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Menus provide organized navigation and command access in your application. Dear ImGui supports menu bars, popup menus, and context menus.

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Window Menu Bar

Add a menu bar to the current window: 
IMGUI_API bool BeginMenuBar();
IMGUI_API void EndMenuBar();
Requires ImGuiWindowFlags_MenuBar flag set on the parent window.
ImGui::Begin("Window", NULL, ImGuiWindowFlags_MenuBar);

if (ImGui::BeginMenuBar()) {
    if (ImGui::BeginMenu("File")) {
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("New")) { /* action */ }
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Open", "Ctrl+O")) { /* action */ }
        ImGui::EndMenu();
    }
    if (ImGui::BeginMenu("Edit")) {
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Undo", "Ctrl+Z")) { /* action */ }
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Redo", "Ctrl+Y")) { /* action */ }
        ImGui::EndMenu();
    }
    ImGui::EndMenuBar();
}

ImGui::End();
Create a full-screen menu bar at the top: 
IMGUI_API bool BeginMainMenuBar();
IMGUI_API void EndMainMenuBar();

if (ImGui::BeginMainMenuBar()) {
    if (ImGui::BeginMenu("File")) {
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("New")) { }
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Open", "Ctrl+O")) { }
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Save", "Ctrl+S")) { }
        ImGui::Separator();
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Quit", "Alt+F4")) { }
        ImGui::EndMenu();
    }
    if (ImGui::BeginMenu("Edit")) {
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Undo", "Ctrl+Z")) { }
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Redo", "Ctrl+Y", false, false)) { }  // Disabled
        ImGui::EndMenu();
    }
    ImGui::EndMainMenuBar();
}

​
BeginMenu() / EndMenu()

Create a sub-menu: 
IMGUI_API bool BeginMenu(const char* label, bool enabled = true);
IMGUI_API void EndMenu();
​
label
const char*
required
Menu label
​
enabled
bool
default:"true"
Whether the menu can be opened
if (ImGui::BeginMenu("File")) {
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("New")) { }
    
    if (ImGui::BeginMenu("Open Recent")) {
        ImGui::MenuItem("file1.txt");
        ImGui::MenuItem("file2.txt");
        ImGui::MenuItem("file3.txt");
        ImGui::EndMenu();
    }
    
    ImGui::Separator();
    
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Quit")) { }
    
    ImGui::EndMenu();
}
Create a clickable menu item: 
IMGUI_API bool MenuItem(const char* label, const char* shortcut = NULL,
                        bool selected = false, bool enabled = true);
IMGUI_API bool MenuItem(const char* label, const char* shortcut,
                        bool* p_selected, bool enabled = true);
​
label
const char*
required
Menu item label
​
shortcut
const char*
Keyboard shortcut text (for display only, not processed)
​
selected
bool
Display a checkmark if true
​
enabled
bool
default:"true"
Whether the item can be clicked
if (ImGui::MenuItem("New")) {
    CreateNewFile();
}

if (ImGui::MenuItem("Open", "Ctrl+O")) {
    OpenFileDialog();
}

if (ImGui::MenuItem("Save", "Ctrl+S")) {
    SaveFile();
}

​
Nested Menus

Create hierarchical menu structures: 
if (ImGui::BeginMenu("File")) {
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("New")) { }
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Open", "Ctrl+O")) { }
    
    if (ImGui::BeginMenu("Open Recent")) {
        ImGui::MenuItem("project1.dat");
        ImGui::MenuItem("project2.dat");
        
        if (ImGui::BeginMenu("More..")) {
            ImGui::MenuItem("project3.dat");
            ImGui::MenuItem("project4.dat");
            ImGui::EndMenu();
        }
        ImGui::EndMenu();
    }
    
    ImGui::Separator();
    
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Quit", "Alt+F4")) { }
    
    ImGui::EndMenu();
}
Add visual separators between menu items: 
if (ImGui::BeginMenu("File")) {
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("New")) { }
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Open")) { }
    
    ImGui::Separator();
    
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Save")) { }
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Save As")) { }
    
    ImGui::Separator();
    
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Quit")) { }
    
    ImGui::EndMenu();
}

​
Context Menus

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BeginPopupContextItem()

Context menu for the last item: 
IMGUI_API bool BeginPopupContextItem(const char* str_id = NULL, ImGuiPopupFlags popup_flags = 0);

ImGui::Text("Right-click me");
if (ImGui::BeginPopupContextItem()) {
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Copy")) { }
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Paste")) { }
    ImGui::EndPopup();
}

​
BeginPopupContextWindow()

Context menu for the current window: 
IMGUI_API bool BeginPopupContextWindow(const char* str_id = NULL, ImGuiPopupFlags popup_flags = 0);

if (ImGui::BeginPopupContextWindow()) {
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Close")) { }
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Minimize")) { }
    ImGui::EndPopup();
}

​
BeginPopupContextVoid()

Context menu when clicking in empty space: 
IMGUI_API bool BeginPopupContextVoid(const char* str_id = NULL, ImGuiPopupFlags popup_flags = 0);

if (ImGui::BeginPopupContextVoid()) {
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("New Window")) { }
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Settings")) { }
    ImGui::EndPopup();
}

​
Complex Menu Contents

Menus can contain any widgets: 
if (ImGui::BeginMenu("Options")) {
    static bool enabled = true;
    ImGui::MenuItem("Enabled", "", &enabled);
    
    // Child window for scrollable content
    ImGui::BeginChild("child", ImVec2(0, 60), ImGuiChildFlags_Borders);
    for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
        ImGui::Text("Scrolling Text %d", i);
    ImGui::EndChild();
    
    static float f = 0.5f;
    ImGui::SliderFloat("Value", &f, 0.0f, 1.0f);
    
    static int n = 0;
    ImGui::Combo("Combo", &n, "Yes\0No\0Maybe\0\0");
    
    ImGui::EndMenu();
}
Display color swatches in menus: 
if (ImGui::BeginMenu("Colors")) {
    float sz = ImGui::GetTextLineHeight();
    
    for (int i = 0; i < ImGuiCol_COUNT; i++) {
        const char* name = ImGui::GetStyleColorName((ImGuiCol)i);
        ImVec2 p = ImGui::GetCursorScreenPos();
        
        // Draw color swatch
        ImGui::GetWindowDrawList()->AddRectFilled(p, 
            ImVec2(p.x + sz, p.y + sz), 
            ImGui::GetColorU32((ImGuiCol)i));
        
        ImGui::Dummy(ImVec2(sz, sz));
        ImGui::SameLine();
        ImGui::MenuItem(name);
    }
    ImGui::EndMenu();
}

​
Appending to Existing Menus

You can append to menus multiple times: 
// First definition
if (ImGui::BeginMenu("Options")) {
    ImGui::MenuItem("Option A");
    ImGui::MenuItem("Option B");
    ImGui::EndMenu();
}

// Later in code - append more items
if (ImGui::BeginMenu("Options")) {
    ImGui::MenuItem("Option C");
    ImGui::MenuItem("Option D");
    ImGui::EndMenu();
}

​
Complete Example

void ShowMenuDemo() {
    // Main menu bar
    if (ImGui::BeginMainMenuBar()) {
        if (ImGui::BeginMenu("File")) {
            if (ImGui::MenuItem("New", "Ctrl+N")) {
                // Create new file
            }
            if (ImGui::MenuItem("Open", "Ctrl+O")) {
                // Open file dialog
            }
            
            if (ImGui::BeginMenu("Open Recent")) {
                ImGui::MenuItem("document1.txt");
                ImGui::MenuItem("document2.txt");
                ImGui::MenuItem("document3.txt");
                ImGui::EndMenu();
            }
            
            ImGui::Separator();
            
            if (ImGui::MenuItem("Save", "Ctrl+S")) {
                // Save file
            }
            if (ImGui::MenuItem("Save As..")) {
                // Save as dialog
            }
            
            ImGui::Separator();
            
            if (ImGui::MenuItem("Quit", "Alt+F4")) {
                // Quit application
            }
            
            ImGui::EndMenu();
        }
        
        if (ImGui::BeginMenu("Edit")) {
            if (ImGui::MenuItem("Undo", "Ctrl+Z")) { }
            if (ImGui::MenuItem("Redo", "Ctrl+Y")) { }
            
            ImGui::Separator();
            
            if (ImGui::MenuItem("Cut", "Ctrl+X")) { }
            if (ImGui::MenuItem("Copy", "Ctrl+C")) { }
            if (ImGui::MenuItem("Paste", "Ctrl+V")) { }
            
            ImGui::EndMenu();
        }
        
        if (ImGui::BeginMenu("View")) {
            static bool show_grid = true;
            static bool show_ruler = false;
            
            ImGui::MenuItem("Show Grid", NULL, &show_grid);
            ImGui::MenuItem("Show Ruler", NULL, &show_ruler);
            
            ImGui::EndMenu();
        }
        
        ImGui::EndMainMenuBar();
    }
    
    // Window with context menu
    ImGui::Begin("Window with Context Menu");
    
    ImGui::Text("Right-click on me!");
    if (ImGui::BeginPopupContextItem()) {
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Action 1")) { }
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Action 2")) { }
        ImGui::Separator();
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Close")) { }
        ImGui::EndPopup();
    }
    
    // Context menu for empty space
    if (ImGui::BeginPopupContextWindow()) {
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Clear")) { }
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Reset")) { }
        ImGui::EndPopup();
    }
    
    ImGui::End();
}

​
Best Practices

Keyboard shortcuts in MenuItem() are displayed but not automatically processed. You need to implement the actual keyboard handling separately.
Use Separator() to group related menu items visually.
Always call EndMenu() only if BeginMenu() returns true. Always call EndMenuBar() only if BeginMenuBar() returns true.
Context menus default to right-click. Use ImGuiPopupFlags_MouseButtonLeft or ImGuiPopupFlags_MouseButtonMiddle for different buttons.

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