ui-ios

ui-ios — Slop-Free SwiftUI Skill

You are generating production-grade iOS UI in SwiftUI (iOS 17+) and Swift 5.9+. This skill exists because untouched LLMs produce AI slop: purple→pink LinearGradients, default centered VStack heros, three-card LazyVGrid features, magic numbers everywhere (.padding(13), .cornerRadius(7)), Inter on iOS, glassmorphism on every card, "Get Started" buttons, and the median of every SwiftUI tutorial scraped from GitHub. This skill replaces guesses with constraints.

The non-negotiable rule: NEVER use a buzzword in place of a token. Words like clean, modern, professional, sleek, premium are banned from your reasoning. Every aesthetic choice must trace back to a named anchor recipe in anchors.md and a value in Theme/Tokens.swift.

iOS adds a second non-negotiable: HIG mechanics are strict. 44pt minimum touch targets. SF Symbols only for system icons. Dynamic Type mandatory. Safe area respected. NavigationStack for navigation. .sheet / .fullScreenCover for modal presentation. Swipe-back gesture preserved. Brand has freedom over color, custom typography (with declared system fallback), accent, motion personality, and shape — not over the platform mechanics above.

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Workflow (follow in order)

Step 0 — Project scan (decides bootstrap vs extend mode)

Before any other action, check for:

DESIGN_RULES.md                      # at repo root → if exists, you are in EXTEND mode
*/Theme/Tokens.swift                 # → if exists, you are in EXTEND mode
*/Theme/ThemeModifier.swift
.swiftlint.yml                       # check for custom slop rules

• If DESIGN_RULES.md exists: read it. Read the existing Tokens.swift. Skip to Step 3 (Phase 2: UI). Use only existing tokens. NEVER add new colors/spacing/radii without asking.
• If Tokens.swift exists but no DESIGN_RULES.md: read tokens, infer the closest matching anchor, ask the user to confirm the inferred anchor, then write DESIGN_RULES.md and proceed to Phase 2.
• If neither exists: you are in bootstrap mode. Continue to Step 1.

Step 1 — Intake (interactive, bootstrap only)

Use AskUserQuestion to gather, in this order:

1. Anchor pick — show the 8 recipes from anchors.md (one-line summary each). Note that Apple Music / Podcasts is the most native to iOS and the safest default. Let the user pick 1–3. If 2–3, ask which is primary and which contributes type vs color vs motion.
2. Ban menu — show the 8 ban patterns from ban-patterns.md with the 3 default-on items pre-checked. Confirm.
3. Project context:
   • Content density: airy / balanced / dense
   • Primary surface: app / utility / reader / media / form-heavy / game-shell
   • Dark mode: required (default on iOS) / optional / none
   • iPad support: yes / no
   • Brand color (if any): hex value or "derive from anchor"
   • Custom typography: yes (must declare a system font fallback) / no (use SF Pro)

Do NOT ask vibe questions ("how should it feel?"). Ask only the questions above.

Step 2 — Phase 1: tokens (gated)

Generate, in this order:

1. <App>/Theme/Tokens.swift — enum-based tokens. Use the template at templates/Tokens.swift.tmpl. Required enums: Theme.Color, Theme.Spacing, Theme.Radius, Theme.Font, Theme.Shadow, Theme.Motion.
2. <App>/Theme/ThemeModifier.swift — EnvironmentKey-driven theme injection so views never reach into Tokens through string literals or hardcoded paths.
3. Color assets — Background, Surface, Accent, TextPrimary, TextSecondary, semantic (Success, Warning, Danger) — each with Any Appearance and Dark Appearance variants in Assets.xcassets. List the assets the user must add; do not invent hex values without anchor justification.
4. .swiftlint.yml patch — enable the slop-blocking custom rules from templates/swiftlint.yml.tmpl.
5. DESIGN_RULES.md at repo root — fill templates/DESIGN_RULES.md.tmpl with the chosen anchors, active bans, token file paths, and verification command.
6. CLAUDE.md patch — append (do not overwrite): Before any UI/UX work, read and follow DESIGN_RULES.md.

Then run the Token Audit from verification.md and print the PASS/FAIL table to the user. Do not proceed to Phase 2 until the user approves.

Step 3 — Phase 2: UI

Generate the requested screen/View using only values from Theme.*. Follow:

• component-anatomy.md — exact rules for Button, TextField, List/Form rows, NavigationStack, sheets, ConfirmationDialog, Alert, TabView, ProgressView, ContentUnavailableView, form fields.
• motion.md — easing curves and durations.
• copy-voice.md — every string is real, contextual copy. No lorem ipsum, no filler. Honor iOS button conventions (Cancel left, primary right; "Done" capitalized in nav bars).
• icons-imagery.md — SF Symbols ONLY for system icons. Never Lucide / Phosphor / custom inline SVG when SF Symbols has the glyph.

Then run the UI Audit from verification.md AND swiftlint. Print the audit table. Fix every FAIL before claiming done.

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Files in this skill

File	When to read
anchors.md	Step 1, before showing the user choices. ALWAYS read fully — never quote from memory.
ban-patterns.md	Step 1, when showing ban menu. Step 2 and 3, when verifying.
component-anatomy.md	Step 3, before writing any View.
motion.md	Step 3, when adding any .animation or withAnimation.
copy-voice.md	Step 3, before writing any user-facing string.
icons-imagery.md	Step 3, when choosing SF Symbols or images.
verification.md	After Step 2 (Token Audit) and after Step 3 (UI Audit). MANDATORY — do not skip.
templates/*	Use as the basis for the generated files; fill placeholders, never ship as-is.

Hard rules (the model must obey these always)

1. No magic numbers. Forbidden: .padding(13), .frame(width: 372), .cornerRadius(7), Color(red: 0.2, green: 0.4, blue: 0.6), Color(hex: "#3a4f6b"). Every value must come from Theme.Spacing, Theme.Radius, Theme.Color, Theme.Font, or Theme.Motion. If you need a value that does not exist, ask the user to add it.
2. No buzzwords in code or comments. Banned strings in your output: clean, modern, professional, sleek, premium, beautiful, elegant (except in copy if the user explicitly asked for those words).
3. No default-style-tells unless the chosen anchor explicitly allows them. Specifically: no LinearGradient(colors: [.purple, .pink], ...), no [.indigo, .purple], no .ultraThinMaterial on cards (only on chrome — toolbar, sheets — where iOS uses it natively).
4. No filler copy. No lorem ipsum. No "Lightning fast", "Built for iOS", "Powered by AI", "Get Started", "Beautiful and intuitive".
5. Touch targets ≥ 44pt on every interactive element. Verify with .frame(minHeight: 44) or .contentShape.
6. Dynamic Type support is mandatory. Use .font(.body), .font(.headline), Theme.Font.body() — never fixed .system(size: 14) outside Theme.Font. Test at xxxLarge.
7. Safe area is respected. No .ignoresSafeArea unless intentional and documented inline with a // SAFE-AREA-IGNORE: <reason> comment.
8. VoiceOver labels on every icon-only Button (.accessibilityLabel("...")).
9. Dark mode parity. Every Color comes from an asset with both Any/Dark variants OR from Theme.Color. Verify by toggling preview.
10. SF Symbols only for system iconography. Image(systemName:) always. Custom Image("name") only for brand artwork.
11. You must run the verification checklist before responding "done". Print the audit table to the user.

What this skill is NOT

• Not a magic-aesthetic generator. You still have to pick an anchor and follow it.
• Not a copy generator. Phase 2 stops and asks for real copy when needed.
• Not a brand-design tool. Logo and brand identity are the user's call.
• Not a replacement for design review with humans. The audit table is a floor, not a ceiling.
• Not for AppKit, Catalyst, or visionOS — pure SwiftUI on iOS 17+ only. For iPad-specific patterns (Sidebar, three-column), follow the same anchors but defer column layout to user request.