iOS Development

Build iOS applications following Apple's official architecture guidance, modern Swift concurrency patterns, and SwiftUI best practices.

Quick Reference

Workflow Decision Tree

Creating a new project? → Read project-setup.md for SPM and Xcode setup → Read modularization.md for module structure → Use templates in assets/templates/

Adding a new feature? → Create feature module following modularization.md → Follow patterns in architecture.md

Building UI screens? → Read swiftui-patterns.md → Create Route + Screen + ViewModel

Setting up data layer? → Read data layer section in architecture.md → Create Repository protocol + actor implementation + @ModelActor

Working with concurrency? → Read actors.md for actors, Sendable, async/await → Follow the actor decision tree

Writing tests? → Read testing.md → Use Swift Testing framework with protocol-based test doubles

Core Principles

1. Offline-first: Local persistence (SwiftData) is source of truth, sync with remote
2. Unidirectional data flow: Events flow down, data flows up
3. Reactive streams: Use AsyncSequence/AsyncStream for all data exposure
4. Modular by feature: Each feature is self-contained via Swift Package modules
5. Testable by design: Use protocols and test doubles, no mocking libraries
6. Actor-isolated concurrency: Use actors for shared mutable state, @MainActor for UI

Architecture Layers

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              UI Layer                    │
│  (SwiftUI Views + @Observable VMs)      │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│           Domain Layer                   │
│  (Use Cases - optional, for reuse)       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│            Data Layer                    │
│  (Repositories + DataSources)            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Module Types

App/                        # App target - entry point, navigation, @main
Features/
  ├── FeatureName/
  │   ├── Sources/          # Route, Screen, ViewModel
  │   └── Tests/            # Feature tests
Core/
  ├── Model/                # Domain models (pure Swift structs)
  ├── Data/                 # Repositories (protocols + actor implementations)
  ├── Database/             # SwiftData models, @ModelActor
  ├── Network/              # URLSession, API models, DTOs
  ├── Common/               # Shared utilities, extensions
  ├── UI/                   # Reusable SwiftUI components
  ├── DesignSystem/         # Theme, colors, typography, SF Symbols
  └── Testing/              # Test utilities, test doubles

Creating a New Feature

1. Create feature module in Features/MyFeature/
2. Add target to Package.swift with dependencies on Core modules
3. Create these files:

• MyFeatureRoute.swift - Owns ViewModel (@State), handles navigation
• MyFeatureScreen.swift - Receives ViewModel (let), renders UI
• MyFeatureViewModel.swift - @MainActor @Observable with individual properties

Standard File Patterns

ViewModel Pattern

Expose individual properties — SwiftUI's @Observable tracks each property accessed per view, enabling granular re-renders. Avoid wrapping state in a single enum (that forces full re-renders).

@MainActor
@Observable
final class MyFeatureViewModel {
    private(set) var items: [Item] = []
    private(set) var isLoading = false
    var errorMessage: String?

    private let repository: MyRepository

    init(repository: MyRepository) {
        self.repository = repository
    }

    func onAppear() async {
        isLoading = true
        defer { isLoading = false }
        do {
            items = try await repository.getItems()
        } catch {
            errorMessage = error.localizedDescription
        }
    }

    func deleteItem(id: String) async {
        do {
            try await repository.deleteItem(id: id)
            items.removeAll { $0.id == id }
        } catch {
            errorMessage = error.localizedDescription
        }
    }

    func refresh() async {
        await onAppear()
    }
}

Screen Pattern (Route/Screen Separation)

• Route creates and owns the ViewModel with @State
• Screen receives the ViewModel as let — no wrapper needed, SwiftUI auto-tracks @Observable
• For two-way bindings (TextField, Toggle), use @Bindable locally in the body

// Route: owns ViewModel via @State, connects navigation
struct MyFeatureRoute: View {
    @State private var viewModel: MyFeatureViewModel

    init(repository: MyRepository) {
        viewModel = MyFeatureViewModel(repository: repository)
    }

    var body: some View {
        MyFeatureScreen(viewModel: viewModel)
            .task { await viewModel.onAppear() }
            .refreshable { await viewModel.refresh() }
            .navigationTitle("My Feature")
    }
}

// Screen: receives ViewModel, reads properties directly
struct MyFeatureScreen: View {
    let viewModel: MyFeatureViewModel

    var body: some View {
        List(viewModel.items) { item in
            Text(item.name)
                .swipeActions {
                    Button("Delete", role: .destructive) {
                        Task { await viewModel.deleteItem(id: item.id) }
                    }
                }
        }
        .overlay {
            if viewModel.isLoading && viewModel.items.isEmpty {
                ProgressView()
            }
        }
        .overlay {
            if let error = viewModel.errorMessage, viewModel.items.isEmpty {
                ContentUnavailableView(
                    "Error",
                    systemImage: "exclamationmark.triangle",
                    description: Text(error)
                )
            }
        }
    }
}

When to use a state enum instead: Use enum UiState only for truly mutually exclusive states like onboarding flows (step1 | step2 | step3) or auth state (loggedIn | loggedOut), where you cannot show content and loading simultaneously.

Property Wrapper Decision (WWDC 2023)

Repository Pattern

// Protocol: defines contract, Sendable for cross-isolation use
protocol MyRepository: Sendable {
    func getItems() async throws -> [MyModel]
    func observeItems() -> AsyncStream<[MyModel]>
    func updateItem(_ item: MyModel) async throws
    func sync() async throws
}

// Implementation: actor for thread-safe shared state
actor OfflineFirstMyRepository: MyRepository {
    private let persistence: MyPersistenceActor
    private let network: NetworkClient

    init(persistence: MyPersistenceActor, network: NetworkClient) {
        self.persistence = persistence
        self.network = network
    }

    func getItems() async throws -> [MyModel] {
        try await persistence.fetchAll()
    }

    func observeItems() -> AsyncStream<[MyModel]> {
        persistence.observeAll()
    }

    func updateItem(_ item: MyModel) async throws {
        try await persistence.upsert(item)
    }

    func sync() async throws {
        let remoteItems = try await network.fetchItems()
        for item in remoteItems {
            try await persistence.upsert(item.toDomainModel())
        }
    }
}

Key Dependencies

Swift 6+ (strict concurrency)
iOS 17+ (required for @Observable, SwiftData, #Preview)
SwiftData (persistence)
Swift Testing (unit tests)
XCTest (UI tests)

Build Configuration

Use Swift Package Manager for multi-module projects:

• Local package inside Xcode workspace
• Each feature and core module is a separate target
• Strict concurrency checking enabled (-strict-concurrency=complete)
• Swift 6 language mode

See project-setup.md for complete configuration.