How base colors in Lollipop apply to different UI elements

Android Lollipop Widget Tinting Guide

Unless specified otherwise, all of the below tinting applies to both Lollipop and pre-Lollipop using AppCompat v21. To use the support version of these attributes, remove the android namespace.  For instance, "android:colorControlNormal" becomes "colorControlNormal".  These attributes will be propagated to their corresponding attributes within the android namespace for devices running Lollipop.  Any exceptions to this will be noted by including the "android:" prefix.

All Clickable Views:
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* ripple effect (Lollipop only) -- "colorControlHighlight"

Status Bar:
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* background (Lollipop only) - "colorPrimaryDark"

Navigation Bar:
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* background (Lollipop only) - "android:navigationBarColor"

EditText:
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* underline (unfocused) -- "colorControlNormal"
* underline overlay (focus) -- "colorAccent"
* cursor -- "colorAccent"
* text color -- "android:textColorPrimary"

CheckBox:
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* box unchecked -- "colorControlNormal"
* box checked -- "colorAccent"

RadioButton:
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* unselected -- "colorControlNormal"
* selected -- "colorAccent"
* ripple effect (Lollipop only) -- "colorControlHighlight"

SwitchCompat:
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* thumb switch off -- "colorSwitchThumbNormal"
* thumb switch on -- "colorAccent"
* track overlay (when switched on) -- "colorAccent"

Spinner:
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* indicator (not pressed) -- "colorControlNormal"
* indicator (pressed) -- "colorAccent"
* selected entry text color (Lollipop only) -- "android:textColorPrimary"

ActionBar:
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* background -- "colorPrimary"
* title color -- "android:textColorPrimary"
* overflow icon -- "android:textColorPrimary"
* up button -- "android:textColorPrimary"
* action icons -- "android:textColorPrimary" †
* overflow menu background -- "android:colorBackground"
* overflow text color -- "android:textColorPrimary"

Toolbar (Theme Overlay should be used):
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* background -- must be set manually in XML. Can do (android:background="?attr/colorPrimary")
* overflow icon -- "android:textColorPrimary"
* navigation icon -- "android:textColorPrimary" †
* action icons -- "android:textColorPrimary" †
* overflow menu background -- "android:colorBackground"
* overflow text color -- "android:textColorPrimary"


† tinting by default only works with whitelisted stock action icons (see TintManager source code).  For instance, the back arrow icon "abc_ic_ab_back_mtrl_am_alpha" is tinted, but copying that exact file and renaming it will result in the icon not being tinted while taking a random image and renaming it to "abc_ic_ab_back_mtrl_am_alpha" will result in it being tinted. Tinting can be done in XML in Lollipop by creating a <bitmap> xml file in drawable and applying the "android:tint" attribute. This icon can be used in both Lollipop and pre-Lollipop, but it will only be tinted in Lollipop.  Tinting of action icons can also be done programmatically using a ColorFilter.