---
summary: 'Review Modern Swift Development guidance'
read_when:
  - 'planning work related to modern swift development'
  - 'debugging or extending features described here'
---

# Modern Swift Development

Write idiomatic SwiftUI code following Apple's latest architectural recommendations and best practices.

## Core Philosophy

- SwiftUI is the default UI paradigm for Apple platforms - embrace its declarative nature
- Avoid legacy UIKit patterns and unnecessary abstractions
- Focus on simplicity, clarity, and native data flow
- Let SwiftUI handle the complexity - don't fight the framework

## Architecture Guidelines

### 1. Embrace Native State Management

Use SwiftUI's built-in property wrappers appropriately:
- `@State` - Local, ephemeral view state
- `@Binding` - Two-way data flow between views
- `@Observable` - Shared state (iOS 17+)
- `@ObservableObject` - Legacy shared state (pre-iOS 17)
- `@Environment` - Dependency injection for app-wide concerns

### 2. State Ownership Principles

- Views own their local state unless sharing is required
- State flows down, actions flow up
- Keep state as close to where it's used as possible
- Extract shared state only when multiple views need it

### 3. Modern Async Patterns

- Use `async/await` as the default for asynchronous operations
- Leverage `.task` modifier for lifecycle-aware async work
- Avoid Combine unless absolutely necessary
- Handle errors gracefully with try/catch

### 4. View Composition

- Build UI with small, focused views
- Extract reusable components naturally
- Use view modifiers to encapsulate common styling
- Prefer composition over inheritance

### 5. Code Organization

- Organize by feature, not by type (avoid Views/, Models/, ViewModels/ folders)
- Keep related code together in the same file when appropriate
- Use extensions to organize large files
- Follow Swift naming conventions consistently

## Implementation Patterns

### Simple State Example
```swift
struct CounterView: View {
    @State private var count = 0
    
    var body: some View {
        VStack {
            Text("Count: \(count)")
            Button("Increment") { 
                count += 1 
            }
        }
    }
}
```

### Shared State with @Observable
```swift
@Observable
class UserSession {
    var isAuthenticated = false
    var currentUser: User?
    
    func signIn(user: User) {
        currentUser = user
        isAuthenticated = true
    }
}

struct MyApp: App {
    @State private var session = UserSession()
    
    var body: some Scene {
        WindowGroup {
            ContentView()
                .environment(session)
        }
    }
}
```

### Async Data Loading
```swift
struct ProfileView: View {
    @State private var profile: Profile?
    @State private var isLoading = false
    @State private var error: Error?
    
    var body: some View {
        Group {
            if isLoading {
                ProgressView()
            } else if let profile {
                ProfileContent(profile: profile)
            } else if let error {
                ErrorView(error: error)
            }
        }
        .task {
            await loadProfile()
        }
    }
    
    private func loadProfile() async {
        isLoading = true
        defer { isLoading = false }
        
        do {
            profile = try await ProfileService.fetch()
        } catch {
            self.error = error
        }
    }
}
```

## Best Practices

### DO:
- Write self-contained views when possible
- Use property wrappers as intended by Apple
- Test logic in isolation, preview UI visually
- Handle loading and error states explicitly
- Keep views focused on presentation
- Use Swift's type system for safety

### DON'T:
- Create ViewModels for every view
- Move state out of views unnecessarily
- Add abstraction layers without clear benefit
- Use Combine for simple async operations
- Fight SwiftUI's update mechanism
- Overcomplicate simple features

## Testing Strategy

- Unit test business logic and data transformations
- Use SwiftUI Previews for visual testing
- Test @Observable classes independently
- Keep tests simple and focused
- Don't sacrifice code clarity for testability

## Modern Swift Features

- Use Swift Concurrency (async/await, actors)
- Leverage Swift 6 data race safety when available
- Utilize property wrappers effectively
- Embrace value types where appropriate
- Use protocols for abstraction, not just for testing

## Summary

Write SwiftUI code that looks and feels like SwiftUI. The framework has matured significantly - trust its patterns and tools. Focus on solving user problems rather than implementing architectural patterns from other platforms.