Hi! I have a concern for the SSC: I worked on the Playground app, but on MacOS. My app has been developped to be firstly used on a mac, as the playground app let you directly download your app on you mac and act as a real one. When i wanted to submit, I noticed there is nowhere to specify whether your app should be tested on iPad or on MacBook. I saw Playground apps would be tested on an iPad, does it mean I have to refactor my app to work on one, or i can mention on a comment that it is a MacOS app, and should therefore be tested on a mac? Thanks for your help on this

Hey everyone! I’m currently working on my Swift Student Challenge app and exploring ways to enhance its visuals. I was wondering—does anyone know if images generated by Apple Intelligence Image Playground can be used in the app?

Hello. I've made a shape in the app which looks like the hello sign on apple products at startup. Is this considered plagiarism, or is it acceptable to use it in an app? P.s: i've used Path for it and drawed it with curves

Hi! While working on my Swift Student Challenge submission it seems that I found a race condition (TOCTOU) bug in SwiftUI when using sheets, and I'm not sure if this is expected behaviour or not. Here's an example code: import SwiftUI struct ContentView: View { @State var myVar: Int? @State private var presentSheet: Bool = false var body: some View { VStack { // Uncommenting the following Text() view will "fix" the bug (kind of, see a better workaround below). // Text("The value is \(myVar == nil ? "nil" : "not nil")") Button { myVar = nil } label: { Text("Set value to nil.") } Button { myVar = 1 presentSheet.toggle() } label: { Text("Set value to 1 and open sheet.") } } .sheet(isPresented: $presentSheet, content: { if myVar == nil { Text("The value is nil") .onAppear { print(myVar) // prints Optional(1) } } else { Text("The value is not nil") } }) } } When opening the app and pressing the open sheet button, the sheet shows "The value is nil", even though the button sets myVar to 1 before the presentSheet Bool is toggled. Thankfully, as a workaround to this bug, I found out you can change the sheet's view to this: .sheet(isPresented: $presentSheet, content: { if myVar == nil { Text("The value is nil") .onAppear { if myVar != nil { print("Resetting View (TOCTOU found)") let mySwap = myVar myVar = nil myVar = mySwap } } } else { Text("The value is not nil") } }) This triggers a view refresh by setting the variable to nil and then to its non-nil value again if the TOCTOU is found. Do you think this is expected behaivor? Should I report a bug for this? This bug also affects .fullScreenCover() and .popover().

Hi, Does the iPad Playgrounds app act completely the same way as a MacBook Playground? I am developing my app on a 2020 MacBook Air M1 using Swift Playgrounds. However, since the testing is going to be done on an iPad Swift Playgrounds, I was worried if my playground would work, since it relies heavily on the screen size etc. My app runs completely perfect on MacBook Playrgounds, but doesn't work on the iPad simulator on Xcode.

Hi! I wanted to use Lottie in my swiftpm app, but I've been running into errors and I'm not sure if it's possible. When I try to run the app, it crashes and I get errors saying that the library isn't loaded and the files aren't found (basically these: https://github.com/lottie-react-native/lottie-react-native/issues/373 , https://github.com/airbnb/lottie-ios/issues/2233 ). But moving the framework file into the PackageFrameworks folder doesn't work, and also I'm getting the error that swiftpm cannot distribute packages containing binary frameworks and from what I understand that just isn't something that swiftpm can do. So I was wondering if anyone knows any workarounds to this, or if I should just ditch Lottie? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hello, my submission is based on Haptics. Without it the App doesn't make sense. And only real iPhone can give this opportunity. But it says that Xcode playgrounds will be tested on Simulator. Is it indeed like this? What can I do? Thank you in advance!

Hello, since I'm using SwiftUI and some interface should be optimized for different devices(like iPad and iPhone), so I'm curious that what device would be used to run the App? Is it iPad or iPhone? And could I use SDKs like SiriKit?

I have created a model folder and some swift files that are contained inside the folder. I change the file names to reflect structure or content and when I close the project and reopen it the file names revert to "New File" I am using Swift Playgrounds on Mac. Not Xcode Playgrounds

Hi everyone, I am doing my app playground, when I change the development team or try to clear it, this bug happend? So I wonder do I have to remove it when I submit my work or just leave it there. Signing for "myapp" requires a development team. Select a development team in the Signing & Capabilities editor.

Hello guys, I have a question regarding the submission requirements. My app uses ARKit and requires Metal files for shaders, which are not supported by Swift Playgrounds. Therefore, I developed my app using Xcode. (swift playgrounds returning error for metal file) Since my app relies on a real device for proper functionality, I would like to know if, under these circumstances, the scene build is performed by Xcode. If the build were instead done by Swift Playgrounds, my scene would not function correctly. I'm asking that because of this note Thank you for your time and assistance.

I was just filling the submission for the swift student challenge and there is a note below adding the zip file saying Note: Xcode app playgrounds are run in Simulator. Now my xcode app playground(.swiftpm) is an AR app and needs an ipad or an iphone to run . So will my submission still be eligible for assessment and checked on ipad???

I am currently finalizing my Swift Student Challenge submission, and Metal shaders are an essential part of my app. However, during submission, I noticed a note explaining: "Note: Xcode app playgrounds are run in Simulator", which is not possible for my app, as it also requires the camera of a physical device to function. So, I am currently transferring my app from Xcode into Swift Playgrounds, which I presume will run on physical devices. However, I noticed that Swift Playgrounds do not yet support Metal shaders directly, so I am now pre-compiling my shaders to load them at runtime instead. Note that all the code below was run either in the terminal or in Xcode. I have already compiled my Metal shaders with: xcrun -sdk iphoneos metal -o Shaders.ir -c Shaders.metal xcrun -sdk iphoneos metallib Shaders.ir -o Shaders.metallib Which seems to have run without any problems. When I run: let shaderPath = Bundle.main.path(forResource: "Shaders", ofType: "metallib") let shaderURL = URL(fileURLWithPath: shaderPath!) let shaderData = try! Data(contentsOf: shaderURL) do { let device = MTLCreateSystemDefaultDevice()! let library = try shaderData.withUnsafeBytes { bytes -> MTLLibrary? in let dispatchData = DispatchData(bytes: bytes) return try device.makeLibrary(data: dispatchData as __DispatchData) } print(library!.functionNames) } catch { print(error.localizedDescription) } My Metal shader functions are printed correctly in the console. However, based on my research, it seems like a MTLLibrary cannot be converted into a SwiftUI ShaderLibrary. That is why I am now looking at these two initializers: ShaderLibrary(url: URL) ShaderLibrary(data: Data) Which state: Creates a new Metal shader library from the contents of url/data, which must be the contents of precompiled Metal library. Functions compiled from the returned library will only be cached as long as the returned library exists., which I believe should work for my use case. However, the problem arises when I run this code: let shaderPath = Bundle.main.path(forResource: "Shaders", ofType: "metallib") let shaderURL = URL(fileURLWithPath: shaderPath!) let library = ShaderLibrary(url: shaderURL) My app consistently seems to crash on the ShaderLibrary initialization, rendering the app unusable. Why does ShaderLibrary(url: shaderURL) cause a crash, even though my .metallib file is valid? Are there additional requirements for loading a ShaderLibrary that I may have missed?

I'm trying to add Assets.xcassets to a .swiftpm project, but I'm getting the warning: ⚠️ Ignoring duplicate build file in build source build phase (Just to know, that is about developing in XCODE, in Swift Playgrounds does not appear it, even in this second being harder to setting up) The problem is that there are no “Build Phases” in XCODE to remove duplicate files manually. I've already tried adding the path of Assets.xcassets in the resources property of Package.swift, like: .executableTarget( name: "AppModule", path: ".", resources: [ .process("Assets.xcassets") ] ) Even so, the warning persists. Does anyone know how to solve this? Is there any way to remove duplicate references or force a cleanup of the Swift Package Manager cache to fix it? I appreciate any tips! 🙏🚀

Hello everyone, I’m currently developing a Playground App for the Swift Student Challenge, and its core functionality relies heavily on Shortcuts Automation, App Shortcuts, and interactions with the Focus Mode status (e.g., reading Focus Status or execute Focus Filter). Before finalizing my submission, I’d like to clarify whether these features will function as expected during the review process. Specifically: Shortcuts Automation: My app uses custom shortcuts to trigger actions within the Playground. Will reviewers be able to test these shortcuts seamlessly, or do I need to provide explicit instructions for enabling/setting them up? App Shortcuts: The app integrates system-level App Shortcuts (via App Intents). Are these supported in the test environment, and will reviewers see them during testing? Focus Status Interaction: The app dynamically responds to changes in the device’s Focus Mode (e.g., adjusting UI and function based on FocusStatus). Does the evaluation environment allow access to Focus Status data, and are there restrictions on simulating Focus Mode changes? I want to ensure these features are testable and don’t lead to unexpected issues during review. Any insights or advice from past participants, mentors, or Apple experts would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance for your guidance!

Hello, I am developing an app for the Swift Student challenge; however, I keep encountering an error when using ClassifyImageRequest from the Vision framework in Xcode: VTEST: error: perform(_:): inside 'for await result in resultStream' error: internalError("Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-1 \"Failed to create espresso context.\" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Failed to create espresso context.}") It works perfectly when testing it on a physical device, and I saw on another thread that ClassifyImageRequest doesn't work on simulators. Will this cause problems with my submission to the challenge? Thanks

I am currently preparing my submission for the Swift Student Challenge, and my app playground is quite comprehensive. Based on my estimations, it may take approximately 4 to 5.5 minutes for the reviewers to fully experience the interactive elements of my app. Every component is integral to the overall experience, and I would prefer not to remove any content, as each part not only contributes to the overall interactivity but also effectively demonstrates my abilities across different technical and creative domains. However, I noticed the guideline on https://developer.apple.com/swift-student-challenge/eligibility stating that the interactive scene should be “experienced within three minutes.” While this does not appear to be a main requirement, my app playground significantly exceeds this timeframe. Could you kindly clarify whether exceeding the three-minute guideline could result in my submission being rejected, or if it might negatively impact the evaluation process? I would greatly appreciate any insights you can provide. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to your response.

I am currently filling out the Swift Student Challenge form, and I have two questions that I hope to get clarified: One of the options asks, “Did you use open source software, other than Swift?” I would like to know what is meant by “open source software” in this context. Does it refer to IDEs (like Xcode) or programming languages and frameworks (such as Python, ARKit)? Are Apple frameworks (e.g., SwiftUI, ARKit, etc.) and certain third-party tools (such as Xcode, Blender, etc.) considered “open source software”? I would like to provide a demo video to ensure that the reviewers can use the app properly and experience all of its features in the shortest amount of time. For certain reasons, I do not plan to play the video directly in the App Playground. Instead, I intend to include a link in the “Comments” section at the end of the form, which will redirect to a webpage (requiring an internet connection) containing the demo video. Will the reviewers be able to view the link and access the video as intended? I would greatly appreciate any responses to these questions!

For the SSDC submission, the app playground must run on Swift Playgrounds 4.5+ or Xcode 16+. Key questions: In Swift Playgrounds, is the app tested on iPadOS or macOS? In Xcode 16+, is the playground tested using Mac Catalyst, an iPad simulator, or an iPhone simulator? The submission form only mentions a simulator but doesn’t specify which one. Can I build an app primarily for iPhone (portrait mode), or is it better to focus on iPad (landscape mode) if that’s the expected testing environment in all cases?

Can we use ai tools like chat gpt or claude if major part of the code is written by us?