prompt-vs-review-before-submit-vs-checkbox-group-vs-confirmation-dialog-vs-typed-confirmation-vs-age-gate.md): Use legal acceptance when a user must expressly accept terms, conditions, contracts, policies, or disclosures before access or a transaction; use consent prompt for optional data-use opt-in, review before submit for checking captured answers, checkbox group for ordinary multi-choice input, confirmation dialog or typed confirmation for action-risk prevention, and age gate for eligibility by age.
- [List view vs table vs data grid vs details panel](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/list-view-vs-table-vs-data-grid-vs-details-panel.md): Use list view for scanning object summaries in vertical rows; use table for aligned attribute comparison, data grid for cell-level interaction, and details panel for inspecting one selected object beside a source list.
- [Listbox vs select vs combobox vs multi-select](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/listbox-vs-select-vs-combobox-vs-multi-select.md): Use a listbox when options should stay visible as a selectable list with managed focus and selected state; use select for native compact single choice, combobox for a field-owned popup, and multi-select for compact long-list selection with a reviewable selected set.
- [Live cursors vs presence vs comments vs mentions](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/live-cursors-vs-presence-vs-comments-vs-mentions.md): Use live cursors for ephemeral real-time pointer or selection awareness, presence for availability, comments for durable object-attached discussion, and mentions for targeted attention inside authored content.
- [Loading skeleton vs empty state vs error state](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/loading-skeleton-vs-empty-state-vs-error-state.md): Use loading skeletons while predictable content is still unresolved, empty states after the system confirms legitimate absence, and error states after expected content or progress fails.
- [Loading spinner vs loading skeleton vs infinite spinner vs error state](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/loading-spinner-vs-loading-skeleton-vs-infinite-spinner-vs-error-state.md): Use a loading spinner for a short named indeterminate wait; use a skeleton for predictable content structure, flag infinite spinners when the wait has no boundary, and switch to error state when the operation has failed or timed out.
- [Location permission flow vs permission request vs map view vs address entry vs privacy settings vs offline state](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/location-permission-flow-vs-permission-request-vs-map-view-vs-address-entry-vs-privacy-settings-vs-offline-state.md): Use location permission flow when a task needs current device coordinates and must explain purpose, timing, precision, permission scope, errors, stale coordinates, fallback, settings recovery, and retention. Use permission request for generic resource access, map view for spatial display, address entry for typed or selected places, privacy settings for durable controls, and offline state for connectivity loss.
- [Login vs sign in vs password input vs session timeout warning](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/login-vs-sign-in-vs-password-input-vs-session-timeout-warning.md): Use login for the credential-verification attempt lifecycle and its outcomes, sign in for the broader returning-access journey, password input for the secret-entry control, and session timeout warning for an already authenticated session approaching expiry.
- [Long press vs touch gesture vs context menu vs tooltip vs popover vs action menu](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/long-press-vs-touch-gesture-vs-context-menu-vs-tooltip-vs-popover-vs-action-menu.md): Use long press for the sustained-contact gesture and its threshold, feedback, cancellation, and equivalent path. Use touch gesture for the broad gesture system, context menu for the command surface opened by invocation, tooltip for brief noninteractive help, popover for richer contextual content, and action menu for visible explicit commands.
- [Map view vs list view vs calendar view vs table](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/map-view-vs-list-view-vs-calendar-view-vs-table.md): Use Map view when location, distance, route, coverage, and spatial clustering drive the task; use list, calendar, or table when spatial placement is secondary.
- [Master-detail vs details panel vs list view vs window splitter](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/master-detail-vs-details-panel-vs-list-view-vs-window-splitter.md): Use master-detail for an adaptive list and detail navigation layout; use details panel for adjacent selected-object inspection, list view for the source list alone, and window splitter for user-controlled pane resizing.
- [Mega menu vs global navigation vs navigation drawer](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/mega-menu-vs-global-navigation-vs-navigation-drawer.md): Use a mega menu when a top-level navigation item needs a large grouped disclosure panel, global navigation for persistent top-level movement, and a navigation drawer for off-canvas or mobile navigation.
- [Mentions vs comments vs threaded discussion vs notification center](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/mentions-vs-comments-vs-threaded-discussion-vs-notification-center.md): Use mentions for targeted attention inside an existing message, comment, or document; comments for object-attached discussion; threaded discussion for branchable topic conversations; and notification center for cross-object inbox triage.
- [Menu / menubar vs menu button vs mega menu vs global navigation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/menu-menubar-vs-menu-button-vs-mega-menu-vs-global-navigation.md): Use a menu or menubar for desktop-style command sets with composite keyboard behavior, a menu button for a short local popup menu, a mega menu for large grouped navigation disclosure, and global navigation for persistent movement between top-level product or service sections.
- [Menu button vs command palette vs select vs confirmation dialog](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/menu-button-vs-command-palette-vs-select-vs-confirmation-dialog.md): Use a menu button for a short local set of contextual actions, a command palette for broad searchable product commands, a select for choosing one form value, and a confirmation dialog for reviewing high-risk consequences after an action has been chosen.
- [Merge conflict resolver vs conflict resolution vs conflict state vs review before submit](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/merge-conflict-resolver-vs-conflict-resolution-vs-conflict-state-vs-review-before-submit.md): A merge conflict resolver is a source-control-specific resolver for branch, file, and hunk conflicts. Conflict resolution is the broader decision workflow for competing values, conflict state exposes that competing versions exist, and review before submit verifies a user's own captured answers before a transaction.
- [Meter vs progress bar vs slider vs spinbutton](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/meter-vs-progress-bar-vs-slider-vs-spinbutton.md): Use a meter for a read-only scalar value inside a meaningful known range; use a progress bar for task completion, a slider for approximate user adjustment, and a spinbutton for small exact numeric input.
- [Modal dialog vs confirmation dialog](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/modal-vs-confirmation-dialog.md): A modal dialog creates a temporary focused mode for a short task. A confirmation dialog is the narrower decision pattern used when a pending action has a meaningful consequence.
- [Modal for nonblocking content vs modal dialog vs popover vs drawer vs inline message](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/modal-for-nonblocking-content-vs-modal-dialog-vs-popover-vs-drawer-vs-inline-message.md): Flag modal for nonblocking content when routine status, optional help, read-only previews, supplemental detail, or low-risk announcements block the page. Use a modal dialog only for compact tasks that must suspend background interaction, a popover for small anchored context, a drawer for side-by-side inspection while the parent remains useful, and an inline message for persistent local guidance or feedback.
- [Model update notice vs notification banner vs warning text vs phase beta banner vs confidence uncertainty display vs source grounding display](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/model-update-notice-vs-notification-banner-vs-warning-text-vs-phase-beta-banner-vs-confidence-uncertainty-display-vs-source-grounding-display.md): Use model update notice for AI model lifecycle, version, replacement, migration, and retirement changes; notification banner for general page-flow notices; warning text for consequence copy near risky actions; phase beta banner for service maturity; confidence uncertainty display for reliability of one output; and source grounding display for evidence coverage behind one answer.
- [Multi-step form vs single-page form vs single-question page vs step navigation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/multi-step-form-vs-single-page-form-vs-single-question-page-vs-step-navigation.md): Use a multi-step form when a transaction needs several saved pages or sections before a final review and submission.
- [Name entry vs text input vs autocomplete vs select vs inline validation vs error summary](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/name-entry-vs-text-input-vs-autocomplete-vs-select-vs-inline-validation-vs-error-summary.md): Use name entry when the product needs a person's name with name-specific labels, autocomplete, character support, respectful wording, review, and update paths; use text input for ordinary short text, autocomplete for known-record resolution, select only for finite non-name choices, inline validation for local correction, and error summary for failed submitted forms.
- [Navigation drawer vs side navigation vs bottom navigation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/navigation-drawer-vs-side-navigation-vs-bottom-navigation.md): Use a navigation drawer for a dismissible destination sheet, side navigation for persistent local hierarchy, and bottom navigation for a small mobile set of primary destinations.
- [Notification banner vs banner vs alert vs error summary](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/notification-banner-vs-banner-vs-alert-vs-error-summary.md): Use a notification banner for a service/page-flow notice immediately before the H1; use a banner for broader interface scope, an alert for urgent current-task status, and an error summary for submitted form validation recovery.
- [Notification center vs toast notification vs alert vs inline message](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/notification-center-vs-toast-notification-vs-alert-vs-inline-message.md): Use a notification center for durable, user-opened notification history and actions; use toast for brief transient feedback, alert for urgent current-task status, and inline message for object-local context.
- [Notification preferences vs settings management vs notification center vs follow / subscribe](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/notification-preferences-vs-settings-management-vs-notification-center-vs-follow-subscribe.md): Use notification preferences when users configure which notification types, channels, frequency, quiet times, and previews they want; use settings management for broader configuration, notification center for retained inbox triage, and follow / subscribe for per-object future update opt-in.
- [Object picker vs combobox vs autocomplete vs multi-select](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/object-picker-vs-combobox-vs-autocomplete-vs-multi-select.md): Use an object picker when users must select an existing entity with a stable identity and disambiguating metadata; use combobox for one popup-owned field value, autocomplete for known-value completion behavior, and multi-select when several predefined values are selected together.
- [Official-site banner vs banner vs site alert vs notification banner vs security warning vs service navigation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/official-site-banner-vs-banner-vs-site-alert-vs-notification-banner-vs-security-warning-vs-service-navigation.md): Use official-site banner when the surface must identify official government ownership and secure connection status; use banner for broad product messages, site alert for urgent sitewide incidents, notification banner for before-heading service notices, security warning for detected unsafe destinations, and service navigation for movement inside a named service.
- [Offline mobile retry vs offline state vs retry vs sync state vs pull to refresh vs fallback path](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/offline-mobile-retry-vs-offline-state-vs-retry-vs-sync-state-vs-pull-to-refresh-vs-fallback-path.md): Use offline mobile retry when a phone or tablet action fails or queues because connectivity is absent or unstable, and the app must preserve local work, retry safely later, avoid duplicates, and explain foreground or background retry status. Use offline state for broader connectivity mode, retry for one failed request, sync state for local-remote reconciliation, pull to refresh for user-requested data reload, and fallback path for an alternate route when retry is no longer the right recovery.
- [Offline state vs error state vs loading spinner vs progress bar](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/offline-state-vs-error-state-vs-loading-spinner-vs-progress-bar.md): Use offline state when connectivity changes what can be read, edited, queued, or synced; use error state for confirmed failures, spinner for short indeterminate waits, and progress bar for measurable operations.
- [Onboarding vs empty state vs wizard vs progressive disclosure](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/onboarding-vs-empty-state-vs-wizard-vs-progressive-disclosure.md): Use onboarding for first-run or new-feature orientation that helps users reach first value, empty state for resolved no-content surfaces, wizard for dependent setup tasks, and progressive disclosure for revealing detail inside an existing task.
- [Page not found page vs service unavailable page vs error state vs empty state](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/page-not-found-page-vs-service-unavailable-page-vs-error-state-vs-empty-state.md): Use a page not found page when the site or service is reachable but the requested URL or resource cannot be found; use service unavailable page for closed or unavailable services, error state for a failed operation inside a valid route, and empty state for a valid area that legitimately has no objects.
- [Pagination without current page vs pagination vs breadcrumbs vs step navigation vs feed](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/pagination-without-current-page-vs-pagination-vs-breadcrumbs-vs-step-navigation-vs-feed.md): Flag pagination without current page when page controls, previous/next links, result ranges, or URLs do not agree on the current result slice. Use pagination for ordered collection pages with one current page, breadcrumbs for hierarchy, step navigation for task progress, and feed behavior when exact page position is not part of the task.
- [Password creation vs password input vs inline validation vs error summary](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/password-creation-vs-password-input-vs-inline-validation-vs-error-summary.md): Use password creation when a user must choose a new reusable secret; use password input for entering an existing secret, inline validation for field-level creation feedback, and error summary for reachable recovery after submit.
- [Password input vs text input vs inline validation vs error summary](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/password-input-vs-text-input-vs-inline-validation-vs-error-summary.md): Use password input when a user must enter an existing secret or PIN-like memorized secret; use text input for non-secret text, inline validation for field-level correction, and error summary for reachable form-level recovery.
- [Password reset vs login vs password creation vs email address entry](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/password-reset-vs-login-vs-password-creation-vs-email-address-entry.md): Use password reset for the account-recovery journey that proves recovery-channel control and establishes a reset session; use login for submitted credential outcomes, password creation for choosing the new secret, and email address entry for collecting or editing a contactable address.
- [Payment card entry vs bank details vs input mask vs review before submit](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/payment-card-entry-vs-bank-details-vs-input-mask-vs-review-before-submit.md): Use payment card entry when a checkout must collect card-network credentials through secure hosted or processor-owned fields; use bank details for account-to-account identifiers, input masks only for field formatting, and review before submit for masked confirmation after capture.
- [Payment collection vs checkout vs payment card entry vs bank details](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/payment-collection-vs-checkout-vs-payment-card-entry-vs-bank-details.md): Use payment collection when a service must collect or reconcile a payment amount through one or more payment methods and lifecycle states; use checkout for purchase order finalization, payment card entry for secure card credential capture, and bank details for account identifier capture or verification.
- [Permission denied state vs error state vs empty state vs disabled button no explanation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/permission-denied-state-vs-error-state-vs-empty-state-vs-disabled-button-no-explanation.md): Use permission denied state when a known account, role, policy, or share setting blocks an object or action; use error state for operation failure, empty state for legitimate absence, and disabled-button-no-explanation as the anti-pattern to replace with visible access guidance.
- [Permission prompt with no context vs permission request vs location permission flow vs consent prompt vs permission denied state vs notification preferences](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/permission-prompt-with-no-context-vs-permission-request-vs-location-permission-flow-vs-consent-prompt-vs-permission-denied-state-vs-notification-preferences.md): Flag permission prompt with no context when a device, browser, or app permission appears before a resource-dependent feature is visible or explained; use permission request for the corrected contextual platform prompt, location permission flow for current-coordinate lifecycle work, consent prompt for optional data-use opt-in, permission denied state for account authorization boundaries, and notification preferences for message channel settings.
- [Permission recovery vs permission denied state vs session timeout warning vs retry](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/permission-recovery-vs-permission-denied-state-vs-session-timeout-warning-vs-retry.md): Permission recovery is the request, approval, account-switch, and fallback workflow after authorization blocks a task. Permission denied state explains the boundary, session timeout warning handles authentication expiry, and retry repeats a failed operation only when repetition can change the result.
- [Permission request vs consent prompt vs permission sharing vs permission recovery vs permission denied state vs notification preferences](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/permission-request-vs-consent-prompt-vs-permission-sharing-vs-permission-recovery-vs-permission-denied-state-vs-notification-preferences.md): Use permission request when the user is granting an operating-system or browser device resource such as camera, microphone, location, photos, contacts, notifications, Bluetooth, clipboard, or motion sensors; use consent prompt for optional data-use opt-in, permission sharing for durable access grants, permission recovery for owner or admin access requests, permission denied state for an authorization boundary, and notification preferences for channels, topics, frequency, and message subscriptions.
- [Permission sharing vs share dialog vs invite user vs permission recovery](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/permission-sharing-vs-share-dialog-vs-invite-user-vs-permission-recovery.md): Use permission sharing for durable access administration across users, groups, roles, scopes, inheritance, and revocation; share dialog for quick object-level sharing; invite user for membership invitations; and permission recovery for denied users requesting access.
- [Phase / beta banner vs banner vs notification banner vs site alert](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/phase-beta-banner-vs-banner-vs-notification-banner-vs-site-alert.md): Use a phase or beta banner to label a service's maturity and collect feedback while it is still being worked on; use banner for broad operational context, notification banner for before-heading page-flow notices, and site alert for urgent sitewide status.
- [Phone number entry vs text input vs input mask vs inline validation vs error summary](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/phone-number-entry-vs-text-input-vs-input-mask-vs-inline-validation-vs-error-summary.md): Use phone number entry when the product needs a callable or textable contact route with telephone keyboard, purpose text, contact-choice recovery, familiar-format tolerance, review, and optional access confirmation; use text input for ordinary short text, input mask only for narrow fixed formats, inline validation for local correction, and error summary for failed submitted forms.
- [Pinned items vs favorites vs recently viewed vs saved view](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/pinned-items-vs-favorites-vs-recently-viewed-vs-saved-view.md): Use pinned items for deliberate stable prominence, favorites for saved preference or affinity, recently viewed for automatic history, and saved view for reusable presentation state.
- [Popover vs menu button vs modal dialog vs sheet](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/popover-vs-menu-button-vs-modal-dialog-vs-sheet.md): Use a popover for small anchored contextual content or light controls, a menu button for command lists, a modal dialog for blocking compact tasks, and a sheet for roomier temporary child tasks.
- [Preference center vs settings management vs notification preferences vs cookie banner](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/preference-center-vs-settings-management-vs-notification-preferences-vs-cookie-banner.md): Use a preference center when users need one persistent place to review and change communication, consent, topic, personalization, language, and data-sharing choices; use settings management for broader product configuration, notification preferences for notification delivery rules, and cookie banner for an initial consent prompt.
- [Presence vs mentions vs notification center vs activity log](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/presence-vs-mentions-vs-notification-center-vs-activity-log.md): Use presence for visible availability and co-attendance signals, mentions for targeted attention inside authored content, notification center for retained inbox triage, and activity log for durable event history.
- [Preview panel vs details panel vs hover card vs drawer](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/preview-panel-vs-details-panel-vs-hover-card-vs-drawer.md): Use a preview panel for durable side-by-side rendered content, details panel for structured selected-object metadata, hover card for transient pre-navigation context, and drawer for a temporary edge surface with its own open and close lifecycle.
- [Privacy settings vs settings management vs preference center vs consent prompt vs permission request vs data export](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/privacy-settings-vs-settings-management-vs-preference-center-vs-consent-prompt-vs-permission-request-vs-data-export.md): Use privacy settings for durable account, product, device, and app-access privacy controls. Settings management is broader product configuration, preference center manages communication and consent preferences, consent prompt asks for a specific optional opt-in, permission request is just-in-time platform access, and data export creates a portable copy.
- [Process list vs step navigation vs in-page anchor navigation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/process-list-vs-step-navigation-vs-in-page-anchor-navigation.md): Use a process list for end-to-end instructional journeys with linked tasks, step navigation for progress inside a linear transaction, and in-page anchor navigation for sections on one long page.
- [Profile setup vs create user profile vs onboarding vs account creation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/profile-setup-vs-create-user-profile-vs-onboarding-vs-account-creation.md): Use profile setup for completing or improving an existing profile, create user profile for first visible identity creation, onboarding for first-use activation, and account creation for persistent credentials and recovery.
- [Progress bar vs loading spinner vs loading skeleton vs step navigation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/progress-bar-vs-loading-spinner-vs-loading-skeleton-vs-step-navigation.md): Use a progress bar when system progress is measurable; use a spinner for a short unknown wait, a skeleton for predictable pending content layout, and step navigation for user-driven task milestones.
- [Progressive disclosure vs disclosure details vs accordion vs wizard](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/progressive-disclosure-vs-disclosure-details-vs-accordion-vs-wizard.md): Use progressive disclosure to stage complexity across a task, disclosure details for one optional in-place explanation, accordion for several related show-hide sections, and wizard for a controlled sequential setup flow.
- [Prompt box vs prompt suggestions vs command palette vs search suggestions vs textarea](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/prompt-box-vs-prompt-suggestions-vs-command-palette-vs-search-suggestions-vs-textarea.md): Use prompt box for the primary editable AI request surface; prompt suggestions for starter requests that load into that surface; command palette for known app commands; search suggestions for retrieval-query formulation; and textarea when the design problem is only multi-line human-authored text input.
- [Prompt suggestions vs search suggestions vs command palette](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/prompt-suggestions-vs-search-suggestions-vs-command-palette.md): Use prompt suggestions to help users form AI requests. Use search suggestions to help users phrase retrieval queries. Use a command palette to execute commands or jump to destinations.
- [Publish workflow vs approval workflow vs review queue vs draft state](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/publish-workflow-vs-approval-workflow-vs-review-queue-vs-draft-state.md): Use publish workflow for moving content or configuration from editable state to a selected live target, approval workflow for routed human decisions, review queue for processing many items, and draft state for unfinished saved work.
- [Pull to refresh vs touch gesture vs feed vs offline state vs loading spinner vs retry](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/pull-to-refresh-vs-touch-gesture-vs-feed-vs-offline-state-vs-loading-spinner-vs-retry.md): Use pull to refresh for the specific top-of-scroll downward drag that refreshes the current data set. Use touch gesture for the broader gesture contract, feed for stream structure, offline state for disconnected behavior, loading spinner for pending operation feedback, and retry for reattempting a known failed refresh.
- [QR scan vs camera capture vs permission request vs file upload vs two-factor authentication vs security warning](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/qr-scan-vs-camera-capture-vs-permission-request-vs-file-upload-vs-two-factor-authentication-vs-security-warning.md): Use QR scan when the task is detecting, decoding, validating, previewing, and acting on a QR payload from a live camera or image. Use camera capture for creating reviewable media, permission request for access rationale, file upload for existing files, two-factor authentication for identity proof or authenticator setup, and security warning for unsafe decoded destinations.
- [Query correction vs search suggestions vs no-results recovery vs autocomplete](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/query-correction-vs-search-suggestions-vs-no-results-recovery-vs-autocomplete.md): Use query correction after a submitted query probably contains typos, search suggestions before submission, no-results recovery when valid criteria return nothing, and autocomplete when the user is choosing a known value.
- [Radio group vs select](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/radio-group-vs-select.md): Use radio groups when users must choose one option from a short meaningful list. Use select when the list is longer or the choice is secondary enough to collapse.
- [Range slider vs slider vs text input vs date range picker](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/range-slider-vs-slider-vs-text-input-vs-date-range-picker.md): Use a range slider for two numeric boundaries on one ordered scale, a slider for one value, text inputs for precise arbitrary endpoints, and a date range picker for calendar boundaries.
- [Reactions vs comments vs mentions vs activity feed](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/reactions-vs-comments-vs-mentions-vs-activity-feed.md): Use reactions for lightweight emoji feedback anchored to an existing item, comments for written discussion, mentions for routing attention to a person or group, and activity feed for catch-up across work events.
- [Recently searched vs search suggestions vs saved search vs recently viewed](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/recently-searched-vs-search-suggestions-vs-saved-search-vs-recently-viewed.md): Use recently searched for passive submitted-query history, search suggestions for query formulation help, saved search for intentional persisted criteria, and recently viewed for opened item history.
- [Recently used vs recently viewed vs favorites vs pinned items](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/recently-used-vs-recently-viewed-vs-favorites-vs-pinned-items.md): Use recently used for automatic return to things the user actually operated, recently viewed for opened-item history, favorites for deliberate saved preference, and pinned items for stable prominence.
- [Recently viewed vs related links vs breadcrumbs](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/recently-viewed-vs-related-links-vs-breadcrumbs.md): Use recently viewed for automatic return to items the user personally opened, related links for curated onward destinations, and breadcrumbs for canonical parent hierarchy.
- [Recommendations vs related links vs recently viewed vs browse by category](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/recommendations-vs-related-links-vs-recently-viewed-vs-browse-by-category.md): Use recommendations when the system ranks suggested items from context, behavior, item similarity, popularity, or model output; related links when editors curate onward destinations from the current page; recently viewed when the list is the user's actual history; and browse by category when users choose from a taxonomy.
- [Recommended next action vs recommendations vs task list vs review queue](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/recommended-next-action-vs-recommendations-vs-task-list-vs-review-queue.md): Use recommended next action for one context-sensitive workflow action, recommendations for ranked discovery suggestions, task list for known required tasks, and review queue for triaging many actionable items.
- [Redo vs undo vs draft state vs command palette](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/redo-vs-undo-vs-draft-state-vs-command-palette.md): Redo reapplies the most recent undone operation while the edit history branch is still valid. Use undo for reversal, draft state for persistent unpublished versions, and command palette for invoking commands rather than defining history semantics.
- [Regenerate / retry vs retry vs chat interface vs streaming response vs prompt box vs editable AI output](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/regenerate-retry-vs-retry-vs-chat-interface-vs-streaming-response-vs-prompt-box-vs-editable-ai-output.md): Use regenerate / retry for response-level AI reruns, new answer versions, same-prompt retry, partial-output continuation, source retry, and tool retry with prompt, context, source, model, and version preservation; retry for non-AI failed operations; chat interface for the whole transcript; streaming response for live partial output; prompt box for request editing before generation; and editable AI output for manually revising generated drafts after creation.
- [Related links vs in-page anchor navigation vs breadcrumbs](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/related-links-vs-in-page-anchor-navigation-vs-breadcrumbs.md): Use related links for curated onward destinations tied to the current content, in-page anchor navigation for sections on the same page, and breadcrumbs for canonical parent hierarchy.
- [Report abuse vs review queue vs comments vs security warning vs permission denied state vs notification center](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/report-abuse-vs-review-queue-vs-comments-vs-security-warning-vs-permission-denied-state-vs-notification-center.md): Use report abuse when a user flags harmful, policy-violating, illegal, spam, impersonation, or disruptive content for safety review with reporter privacy; use review queue for the moderator worklist that receives reports, comments for the ordinary discussion surface, security warning for detected unsafe destinations, permission denied state for authorization boundaries, and notification center for updates about submitted reports.
- [Required field hidden by conditional logic vs conditional reveal fields vs dependent fields vs error summary vs single-page form vs review before submit](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/required-field-hidden-by-conditional-logic-vs-conditional-reveal-fields-vs-dependent-fields-vs-error-summary-vs-single-page-form-vs-review-before-submit.md): Flag hidden required fields when validation can require an unreachable conditional answer; use conditional reveal for visible trigger-owned follow-ups, dependent fields for upstream-controlled validity, error summary for submit recovery, single-page form for short visible field sets, and review before submit for final branch resolution.
- [Responsive navigation adaptation vs global navigation vs bottom navigation vs navigation drawer vs side navigation vs header](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/responsive-navigation-adaptation-vs-global-navigation-vs-bottom-navigation-vs-navigation-drawer-vs-side-navigation-vs-header.md): Use responsive navigation adaptation when the same navigation model must change presentation across compact, medium, expanded, and dense destination states without changing information architecture or losing current state. Use the individual navigation patterns when the problem is a specific fixed surface: global destinations, bottom mobile destinations, drawer overflow, local side hierarchy, or current-view header actions.
- [Restore from trash vs undo vs destructive action confirmation vs draft state](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/restore-from-trash-vs-undo-vs-destructive-action-confirmation-vs-draft-state.md): Use restore from trash when deleted objects remain recoverable in a durable deleted-items location after the immediate action window has passed.
- [Retry vs error state vs loading spinner vs offline state](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/retry-vs-error-state-vs-loading-spinner-vs-offline-state.md): Retry is the action contract for safely attempting the same failed operation again. Error state owns the persistent failure surface, loading spinner represents active pending work before success or failure is known, and offline state explains connectivity mode plus local or queued work.
- [Review before submit vs multi-step form vs complete complex form vs error summary](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/review-before-submit-vs-multi-step-form-vs-complete-complex-form-vs-error-summary.md): Use review before submit when users need one final, editable check of captured answers before the irreversible submit action; use multi-step form for the journey, complete complex form for editable sectioned settings, and error summary for validation recovery.
- [Review queue vs approval workflow vs saved filter vs activity log](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/review-queue-vs-approval-workflow-vs-saved-filter-vs-activity-log.md): Use review queue for actively triaging many items that need human review, approval workflow for routing one submitted request through decision gates, saved filter for reusable list criteria, and activity log for historical events after work changes.
- [Saved filter vs filter panel vs saved search vs filter chips](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/saved-filter-vs-filter-panel-vs-saved-search-vs-filter-chips.md): Use saved filter when users need a named reusable set of filter values, filter panel for building current criteria, saved search for a full rerunnable search definition, and filter chips for compact applied-filter display and removal.
- [Saved search vs basic search vs filter panel vs recently viewed](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/saved-search-vs-basic-search-vs-filter-panel-vs-recently-viewed.md): Use saved search when users need to persist and rerun named search criteria, basic search for one-off retrieval, filter panels for current-session narrowing, and recently viewed for passive history.
- [Saved view vs saved search vs saved filter vs table](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/saved-view-vs-saved-search-vs-saved-filter-vs-table.md): Use saved view when users persist a named presentation of a dataset, saved search for reusable query criteria, saved filter for reusable filter values, and table for the current row-and-column display itself.
- [Scheduling vs booking vs calendar view vs date picker](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/scheduling-vs-booking-vs-calendar-view-vs-date-picker.md): Use scheduling for arranging a time plan with attendees, availability, recurrence, reminders, and conflicts; booking for reserving a service/resource slot; calendar view for inspecting scheduled items; and date picker for choosing a single date field.
- [Scope clarification vs prompt box vs search scope selector vs agent plan preview vs human approval gate vs chat interface](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/scope-clarification-vs-prompt-box-vs-search-scope-selector-vs-agent-plan-preview-vs-human-approval-gate-vs-chat-interface.md): Use scope clarification when an AI task needs a missing boundary before answering, planning, retrieving, or acting; prompt box for composing the original request; search scope selector for choosing where a query searches; agent plan preview for reviewing a generated multi-step plan; human approval gate for authorizing an armed runtime step; and chat interface for the whole conversational surface.
- [Search history vs recently searched vs saved search vs recently viewed](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/search-history-vs-recently-searched-vs-saved-search-vs-recently-viewed.md): Use search history for account-level search activity management, recently searched for quick inline query recall, saved search for intentional stored criteria, and recently viewed for opened objects.
- [Search result highlighting vs basic search vs search suggestions vs no-results recovery](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/search-result-highlighting-vs-basic-search-vs-search-suggestions-vs-no-results-recovery.md): Use search result highlighting to explain why returned results matched, basic search to retrieve the result set, search suggestions to help form a query before submission, and no-results recovery after a query finds nothing.
- [Search scope selector vs basic search vs filter panel vs tabs](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/search-scope-selector-vs-basic-search-vs-filter-panel-vs-tabs.md): Use search scope selector when users must choose the corpus to search, basic search for the query input and result retrieval, filter panel for narrowing returned results by attributes, and tabs for switching visible sections or result-type views.
- [Search suggestions vs autocomplete](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/search-suggestions-vs-autocomplete.md): Use search suggestions to guide query formulation. Use autocomplete when the user must complete or choose a known value.
- [Security warning vs warning text vs alert vs permission denied state vs sensitive-data reveal](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/security-warning-vs-warning-text-vs-alert-vs-permission-denied-state-vs-sensitive-data-reveal.md): Use security warning when a detected security-risk signal should stop unsafe navigation, download, submission, preview, or account action; use warning text for known severe consequences before product actions, alert for urgent current-task status, permission denied state for authorization boundaries, and sensitive-data reveal for controlled exposure of already-held private values.
- [Sensitive-data reveal vs password input vs input mask vs typed confirmation vs permission request](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/sensitive-data-reveal-vs-password-input-vs-input-mask-vs-typed-confirmation-vs-permission-request.md): Use sensitive-data reveal when a normally masked stored, generated, or displayed sensitive value needs controlled temporary exposure; use password input for entering an authentication secret, input mask for formatting structured entry, typed confirmation for visible target verification before a risky action, and permission request for OS or browser device-resource access.
- [Service navigation vs global navigation vs side navigation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/service-navigation-vs-global-navigation-vs-side-navigation.md): Use service navigation for one named service and its top-level service tasks, global navigation for whole-product or whole-site destinations, and side navigation for a local hierarchy inside one section.
- [Service unavailable page vs error state vs offline state vs site alert](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/service-unavailable-page-vs-error-state-vs-offline-state-vs-site-alert.md): Use a service unavailable page when the whole service, route, or transaction entry point is closed or cannot handle requests; use error state for a scoped failed operation, offline state for client connectivity loss, and site alert for a notice before or around an outage while the service may still be reachable.
- [Session timeout vs session timeout warning vs sign in vs permission denied state vs autosave recovery](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/session-timeout-vs-session-timeout-warning-vs-sign-in-vs-permission-denied-state-vs-autosave-recovery.md): Session timeout handles the already-expired authenticated-session state. Session timeout warning intervenes before expiry, sign in starts or resumes authentication, permission denied handles authorization after authentication, and autosave recovery protects uncertain saved work.
- [Session timeout warning vs exit warning vs autosave form vs permission denied state](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/session-timeout-warning-vs-exit-warning-vs-autosave-form-vs-permission-denied-state.md): Session timeout warning protects users before an inactivity or authentication boundary ends the session. Exit warning protects attempted departure, autosave form preserves progress in the background, and permission denied state handles an authorization boundary after access is evaluated.
- [Settings management vs complete complex form vs toggle switch vs progressive disclosure](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/settings-management-vs-complete-complex-form-vs-toggle-switch-vs-progressive-disclosure.md): Use settings management for durable user or app configuration, complete complex form for one large dependency-checked edit surface, toggle switch for one immediate binary setting, and progressive disclosure for optional complexity inside another task.
- [Settings page vs settings management vs side navigation vs tabs](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/settings-page-vs-settings-management-vs-side-navigation-vs-tabs.md): Use a settings page when the design problem is the durable page shell, section map, entry route, and responsive layout for settings; use settings management for the value-change contract, side navigation for broad app navigation, and tabs for peer views within one local setting area.
- [Share dialog vs invite user vs object picker vs modal dialog](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/share-dialog-vs-invite-user-vs-object-picker-vs-modal-dialog.md): Use share dialog for granting or distributing access to one object through people, groups, links, roles, and delivery choices; invite user for bringing someone into a workspace or organization; object picker for selecting existing entities; and modal dialog for the container behavior only.
- [Sheet vs drawer vs modal dialog vs alert dialog](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/sheet-vs-drawer-vs-modal-dialog-vs-alert-dialog.md): Use a sheet for a context-bound temporary task surface with adaptive size or edge placement, a drawer for supplemental page-adjacent detail, a modal dialog for compact blocking tasks, and an alert dialog for urgent required responses.
- [Side navigation vs global navigation vs tabs](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/side-navigation-vs-global-navigation-vs-tabs.md): Use side navigation for local section hierarchy, global navigation for product-wide destinations, and tabs for a small set of sibling panels inside one view.
- [Sign in vs account creation vs password input vs session timeout warning](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/sign-in-vs-account-creation-vs-password-input-vs-session-timeout-warning.md): Use sign in for returning access to an existing account, account creation for establishing a new persistent account, password input for the secret-entry control inside a flow, and session timeout warning for an authenticated session that is expiring or requires reauthentication.
- [Single-page form vs single-question page vs error summary vs text input](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/single-page-form-vs-single-question-page-vs-error-summary-vs-text-input.md): Use a single-page form when a short related set of fields should be scanned, edited, validated, and submitted together on one route.
- [Single-question page vs text input vs textarea vs error summary](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/single-question-page-vs-text-input-vs-textarea-vs-error-summary.md): Use a single-question page to structure one decision or answer per screen, text input or textarea for the field itself, and error summary for recovery after submission errors.
- [Site alert vs banner vs notification banner vs alert](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/site-alert-vs-banner-vs-notification-banner-vs-alert.md): Use a site alert for urgent public or servicewide information across every page; use banner for scoped interface-wide messages, notification banner for a before-H1 page-flow notice, and alert for urgent current-task status.
- [Skip link vs in-page anchor navigation vs back link](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/skip-link-vs-in-page-anchor-navigation-vs-back-link.md): Use skip links to bypass repeated page chrome, in-page anchor navigation to jump among current-page sections, and back links to return one step in a transaction.
- [Slider vs text input vs select vs toggle switch](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/slider-vs-text-input-vs-select-vs-toggle-switch.md): Use a slider for one adjustable value along a bounded range when relative position matters; use text input for precise numeric entry, select for a short fixed set, and toggle switch for binary on/off settings.
- [Sort controls vs filter chips vs filter panel vs pagination](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/sort-controls-vs-filter-chips-vs-filter-panel-vs-pagination.md): Use sort controls to change the order of the current result set, filter chips or panels to change which items are included, and pagination to move through slices of the same ordered set.
- [Source grounding display vs citation display vs chat interface vs streaming response vs related links](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/source-grounding-display-vs-citation-display-vs-chat-interface-vs-streaming-response-vs-related-links.md): Use source grounding display for whole-answer evidence coverage across sources, retrieved material, used evidence, unsupported claims, and source scope; citation display for inspecting one claim-level source; chat interface for the conversation transcript; streaming response for partial generated output; and related links for onward navigation.
- [Spinbutton vs slider vs text input vs select](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/spinbutton-vs-slider-vs-text-input-vs-select.md): Use a spinbutton for a small incrementable numeric value where users may click or press keys by one step; use a slider for relative position, text input for exact arbitrary entry, and select for named finite choices.
- [Start page vs onboarding vs browse by category vs step navigation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/start-page-vs-onboarding-vs-browse-by-category-vs-step-navigation.md): Use a start page for a single service or task entry point, onboarding for first-use activation, browse by category for exploring a taxonomy, and step navigation for ordered journeys across multiple tasks or guidance pages.
- [Step navigation vs back link vs pagination](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/step-navigation-vs-back-link-vs-pagination.md): Use step navigation to show progress through a known multistep task, a Back link to return one transaction step, and pagination to traverse ordered slices of one collection.
- [Step progress vs step navigation vs progress bar vs meter](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/step-progress-vs-step-navigation-vs-progress-bar-vs-meter.md): Use step progress when users need a live status readout of step completion inside a workflow; use step navigation for moving through pages, progress bar for measurable system work, and meter for a read-only bounded scalar value.
- [Streaming response vs chat interface vs progress bar vs loading spinner vs feed](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/streaming-response-vs-chat-interface-vs-progress-bar-vs-loading-spinner-vs-feed.md): Use streaming response for rendering partial generated output as events arrive; chat interface for the whole multi-turn conversation surface; progress bar for measurable operation completion; loading spinner for short indeterminate waits; and feed for chronological browsing of finished items or activity.
- [Success confirmation vs toast notification vs notification banner vs alert](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/success-confirmation-vs-toast-notification-vs-notification-banner-vs-alert.md): Use success confirmation when users need durable in-context proof that a just-finished action succeeded; use toast for disposable feedback, notification banner for previous-page outcomes before an H1, and alert for urgent task status.
- [Summary box vs alert vs warning text vs disclosure details](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/summary-box-vs-alert-vs-warning-text-vs-disclosure-details.md): Use summary box for key facts or next steps extracted from a longer page, alert for urgent current-task status, warning text for severe consequence copy before action, and disclosure details for optional hidden explanation.
- [Swipe action vs touch gesture vs list view vs action menu vs undo vs confirmation dialog](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/swipe-action-vs-touch-gesture-vs-list-view-vs-action-menu-vs-undo-vs-confirmation-dialog.md): Use swipe action for the specific horizontal row gesture that reveals or commits item-level actions. Use touch gesture for the broader gesture contract, list view for row structure, action menu for explicit command access, undo for post-action recovery, and confirmation dialog for informed pre-action decisions.
- [Sync state vs offline state vs progress bar vs error state](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/sync-state-vs-offline-state-vs-progress-bar-vs-error-state.md): Use sync state when local and server copies are reconciling; use offline state for no-connection mode, progress bar for measurable transfer or processing, and error state for confirmed failures that need persistent recovery.
- [Table vs sort controls vs filter panel vs pagination](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/table-vs-sort-controls-vs-filter-panel-vs-pagination.md): Use a table to present comparable records across columns; use sort controls to reorder those records, filter panel to narrow which records appear, and pagination to split a long ordered table into stable pages.
- [Tabs vs segmented control vs pagination](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/tabs-vs-segmented-control-vs-pagination.md): Use tabs for sibling content panels in one page context, segmented controls for local mode or presentation choices, and pagination for moving through one ordered collection split across pages.
- [Tag vs filter chips vs chip selection vs inline message](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/tag-vs-filter-chips-vs-chip-selection-vs-inline-message.md): Use tag for compact static category or status labels, filter chips for active removable filters, chip selection for choosing values, and inline message for contextual feedback that needs sentence-level explanation or action.
- [Task list vs complete multiple tasks vs step navigation vs process list](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/task-list-vs-complete-multiple-tasks-vs-step-navigation-vs-process-list.md): Use task list for the component-level rows, links, hints, and statuses that show task completion; complete multiple tasks for the saved transaction hub; step navigation for an ordered in-flow sequence; and process list for public journey guidance.
- [Text input vs autocomplete vs select vs radio group](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/text-input-vs-autocomplete-vs-select-vs-radio-group.md): Use text input for short freeform answers, autocomplete for known values that benefit from typing, select for compact single choice from a finite list, and radio group for short visible mutually exclusive choices.
- [Textarea vs text input vs inline validation vs error summary](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/textarea-vs-text-input-vs-inline-validation-vs-error-summary.md): Use textarea for multi-line freeform writing, text input for short one-line answers, inline validation for field-level feedback, and error summary for page-level navigation to errors.
- [Threaded discussion vs comments vs feed vs notification center](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/threaded-discussion-vs-comments-vs-feed-vs-notification-center.md): Use threaded discussion for a topic-centered conversation with reply branches and participation state, comments for object-attached notes, feed for stream consumption, and notification center for cross-object inbox triage.
- [Time picker vs text input vs select vs input mask](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/time-picker-vs-text-input-vs-select-vs-input-mask.md): Use a time picker when users choose a specific clock time from meaningful increments; use text input for unusual or approximate times, select for a few fixed slots, and input mask only for rigid machine-readable time strings.
- [Timeline vs feed vs process list vs step navigation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/timeline-vs-feed-vs-process-list-vs-step-navigation.md): Use timeline for a bounded chronological record of events; use feed for a dynamic stream, process list for end-to-end journey guidance, and step navigation for current transaction progress.
- [Toast notification vs toast-only critical error vs error state vs undo](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/toast-notification-vs-toast-only-critical-error-vs-error-state-vs-undo.md): Use a toast notification for brief non-blocking feedback; use error state for recoverable failures, undo for reversible completed actions, and treat toast-only critical errors as a failure of persistence and recovery.
- [Toast-only critical error vs error state](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/toast-only-critical-error-vs-error-state.md): Use an error state for blocking or high-consequence failures; treat toast-only critical feedback as an anti-pattern unless a persistent recovery surface remains available.
- [Toast-only success for completed transaction vs confirmation page vs success confirmation vs toast notification](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/toast-only-success-for-completed-transaction-vs-confirmation-page-vs-success-confirmation-vs-toast-notification.md): Flag toast-only success for completed transaction when a committed application, booking, payment, order, account change, or submitted response is confirmed only by a disappearing toast. Use confirmation page for final journey endpoints, success confirmation for durable in-context proof, and toast notification only as optional low-risk or supplemental feedback.
- [Toggle switch vs checkbox group vs radio group vs segmented control](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/toggle-switch-vs-checkbox-group-vs-radio-group-vs-segmented-control.md): Use a toggle switch for one immediate reversible on/off setting, a checkbox group for independent submitted choices, a radio group for one visible form answer, and a segmented control for a compact local mode or view.
- [Tool-use visibility vs agent progress trace vs source grounding display vs citation display vs activity log vs human approval gate](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/tool-use-visibility-vs-agent-progress-trace-vs-source-grounding-display-vs-citation-display-vs-activity-log-vs-human-approval-gate.md): Use tool-use visibility for inspectable AI tool calls, inputs, outputs, permissions, redaction, and side effects; agent progress trace for run-level step progress; source grounding display for whole-answer evidence coverage; citation display for claim-level sources; activity log for retained event evidence; and human approval gate for a paused authorization decision.
- [Toolbar vs button group vs menu button vs command palette](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/toolbar-vs-button-group-vs-menu-button-vs-command-palette.md): Use a toolbar for a persistent view-scoped command strip with compact controls and composite keyboard behavior, a button group for a few visible peer actions at one task moment, a menu button for hidden local secondary actions, and a command palette for searchable product-wide command execution.
- [Tooltip vs popover vs inline message vs icon-only ambiguous action](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/tooltip-vs-popover-vs-inline-message-vs-icon-only-ambiguous-action.md): Use a tooltip for short noninteractive supplemental descriptions on focus or hover, a popover for small anchored controls or richer context, an inline message for persistent important guidance, and labelled controls instead of relying on mystery icons.
- [Tooltip-only required information vs tooltip vs inline message vs disclosure details vs popover](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/tooltip-only-required-information-vs-tooltip-vs-inline-message-vs-disclosure-details-vs-popover.md): Flag tooltip-only required information when instructions, eligibility, limits, formatting rules, legal consequences, or recovery steps needed to complete a task exist only inside a temporary hover or focus bubble. Use tooltip only for short supplemental descriptions, inline message for persistent task guidance, disclosure details for optional in-place help, and popover for intentionally opened anchored content.
- [Touch gesture vs carousel vs map view vs bottom sheet vs drag-and-drop upload vs data visualization](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/touch-gesture-vs-carousel-vs-map-view-vs-bottom-sheet-vs-drag-and-drop-upload-vs-data-visualization.md): Use touch gesture for the general touchscreen interaction contract: gesture vocabulary, thresholds, feedback, cancellation, target sizing, and equivalent controls. Use carousel, map view, bottom sheet, drag-and-drop upload, and data visualization when gesture behavior is only one part of a more specific content or component pattern.
- [Transfer list vs multi-select vs listbox vs checkbox group](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/transfer-list-vs-multi-select-vs-listbox-vs-checkbox-group.md): Use a transfer list when users must move items between two visible sets and review the destination set, multi-select for compact long-list picking, listbox for one visible selectable list, and checkbox group for short independent choices.
- [Tree grid vs data grid vs tree selection vs table](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/tree-grid-vs-data-grid-vs-tree-selection-vs-table.md): Use a tree grid when hierarchical rows need tabular columns and grid interaction; use data grid for flat interactive rows, tree selection for hierarchical choice, and table for read-only comparison.
- [Tree selection vs listbox vs checkbox group vs transfer list](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/tree-selection-vs-listbox-vs-checkbox-group-vs-transfer-list.md): Use tree selection when users select one or more items from a hierarchy with expandable branches; use listbox for one visible flat option list, checkbox group for a short flat set, and transfer list when items move between source and destination panes.
- [Two-factor authentication vs sign in vs login vs password reset](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/two-factor-authentication-vs-sign-in-vs-login-vs-password-reset.md): Use two-factor authentication for the additional-factor challenge, recovery, trusted-device, and factor-management states; use sign in for the broader returning-access journey, login for submitted credential outcomes, and password reset for replacing a forgotten password through a recovery artifact.
- [Typeahead vs autocomplete vs search suggestions vs basic search](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/typeahead-vs-autocomplete-vs-search-suggestions-vs-basic-search.md): Use typeahead for live as-you-type result lookup, autocomplete for choosing a known value, search suggestions for query wording help, and basic search for explicit submit-and-results retrieval.
- [Typed confirmation vs destructive action confirmation vs confirmation dialog vs password input](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/typed-confirmation-vs-destructive-action-confirmation-vs-confirmation-dialog-vs-password-input.md): Use typed confirmation when severe scope requires the user to reproduce an exact target phrase before commit; use destructive action confirmation for named destructive review without typing, confirmation dialog for other high-consequence choices, and password input for secrets used to authenticate.
- [Undo vs confirmation dialog](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/undo-vs-confirmation-dialog.md): Undo keeps routine reversible actions fast after they happen. A confirmation dialog blocks the action beforehand when the consequence is high and recovery is weak or impossible.
- [Unsaved changes prompt vs exit warning vs autosave form vs confirmation dialog](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/unsaved-changes-prompt-vs-exit-warning-vs-autosave-form-vs-confirmation-dialog.md): Use an unsaved changes prompt for a focused dirty-editor decision before close, cancel, switch, or replacement. Use exit warning for broader departure, autosave form for background persistence, and confirmation dialog for an explicit consequential command.
- [User-controlled density vs settings management vs data grid vs saved view](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/user-controlled-density-vs-settings-management-vs-data-grid-vs-saved-view.md): Use user-controlled density when users choose how compact a surface appears; settings management when users need a durable configuration hub; data grid when rows and columns need managed interaction; and saved view when users save filters, columns, sorting, or grouping as a reusable data view.
- [User-controlled layout vs custom dashboard vs dashboard layout vs saved view vs window splitter](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/user-controlled-layout-vs-custom-dashboard-vs-dashboard-layout-vs-saved-view-vs-window-splitter.md): Use user-controlled layout when users adjust the arrangement, visibility, or relative placement of panes inside an active workspace; custom dashboard when users compose persisted widget dashboards; dashboard layout when the product defines a monitoring page; saved view when one data surface's presentation is stored; and window splitter when the control is specifically an accessible pane-resizing separator.
- [Utility navigation vs global navigation vs service navigation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/utility-navigation-vs-global-navigation-vs-service-navigation.md): Use utility navigation for persistent support, account, search, notification, language, switcher, or session controls; use global navigation for top-level product movement; use service navigation for named service sections.
- [Validation that clears user input vs inline validation vs error summary vs single-page form vs autosave recovery vs error state](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/validation-that-clears-user-input-vs-inline-validation-vs-error-summary-vs-single-page-form-vs-autosave-recovery-vs-error-state.md): Flag validation that clears input when failed validation or recovery destroys safe user-entered values; use inline validation for local correction, error summary for submit recovery, single-page form for preserving related fields, autosave recovery for failed background saves, and error state for broader system failures.
- [Version history vs activity log vs timeline vs undo](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/version-history-vs-activity-log-vs-timeline-vs-undo.md): Use version history when users need durable snapshots of a document, file, page, or object with current version context, previous version preview, compare, named version, and restore behavior; use activity log for investigative event evidence, timeline for readable chronological milestones, and undo for short recovery from a recent action.
- [Voice command vs keyboard shortcut vs command palette vs prompt box vs text input vs touch gesture](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/voice-command-vs-keyboard-shortcut-vs-command-palette-vs-prompt-box-vs-text-input-vs-touch-gesture.md): Use voice command when the user speaks a bounded command phrase or dictation instruction that the product recognizes, confirms, disambiguates, and executes. Use keyboard shortcut for key chords, command palette for searchable command browsing, prompt box for AI request composition, text input for ordinary typed values, and touch gesture for pointer or touch movement.
- [Warning text vs alert vs inline message vs error summary](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/warning-text-vs-alert-vs-inline-message-vs-error-summary.md): Use warning text for a concise severe-consequence warning tied to an instruction or action; use alert for urgent current-task status, inline message for local object feedback, and error summary for submitted-form recovery.
- [Wearable glance vs notification center vs summary box vs dashboard layout vs progress bar vs notification preferences](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/wearable-glance-vs-notification-center-vs-summary-box-vs-dashboard-layout-vs-progress-bar-vs-notification-preferences.md): Use wearable glance when a watch, band, or small wearable surface needs a few-second status tile, complication, or widget that answers one immediate question and hands off deeper work. Use notification center for durable event history, summary box for in-page summaries, dashboard layout for multi-metric workspaces, progress bar for measurable duration, and notification preferences for durable delivery controls.
- [Window splitter vs details panel vs drawer vs side navigation](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/window-splitter-vs-details-panel-vs-drawer-vs-side-navigation.md): Use a window splitter when users need to resize adjacent panes in a durable workspace, a details panel for selected-object inspection, a drawer for temporary edge detail or actions, and side navigation for persistent local destination hierarchy.
- [Wizard vs multi-step form vs step navigation vs process list](https://uxpatternsguide.com/agent/comparisons/wizard-vs-multi-step-form-vs-step-navigation-vs-process-list.md): Use a wizard when a product must guide users through a tightly controlled setup or creation assistant with sequential dependencies, local validation, review, cancel, and finish behavior.