/ios-state-management

name: ios-state-management
description: Implement reactive state with Combine, Observation framework, and UDF patterns. Use when implementing state management with Combine, @Observable, or reactive patterns in iOS.
metadata:
  triggers:
    files:
    - '**/*.swift'
    keywords:
    - Observable
    - "@Published"
    - PassthroughSubject
    - "@Observable"
    - "@Namespace"

iOS State Management

**Priority: P0 (CRITICAL)**

Implementation Workflow

1. **Choose observation approach** — Use `@Observable` (iOS 17+) for modern SwiftUI; `Combine` with `@Published` for UIKit or broader compatibility. 2. **Expose state clearly** — Use UDF pattern: ViewModel exposes `Input` enum (events) and `Output` struct (state). 3. **Manage subscriptions** — Store Combine subscriptions in `Set<AnyCancellable>` with `.store(in: &cancellables)`. 4. **Dispatch to main thread** — Use `@MainActor` or `.receive(on: DispatchQueue.main)` for UI updates. 5. **Use exhaustive ViewState** — Prefer single `ViewState` enum (`.loading`, `.success(data)`, `.error(failure)`).

See [Combine and Observation framework examples](references/implementation.md)

Anti-Patterns

• **No Uncleared Subscriptions**: Always use `.store(in: &cancellables)`
• **No Background UI Updates**: Use `.receive(on: .main)` or `@MainActor`
• **No Manual `objectWillChange.send()`**: Use `@Published` or `@Observable` instead

References

• [Combine & Observation Setup](references/implementation.md)