Persistence Setup Skill for Claude

Persistence Setup Generator

Generates a production-ready persistence layer using SwiftData (iOS 17+) or CoreData with optional iCloud (CloudKit) sync.

When This Skill Activates

• User asks to "add persistence" or "set up data storage"
• User mentions "SwiftData", "CoreData", or "local storage"
• User wants to "sync data to iCloud" or "enable cloud sync"
• User asks about "offline storage" or "data models"

Pre-Generation Checks (CRITICAL)

1. Project Context Detection

Before generating, ALWAYS check:

# Check deployment target
cat Package.swift | grep -i "platform"
# Or check project.pbxproj

# Find existing persistence implementations
rg -l "ModelContainer|NSPersistentContainer|@Model|@Entity" --type swift

# Check for existing SwiftData models
rg "@Model" --type swift | head -5

# Check for CoreData stack
rg "NSManagedObjectContext|NSPersistentStore" --type swift | head -5

# Check existing entitlements for iCloud
cat *.entitlements 2>/dev/null | grep -i "icloud"

2. Framework Selection

Use SwiftData if:

• Deployment target is iOS 17+ / macOS 14+
• User explicitly requests SwiftData
• No existing CoreData implementation

Use CoreData if:

• Deployment target < iOS 17
• Existing CoreData stack present
• User explicitly requests CoreData

3. Conflict Detection

If existing persistence found:

• Ask: Extend existing, migrate to SwiftData, or create separate?

Configuration Questions

Ask user via AskUserQuestion:

• Framework choice?
• SwiftData (iOS 17+, recommended)
• CoreData (older targets)

• Enable iCloud sync?
• Yes (requires CloudKit entitlement)
• No (local only)

• Generate example model?
• Yes (with sample Item model)
• No (just infrastructure)

Generation Process

Step 1: Create Core Files

Always generate:

Sources/Persistence/
├── PersistenceController.swift    # Container setup
├── Repository.swift               # Repository protocol
└── SwiftDataRepository.swift      # Concrete implementation

If example model requested:

Sources/Persistence/Models/
└── Item.swift                     # Sample @Model

If iCloud enabled:

Sources/Persistence/CloudSync/
├── CloudKitConfiguration.swift    # Container identifier
└── SyncStatus.swift               # Sync monitoring

Step 2: Read Templates

Read templates from this skill:

• templates/PersistenceController.swift
• templates/Repository.swift
• templates/SwiftDataRepository.swift
• templates/ExampleModel.swift
• templates/CloudKitConfiguration.swift (if iCloud)
• templates/SyncStatus.swift (if iCloud)

Step 3: Customize for Project

Adapt templates to match:

• Project naming conventions
• Existing model patterns
• Bundle identifier for CloudKit container

Step 4: Integration

Basic Integration:

@main
struct MyApp: App {
    let container = PersistenceController.shared.container

    var body: some Scene {
        WindowGroup {
            ContentView()
                .modelContainer(container)
        }
    }
}

With iCloud sync:

@main
struct MyApp: App {
    let container = PersistenceController.shared.container

    var body: some Scene {
        WindowGroup {
            ContentView()
                .modelContainer(container)
                .environment(\.syncStatus, SyncStatus.shared)
        }
    }
}

iCloud Sync Setup

Required Capabilities (Xcode)

• iCloud capability:
• Check "CloudKit"
• Add container: iCloud.com.yourcompany.yourapp

• Background Modes (optional, for background sync):
• Check "Remote notifications"

Required Entitlements

<key>com.apple.developer.icloud-container-identifiers</key>
<array>
    <string>iCloud.com.yourcompany.yourapp</string>
</array>
<key>com.apple.developer.icloud-services</key>
<array>
    <string>CloudKit</string>
</array>

CloudKit Dashboard Setup

• Go to CloudKit Dashboard
• Select your container
• Schema is auto-created from @Model classes
• Deploy schema to production before release

Generated Code Patterns

Repository Protocol

protocol Repository<T>: Sendable {
    associatedtype T: PersistentModel

    func fetch(predicate: Predicate<T>?, sortBy: [SortDescriptor<T>]) async throws -> [T]
    func insert(_ item: T) async throws
    func delete(_ item: T) async throws
    func save() async throws
}

SwiftData Model

@Model
final class Item {
    var title: String
    var timestamp: Date
    var isCompleted: Bool

    init(title: String, timestamp: Date = .now, isCompleted: Bool = false) {
        self.title = title
        self.timestamp = timestamp
        self.isCompleted = isCompleted
    }
}

Container with CloudKit

let container = try ModelContainer(
    for: Item.self,
    configurations: ModelConfiguration(
        cloudKitDatabase: .private("iCloud.com.yourcompany.yourapp")
    )
)

Verification Checklist

After generation, verify:

• [ ] App launches without crashes
• [ ] Data persists between app launches
• [ ] Models compile without errors
• [ ] (If iCloud) CloudKit container exists in dashboard
• [ ] (If iCloud) Data syncs between devices
• [ ] Repository pattern allows easy testing

Common Customizations

Adding New Models

@Model
final class Project {
    var name: String
    @Relationship(deleteRule: .cascade) var items: [Item]

    init(name: String, items: [Item] = []) {
        self.name = name
        self.items = items
    }
}

// Update container
let container = try ModelContainer(for: Item.self, Project.self)

Custom Fetch Descriptors

let descriptor = FetchDescriptor<Item>(
    predicate: #Predicate { $0.isCompleted == false },
    sortBy: [SortDescriptor(\.timestamp, order: .reverse)]
)
let items = try modelContext.fetch(descriptor)

Migration (SwiftData)

// SwiftData handles lightweight migrations automatically
// For complex migrations, use VersionedSchema

enum ItemSchemaV1: VersionedSchema {
    static var versionIdentifier = Schema.Version(1, 0, 0)
    static var models: [any PersistentModel.Type] { [Item.self] }
}

Troubleshooting

iCloud Sync Not Working

• Check entitlements match CloudKit container
• Verify CloudKit Dashboard shows your container
• Check device is signed into iCloud
• Deploy schema to production if testing on release build

Data Not Persisting

• Verify modelContainer modifier is on root view
• Check save() is called after modifications
• Look for errors in Console.app

CloudKit Quota Exceeded

• Default quota is generous (free tier: 100MB asset storage)
• Consider pruning old data
• Use cloudKitDatabase: .automatic for shared containers

Related Skills

• networking-layer - For remote API data alongside local cache
• settings-screen - Often uses @AppStorage (simpler persistence)

References

• SwiftData Documentation
• CloudKit Documentation
• Syncing Model Data Across Devices