Agent skill
axiom-realitykit-ref
RealityKit API reference — Entity, Component, System, RealityView, Model3D, anchor types, material system, physics, collision, animation, audio, accessibility
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/CharlesWiltgen/Axiom/tree/main/.claude-plugin/plugins/axiom/skills/axiom-realitykit-ref
Metadata
Additional technical details for this skill
- version
- 1.0.0
SKILL.md
RealityKit API Reference
Complete API reference for RealityKit organized by category.
When to Use This Reference
Use this reference when:
- Looking up specific RealityKit API signatures or properties
- Checking which component types are available
- Finding the right anchor type for an AR experience
- Browsing material properties and options
- Setting up physics body parameters
- Looking up animation or audio API details
- Checking platform availability for specific APIs
Part 1: Entity API
Entity
// Creation
let entity = Entity()
let entity = Entity(components: [TransformComponent(), ModelComponent(...)])
// Async loading
let entity = try await Entity(named: "scene", in: .main)
let entity = try await Entity(contentsOf: url)
// Clone
let clone = entity.clone(recursive: true)
Entity Properties
| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
name |
String |
Identifier for lookup |
id |
ObjectIdentifier |
Unique identity |
isEnabled |
Bool |
Local enabled state |
isEnabledInHierarchy |
Bool |
Effective enabled (considers parents) |
isActive |
Bool |
Entity is in an active scene |
isAnchored |
Bool |
Has anchoring or anchored ancestor |
scene |
RealityKit.Scene? |
Owning scene |
parent |
Entity? |
Parent entity |
children |
Entity.ChildCollection |
Child entities |
components |
Entity.ComponentSet |
All attached components |
anchor |
HasAnchoring? |
Nearest anchoring ancestor |
Entity Hierarchy Methods
entity.addChild(child)
entity.addChild(child, preservingWorldTransform: true)
entity.removeChild(child)
entity.removeFromParent()
entity.findEntity(named: "name") // Recursive search
Entity Subclasses
| Class | Purpose | Key Component |
|---|---|---|
Entity |
Base container | Transform only |
ModelEntity |
Renderable object | ModelComponent |
AnchorEntity |
AR anchor point | AnchoringComponent |
PerspectiveCamera |
Virtual camera | PerspectiveCameraComponent |
DirectionalLight |
Sun/directional | DirectionalLightComponent |
PointLight |
Point light | PointLightComponent |
SpotLight |
Spot light | SpotLightComponent |
TriggerVolume |
Invisible collision zone | CollisionComponent |
ViewAttachmentEntity |
SwiftUI view in 3D | visionOS |
BodyTrackedEntity |
Body-tracked entity | BodyTrackingComponent |
Part 2: Component Catalog
Transform
// Properties
entity.position // SIMD3<Float>, local
entity.orientation // simd_quatf
entity.scale // SIMD3<Float>
entity.transform // Transform struct
// World-space
entity.position(relativeTo: nil)
entity.orientation(relativeTo: nil)
entity.setPosition(pos, relativeTo: nil)
// Utilities
entity.look(at: target, from: position, relativeTo: nil)
ModelComponent
let component = ModelComponent(
mesh: MeshResource.generateBox(size: 0.1),
materials: [SimpleMaterial(color: .red, isMetallic: true)]
)
entity.components[ModelComponent.self] = component
MeshResource Built-in Generators
| Method | Parameters |
|---|---|
.generateBox(size:) |
SIMD3<Float> or single Float |
.generateBox(size:cornerRadius:) |
Rounded box |
.generateSphere(radius:) |
Float |
.generatePlane(width:depth:) |
Float, Float |
.generatePlane(width:height:) |
Vertical plane |
.generateCylinder(height:radius:) |
Float, Float |
.generateCone(height:radius:) |
Float, Float |
.generateText(_:) |
String, with options |
CollisionComponent
let component = CollisionComponent(
shapes: [
.generateBox(size: SIMD3(0.1, 0.2, 0.1)),
.generateSphere(radius: 0.05),
.generateCapsule(height: 0.3, radius: 0.05),
.generateConvex(from: meshResource)
],
mode: .default, // .default or .trigger
filter: CollisionFilter(
group: CollisionGroup(rawValue: 1),
mask: .all
)
)
ShapeResource Types
| Method | Description | Performance |
|---|---|---|
.generateBox(size:) |
Axis-aligned box | Fastest |
.generateSphere(radius:) |
Sphere | Fast |
.generateCapsule(height:radius:) |
Capsule | Fast |
.generateConvex(from:) |
Convex hull from mesh | Moderate |
.generateStaticMesh(from:) |
Exact mesh | Slowest (static only) |
PhysicsBodyComponent
let component = PhysicsBodyComponent(
massProperties: .init(
mass: 1.0,
inertia: SIMD3(repeating: 0.1),
centerOfMass: .zero
),
material: .generate(
staticFriction: 0.5,
dynamicFriction: 0.3,
restitution: 0.4
),
mode: .dynamic // .dynamic, .static, .kinematic
)
| Mode | Behavior |
|---|---|
.dynamic |
Physics simulation controls position |
.static |
Immovable, participates in collisions |
.kinematic |
Code-controlled, affects dynamic bodies |
PhysicsMotionComponent
var motion = PhysicsMotionComponent()
motion.linearVelocity = SIMD3(0, 5, 0)
motion.angularVelocity = SIMD3(0, .pi, 0)
entity.components[PhysicsMotionComponent.self] = motion
CharacterControllerComponent
entity.components[CharacterControllerComponent.self] = CharacterControllerComponent(
radius: 0.3,
height: 1.8,
slopeLimit: .pi / 4,
stepLimit: 0.3
)
// Move character with gravity
entity.moveCharacter(
by: SIMD3(0.1, -0.01, 0),
deltaTime: Float(context.deltaTime),
relativeTo: nil
)
AnchoringComponent
// Plane detection
AnchoringComponent(.plane(.horizontal, classification: .table,
minimumBounds: SIMD2(0.2, 0.2)))
AnchoringComponent(.plane(.vertical, classification: .wall,
minimumBounds: SIMD2(0.5, 0.5)))
// World position
AnchoringComponent(.world(transform: float4x4(...)))
// Image anchor
AnchoringComponent(.image(group: "AR Resources", name: "poster"))
// Face tracking
AnchoringComponent(.face)
// Body tracking
AnchoringComponent(.body)
Plane Classification
| Classification | Description |
|---|---|
.table |
Horizontal table surface |
.floor |
Floor surface |
.ceiling |
Ceiling surface |
.wall |
Vertical wall |
.door |
Door |
.window |
Window |
.seat |
Chair/couch |
Light Components
// Directional
let light = DirectionalLightComponent(
color: .white,
intensity: 1000,
isRealWorldProxy: false
)
light.shadow = DirectionalLightComponent.Shadow(
maximumDistance: 10,
depthBias: 0.01
)
// Point
PointLightComponent(
color: .white,
intensity: 1000,
attenuationRadius: 5
)
// Spot
SpotLightComponent(
color: .white,
intensity: 1000,
innerAngleInDegrees: 30,
outerAngleInDegrees: 60,
attenuationRadius: 10
)
Accessibility
var accessibility = AccessibilityComponent()
accessibility.label = "Red cube"
accessibility.value = "Interactive 3D object"
accessibility.traits = .button
accessibility.isAccessibilityElement = true
entity.components[AccessibilityComponent.self] = accessibility
Additional Components
| Component | Purpose | Platform |
|---|---|---|
OpacityComponent |
Fade entity in/out | All |
GroundingShadowComponent |
Contact shadow beneath entity | All |
InputTargetComponent |
Enable gesture input | visionOS |
HoverEffectComponent |
Highlight on gaze/hover | visionOS |
SynchronizationComponent |
Multiplayer entity sync | All |
ImageBasedLightComponent |
Custom environment lighting | All |
ImageBasedLightReceiverComponent |
Receive IBL from source | All |
Part 3: System API
System Protocol
protocol System {
init(scene: RealityKit.Scene)
func update(context: SceneUpdateContext)
}
SceneUpdateContext
| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
deltaTime |
TimeInterval |
Time since last update |
scene |
RealityKit.Scene |
The scene |
// Query entities
context.entities(matching: query, updatingSystemWhen: .rendering)
EntityQuery
// Has specific component
EntityQuery(where: .has(HealthComponent.self))
// Has multiple components
EntityQuery(where: .has(HealthComponent.self) && .has(ModelComponent.self))
// Does not have component
EntityQuery(where: .has(EnemyComponent.self) && !.has(DeadComponent.self))
Scene Events
| Event | Trigger |
|---|---|
SceneEvents.Update |
Every frame |
SceneEvents.DidAddEntity |
Entity added to scene |
SceneEvents.DidRemoveEntity |
Entity removed from scene |
SceneEvents.AnchoredStateChanged |
Anchor tracking changes |
CollisionEvents.Began |
Two entities start colliding |
CollisionEvents.Updated |
Collision continues |
CollisionEvents.Ended |
Collision ends |
AnimationEvents.PlaybackCompleted |
Animation finishes |
scene.subscribe(to: CollisionEvents.Began.self, on: entity) { event in
// event.entityA, event.entityB, event.impulse
}
Part 4: RealityView API
Initializers
// Basic (iOS 18+, visionOS 1.0+)
RealityView { content in
// make: Add entities to content
}
// With update
RealityView { content in
// make
} update: { content in
// update: Called when SwiftUI state changes
}
// With placeholder
RealityView { content in
// make (async loading)
} placeholder: {
ProgressView()
}
// With attachments (visionOS)
RealityView { content, attachments in
// make
} update: { content, attachments in
// update
} attachments: {
Attachment(id: "label") { Text("Hello") }
}
RealityViewContent
content.add(entity)
content.remove(entity)
content.entities // EntityCollection
// iOS/macOS — camera content
content.camera // RealityViewCameraContent (non-visionOS)
Gestures on RealityView
RealityView { content in ... }
.gesture(TapGesture().targetedToAnyEntity().onEnded { value in
let entity = value.entity
})
.gesture(DragGesture().targetedToAnyEntity().onChanged { value in
value.entity.position = value.convert(value.location3D,
from: .local, to: .scene)
})
.gesture(RotateGesture().targetedToAnyEntity().onChanged { value in
// Handle rotation
})
.gesture(MagnifyGesture().targetedToAnyEntity().onChanged { value in
// Handle scale
})
Part 5: Model3D API
// Simple display
Model3D(named: "robot")
// With phases
Model3D(named: "robot") { phase in
switch phase {
case .empty:
ProgressView()
case .success(let model):
model.resizable().scaledToFit()
case .failure(let error):
Text("Failed: \(error.localizedDescription)")
@unknown default:
EmptyView()
}
}
// From URL
Model3D(url: modelURL)
Part 6: Material System
SimpleMaterial
var material = SimpleMaterial()
material.color = .init(tint: .blue)
material.metallic = .init(floatLiteral: 1.0)
material.roughness = .init(floatLiteral: 0.3)
PhysicallyBasedMaterial
var material = PhysicallyBasedMaterial()
material.baseColor = .init(tint: .white,
texture: .init(try .load(named: "albedo")))
material.metallic = .init(floatLiteral: 0.0)
material.roughness = .init(floatLiteral: 0.5)
material.normal = .init(texture: .init(try .load(named: "normal")))
material.ambientOcclusion = .init(texture: .init(try .load(named: "ao")))
material.emissiveColor = .init(color: .blue)
material.emissiveIntensity = 2.0
material.clearcoat = .init(floatLiteral: 0.8)
material.clearcoatRoughness = .init(floatLiteral: 0.1)
material.specular = .init(floatLiteral: 0.5)
material.sheen = .init(color: .white)
material.anisotropyLevel = .init(floatLiteral: 0.5)
material.blending = .transparent(opacity: .init(floatLiteral: 0.5))
material.faceCulling = .back // .none, .front, .back
UnlitMaterial
var material = UnlitMaterial()
material.color = .init(tint: .red,
texture: .init(try .load(named: "texture")))
material.blending = .transparent(opacity: .init(floatLiteral: 0.8))
Special Materials
// Occlusion — invisible but hides content behind it
let occlusionMaterial = OcclusionMaterial()
// Video
let videoMaterial = VideoMaterial(avPlayer: avPlayer)
TextureResource Loading
// From bundle
let texture = try await TextureResource(named: "texture")
// From URL
let texture = try await TextureResource(contentsOf: url)
// With options
let texture = try await TextureResource(named: "texture",
options: .init(semantic: .color)) // .color, .raw, .normal, .hdrColor
Part 7: Animation
Transform Animation
entity.move(
to: Transform(
scale: .one,
rotation: targetRotation,
translation: targetPosition
),
relativeTo: entity.parent,
duration: 1.5,
timingFunction: .easeInOut
)
Timing Functions
| Function | Curve |
|---|---|
.default |
System default |
.linear |
Constant speed |
.easeIn |
Slow start |
.easeOut |
Slow end |
.easeInOut |
Slow start and end |
Playing Loaded Animations
// All animations from USD
for animation in entity.availableAnimations {
let controller = entity.playAnimation(animation)
}
// With options
let controller = entity.playAnimation(
animation.repeat(count: 3),
transitionDuration: 0.3,
startsPaused: false
)
AnimationPlaybackController
let controller = entity.playAnimation(animation)
controller.pause()
controller.resume()
controller.stop()
controller.speed = 0.5 // Half speed
controller.blendFactor = 1.0 // Full blend
controller.isComplete // Check completion
Part 8: Audio
AudioFileResource
// Load
let resource = try AudioFileResource.load(
named: "sound.wav",
configuration: .init(
shouldLoop: true,
shouldRandomizeStartTime: false,
mixGroupName: "effects"
)
)
Audio Components
// Spatial (3D positional)
entity.components[SpatialAudioComponent.self] = SpatialAudioComponent(
directivity: .beam(focus: 0.5),
distanceAttenuation: .rolloff(factor: 1.0),
gain: 0 // dB
)
// Ambient (non-positional, uniform)
entity.components[AmbientAudioComponent.self] = AmbientAudioComponent(
gain: -6
)
// Channel (multi-channel output)
entity.components[ChannelAudioComponent.self] = ChannelAudioComponent(
gain: 0
)
Playback
let controller = entity.playAudio(resource)
controller.pause()
controller.stop()
controller.gain = -3 // Adjust volume (dB)
controller.speed = 1.5 // Pitch shift
entity.stopAllAudio()
Part 9: RealityRenderer (Metal Integration)
// Low-level Metal rendering of RealityKit content
let renderer = try RealityRenderer()
renderer.entities.append(entity)
// Render to Metal texture
let descriptor = RealityRenderer.CameraOutput.Descriptor(
colorFormat: .bgra8Unorm,
depthFormat: .depth32Float
)
try renderer.render(
viewMatrix: viewMatrix,
projectionMatrix: projectionMatrix,
size: size,
colorTexture: colorTexture,
depthTexture: depthTexture
)
Resources
WWDC: 2019-603, 2019-605, 2021-10074, 2022-10074, 2023-10080, 2024-10103, 2024-10153
Docs: /realitykit, /realitykit/entity, /realitykit/component, /realitykit/system, /realitykit/realityview, /realitykit/model3d, /realitykit/modelentity, /realitykit/anchorentity, /realitykit/physicallybasedmaterial
Skills: axiom-realitykit, axiom-realitykit-diag, axiom-scenekit-ref
Recommended Agent Skills
Expand your agent's capabilities with these related and highly-rated skills.
axiom-mapkit-diag
MapKit troubleshooting — annotations not appearing, region jumping, clustering not working, search failures, overlay rendering issues, user location problems
axiom-core-location
Use for Core Location implementation patterns - authorization strategy, monitoring strategy, accuracy selection, background location
axiom-energy
Use when app drains battery, device gets hot, users report energy issues, or auditing power consumption - systematic Power Profiler diagnosis, subsystem identification (CPU/GPU/Network/Location/Display), anti-pattern fixes for iOS/iPadOS
axiom-audit-storage
Use when the user mentions file storage issues, data loss, backup bloat, or asks to audit storage usage.
axiom-app-store-connect-ref
Use when navigating App Store Connect to find crash data, read TestFlight feedback, interpret metrics dashboards, or export diagnostic logs. Covers crash-free rates, dSYM symbolication, termination types, MetricKit.
axiom-testflight-triage
Use when ANY beta tester reports a crash, ANY crash appears in Organizer or App Store Connect, crash logs need symbolication, app was killed without crash report, or you need to triage TestFlight feedback
Didn't find tool you were looking for?