Material Design: Snackbars
Documents snackbars as brief messages that can include an action such as Undo so users can amend recent choices.
What this source can teach
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Pattern Decisions This Source Supports
| Pattern | Supported decision | Required contract | Claim note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Confirmation fatigue | Flag this anti-pattern when low-risk, reversible, or high-frequency actions repeatedly open modal confirmations. | Each confirmation must have a documented risk, consequence, and reason it is better than undo, prevention, warning text, review, or clearer command placement. | Material snackbar guidance supports post-action feedback with an Undo action as a less interruptive alternative. |
| Fake undo | Flag this anti-pattern when an Undo control does not restore the exact object, value, order, relationship, permission, selection, and visible status it claims to reverse. | The system captures reversible state before applying the action, not after users request undo. | Material snackbar guidance supports the toast-action boundary where Undo must be a truthful recovery action. |
| Toast notification | Choose a toast for short non-blocking confirmation, progress handoff, background-job status, or low-risk warning that does not require users to stop the current task. | A toast appears because a specific action or system event occurred, not as the only visible structure for the task itself. | Material describes snackbars as brief temporary feedback about app processes that should not interrupt the user experience and may include one action. |
| Undo | Choose undo when the product can restore the exact prior state without data loss or unrecoverable side effects. | The undo affordance appears after the action completes and names what will be restored. | Material snackbar guidance includes undo actions for amending recent choices after the action completes. |
Comparisons supported by this source
- Confirmation fatigue vs confirmation dialog vs destructive action confirmation vs undo vs warning text vs dangerous-action review
Material snackbar guidance supports post-action feedback and undo for recent choices.
- Fake undo vs undo vs toast notification vs restore from trash vs destructive action confirmation vs autosave recovery
Material snackbar guidance supports transient actions such as Undo when the action can be operated truthfully.
- Icon-only ambiguous action vs confirmation dialog vs undo
Material Design snackbar guidance supports undo as recovery for recent completed choices.
- Toast notification vs toast-only critical error vs error state vs undo
Material describes snackbars as temporary non-interruptive process feedback that can include one action.
- Undo vs confirmation dialog
Material snackbar guidance includes undo actions for amending recent choices after completion.
Evidence Role
This source is treated as pattern-library evidence. Its value comes from the specific claims and setting described above.
Publisher: Google Material Design. Last checked: .