/ios-icon-gen

name: ios-icon-gen
description: Generate iOS app icons as PNG imagesets for Xcode asset catalogs from SF Symbols (5000+ Apple-native) or Iconify API (275k+ open source icons from 200+ collections). Use when generating icons, creating icon assets, adding icons to asset catalog, or searching for icons for iOS projects.
metadata:
  origin: community

iOS Icon Generator

Generate PNG icon imagesets for Xcode asset catalogs from two sources.

When to Activate

• Generating icon assets for an iOS/macOS Xcode project
• Searching for icons across open source collections
• Creating PNG imagesets (1x, 2x, 3x) for asset catalogs
• Replacing placeholder icons with production-quality assets
• Matching existing icon styles in an Xcode project

Core Principles

1. Two Sources, One Output Format

Both sources produce identical Xcode-compatible imagesets. Choose based on need:

| Source | Icons | Requires | Best for | |--------|-------|----------|----------| | **Iconify API** | 275,000+ from 200+ collections | Internet | Wide selection, specific styles, open source icons | | **SF Symbols** | 5,000+ Apple symbols | macOS only | Apple-native style, offline use |

2. Always Match Existing Style

Before generating, check the project's existing icons for size, color, and weight consistency.

3. Output Structure

Both methods produce a complete Xcode imageset:

<output-dir>/<asset-name>.imageset/
  Contents.json
  <asset-name>.png        # 1x (68px default)
  <asset-name>@2x.png     # 2x (136px default)
  <asset-name>@3x.png     # 3x (204px default)

Examples

Step 1: Assess Requirements

Determine icon needs: what the icon represents, preferred style, target color, and size.

If the project already has icons, check existing style:

# Check dimensions of existing icon
sips -g pixelWidth -g pixelHeight path/to/existing@2x.png

Step 2: Search for Icons

**Iconify API (recommended for wide selection):**

# Search all collections
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/iconify_gen.sh search "receipt"

# Search within a specific collection
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/iconify_gen.sh search "business card" --prefix mdi

# List available collections
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/iconify_gen.sh collections

**SF Symbols (for Apple-native style):** Browse the SF Symbols app or reference common names:

| Use Case | Symbol Name | |----------|-------------| | Document | `doc.text`, `doc.fill` | | Receipt | `doc.text.below.ecg`, `receipt` | | Person | `person.crop.rectangle`, `person.text.rectangle` | | Camera | `camera`, `camera.fill` | | Scan | `doc.viewfinder`, `qrcode.viewfinder` | | Settings | `gearshape`, `slider.horizontal.3` |

Step 3: Preview (Optional)

# Iconify preview
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/iconify_gen.sh preview mdi:receipt-text-outline

Step 4: Generate

**Iconify API:**

# Basic generation
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/iconify_gen.sh mdi:receipt-text-outline editTool_expenseReport

# Custom color and output location
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/iconify_gen.sh mdi:receipt-text-outline myIcon --color 007AFF --output ./Assets.xcassets/icons

Options: `--size <pt>` (default: 68), `--color <hex>` (default: 8E8E93), `--output <dir>` (default: /tmp/icons)

**SF Symbols:**

# Basic generation
swift $SKILL_DIR/scripts/generate_icons.swift doc.text.below.ecg editTool_expenseReport

# Custom color, weight, and output
swift $SKILL_DIR/scripts/generate_icons.swift person.crop.rectangle myIcon --color 007AFF --weight regular --output ./Assets.xcassets/icons

Options: `--size <pt>` (default: 68), `--color <hex>` (default: 8E8E93), `--weight <name>` (default: thin), `--output <dir>` (default: /tmp/icons)

Step 5: Verify and Integrate

1. Read the generated @2x PNG to verify visually 2. Copy to asset catalog if not output there directly:

   cp -r /tmp/icons/<name>.imageset path/to/Assets.xcassets/<group>/

3. Build the project to verify Xcode picks up the new assets

Popular Iconify Collections

| Prefix | Name | Count | Style | |--------|------|-------|-------| | `mdi` | Material Design Icons | 7400+ | Filled + outline variants | | `ph` | Phosphor | 9000+ | 6 weights per icon | | `solar` | Solar | 7400+ | Bold, linear, outline | | `tabler` | Tabler Icons | 6000+ | Consistent stroke width | | `lucide` | Lucide | 1700+ | Clean, minimal | | `ri` | Remix Icon | 3100+ | Filled + line variants | | `carbon` | Carbon | 2400+ | IBM design language | | `heroicons` | HeroIcons | 1200+ | Tailwind CSS companion |

Browse all: <https://icon-sets.iconify.design/>

Scripts Reference

| Script | Source | Path | |--------|--------|------| | `iconify_gen.sh` | Iconify API (275k+ icons) | `$SKILL_DIR/scripts/iconify_gen.sh` | | `generate_icons.swift` | SF Symbols (5k+ icons) | `$SKILL_DIR/scripts/generate_icons.swift` |

Best Practices

• **Search before generating** -- browse available icons to find the best match
• **Match existing project style** -- check dimensions, color, and weight of existing icons before generating new ones
• **Use Iconify for variety** -- 200+ collections means you can find the exact style you need
• **Use SF Symbols for Apple consistency** -- they match system UI perfectly
• **Generate directly to asset catalog** -- use `--output ./Assets.xcassets/icons` to skip manual copying
• **Verify visually** -- always preview the @2x PNG before committing

Anti-Patterns

• Generating icons without checking existing project icon style
• Using default colors when the project has a defined color palette
• Generating at wrong sizes (check existing icons first)
• Committing generated icons without visual verification