SwiftUI Native Component Design Skill

An Agent Skill that packages a design process — and copy-adaptable Swift code templates — for building custom SwiftUI components that feel as native as Button, Toggle, or ContentUnavailableView.

This repository distills a five-step process (classify → model semantics → follow SwiftUI data-flow conventions → design the initializer → design the customization API) into a concise checklist for agents, plus worked reference examples.

Who this is for

Anyone designing a reusable SwiftUI View for a design-system module or shared UI package
Developers reviewing an existing custom component's API for boolean-flag proliferation, missing accessibility, or the wrong data-flow primitive
Anyone deciding between a plain modifier, an environment value, and a custom ViewStyle for a component's customization story

How to Use This Skill

Option A: Using skills.sh (recommended)

Install this skill with a single command:

npx skills add https://github.com/alexanderwe/swiftui-native-component-design-skill --skill swiftui-native-component-design

For more information, visit the skills.sh platform page.

Then use the skill in your AI agent, for example:

Use the swiftui-native-component-design skill to design the API for this custom Rating view.

Option B: Claude Code Plugin

To install this skill for your personal use in Claude Code:

Add the marketplace:

/plugin marketplace add alexanderwe/swiftui-native-component-design-skill

Install the skill:

/plugin install swiftui-native-component-design@swiftui-native-component-design-skill

Project configuration

To automatically provide this skill to everyone working in a repository, configure the repository's .claude/settings.json:

{
  "enabledPlugins": {
    "swiftui-native-component-design@swiftui-native-component-design-skill": true
  },
  "extraKnownMarketplaces": {
    "swiftui-native-component-design-skill": {
      "source": {
        "source": "github",
        "repo": "alexanderwe/swiftui-native-component-design-skill"
      }
    }
  }
}

When team members open the project, Claude Code will prompt them to install the skill.

Option C: Manual install

Clone this repository.
Copy or symlink the swiftui-native-component-design-skill/ folder into your tool's skills directory (see Claude's Agent Skills docs).
Ask your agent to use the skill for SwiftUI component work, e.g.:

Use the swiftui-native-component-design skill to design the API for this custom Rating view.

How to verify: your agent should reference the checklist in swiftui-native-component-design-skill/SKILL.md and pull in the relevant reference file (initializers.md, view-styles.md, or environment-customization.md) for the task at hand.

What's Inside

Classification — semantic vs. prescriptive components, and why that fork drives the customization approach
Semantic modeling — making invalid states unrepresentable, naming aligned with Apple's own vocabulary
Data-flow conventions — immutable input vs. Binding vs. internal @State, composition over flag proliferation, accessibility as part of the API
Initializer design — container-view (@ViewBuilder slots + focused convenience initializers) and leaf-view patterns, worked through Card and Tag examples
Customization API design — a full ViewStyle-protocol pattern for semantic components, and @Entry environment-value hooks for prescriptive ones
Review checklist — the same five steps, reframed as questions for reviewing an existing component

Non-opinionated on architecture or formatting: focuses on component API shape, SwiftUI data-flow correctness, and native-feeling customization.

Repository Structure

swiftui-native-component-design-skill/
  SKILL.md                              # Entry point: the five-step process
  references/
    initializers.md                     # Card (container) and Tag (leaf) patterns
    view-styles.md                      # Full ViewStyle-protocol pattern (Rating/RatingStyle)
    environment-customization.md        # @Entry environment-value pattern (Tag/tagBackgroundStyle)
evals/                                  # skill-creator eval suite (trigger accuracy + output quality)
scripts/
  validate-package.py                   # package/metadata validation, run in CI
.github/workflows/validate.yml          # CI: runs validate-package.py, skills CLI discovery, claude plugin validate

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.

Swiftui Native Component Design Skill

At a glance

README