Agent skill
swiftdata
Implement, review, or improve data persistence using SwiftData. Use when defining @Model classes with @Attribute, @Relationship, @Transient, @Unique, or @Index; when querying with @Query, #Predicate, FetchDescriptor, or SortDescriptor; when configuring ModelContainer and ModelContext for SwiftUI or background work with @ModelActor; when planning schema migrations with VersionedSchema and SchemaMigrationPlan; when setting up CloudKit sync with ModelConfiguration; or when coexisting with or migrating from Core Data.
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/dpearson2699/swift-ios-skills/tree/main/skills/swiftdata
SKILL.md
SwiftData
Persist, query, and manage structured data in iOS 26+ apps using SwiftData with Swift 6.3.
Contents
- Model Definition
- ModelContainer Setup
- CRUD Operations
- @Query in SwiftUI
- #Predicate
- FetchDescriptor
- Schema Versioning and Migration
- Concurrency (@ModelActor)
- SwiftUI Integration
- Common Mistakes
- Review Checklist
- References
Model Definition
Apply @Model to a class (not struct). Generates PersistentModel, Observable, Sendable.
@Model
class Trip {
var name: String
var destination: String
var startDate: Date
var endDate: Date
var isFavorite: Bool = false
@Attribute(.externalStorage) var imageData: Data?
@Relationship(deleteRule: .cascade, inverse: \LivingAccommodation.trip)
var accommodation: LivingAccommodation?
@Transient var isSelected: Bool = false // Always provide default
init(name: String, destination: String, startDate: Date, endDate: Date) {
self.name = name; self.destination = destination
self.startDate = startDate; self.endDate = endDate
}
}
@Attribute options: .externalStorage, .unique, .spotlight, .allowsCloudEncryption, .preserveValueOnDeletion (iOS 18+), .ephemeral, .transformable(by:). Rename: @Attribute(originalName: "old_name").
@Relationship: deleteRule: .cascade/.nullify(default)/.deny/.noAction. Specify inverse: for reliable behavior. Unidirectional (iOS 18+): inverse: nil.
#Unique (iOS 18+): #Unique<Person>([\.firstName, \.lastName]) -- compound uniqueness.
Inheritance (iOS 26+): @Model class BusinessTrip: Trip { var company: String }.
Supported types: Bool, Int/UInt variants, Float, Double, String, Date, Data, URL, UUID, Decimal, Array, Dictionary, Set, Codable enums, Codable structs (composite, iOS 18+), relationships to @Model classes.
ModelContainer Setup
// Basic
let container = try ModelContainer(for: Trip.self, LivingAccommodation.self)
// Configured
let config = ModelConfiguration("Store", isStoredInMemoryOnly: false,
groupContainer: .identifier("group.com.example.app"),
cloudKitDatabase: .private("iCloud.com.example.app"))
let container = try ModelContainer(for: Trip.self, configurations: config)
// With migration plan
let container = try ModelContainer(for: SchemaV2.Trip.self,
migrationPlan: TripMigrationPlan.self)
// In-memory (previews/tests)
let container = try ModelContainer(for: Trip.self,
configurations: ModelConfiguration(isStoredInMemoryOnly: true))
CRUD Operations
// CREATE
let trip = Trip(name: "Summer", destination: "Paris", startDate: .now, endDate: .now + 86400*7)
modelContext.insert(trip)
try modelContext.save() // or rely on autosave
// READ
let trips = try modelContext.fetch(FetchDescriptor<Trip>(
predicate: #Predicate { $0.destination == "Paris" },
sortBy: [SortDescriptor(\.startDate)]))
// UPDATE -- modify properties directly; autosave handles persistence
trip.destination = "Rome"
// DELETE
modelContext.delete(trip)
try modelContext.delete(model: Trip.self, where: #Predicate { $0.isFavorite == false })
// TRANSACTION (atomic)
try modelContext.transaction {
modelContext.insert(trip); trip.isFavorite = true
}
@Query in SwiftUI
struct TripListView: View {
@Query(filter: #Predicate<Trip> { $0.isFavorite == true },
sort: \.startDate, order: .reverse)
private var favorites: [Trip]
var body: some View { List(favorites) { trip in Text(trip.name) } }
}
// Dynamic query via init
struct SearchView: View {
@Query private var trips: [Trip]
init(search: String) {
_trips = Query(filter: #Predicate<Trip> { trip in
search.isEmpty || trip.name.localizedStandardContains(search)
}, sort: [SortDescriptor(\.name)])
}
var body: some View { List(trips) { trip in Text(trip.name) } }
}
// FetchDescriptor query
struct RecentView: View {
static var desc: FetchDescriptor<Trip> {
var d = FetchDescriptor<Trip>(sortBy: [SortDescriptor(\.startDate)])
d.fetchLimit = 5; return d
}
@Query(RecentView.desc) private var recent: [Trip]
var body: some View { List(recent) { trip in Text(trip.name) } }
}
#Predicate
#Predicate<Trip> { $0.destination.localizedStandardContains("paris") } // String
#Predicate<Trip> { $0.startDate > Date.now } // Date
#Predicate<Trip> { $0.isFavorite && $0.destination != "Unknown" } // Compound
#Predicate<Trip> { $0.accommodation?.name != nil } // Optional
#Predicate<Trip> { $0.tags.contains { $0.name == "adventure" } } // Collection
Supported: ==, !=, <, <=, >, >=, &&, ||, !, contains(), allSatisfy(), filter(), starts(with:), localizedStandardContains(), caseInsensitiveCompare(), arithmetic, ternary, optional chaining, nil coalescing, type casting. Not supported: flow control, nested declarations, arbitrary method calls.
FetchDescriptor
var d = FetchDescriptor<Trip>(predicate: ..., sortBy: [...])
d.fetchLimit = 20; d.fetchOffset = 0
d.includePendingChanges = true
d.propertiesToFetch = [\.name, \.startDate]
d.relationshipKeyPathsForPrefetching = [\.accommodation]
let trips = try modelContext.fetch(d)
let count = try modelContext.fetchCount(d)
let ids = try modelContext.fetchIdentifiers(d)
try modelContext.enumerate(d, batchSize: 1000) { trip in trip.isProcessed = true }
Schema Versioning and Migration
enum SchemaV1: VersionedSchema {
static var versionIdentifier = Schema.Version(1, 0, 0)
static var models: [any PersistentModel.Type] { [Trip.self] }
@Model class Trip { var name: String; init(name: String) { self.name = name } }
}
enum SchemaV2: VersionedSchema {
static var versionIdentifier = Schema.Version(2, 0, 0)
static var models: [any PersistentModel.Type] { [Trip.self] }
@Model class Trip {
var name: String; var startDate: Date? // New property
init(name: String) { self.name = name }
}
}
enum TripMigrationPlan: SchemaMigrationPlan {
static var schemas: [any VersionedSchema.Type] { [SchemaV1.self, SchemaV2.self] }
static var stages: [MigrationStage] { [migrateV1toV2] }
static let migrateV1toV2 = MigrationStage.lightweight(
fromVersion: SchemaV1.self, toVersion: SchemaV2.self)
}
// Custom migration for data transformation
static let migrateV2toV3 = MigrationStage.custom(
fromVersion: SchemaV2.self, toVersion: SchemaV3.self,
willMigrate: nil,
didMigrate: { context in
let trips = try context.fetch(FetchDescriptor<SchemaV3.Trip>())
for trip in trips { trip.displayName = trip.name.capitalized }
try context.save()
})
Lightweight handles: adding optional/defaulted properties, renaming (originalName), removing properties, adding model types.
Concurrency (@ModelActor)
@ModelActor
actor DataHandler {
func importTrips(_ records: [TripRecord]) throws {
for r in records {
modelContext.insert(Trip(name: r.name, destination: r.dest,
startDate: r.start, endDate: r.end))
}
try modelContext.save() // Always save explicitly in @ModelActor
}
func process(tripID: PersistentIdentifier) throws {
guard let trip = self[tripID, as: Trip.self] else { return }
trip.isProcessed = true; try modelContext.save()
}
}
let handler = DataHandler(modelContainer: container)
try await handler.importTrips(records)
Rules: ModelContainer is Sendable. ModelContext is NOT -- use on its creating actor. Pass PersistentIdentifier (Sendable) across boundaries. Never pass @Model objects across actors.
SwiftUI Integration
@main
struct MyApp: App {
var body: some Scene {
WindowGroup { ContentView() }
.modelContainer(for: [Trip.self, LivingAccommodation.self])
}
}
struct DetailView: View {
@Environment(\.modelContext) private var modelContext
let trip: Trip
var body: some View {
Text(trip.name)
Button("Delete") { modelContext.delete(trip) }
}
}
#Preview {
let config = ModelConfiguration(isStoredInMemoryOnly: true)
let container = try! ModelContainer(for: Trip.self, configurations: config)
container.mainContext.insert(Trip(name: "Preview", destination: "London",
startDate: .now, endDate: .now + 86400))
return TripListView().modelContainer(container)
}
Common Mistakes
1. @Model on struct -- Use class. @Model requires reference semantics.
2. @Transient without default -- Always provide default: @Transient var x: Bool = false.
3. Missing .modelContainer -- @Query returns empty without a container on the view hierarchy.
4. Passing model objects across actors:
// WRONG: await handler.process(trip: trip)
// CORRECT: await handler.process(tripID: trip.persistentModelID)
5. ModelContext on wrong actor:
// WRONG: Task.detached { context.fetch(...) }
// CORRECT: Use @ModelActor for background work
6. Unsupported #Predicate expressions:
// WRONG: #Predicate<Trip> { $0.name.uppercased() == "PARIS" }
// CORRECT: #Predicate<Trip> { $0.name.localizedStandardContains("paris") }
7. Flow control in #Predicate:
// WRONG: #Predicate<Trip> { for tag in $0.tags { ... } }
// CORRECT: #Predicate<Trip> { $0.tags.contains { $0.name == "x" } }
8. No save in @ModelActor -- Always call try modelContext.save() explicitly.
9. ObservableObject with @Model -- Never use ObservableObject/@Published. @Model generates Observable. Use @Query in views.
10. Non-optional relationship without default:
// WRONG: var accommodation: LivingAccommodation // crashes on reconstitution
// CORRECT: var accommodation: LivingAccommodation?
11. Cascade without inverse -- Specify inverse: for reliable cascade delete behavior.
12. DispatchQueue for background data work:
// WRONG: DispatchQueue.global().async { ModelContext(container).fetch(...) }
// CORRECT: @ModelActor actor Handler { func fetch() throws { ... } }
Review Checklist
- Every
@Modelis a class with a designated initializer - All
@Transientproperties have default values - Relationships specify
deleteRuleandinverse -
.modelContainerattached at scene/root view level -
@Queryused for reactive data display in SwiftUI -
#Predicateuses only supported operators - Background work uses
@ModelActor -
PersistentIdentifierused across actor boundaries - Schema changes have
VersionedSchema+SchemaMigrationPlan - Large data uses
@Attribute(.externalStorage) - CloudKit models use optionals and avoid unique constraints
- Explicit
save()in@ModelActormethods - Previews use
ModelConfiguration(isStoredInMemoryOnly: true) -
@Modelclasses accessed from SwiftUI views are on@MainActorvia@ModelActoror MainActor isolation
References
- See references/swiftdata-advanced.md for custom data stores, history tracking, CloudKit, Core Data coexistence, composite attributes, model inheritance, undo/redo, and performance patterns.
- See references/swiftdata-queries.md for @Query variants, FetchDescriptor deep dive, sectioned queries, dynamic queries, and background fetch patterns.
- See references/core-data-coexistence.md for standalone Core Data patterns and Core Data to SwiftData migration strategies.
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