Native Ios App

Native iOS App Development Skill

Build native iOS applications using SwiftUI, Xcode 26.3 MCP integration, and Ralph OG autonomous development loops.

Quick Reference

| Command | Purpose | |---------|---------| | /native-ios-app init "App Name" | Initialize new iOS project | | /native-ios-app ralph "objective" | Start Ralph OG autonomous loop | | /native-ios-app style glassmorphism | Apply design style to project | | /native-ios-app build | Build project via MCP | | /native-ios-app preview | Capture SwiftUI previews | | /native-ios-app status | Check build/test status |

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Prerequisites

1. Xcode 26.3+ Setup

Enable MCP bridge in Xcode:

1. Xcode → Settings → Intelligence → Anthropic (configure API key)
2. Xcode → Settings → Intelligence → Model Context Protocol → Enable "Xcode Tools"

2. MCP Bridge for Claude Code

# Add Xcode MCP bridge
claude mcp add --transport stdio xcode -- xcrun mcpbridge

# Verify
claude mcp list

3. XcodeBuildMCP (Enhanced Features)

npm install -g xcodebuildmcp@beta
claude mcp add XcodeBuildMCP -- npx -y xcodebuildmcp@beta mcp

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Xcode MCP Tools Available

Once configured, these tools are available:

| Category | Tools | |----------|-------| | File Ops | XcodeRead, XcodeWrite, XcodeUpdate, XcodeGlob, XcodeGrep, XcodeLS, XcodeMakeDir, XcodeRM, XcodeMV | | Build | BuildProject, GetBuildLog | | Testing | RunAllTests, RunSomeTests, GetTestList | | Analysis | XcodeListNavigatorIssues, XcodeRefreshCodeIssuesInFile | | Preview | RenderPreview (SwiftUI → PNG images) | | Execute | ExecuteSnippet (Swift REPL) | | Docs | DocumentationSearch (Apple docs + WWDC transcripts) | | Navigation | XcodeListWindows |

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Project Initialization

Create New iOS App

# Create project directory
mkdir -p ~/Developer/MyApp
cd ~/Developer/MyApp

# Initialize Xcode project (via swift package or Xcode template)
swift package init --type executable --name MyApp

Project Structure

MyApp/
├── MyApp.xcodeproj/
├── MyApp/
│   ├── MyAppApp.swift          # App entry point
│   ├── ContentView.swift       # Main view
│   ├── Views/                  # SwiftUI views
│   ├── Models/                 # Data models
│   ├── ViewModels/             # MVVM view models
│   ├── Services/               # API/data services
│   ├── Components/             # Reusable UI components
│   └── Resources/              # Assets, colors, fonts
├── MyAppTests/
├── .ralph-og/                  # Ralph OG autonomous loop
└── .design-system/             # Design tokens and styles

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Ralph OG Integration for iOS

Initialize Ralph OG for iOS Development

Creates .ralph-og/ with iOS-specific configuration:

.ralph-og/
├── PROMPT.md              # Xcode-aware loop prompt
├── init.sh                # Swift/Xcode environment setup
├── feature-list.json      # Atomic features with SwiftUI focus
├── progress.txt           # Work log
├── loop.sh                # The autonomous loop
└── learnings.md           # iOS-specific learnings

iOS-Specific PROMPT.md

The Ralph OG prompt for iOS includes:

1. Startup Ritual:

• pwd - Confirm directory
• Read .ralph-og/progress.txt
• git log --oneline -10
• Read .ralph-og/feature-list.json
• xcodebuild -list - Verify schemes
• Check for Xcode open via MCP

1. Visual Verification:

• Capture SwiftUI Previews after UI changes
• Compare with expected layouts

1. Build Verification:

• xcodebuild build before marking complete
• Check for warnings/errors

1. Test Verification:

• Run tests via xcodebuild test

Starting the Loop

cd ~/Developer/MyApp
.ralph-og/loop.sh

Or in background:

nohup .ralph-og/loop.sh > .ralph-og/loop.log 2>&1 &
echo $! > .ralph-og/loop.pid

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Design Styles

Select a visual design language for your app. Each style includes SwiftUI implementation patterns.

Available Styles

See [styles/README.md](styles/README.md) for complete catalog:

| Style | Best For | |-------|----------| | Liquid Glass | iOS 26+ apps, modern Apple aesthetic | | Glassmorphism | Overlays, cards, modals | | Neumorphism | Tactile buttons, soft interfaces | | Flat Design | Clean, minimal interfaces | | Material Design | Android-like, cross-platform | | Brutalism | Bold, high-contrast, statement apps | | Neo-Brutalism | Modern brutalist with color | | Minimalism | Content-focused, clean | | Cyberpunk | Dark mode, neon accents | | Retro/Y2K | Nostalgic, playful | | Bento Box | Grid layouts, organized content |

Applying a Style

/native-ios-app style glassmorphism

This creates .design-system/tokens.swift with style-specific:

• Color palette
• Typography scale
• Spacing system
• Shadow definitions
• Corner radius tokens
• Animation curves

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SwiftUI Materials & Effects

iOS 15+ Native Materials

// Available material types
.ultraThinMaterial      // Most transparent
.thinMaterial
.regularMaterial
.thickMaterial
.ultraThickMaterial     // Most opaque

// Usage
Text("Hello")
    .padding()
    .background(.ultraThinMaterial)
    .clipShape(RoundedRectangle(cornerRadius: 16))

Liquid Glass (iOS 26+)

// New in iOS 26: Liquid Glass effect
.background(.liquidGlass)
.glassEffect(style: .standard)
.glassEffect(style: .frosted, tint: .blue)

Custom Blur Effects

struct GlassCard: View {
    var body: some View {
        ZStack {
            // Background blur
            Rectangle()
                .fill(.ultraThinMaterial)

            // Content
            VStack {
                Text("Glass Card")
                    .font(.headline)
            }
            .padding()
        }
        .clipShape(RoundedRectangle(cornerRadius: 20, style: .continuous))
        .shadow(color: .black.opacity(0.1), radius: 10, y: 5)
    }
}

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Commands Reference

/native-ios-app init "App Name"

Initialize a new iOS project:

1. Create Xcode project structure
2. Set up SwiftUI app template
3. Configure build settings
4. Initialize git repository
5. Create .design-system/ with default tokens
6. Optionally initialize Ralph OG

/native-ios-app ralph "objective"

Start Ralph OG autonomous development:

1. Create .ralph-og/ directory
2. Generate iOS-specific PROMPT.md
3. Create feature-list.json from objective
4. Set up init.sh with Swift toolchain checks
5. Start the loop

/native-ios-app style

Apply design style:

1. Read style definition from styles/.md
2. Generate .design-system/tokens.swift
3. Create style-specific SwiftUI extensions
4. Update existing components if present

/native-ios-app build

Build via Xcode MCP:

1. Check for open Xcode project
2. Run BuildProject via MCP
3. Report build status and errors
4. Capture any warnings

/native-ios-app preview

Capture SwiftUI previews:

1. List preview providers in project
2. Render each via RenderPreview MCP tool
3. Save PNG images to .previews/
4. Report any preview failures

/native-ios-app status

Check project status:

1. Build state (last build time, success/failure)
2. Test results (passed/failed/skipped)
3. Code issues from navigator
4. Ralph OG progress (if active)

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Best Practices

SwiftUI Architecture

Use MVVM pattern:

Views/           → SwiftUI views (display only)
ViewModels/      → @Observable classes (logic)
Models/          → Data structures
Services/        → API, persistence

Design Token Usage

Always use tokens, never hardcoded values:

// Good
Text("Title")
    .font(.system(size: DesignTokens.Typography.title))
    .foregroundColor(DesignTokens.Colors.textPrimary)

// Bad
Text("Title")
    .font(.system(size: 28))
    .foregroundColor(Color(hex: "#1a1a1a"))

Accessibility

• Minimum touch target: 44×44pt
• Support Dynamic Type
• Provide accessibility labels
• Respect reduceMotion preference

@Environment(\.accessibilityReduceMotion) var reduceMotion

.animation(reduceMotion ? nil : .spring(), value: isExpanded)

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Troubleshooting

MCP Bridge Not Working

1. Verify Xcode 26.3+ installed: xcodebuild -version
2. Check MCP enabled in Xcode Settings
3. Ensure Xcode is running with project open
4. Test with: xcrun mcpbridge --help

Build Failures

1. Check scheme: xcodebuild -list
2. Clean build folder: xcodebuild clean
3. Check signing: Xcode → Project → Signing & Capabilities

Preview Not Rendering

1. Ensure preview provider exists
2. Check for compile errors
3. Verify simulator selected in Xcode

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Resources

Apple Documentation

• Human Interface Guidelines
• SwiftUI Documentation
• Xcode 26.3 Release Notes

References in This Skill

• [references/xcode-mcp-tools.md](references/xcode-mcp-tools.md) - Complete MCP tool reference
• [references/swiftui-patterns.md](references/swiftui-patterns.md) - Common SwiftUI patterns
• [references/ralph-ios.md](references/ralph-ios.md) - Ralph OG iOS configuration
• [styles/README.md](styles/README.md) - Design style catalog

Templates

• [templates/PROMPT.ios.template.md](templates/PROMPT.ios.template.md) - iOS Ralph prompt
• [templates/feature-list.ios.template.json](templates/feature-list.ios.template.json) - iOS features template
• [templates/init.ios.template.sh](templates/init.ios.template.sh) - iOS environment setup

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Skill Version: 1.0.0 Compatible with: Xcode 26.3+, iOS 17+, Swift 5.9+

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: Eskapeum
• Source: Eskapeum/native-ios-app-skill
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.