/swift-macos

name: swift-macos
description: macOS apps with Swift 6.3, SwiftUI, SwiftData, Swift Concurrency, Foundation Models, Swift Testing, and ScreenCaptureKit. Use when building native Mac apps - windows, menus, SwiftData, on-device AI, capture, AppKit bridges, notarization.
metadata:
  version: "0.8.3"
  categories: "development"
  topics: "swift, swiftui, macos, swiftdata, screencapturekit"
  upstream: "swift@6.3.3, xcode@26.6, macos@26.6.2"
  openclaw:
    homepage: https://github.com/tenequm/skills/tree/main/skills/swift-macos
    emoji: "🍎"
    os:
      - macos

macOS App Development - Swift 6.3

Build native macOS apps with Swift 6.3 (latest: 6.3.3, bundled in Xcode 26.6, Jun 2026), SwiftUI, SwiftData, and macOS 26 Tahoe (26.6.2 current). Target macOS 14+ for SwiftData/@Observable, macOS 15+ for latest SwiftUI, macOS 26 for Liquid Glass and Foundation Models. Note Xcode 26.6 still bundles the macOS **26.5** SDK, so 26.6-only API is not yet buildable. For the WWDC 2026 beta stack (macOS 27, Xcode 27, Swift 6.4, shipping fall 2026), see `references/fall-2026-releases.md`.

Quick Start

import SwiftUI
import SwiftData

@Model
final class Project {
    var name: String
    var createdAt: Date
    // Named ProjectTask, not Task - `Task` would shadow `Swift.Task`
    @Relationship(deleteRule: .cascade) var tasks: [ProjectTask] = []

    init(name: String) {
        self.name = name
        self.createdAt = .now
    }
}

@Model
final class ProjectTask {
    var title: String
    var isComplete: Bool
    var project: Project?

    init(title: String) {
        self.title = title
        self.isComplete = false
    }
}

@main
struct MyApp: App {
    var body: some Scene {
        WindowGroup("Projects") {
            ContentView()
        }
        .modelContainer(for: [Project.self, ProjectTask.self])
        .defaultSize(width: 900, height: 600)

        #if os(macOS)
        Settings { SettingsView() }

        MenuBarExtra("Status", systemImage: "circle.fill") {
            MenuBarView()
        }
        .menuBarExtraStyle(.window)
        #endif
    }
}

struct ContentView: View {
    @Query(sort: \Project.createdAt, order: .reverse)
    private var projects: [Project]

    @Environment(\.modelContext) private var context
    @State private var selected: Project?

    var body: some View {
        NavigationSplitView {
            List(projects, selection: $selected) { project in
                NavigationLink(value: project) {
                    Text(project.name)
                }
            }
            .navigationSplitViewColumnWidth(min: 200, ideal: 250)
        } detail: {
            if let selected {
                DetailView(project: selected)
            } else {
                ContentUnavailableView("Select a Project",
                    systemImage: "sidebar.left")
            }
        }
    }
}

Scenes & Windows

| Scene | Purpose | |-------|---------| | `WindowGroup` | Resizable windows (multiple instances) | | `Window` | Single-instance utility window | | `Settings` | Preferences (Cmd+,) | | `MenuBarExtra` | Menu bar with `.menu` or `.window` style | | `DocumentGroup` | Document-based apps |

Open windows: `@Environment(\.openWindow) var openWindow; openWindow(id: "about")`

For complete scene lifecycle, see `references/app-lifecycle.md`.

Menus & Commands

.commands {
    CommandGroup(replacing: .newItem) {
        Button("New Project") { /* ... */ }
            .keyboardShortcut("n", modifiers: .command)
    }
    CommandMenu("Tools") {
        Button("Run Analysis") { /* ... */ }
            .keyboardShortcut("r", modifiers: [.command, .shift])
    }
}

Table (macOS-native)

Table(items, selection: $selectedIDs, sortOrder: $sortOrder) {
    TableColumn("Name", value: \.name)
    TableColumn("Date") { Text($0.date, format: .dateTime) }
        .width(min: 100, ideal: 150)
}
.contextMenu(forSelectionType: Item.ID.self) { ids in
    Button("Delete", role: .destructive) { delete(ids) }
}

For forms, popovers, sheets, inspector, and macOS modifiers, see `references/swiftui-macos.md`.

@Observable

@Observable
final class AppState {
    var projects: [Project] = []
    var isLoading = false

    func load() async throws {
        isLoading = true
        defer { isLoading = false }
        projects = try await ProjectService.fetchAll()
    }
}

// Use: @State var state = AppState()          (owner)
// Pass: .environment(state)                    (inject)
// Read: @Environment(AppState.self) var state  (child)

SwiftData

@Query & #Predicate

@Query(filter: #Predicate<Project> { !$0.isArchived }, sort: \Project.name)
private var active: [Project]

// Dynamic predicate
func search(_ term: String) -> Predicate<Project> {
    #Predicate { $0.name.localizedStandardContains(term) }
}

// FetchDescriptor (outside views)
var desc = FetchDescriptor<Project>(predicate: #Predicate { $0.isArchived })
desc.fetchLimit = 50
let results = try context.fetch(desc)
let count = try context.fetchCount(desc)

Relationships

@Model final class Author {
    var name: String
    @Relationship(deleteRule: .cascade, inverse: \Book.author)
    var books: [Book] = []

    init(name: String) { self.name = name }
}

@Model final class Book {
    var title: String
    var author: Author?
    @Relationship var tags: [Tag] = []  // many-to-many

    init(title: String) { self.title = title }
}

Delete rules: `.cascade`, `.nullify` (default), `.deny`, `.noAction`.

Every `@Model` class needs an explicit initializer - the macro does not synthesize one, and omitting it fails with `@Model requires an initializer be provided for '<Type>'`.

Schema Migration

enum SchemaV1: VersionedSchema { /* ... */ }
enum SchemaV2: VersionedSchema { /* ... */ }

enum MigrationPlan: SchemaMigrationPlan {
    static var schemas: [any VersionedSchema.Type] { [SchemaV1.self, SchemaV2.self] }
    static