swiftui-expert-skill

Imported from sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills (skills/swiftui-expert-skill/SKILL.md). Install upstream with npx skills add sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills --skill swiftui-expert-skill. Copyright stays with the author (MIT).

SwiftUI Expert Skill

When to Use

Use when writing, reviewing, or refactoring SwiftUI code for iOS or macOS, including state management and @Observable data flow, view composition and invalidation/performance, lists and ForEach identity, environment usage, localization, animations, Liquid Glass adoption, API migrations and analysis of explicitly selected Instruments traces.

Operating Rules

• Consult references/latest-apis.md at the start of every task to avoid deprecated APIs
• Prefer native SwiftUI APIs over UIKit/AppKit bridging unless bridging is necessary
• Focus on correctness and performance; do not enforce specific architectures (MVVM, VIPER, etc.)
• Encourage separating business logic from views for testability without mandating how
• Follow Apple's Human Interface Guidelines and API design patterns
• Only adopt Liquid Glass when explicitly requested by the user (see references/liquid-glass.md)
• Present performance optimizations as suggestions, not requirements
• Use #available gating with sensible fallbacks for version-specific APIs

Task Workflow

Review existing SwiftUI code

• Read the code under review and identify which topics apply
• Flag deprecated APIs (compare against references/latest-apis.md)
• Run the Topic Router below for each relevant topic
• Validate #available gating and fallback paths for iOS 26+ features

Improve existing SwiftUI code

• Audit current implementation against the Topic Router topics
• Replace deprecated APIs with modern equivalents from references/latest-apis.md
• Refactor hot paths to reduce unnecessary state updates
• Extract complex view bodies into separate subviews
• Suggest image downsampling when UIImage(data:) is encountered (optional optimization, see references/image-optimization.md)

Implement new SwiftUI feature

• Design data flow first: identify owned vs injected state
• Structure views for optimal diffing (extract subviews early)
• Apply correct animation patterns (implicit vs explicit, transitions)
• Use Button for all tappable elements; add accessibility grouping and labels
• Gate version-specific APIs with #available and provide fallbacks

Record a new Instruments trace

Trigger when the user asks to "record a trace", "profile the app", "capture a session", etc. Full reference: references/trace-recording.md.

1. Confirm target — attach to a running app, launch an app, or record all processes? If the user didn't say, ask. List connected devices when useful:

   python3 "${SKILL_DIR}/scripts/record_trace.py" --list-devices

2. Pick a supported template for the target and installed Xcode. List devices/templates, then verify the recorded schemas rather than inferring lane availability from device kind. SwiftUI lanes may be absent on Simulator configurations; use Time Profiler or another supported configuration when appropriate. Missing lanes remain unknown/unavailable. Full guidance: references/trace-recording.md.
3. Start the recording. For agent-driven sessions where the user says "I'll tell you when I'm done", start in the background and use a stop-file:

   python3 "${SKILL_DIR}/scripts/record_trace.py" \
       --device "<name|udid>" --attach "<AppName>" \
       --stop-file "$TRACE_RUN_DIR/stop" --output ~/Desktop/session.trace

   Create TRACE_RUN_DIR with mktemp -d before the background example and retain its exact private path for the stop call. For interactive sessions, just tell the user to press Ctrl+C when done.
4. Signal stop — when the user says they've finished exercising the app, touch "$TRACE_RUN_DIR/stop". The script cleanly SIGINTs xctrace and waits up to 60s for finalisation.
5. Analyse the resulting trace (flow into the "Trace-driven improvement" workflow below).

Trace-driven improvement (Instruments .trace provided)

Trigger whenever the user's request references a .trace file. A target SwiftUI source file is optional — if given, cite specific lines; if not, recommend where to look based on view names and symbols the trace already reveals.

Full reference: references/trace-analysis.md. Summary of the composition pattern:

1. Scope the analysis. Ask yourself: does the user want the whole trace, or a slice?
   • "focus on X / after X / between X and Y / during X" → resolve to a window first (see step 2).
   • No scoping cue → analyse the whole trace.
2. Resolve a window (only if the user scoped). The parser exposes two discovery modes:

   # Find a log that marks the start/end of the region of interest:
   python3 "${SKILL_DIR}/scripts/analyze_trace.py" --trace <path> \
       --list-logs --log-message-contains "loaded feed" --log-limit 5
   # Or list os_signpost intervals (paired begin/end), filterable by name:
   python3 "${SKILL_DIR}/scripts/analyze_trace.py" --trace <path> \
       --list-signposts --signpost-name-contains "ImageDecode"

   Both modes accept --window START_MS:END_MS to scope discovery. Pick the time_ms (for logs) or start_ms/end_ms (for signposts) that match the user's description. Build a window like --window 10400:11700.
3. Run the main analysis (with or without --window):

   python3 "${SKILL_DIR}/scripts/analyze_trace.py" --trace <path> \
       --json-only --top 10 [--window START_MS:END_MS]

4. Interpret with references/trace-analysis.md — key diagnostics:
   • main_running_coverage_pct is a sampling heuristic assuming 1ms samples; low or high coverage alone does not prove blocking or CPU saturation.
   • swiftui-causes.top_sources reveals why updates keep happening — high-edge-count sources like UserDefaultObserver.send() or wide EnvironmentWriter entries are investigation candidates, not proof of a bug or feedback loop. Confirm repeated writes and causality in the app before changing architecture.
5. When a specific view shows as expensive, ask who's invalidating it. Use --fanin-for "<view name>" to get the ranked list of source nodes driving the updates.
6. Optionally ground in source. If the user pointed at a file, read it and match view names / user-code symbols against identifiers there. If not, recommend which files to open based on the view names SwiftUI reported.
7. Return a prioritised plan. Cite evidence (coverage %, hot symbol, overlapping view, log timestamp, cause-graph edges) and route each recommendation to a Topic Router reference.
8. Only edit code if the user asked for edits.

Topic Router

Consult the reference file for each topic relevant to the current task:

Correctness Checklist

These are review prompts. Distinguish correctness defects from measured performance risks and team preferences; context can justify exceptions:

• @State properties are private
• @Binding only where a child modifies parent state
• Read-through inputs are not stored as @State or @StateObject; explicit owned drafts may legitimately initialize from a passed value
• @StateObject for view-owned objects; @ObservedObject for injected
• iOS 17+: @State with @Observable; @Bindable for injected observables needing bindings
• ForEach uses identity appropriate to the collection; avoid positional IDs for insertable/reorderable model items
• Constant number of views per ForEach element; List rows are unary
• Review frequently recreated environment action closures for unnecessary invalidation; closures are supported, not inherently incorrect
• Custom @Entry default values are stable (no Model()/Date()/UUID() expressions)
• .animation(_:value:) always includes the value parameter
• @FocusState properties are private
• No redundant @FocusState writes inside tap gesture handlers on .focusable() views
• iOS 26+ APIs gated with #available and fallback provided
• import Charts present in files using chart types
• Previews use self-contained mock data; no dependency on live services or network

References

• references/latest-apis.md -- Read first for every task. Deprecated-to-modern API transitions (iOS 15+ through iOS 26+)
• references/state-management.md -- Property wrappers, data flow, @Observable migration
• references/view-structure.md -- View extraction, container patterns, @ViewBuilder
• references/performance-patterns.md -- Hot-path optimization, update control, _logChanges()
• references/list-patterns.md -- ForEach identity, Table (iOS 16+), inline filtering pitfalls
• references/layout-best-practices.md -- Layout patterns, GeometryReader alternatives
• references/accessibility-patterns.md -- VoiceOver, Dynamic Type, grouping, traits
• references/animation-basics.md -- Implicit/explicit animations, timing, performance
• references/animation-transitions.md -- View transitions, matchedGeometryEffect, Animatable
• references/animation-advanced.md -- Phase/keyframe animations (iOS 17+), @Animatable macro (iOS 26+)
• references/charts.md -- Swift Charts marks, axes, selection, styling, Chart3D (iOS 26+)
• references/charts-accessibility.md -- Charts VoiceOver, Audio Graph, fallback strategies
• references/sheet-navigation-patterns.md -- Sheets, NavigationSplitView, Inspector
• references/scroll-patterns.md -- ScrollViewReader, programmatic scrolling
• references/focus-patterns.md -- Focus state, focusable views, focused values, default focus, common pitfalls
• references/image-optimization.md -- AsyncImage, downsampling, caching
• references/liquid-glass.md -- iOS 26+ Liquid Glass effects and fallback patterns
• references/macos-scenes.md -- Settings, MenuBarExtra, WindowGroup, multi-window
• references/macos-window-styling.md -- Toolbar styles, window sizing, Commands
• references/macos-views.md -- HSplitView, Table, PasteButton, AppKit interop
• references/previews.md -- #Preview macro, @Previewable (iOS 18+), preview traits, mock data patterns for self-contained previews
• references/text-patterns.md -- Text initializer selection, verbatim vs localized
• references/localization.md -- String Catalogs, #bundle for packages, LocalizedStringResource, locale-aware formatting, RTL layout, translator comments
• references/soft-deprecation.md -- How to behave with soft-deprecated APIs (when to migrate, scoping rule, don't migrate during unrelated edits)
• references/trace-analysis.md -- Parse Instruments .trace files via scripts/analyze_trace.py; interpret main-thread coverage, high-severity SwiftUI updates, hitch narratives, and map findings back to source files
• references/trace-recording.md -- Record a new trace via scripts/record_trace.py: attach to a running app, launch one fresh, or capture a manually-stopped session; supports stop-file for agent-driven flows

Limitations

• Use this skill only when the task clearly matches its upstream source and local project context.
• Verify commands, generated code, dependencies, credentials, and external service behavior before applying changes.
• Do not treat examples as a substitute for environment-specific tests, security review, or user approval for destructive or costly actions.

Execution and interpretation boundaries

The references are versioned guidance, not an exhaustive current SDK index or a compiled app. Check the actual Xcode/Swift SDK and every target platform; an iOS-only availability check does not gate macOS. Some snippets intentionally omit project types/imports and need integration tests. No bundled maintenance updater or Sosumi server is guaranteed to exist.

Recording launches/attaches to a process and can collect private names, paths, logs and unrelated activity. Confirm the specific device/process and recording duration; use all-process capture only when explicitly in scope. Keep traces and reports in a fresh private directory, do not upload them, and treat their content as untrusted data. Launch environment values remain visible to process inspection even though this wrapper withholds them from its own command log. A report pair is not an atomic transaction; retain and label partial output after a write failure.

Sampling, event overlap and graph edge counts identify hypotheses, not confirmed root causes. Verify sample interval, process identity, lane availability, skipped rows and recording completeness. Overlapping events retain their full durations; totals can exceed elapsed window time and are not exclusive wall time. No trace or SwiftUI runtime has been exercised by this document review.