ios-development

name	ios-development
description	Use when building or reviewing native iOS applications with Swift, SwiftUI, structured concurrency, security, tests, and performance gates; use focused iOS skills for persistence, release, or monetisation.
metadata	{"portable":true,"compatible_with":["claude-code","codex"]}

Platform Notes

• Optional helper plugins may help in some environments, but they must not be treated as required for this skill.

iOS Development Standards

Acknowledgement: Shared by Peter Bamuhigire, techguypeter.com, [phone].

Use When

• iOS development standards for AI agent implementation. Swift-first, SwiftUI, MVVM + Clean Architecture, async/await, comprehensive security, testing, and performance patterns. Use when building or reviewing iOS applications, generating Swift...

Evidence Produced

Category	Artifact	Format	Example
Correctness	iOS feature test plan	Markdown doc covering unit, UI, and snapshot tests	docs/ios/feature-tests-checkout.md
UX quality	Accessibility audit	Markdown doc covering VoiceOver, Dynamic Type, and contrast	docs/ios/a11y-checkout.md

References

• Use the references/ directory for deep detail after reading the core workflow below.
• references/ios-project-setup.md for Xcode project structure, SPM, schemes, build settings, and environment configuration.
• references/ios-swift-recipes.md for production Swift recipes, safe conversions, dates, Codable, hashing, and validation.
• references/apple-platform-compatibility-wwdc26.md for Xcode 27, Swift 6.4, iOS/iPadOS/macOS 27 SDK, Device Hub, coding agents, availability gates, and macOS/Safari watch items.

Load Order

1. Load world-class-engineering for shared production gates.
2. Load system-architecture-design when the app participates in broader service or module architecture.
3. Load this skill for iOS implementation details.
4. Load ios-ui-ux-design for every user-facing iOS/iPadOS screen, especially premium, dashboard, onboarding, reporting, form, or revenue-critical flows.
5. Load ios-security-and-rbac, ios-platform-capabilities, or other focused parent skills as needed.

Production-grade Apple-platform development standards for AI-assisted implementation. Swift-first with SwiftUI, latest-SDK aware, and availability-gated for older deployment targets.

Current Toolchain: Xcode 27 on Apple Silicon | Swift 6.4 | latest iOS/iPadOS/macOS SDKs Core Stack: Swift 6.4-ready | SwiftUI (default UI) | MVVM + Clean Architecture | Swift Concurrency Deployment Policy: project-specific floor; iOS 17+ remains acceptable only when the app must support that fleet Compatibility: Must run on both the declared minimum deployment target and the latest Apple OS, with availability gates for SDK-only features Reference App: Apple's sample code gallery and WWDC sessions — canonical examples of modern SwiftUI patterns

Backend Environments

iOS apps connect to a PHP/MySQL backend deployed across three environments:

Environment	Base URL Pattern	Database	Notes
Development	http://{LAN_IP}:{port}/DMS_web/api/	MySQL 8.4.7 (Windows WAMP)	Use host machine LAN IP
Staging	https://staging.{domain}/api/	MySQL 8.x (Ubuntu VPS)	For QA and TestFlight
Production	https://{domain}/api/	MySQL 8.x (Debian VPS)	App Store release

Configure base URLs using Xcode build configurations and .xcconfig files so each scheme targets the correct backend. All backends use utf8mb4_unicode_ci collation and MySQL 8.x.

Additional Guidance

Decision Rules

Condition	Choice
New interface on supported OS versions	SwiftUI
Legacy UIKit surface with stable behaviour	Wrap and migrate by feature, not by file
Concurrent mutable resource	Actor ownership or MainActor for UI state
Unsupported OS capability	Explicit availability branch and useful fallback

Degraded Mode

Without Xcode or devices, return code plus an execution matrix for compile, Swift Testing, UI, accessibility, Instruments, and oldest-supported-OS checks. Static review is not release evidence.

Domain Anti-Patterns

• Launching unstructured tasks without ownership. Fix: bind work to a lifecycle or actor.
• Force-unwrapping external data. Fix: validate and expose typed failure states.
• Blocking the main actor with I/O. Fix: isolate work and measure UI responsiveness.
• Hiding availability failures. Fix: render an explicit supported fallback.
• Treating simulator success as device readiness. Fix: exercise the physical-device matrix.

Extended guidance for ios-development was moved to references/skill-deep-dive.md to keep this entrypoint compact and fast to load.

Use that deep dive for:

• Swift Language Standards
• Architecture: MVVM + Clean Architecture
• Project Structure
• State Management (iOS 17+ — No Legacy Patterns)
• Networking Layer
• Build Configuration (3 Environments)
• WWDC26 Apple Platform Compatibility
• Security Standards
• Testing Strategy
• Performance Rules
• Release Gate
• Navigation (iOS 17+)
• Minimum Requirements
• Additional deep-dive sections continue in the reference file.

For screen quality, visual polish, native interaction, Dynamic Type, VoiceOver, iPad adaptation, and premium UX gates, load ios-ui-ux-design alongside this implementation skill.

Inputs

Artefact	Required?	Purpose
iOS requirements, supported OS/devices, architecture, UX, and service contracts	yes	Bound implementation

Outputs

• Produce iOS code or design with lifecycle, accessibility, tests, performance, and release evidence.

Capability contract

Read/search and local builds follow task scope; signing, provisioning, TestFlight/App Store publication, and destructive data operations require explicit authority.