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Migrating a swiftData project to CloudKit to implement iCloudSync.
My project is using swiftData and I want to implement iCloud sync in it. Now, my data base doesnt have any optional attributes or relationships and CloudKit wants them to be optional. So, rather than editing all code with unwrapping code for the optionals, how can I provide a bridge that does so in the last stage of actually saving to the store? Sort of, capture it in a proxy object before writing and after reading from the store. Is there a neat way that can save a lot of debugging? I have code snippets from chat gpt and they are hard to debug. This is my first project in swiftUI. Thanks. Neerav
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202
Jun ’25
Core Data + CKSyncEngine with Swift 6 — concurrency, Sendable, and best practices validation
Hi everyone, I’ve been working on migrating my app (SwimTimes, which helps swimmers track their times) to use Core Data + CKSyncEngine with Swift 6. After many iterations, forum searches, and experimentation, I’ve created a focused sample project that demonstrates the architecture I’m using. The good news: 👉 I believe the crashes I was experiencing are now solved, and the sync behavior is working correctly. 👉 The demo project compiles and runs cleanly with Swift 6. However, before adopting this as the final architecture, I’d like to ask the community (and hopefully Apple engineers) to validate a few critical points, especially regarding Swift 6 concurrency and Core Data contexts. Architecture Overview Persistence layer: Persistence.swift sets up the Core Data stack with a main viewContext and a background context for CKSyncEngine. Repositories: All Core Data access is abstracted into repository classes (UsersRepository, SwimTimesRepository), with async/await methods. SyncEngine: Wraps CKSyncEngine, handles system fields, sync tokens, and bridging between Core Data entities and CloudKit records. ViewModels: Marked @MainActor, exposing @Published arrays for SwiftUI. They never touch Core Data directly, only via repositories. UI: Simple SwiftUI views bound to the ViewModels. Entities: UserEntity → represents swimmers. SwimTimeEntity → times linked to a user (1-to-many). Current Status The project works and syncs across devices. But there are two open concerns I’d like validated: Concurrency & Memory Safety Am I correctly separating viewContext (main/UI) vs. background context (used by CKSyncEngine)? Could there still be hidden risks of race conditions or memory crashes that I’m not catching? Swift 6 Sendable Compliance Currently, I still need @unchecked Sendable in the SyncEngine and repository layers. What is the recommended way to fully remove these workarounds and make the code safe under Swift 6’s stricter concurrency rules? Request Please review this sample project and confirm whether the concurrency model is correct. Suggest how I can remove the @unchecked Sendable annotations safely. Any additional code improvements or best practices would also be very welcome — the intention is to share this as a community resource. I believe once finalized, this could serve as a good reference demo for Core Data + CKSyncEngine + Swift 6, helping others migrate safely. Environment iOS 18.5 Xcode 16.4 macOS 15.6 Swift 6 Sample Project Here is the full sample project on GitHub: 👉 [https://github.com/jarnaez728/coredata-cksyncengine-swift6] Thanks a lot for your time and for any insights! Best regards, Javier Arnáez de Pedro
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Sep ’25
Key-value storage will not sync data past a certain size
I have an app which uses key-value storage and will not sync data past a certain size -- meaning that device "A" will send the data to the cloud but device "B" will never receive the updated data. Device "B" will receive the NSUbiquitousKeyValueStoreDidChangeExternallyNotification that the KVS changed but the data is empty. The data in in the KVS is comprised of 4 keys, each containing a value of NSData generated by NSKeyedArchiver. The NSData is comprised of property-list data types (e.g. numbers, strings, dates, etc.) I've verified that the KVS meets the limits of: A total of 1 MB per app, with a per-key limit of 1 MB A per-key value size limit of 1 MB, and a maximum of 1024 keys A maximum length for key strings is 64 bytes using UTF8 encoding Also, the app has never received an NSUbiquitousKeyValueStoreQuotaViolationChange notification. Of the 4 keys, 3 of them contain no more than 30 KB of data each. However, one of the keys can contain as much as 160 KB of data which will not sync to another device. Strangely, if I constrain the data to 100 KB it will work, however, that is not ideal as it is a fraction of the necessary data. I don't see any errors in the debug log either. Any suggestions on what to try next to get this working?
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May ’25
SQLite strftime() support with Core Data FetchRequest
My entity has a startDate (NSTime) attribute where I use the date and time in my detail display of the entity. And in my list, I need to group my entities by day (YYMMDD) based on the start date; and I want to ensure that it can adapt to the region where the user is currently (e.g. if user travels or migrate, the YYMMDD should be adapted based on the current region). Does Core Data SectionedFetchRequest supports strftime() functions from SQLite (https://sqlite.org/lang_datefunc.html) or what is an effective alternative sectioned fetch in my case?
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398
Sep ’25
CloudKit shares and iOS26 public beta (23A5336a)
I am developing an app that uses CloudKit sharing. I recently upgraded my iPad to use 23A5336a. After that upgrade, I can no longer accept a share that is sent to me. I have rebooted the iPad and logged out of the iCloud account and logged back in. Every time I get a share link and tap it, it says: " The owner stopped sharing or your account (xxx) doesn't have permission to open it" This same code, running on the iOS26 device can share with device running iOS18. Is this a known defect? Anything I can do to help resolve this issue?
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261
Sep ’25
Using SwiftData with a local and CloudKit backed configuration at the same time
I'm trying to set up an application using SwiftData to have a number of models backed by a local datastore that's not synced to CloudKit, and another set of models that is. I was able to achieve this previously with Core Data using multiple NSPersistentStoreDescription instances. The set up code looks something like: do { let fullSchema = Schema([ UnsyncedModel.self, SyncedModel.self, ]) let localSchema = Schema([UnsyncedModel.self]) let localConfig = ModelConfiguration(schema: localSchema, cloudKitDatabase: .none) let remoteSchema = Schema([SyncedModel.self]) let remoteConfig = ModelConfiguration(schema: remoteSchema, cloudKitDatabase: .automatic) container = try ModelContainer(for: fullSchema, configurations: localConfig, remoteConfig) } catch { fatalError("Failed to configure SwiftData container.") } However, it doesn't seem to work as expected. If I remove the synced/remote schema and configuration then everything works fine, but the moment I add in the remote schema and configuration I get various different application crashes. Some examples below: A Core Data error occurred." UserInfo={Reason=Entity named:... not found for relationship named:..., Fatal error: Failed to identify a store that can hold instances of SwiftData._KKMDBackingData<...> Has anyone ever been able to get a similar setup to work using SwiftData?
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421
Oct ’25
iCloud sync issues using NSPersistentCloudKitContainer for Core Data + CloudKit sync.
I have tried to set up iCloud sync. Despite fully isolating and resetting my development environment, the app fails with: NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=134060 (PersistentStoreIncompatibleVersionHashError) What I’ve done: Created a brand new CloudKit container Created a new bundle ID and app target Renamed the Core Data model file itself Set a new model version Used a new .sqlite store path Created a new .entitlements file with the correct container ID Verified that the CloudKit dashboard shows no records Deleted and reinstalled the app on a real device Also tested with “Automatically manage signing” and without Despite this, the error persists. I am very inexperienced and am not sure what my next step is to even attempt to fix this. Any guidance is apprecitated.
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211
Jun ’25
CloudKit Sync with TestFlight
I'm working on a new app with SwiftData and now adding CloudKit Sync. Everything is working fine in the simulator against the development CloudKit Schema. I successfully deployed the schema to production. However, the TestFlight builds fail against production. This is what I see in the logs, but I haven't been able to find info on how to fix it. Help appreciated. CoreData+CloudKit: -[NSCloudKitMirroringDelegate _requestAbortedNotInitialized:](2205): <private> - Never successfully initialized and cannot execute request '<private>' due to error: Error Domain=CKErrorDomain Code=2 "CKInternalErrorDomain: 1011" UserInfo={ContainerID=<private>, NSDebugDescription=CKInternalErrorDomain: 1011, CKPartialErrors=<private>, RequestUUID=<private>, NSLocalizedDescription=<private>, CKErrorDescription=<private>, NSUnderlyingError=0x1078e9fe0 {Error Domain=CKInternalErrorDomain Code=1011 UserInfo={CKErrorDescription=<private>, NSLocalizedDescription=<private>, CKPartialErrors=<private>}}} CoreData+CloudKit: -[NSCloudKitMirroringDelegate _performSetupRequest:]_block_invoke(1153): <private>: Successfully set up CloudKit integration for store (<private>): <private> CoreData+CloudKit: -[NSCloudKitMirroringDelegate _enqueueRequest:]_block_invoke(1035): Failed to enqueue request: <private> Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=134417 UserInfo={NSLocalizedFailureReason=<private>}
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141
Sep ’25
Custom NSMigrationPolicy methods not invoked when NSMappingModel is created in code
Hi, I’m running into an issue with Core Data migrations using a custom NSMappingModel created entirely in Swift (not using .xcmappingmodel files). Setup: • I’m performing a migration with a manually constructed NSMappingModel • One of the NSEntityMapping instances is configured as follows: • mappingType = .customEntityMappingType (or .transformEntityMappingType) • entityMigrationPolicyClassName is set to a valid subclass of NSEntityMigrationPolicy • The class implements the expected methods like: @objc func createDestinationInstances(…) throws { … } @objc func createCustomDestinationInstance(…) throws -> NSManagedObject { … } The policy class is instantiated (confirmed via logging in init()), but none of the migration methods are ever called. I have also tried adding valid NSPropertyMapping instances with real valueExpression bindings to force activation, but that didn’t make a difference. Constraints: • I cannot use .xcmappingmodel files in this context due to transformable attributes not compatible with the visual editor. • Therefore, I need the entire mapping model to be defined in Swift. Workaround: As a temporary workaround, I’m migrating the data manually using two persistent stores and NSManagedObjectContext, but I’d prefer to rely on NSMigrationManager as designed. Question: Is there a known limitation that prevents Core Data from invoking NSMigrationPolicy methods when using in-memory NSMappingModel instances? Or is there any specific setup required to trigger them when not loading from .xcmappingmodel? Thanks in advance.
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Oct ’25
CloudKit - CKContainer.m:747 error
Hi everyone, Complete newbie here. Building an app and trying to use Cloudkit. I've added the CloudKit capability, triple checked the entitlements file for appropriate keys, made sure the code signing entitlements are pointing to the correct entitlements file. I've removed and cleared all of those settings and even created a new container as well as refreshed the signing. I just can't seem to figure out why I keep getting this error: Significant issue at CKContainer.m:747: In order to use CloudKit, your process must have a com.apple.developer.icloud-services entitlement. The value of this entitlement must be an array that includes the string "CloudKit" or "CloudKit-Anonymous". Any guidance is greatly appreciated.
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Sep ’25
CloudKit Console: No Containers
Background: Our non-production App was using SwiftData locally. Yesterday we followed the documentation to enable CloudKit: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/cloudkit/enabling-cloudkit-in-your-app iCloud Works: Data is properly syncing via iCloud between 2 devices. Add on one shows on the other; delete on one deletes on the other. Today we logged into CloudKit Console for the first time; but there are no databases showing. We verified: Users and Roles: we have “Access to Cloud Managed… Certificates” Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles: our app has iCloud capabilities and is using our iCloud Container Signed into CloudKit Console with same developer ID as AppStoreConnect This is also the Apple ID of the iCloud account that has synced data from our app. In Xcode > Signing & Capabilities we are signed in as our Company team. Any guidance or tips to understanding how to what’s going on in CloudKit Console and gaining access to the database is appreciated!
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254
Jun ’25
iOS 26 SwiftData crash does not happen in iOS 16
I have a simple app that makes an HTTPS call to gather some JSON which I then parse and add to my SwiftData database. The app then uses a simple @Query in a view to get the data into a list. on iOS 16 this works fine. No problems. But the same code on iOS 26 (targeting iOS 18.5) crashes after about 15 seconds of idle time after the list is populated. The error message is: Could not cast value of type '__NSCFNumber' (0x1f31ee568) to 'NSString' (0x1f31ec718). and occurs when trying to access ANY property of the list. I have a stripped down version of the app that shows the crash available. To replicate the issue: open the project in Xcode 26 target any iOS 26 device or simulator compile and run the project. after the list is displayed, wait about 15 seconds and the app crashes. It is also of note that if you try to run the app again, it will crash immediately, unless you delete the app from the device. Any help on this would be appreciated. Feedback number FB20295815 includes .zip file Below is the basic code (without the data models) The Best Seller List.Swift import SwiftUI import SwiftData @main struct Best_Seller_ListApp: App { var body: some Scene { WindowGroup { ContentView() } .modelContainer (for: NYTOverviewResponse.self) } } ContentView.Swift import os.log import SwiftUI struct ContentView: View { @Environment(\.modelContext) var modelContext @State private var listEncodedName = String() var body: some View { NavigationStack () { ListsView() } .task { await getBestSellerLists() } } func getBestSellerLists() async { guard let url = URL(string: "https://api.nytimes.com/svc/books/v3/lists/overview.json?api-key=\(NYT_API_KEY)") else { Logger.errorLog.error("Invalid URL") return } do { let decoder = JSONDecoder() var decodedResponse = NYTOverviewResponse() //decode the JSON let (data, _) = try await URLSession.shared.data(from: url) decoder.keyDecodingStrategy = .convertFromSnakeCase decodedResponse = try decoder.decode(NYTOverviewResponse.self, from: data) //remove any lists that don't have list_name_encoded. Fixes a bug in the data decodedResponse.results!.lists = decodedResponse.results!.lists!.filter { $0.listNameEncoded != "" } // sort the lists decodedResponse.results!.lists!.sort { (lhs, rhs) -> Bool in lhs.displayName < rhs.displayName } //delete any potential existing data try modelContext.delete(model: NYTOverviewResponse.self) //add the new data modelContext.insert(decodedResponse) } catch { Logger.errorLog.error("\(error.localizedDescription)") } } } ListsView.Swift import os.log import SwiftData import SwiftUI @MainActor struct ListsView: View { //MARK: - Variables and Constants @Query var nytOverviewResponses: [NYTOverviewResponse] enum Updated: String { case weekly = "WEEKLY" case monthly = "MONTHLY" } //MARK: - Main View var body: some View { List { if nytOverviewResponses.isEmpty { ContentUnavailableView("No lists yet", systemImage: "list.bullet", description: Text("NYT Bestseller lists not downloaded yet")) } else { WeeklySection MonthlySection } } .navigationBarTitle("Bestseller Lists", displayMode: .large) .listStyle(.grouped) } var WeeklySection: some View { let rawLists = nytOverviewResponses.last?.results?.lists ?? [] // Build a value-typed array to avoid SwiftData faulting during sort let weekly = rawLists .filter { $0.updateFrequency == Updated.weekly.rawValue } .map { (name: $0.displayName, encoded: $0.listNameEncoded, model: $0) } .sorted { $0.name < $1.name } return Section(header: Text("Weekly lists to be published on \(nytOverviewResponses.last?.results?.publishedDate ?? "-")")) { ForEach(weekly, id: \.encoded) { item in Text(item.name).font(Font.custom("Georgia", size: 17)) } } } var MonthlySection: some View { let rawLists = nytOverviewResponses.last?.results?.lists ?? [] // Build a value-typed array to avoid SwiftData faulting during sort let monthly = rawLists .filter { $0.updateFrequency == Updated.monthly.rawValue } .map { (name: $0.displayName, encoded: $0.listNameEncoded, model: $0) } .sorted { $0.name < $1.name } return Section(header: Text("Monthly lists to be published on \(nytOverviewResponses.last?.results?.publishedDate ?? "-")")) { ForEach(monthly, id: \.encoded) { item in Text(item.name).font(Font.custom("Georgia", size: 17)) } } } }
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Sep ’25
Are these @model classes correct for swiftdata with cloudkit?
I have used core data before via the model editor. This is the first time I'm using swift data and that too with CloudKit. Can you tell me if the following model classes are correct? I have an expense which can have only one sub category which in turn belongs to a single category. Here are my classes... // Expense.swift // Pocket Expense Diary // // Created by Neerav Kothari on 16/05/25. // import Foundation import SwiftData @Model class Expense { @Attribute var expenseDate: Date? = nil @Attribute var expenseAmount: Double? = nil @Attribute var expenseCategory: Category? = nil @Attribute var expenseSubCategory: SubCategory? = nil var date: Date { get { return expenseDate ?? Date() } set { expenseDate = newValue } } var amount: Double{ get { return expenseAmount ?? 0.0 } set { expenseAmount = newValue } } var category: Category{ get { return expenseCategory ?? Category.init(name: "", icon: "") } set { expenseCategory = newValue } } var subCategory: SubCategory{ get { return expenseSubCategory ?? SubCategory.init(name: "", icon: "") } set { expenseSubCategory = newValue } } init(date: Date, amount: Double, category: Category, subCategory: SubCategory) { self.date = date self.amount = amount self.category = category self.subCategory = subCategory } } // // Category.swift // Pocket Expense Diary // // Created by Neerav Kothari on 16/05/25. // import Foundation import SwiftData @Model class Category { @Attribute var categoryName: String? = nil @Attribute var categoryIcon: String? = nil var name: String { get { return categoryName ?? "" } set { categoryName = newValue } } var icon: String { get { return categoryIcon ?? "" } set { categoryIcon = newValue } } @Relationship(inverse: \Expense.expenseCategory) var expenses: [Expense]? = [] init(name: String, icon: String) { self.name = name self.icon = icon } } // SubCategory.swift // Pocket Expense Diary // // Created by Neerav Kothari on 16/05/25. // import Foundation import SwiftData @Model class SubCategory { @Attribute var subCategoryName: String? = nil @Attribute var subCategoryIcon: String? = nil var name: String { get { return subCategoryName ?? "" } set { subCategoryName = newValue } } var icon: String { get { return subCategoryIcon ?? "" } set { subCategoryIcon = newValue } } @Relationship(inverse: \Expense.expenseSubCategory) var expenses: [Expense]? = [] init(name: String, icon: String) { self.name = name self.icon = icon } } The reason why I have wrappers is the let the existing code (before CloudKit was integrated), work. In future versions I plan to query expenses even via category or sub category. I particularly doubt for the relationship i have set. should there be one from category to subcategory as well?
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Jun ’25
swift
Hi, thank you for your reply. I have checked and confirmed that all AppleUser entity fields (id, name, email, password, createdAt) are optional, relationships (posts, comments) are optional, and I assign values when creating a new object, but Core Data still throws a nilError during registration; I have uploaded my project to GitHub for your reference here: https://github.com/Kawiichao/job. If reviewing it requires any payment, please let me know in advance. Thank you very much for your kind offer—I really appreciate it!
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Sep ’25
How to handle required @relationship optionals in SwiftData CloudKit?
Hi all, As you know, when using SwiftData Cloudkit, all relationships are required to be optional. In my app, which is a list app, I have a model class Project that contains an array of Subproject model objects. A Subproject also contains an array of another type of model class and this chain goes on and on. In this type of pattern, it becomes really taxxing to handle the optionals the correct way, i.e. unwrap them as late as possible and display an error to the user if unable to. It seems like most developers don't even bother, they just wrap the array in a computed property that returns an empty array if nil. I'm just wondering what is the recommended way by Apple to handle these optionals. I'm not really familiar with how the CloudKit backend works, but if you have a simple list app that only saves to the users private iCloud, can I just handwave the optionals like so many do? Is it only big data apps that need to worry? Or should we always strive to handle them the correct way? If that's the case, why does it seem like most people skip over them? Be great if an Apple engineer could weigh in.
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Oct ’25
Old CloudKit Data Repopulating after a Local Reset
We are trying to solve for the following condition with SwiftData + CloudKit: Lots of data in CloudKit Perform "app-reset" to clear data & App settings and start fresh. Reset data models with try modelContext.delete(model:_) myModel.count() confirms local deletion (0 records); but iCloud Console shows expectedly slow process to delete. Old CloudKit data is returning during the On Boarding process. Questions: • Would making a new iCloud Zone for each reset work around this, as the new zone would be empty? We're having trouble finding details about how to do this with SwiftData. • Would CKSyncEngine have a benefit over the default SwiftData methods? Open to hearing if anyone has experienced a similar challenge and how you worked around it!
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Jun ’25
Widget error upon restore iPhone: The file "Name.sqlite" couldn't be opened
I have an app that uses NSPersistentCloudKitContainer stored in a shared location via App Groups so my widget can fetch data to display. It works. But if you reset your iPhone and restore it from a backup, an error occurs: The file "Name.sqlite" couldn't be opened. I suspect this happens because the widget is created before the app's data is restored. Restarting the iPhone is the only way to fix it though, opening the app and reloading timelines does not. Anything I can do to fix that to not require turning it off and on again?
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Jul ’25
CKRecordZone deleted when second user accepts zone-wide CKShare
I'm seeing a critical issue where a custom CKRecordZone is consistently deleted server-side when a second iCloud account interacts with a zone-wide CKShare. I've reproduced this 20+ times across two days and have exhausted every client-side fix I can think of. Looking for guidance on what might be going wrong. Setup Container: iCloud.com.cohencooks (production app on App Store) Custom CKRecordZone in owner's private database Zone-wide CKShare(recordZoneID:) (iOS 15+ zone sharing) SwiftData with ModelConfiguration(cloudKitDatabase: .none) — no automatic CloudKit mirroring Acceptance via CKFetchShareMetadataOperation → CKContainer.accept(metadata) (no UICloudSharingController) Minimal reproduction // 1. Owner creates zone + share let zone = CKRecordZone(zoneName: "MyZone") try await privateDB.save(zone) let share = CKShare(recordZoneID: zone.zoneID) share[CKShare.SystemFieldKey.title] = "My Share" as CKRecordValue share.publicPermission = .readWrite let (results, _) = try await privateDB.modifyRecords(saving: [share], deleting: []) // 2. Owner pushes ~500 records to zone — all succeed // 3. Second user (different iCloud account) accepts share let metadata = try await container.shareMetadata(for: shareURL) try await container.accept(metadata) // 4. Owner's next CKFetchRecordZoneChangesOperation → zoneNotFound (code 26) // Zone is permanently gone. allRecordZones() confirms deletion. What I observe Three distinct failure patterns depending on configuration: Pattern 1 — publicPermission = .readWrite, no addParticipant: Zone dies instantly after acceptance. First push notification shows cloudkit.share changed (zone alive), second push notification returns zoneNotFound. The non-owner never successfully wrote anything. Pattern 2 — publicPermission = .none with explicit addParticipant: Zone survives acceptance and 2-3 minutes of bidirectional sync (non-owner pulls 578 records, pushes meal plans back). Then a push notification arrives and the zone is gone. This is dramatically better than Pattern 1 but still fails. Pattern 3 — Container destabilization after repeated testing: After 20+ create/delete cycles in one day, zones die from the owner's own push notifications — no second device involved at all. The container appears to enter an unstable state. Inconsistent state after deletion Here's something that might help narrow this down. After one of the zone deletions, I deployed the same build to a second device signed into a different iCloud account that had previously accepted the CKShare. Without sending a new invite, that device found the "Household" zone via allRecordZones() on sharedCloudDatabase — it could pull all 578 records, push updates, and the share URL still resolved. Meanwhile, the owner device (zone creator) gets "zone not found" from both allRecordZones() and direct recordZone(for:) on privateCloudDatabase. So it looks like the zone is deleted from the owner's private database, but the CKShare and zone records remain accessible to participants via the shared database. Participants can still read and write as if nothing happened — the owner just can't see the zone anymore. This also creates a recovery problem — when the owner creates a new zone with the same name, it gets a new CKShare URL, but the participant is still connected to the old "ghost" zone. The two sides are permanently split. Does this mean the zone deletion is happening through a path that doesn't properly clean up the sharing infrastructure? Is this expected behavior when a zone-wide CKShare's zone is deleted, or does it suggest the deletion is happening through an abnormal server-side path? What I've ruled out Hypothesis Test Result publicPermission = .readWrite Changed to .none + explicit addParticipant Zone survived longer but still eventually deleted Zone name tombstoning Tested 6 fresh names never used in this container All eventually deleted Non-owner writes causing deletion Gated ALL non-owner push methods (recipe, meal plan, grocery, photo, event) Zone still deleted database.save(share) vs modifyRecords Switched to modifyRecords(saving:deleting:) Zone still deleted NSPersistentCloudKitContainer interference Removed all Core Data CloudKit code Zone still deleted Double share acceptance Fresh app install, single acceptance only Zone still deleted Advanced Data Protection Neither account has ADP enabled Not the cause Programmatic vs system acceptance Tested both container.accept() and tapping share link Zone still deleted CloudKit Dashboard No ZoneDelete operation is visible in the logs. All operations are ZoneFetch, ZoneChanges, RecordQuery, RecordFetch. I do see EphemeralGroup operations targeting the custom zone — not sure what generates those. Comparison with working apps I compared my implementation with another app that uses the exact same zone-wide CKShare(recordZoneID:) pattern with publicPermission = .readWrite and programmatic acceptance — and it works. The main difference is that app uses CKSyncEngine (iOS 17+) rather than raw CKFetchRecordZoneChangesOperation / CKModifyRecordsOperation. Could CKSyncEngine be handling something internally that prevents this issue? Questions Is there a known interaction between zone-wide CKShare(recordZoneID:) acceptance and zone lifecycle that could cause zone deletion? Does CKSyncEngine handle zone-wide sharing differently than manual CKFetchRecordZoneChangesOperation + CKModifyRecordsOperation? What generates EphemeralGroup operations in CloudKit Dashboard? Could these trigger a zone delete? After 20+ zone create/delete cycles in a container, is there a server-side rate limit or tombstone mechanism that would destabilize new zones? Is the inconsistent state I described (zone gone from owner's private DB but still accessible from participant's shared DB) expected behavior, or does it indicate the deletion is happening through an abnormal path? Is the custom programmatic acceptance flow (CKFetchShareMetadataOperation → container.accept()) fully supported for zone-wide shares, or does it require UICloudSharingController? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. This is blocking multi-user functionality for our app (mesa, a meal planning app on the App Store). Single-user sync works perfectly — the issue only manifests when a second iCloud account is involved. Environment: iOS 18.4.1, Xcode 16+, Swift, SwiftUI
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SwiftData document-based app crashes on undo/redo without ModelContext.transaction(block:)
Overview I'm developing a document-based app for macOS using SwiftData. When I undo/redo changes using Command-Z/Command-Shift-Z, the app reliably crashes with the following error: SwiftData/ModelSnapshot.swift:46: Fatal error: Unexpected backing data for snapshot creation: SwiftData._FullFutureBackingData<DocumentTest.ChildItem> And before the app crashes, what always happens is that UndoManager stops removing/restoring instances of ChildItem (but continues to remove/restore instances of ParentItem). The issue goes away when I enclose the relevant code in ModelContext.transaction(block:). However, this shouldn't be necessary, as ModelContext.autosaveEnabled is true by default. The issues are occurring with Xcode 26.4 (17E192) and macOS Tahoe 26.4 (25E246). I have modified the macOS Document App project template to showcase the issue. The sample project, along with a screen recording of the crash, can be downloaded from here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13bCB1qRZ6273BI81zW2zUUBraSvv6p5w?usp=share_link Is this expected behavior or should I file a bug report in Feedback Assistant? Steps to Reproduce To recreate the issue, follow these steps: Download and extract the "Xcode Project.zip" file linked above. Open the extracted "DocumentTest" project in Xcode. Build and run the "DocumentTest" app. In the document selection window, click "New Document" at the bottom-left. In the app, click the "+" button at the top-right to add a ParentItem with ChildItems. Click on the added ParentItem's button to add another ChildItem to it. Repeat steps 5–6 until you have 5 ParentItems with an additional ChildItem. Press Command-Z 10 times to undo all the changes. Press Command-Shift-Z 10 times to redo all the changes. Repeat steps 8–9 until UndoManager stops removing/restoring the additional ChildItem, and continue repeating them until the app eventually crashes (you may have to repeat them 5–10 times before the issue occurs). If you uncomment the ModelContext.transaction(block:) at line 13 of ContentView.swift and repeat the same steps above, no ChildItems will go missing and the app will not crash. Code ParentItem Model @Model final class ParentItem { var timestamp: Date @Relationship( deleteRule: .cascade, inverse: \ChildItem.parentItem ) var childItems: [ChildItem] = [] init(timestamp: Date) { self.timestamp = timestamp } } ChildItem Model @Model final class ChildItem { var index: Int var parentItem: ParentItem? init(index: Int) { self.index = index } } Creating, Inserting, and Linking ParentItem and ChildItem // Create and insert ParentItem let newParentItem = ParentItem( timestamp: Date() ) modelContext.insert(newParentItem) // Create and insert ChildItems var newChildItems: [ChildItem] = [] for index in 0..<Int.random(in: 2...8) { let newChildItem = ChildItem(index: index) newChildItems.append(newChildItem) modelContext.insert(newChildItem) } /* Establish relationship between ParentItem and ChildItems */ for newChildItem in newChildItems { newParentItem.childItems.append( newChildItem ) newChildItem.parentItem = newParentItem } Adding an Additional ChildItem to ParentItem // Uncommenting this block fixes the crash // try! modelContext.transaction { // Create and insert the new ChildItem let newChildItem = ChildItem( index: parentItem.childItems.count ) modelContext.insert(newChildItem) // Establish relationship to parentItem parentItem.childItems.append(newChildItem) newChildItem.parentItem = parentItem // }
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Migrating a swiftData project to CloudKit to implement iCloudSync.
My project is using swiftData and I want to implement iCloud sync in it. Now, my data base doesnt have any optional attributes or relationships and CloudKit wants them to be optional. So, rather than editing all code with unwrapping code for the optionals, how can I provide a bridge that does so in the last stage of actually saving to the store? Sort of, capture it in a proxy object before writing and after reading from the store. Is there a neat way that can save a lot of debugging? I have code snippets from chat gpt and they are hard to debug. This is my first project in swiftUI. Thanks. Neerav
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3
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202
Activity
Jun ’25
Core Data + CKSyncEngine with Swift 6 — concurrency, Sendable, and best practices validation
Hi everyone, I’ve been working on migrating my app (SwimTimes, which helps swimmers track their times) to use Core Data + CKSyncEngine with Swift 6. After many iterations, forum searches, and experimentation, I’ve created a focused sample project that demonstrates the architecture I’m using. The good news: 👉 I believe the crashes I was experiencing are now solved, and the sync behavior is working correctly. 👉 The demo project compiles and runs cleanly with Swift 6. However, before adopting this as the final architecture, I’d like to ask the community (and hopefully Apple engineers) to validate a few critical points, especially regarding Swift 6 concurrency and Core Data contexts. Architecture Overview Persistence layer: Persistence.swift sets up the Core Data stack with a main viewContext and a background context for CKSyncEngine. Repositories: All Core Data access is abstracted into repository classes (UsersRepository, SwimTimesRepository), with async/await methods. SyncEngine: Wraps CKSyncEngine, handles system fields, sync tokens, and bridging between Core Data entities and CloudKit records. ViewModels: Marked @MainActor, exposing @Published arrays for SwiftUI. They never touch Core Data directly, only via repositories. UI: Simple SwiftUI views bound to the ViewModels. Entities: UserEntity → represents swimmers. SwimTimeEntity → times linked to a user (1-to-many). Current Status The project works and syncs across devices. But there are two open concerns I’d like validated: Concurrency & Memory Safety Am I correctly separating viewContext (main/UI) vs. background context (used by CKSyncEngine)? Could there still be hidden risks of race conditions or memory crashes that I’m not catching? Swift 6 Sendable Compliance Currently, I still need @unchecked Sendable in the SyncEngine and repository layers. What is the recommended way to fully remove these workarounds and make the code safe under Swift 6’s stricter concurrency rules? Request Please review this sample project and confirm whether the concurrency model is correct. Suggest how I can remove the @unchecked Sendable annotations safely. Any additional code improvements or best practices would also be very welcome — the intention is to share this as a community resource. I believe once finalized, this could serve as a good reference demo for Core Data + CKSyncEngine + Swift 6, helping others migrate safely. Environment iOS 18.5 Xcode 16.4 macOS 15.6 Swift 6 Sample Project Here is the full sample project on GitHub: 👉 [https://github.com/jarnaez728/coredata-cksyncengine-swift6] Thanks a lot for your time and for any insights! Best regards, Javier Arnáez de Pedro
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3
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473
Activity
Sep ’25
Key-value storage will not sync data past a certain size
I have an app which uses key-value storage and will not sync data past a certain size -- meaning that device "A" will send the data to the cloud but device "B" will never receive the updated data. Device "B" will receive the NSUbiquitousKeyValueStoreDidChangeExternallyNotification that the KVS changed but the data is empty. The data in in the KVS is comprised of 4 keys, each containing a value of NSData generated by NSKeyedArchiver. The NSData is comprised of property-list data types (e.g. numbers, strings, dates, etc.) I've verified that the KVS meets the limits of: A total of 1 MB per app, with a per-key limit of 1 MB A per-key value size limit of 1 MB, and a maximum of 1024 keys A maximum length for key strings is 64 bytes using UTF8 encoding Also, the app has never received an NSUbiquitousKeyValueStoreQuotaViolationChange notification. Of the 4 keys, 3 of them contain no more than 30 KB of data each. However, one of the keys can contain as much as 160 KB of data which will not sync to another device. Strangely, if I constrain the data to 100 KB it will work, however, that is not ideal as it is a fraction of the necessary data. I don't see any errors in the debug log either. Any suggestions on what to try next to get this working?
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2
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194
Activity
May ’25
SQLite strftime() support with Core Data FetchRequest
My entity has a startDate (NSTime) attribute where I use the date and time in my detail display of the entity. And in my list, I need to group my entities by day (YYMMDD) based on the start date; and I want to ensure that it can adapt to the region where the user is currently (e.g. if user travels or migrate, the YYMMDD should be adapted based on the current region). Does Core Data SectionedFetchRequest supports strftime() functions from SQLite (https://sqlite.org/lang_datefunc.html) or what is an effective alternative sectioned fetch in my case?
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1
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398
Activity
Sep ’25
CloudKit shares and iOS26 public beta (23A5336a)
I am developing an app that uses CloudKit sharing. I recently upgraded my iPad to use 23A5336a. After that upgrade, I can no longer accept a share that is sent to me. I have rebooted the iPad and logged out of the iCloud account and logged back in. Every time I get a share link and tap it, it says: " The owner stopped sharing or your account (xxx) doesn't have permission to open it" This same code, running on the iOS26 device can share with device running iOS18. Is this a known defect? Anything I can do to help resolve this issue?
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1
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261
Activity
Sep ’25
Using SwiftData with a local and CloudKit backed configuration at the same time
I'm trying to set up an application using SwiftData to have a number of models backed by a local datastore that's not synced to CloudKit, and another set of models that is. I was able to achieve this previously with Core Data using multiple NSPersistentStoreDescription instances. The set up code looks something like: do { let fullSchema = Schema([ UnsyncedModel.self, SyncedModel.self, ]) let localSchema = Schema([UnsyncedModel.self]) let localConfig = ModelConfiguration(schema: localSchema, cloudKitDatabase: .none) let remoteSchema = Schema([SyncedModel.self]) let remoteConfig = ModelConfiguration(schema: remoteSchema, cloudKitDatabase: .automatic) container = try ModelContainer(for: fullSchema, configurations: localConfig, remoteConfig) } catch { fatalError("Failed to configure SwiftData container.") } However, it doesn't seem to work as expected. If I remove the synced/remote schema and configuration then everything works fine, but the moment I add in the remote schema and configuration I get various different application crashes. Some examples below: A Core Data error occurred." UserInfo={Reason=Entity named:... not found for relationship named:..., Fatal error: Failed to identify a store that can hold instances of SwiftData._KKMDBackingData<...> Has anyone ever been able to get a similar setup to work using SwiftData?
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3
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421
Activity
Oct ’25
iCloud sync issues using NSPersistentCloudKitContainer for Core Data + CloudKit sync.
I have tried to set up iCloud sync. Despite fully isolating and resetting my development environment, the app fails with: NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=134060 (PersistentStoreIncompatibleVersionHashError) What I’ve done: Created a brand new CloudKit container Created a new bundle ID and app target Renamed the Core Data model file itself Set a new model version Used a new .sqlite store path Created a new .entitlements file with the correct container ID Verified that the CloudKit dashboard shows no records Deleted and reinstalled the app on a real device Also tested with “Automatically manage signing” and without Despite this, the error persists. I am very inexperienced and am not sure what my next step is to even attempt to fix this. Any guidance is apprecitated.
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1
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211
Activity
Jun ’25
How to make a hidden iCloud Container active again?
While experimenting with CloudKit dashboard, I accidentally turned off a iCloud container. Now in the Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles section of developer portal, this iCloud container identifier is listed under "hidden" not "active" I can edit its name but there is not way to unhide or active it again. What am I missing?
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7
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359
Activity
Nov ’25
CloudKit Sync with TestFlight
I'm working on a new app with SwiftData and now adding CloudKit Sync. Everything is working fine in the simulator against the development CloudKit Schema. I successfully deployed the schema to production. However, the TestFlight builds fail against production. This is what I see in the logs, but I haven't been able to find info on how to fix it. Help appreciated. CoreData+CloudKit: -[NSCloudKitMirroringDelegate _requestAbortedNotInitialized:](2205): <private> - Never successfully initialized and cannot execute request '<private>' due to error: Error Domain=CKErrorDomain Code=2 "CKInternalErrorDomain: 1011" UserInfo={ContainerID=<private>, NSDebugDescription=CKInternalErrorDomain: 1011, CKPartialErrors=<private>, RequestUUID=<private>, NSLocalizedDescription=<private>, CKErrorDescription=<private>, NSUnderlyingError=0x1078e9fe0 {Error Domain=CKInternalErrorDomain Code=1011 UserInfo={CKErrorDescription=<private>, NSLocalizedDescription=<private>, CKPartialErrors=<private>}}} CoreData+CloudKit: -[NSCloudKitMirroringDelegate _performSetupRequest:]_block_invoke(1153): <private>: Successfully set up CloudKit integration for store (<private>): <private> CoreData+CloudKit: -[NSCloudKitMirroringDelegate _enqueueRequest:]_block_invoke(1035): Failed to enqueue request: <private> Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=134417 UserInfo={NSLocalizedFailureReason=<private>}
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1
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141
Activity
Sep ’25
Custom NSMigrationPolicy methods not invoked when NSMappingModel is created in code
Hi, I’m running into an issue with Core Data migrations using a custom NSMappingModel created entirely in Swift (not using .xcmappingmodel files). Setup: • I’m performing a migration with a manually constructed NSMappingModel • One of the NSEntityMapping instances is configured as follows: • mappingType = .customEntityMappingType (or .transformEntityMappingType) • entityMigrationPolicyClassName is set to a valid subclass of NSEntityMigrationPolicy • The class implements the expected methods like: @objc func createDestinationInstances(…) throws { … } @objc func createCustomDestinationInstance(…) throws -> NSManagedObject { … } The policy class is instantiated (confirmed via logging in init()), but none of the migration methods are ever called. I have also tried adding valid NSPropertyMapping instances with real valueExpression bindings to force activation, but that didn’t make a difference. Constraints: • I cannot use .xcmappingmodel files in this context due to transformable attributes not compatible with the visual editor. • Therefore, I need the entire mapping model to be defined in Swift. Workaround: As a temporary workaround, I’m migrating the data manually using two persistent stores and NSManagedObjectContext, but I’d prefer to rely on NSMigrationManager as designed. Question: Is there a known limitation that prevents Core Data from invoking NSMigrationPolicy methods when using in-memory NSMappingModel instances? Or is there any specific setup required to trigger them when not loading from .xcmappingmodel? Thanks in advance.
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3
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153
Activity
Oct ’25
CloudKit - CKContainer.m:747 error
Hi everyone, Complete newbie here. Building an app and trying to use Cloudkit. I've added the CloudKit capability, triple checked the entitlements file for appropriate keys, made sure the code signing entitlements are pointing to the correct entitlements file. I've removed and cleared all of those settings and even created a new container as well as refreshed the signing. I just can't seem to figure out why I keep getting this error: Significant issue at CKContainer.m:747: In order to use CloudKit, your process must have a com.apple.developer.icloud-services entitlement. The value of this entitlement must be an array that includes the string "CloudKit" or "CloudKit-Anonymous". Any guidance is greatly appreciated.
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1
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172
Activity
Sep ’25
CloudKit Console: No Containers
Background: Our non-production App was using SwiftData locally. Yesterday we followed the documentation to enable CloudKit: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/cloudkit/enabling-cloudkit-in-your-app iCloud Works: Data is properly syncing via iCloud between 2 devices. Add on one shows on the other; delete on one deletes on the other. Today we logged into CloudKit Console for the first time; but there are no databases showing. We verified: Users and Roles: we have “Access to Cloud Managed… Certificates” Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles: our app has iCloud capabilities and is using our iCloud Container Signed into CloudKit Console with same developer ID as AppStoreConnect This is also the Apple ID of the iCloud account that has synced data from our app. In Xcode > Signing & Capabilities we are signed in as our Company team. Any guidance or tips to understanding how to what’s going on in CloudKit Console and gaining access to the database is appreciated!
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254
Activity
Jun ’25
iOS 26 SwiftData crash does not happen in iOS 16
I have a simple app that makes an HTTPS call to gather some JSON which I then parse and add to my SwiftData database. The app then uses a simple @Query in a view to get the data into a list. on iOS 16 this works fine. No problems. But the same code on iOS 26 (targeting iOS 18.5) crashes after about 15 seconds of idle time after the list is populated. The error message is: Could not cast value of type '__NSCFNumber' (0x1f31ee568) to 'NSString' (0x1f31ec718). and occurs when trying to access ANY property of the list. I have a stripped down version of the app that shows the crash available. To replicate the issue: open the project in Xcode 26 target any iOS 26 device or simulator compile and run the project. after the list is displayed, wait about 15 seconds and the app crashes. It is also of note that if you try to run the app again, it will crash immediately, unless you delete the app from the device. Any help on this would be appreciated. Feedback number FB20295815 includes .zip file Below is the basic code (without the data models) The Best Seller List.Swift import SwiftUI import SwiftData @main struct Best_Seller_ListApp: App { var body: some Scene { WindowGroup { ContentView() } .modelContainer (for: NYTOverviewResponse.self) } } ContentView.Swift import os.log import SwiftUI struct ContentView: View { @Environment(\.modelContext) var modelContext @State private var listEncodedName = String() var body: some View { NavigationStack () { ListsView() } .task { await getBestSellerLists() } } func getBestSellerLists() async { guard let url = URL(string: "https://api.nytimes.com/svc/books/v3/lists/overview.json?api-key=\(NYT_API_KEY)") else { Logger.errorLog.error("Invalid URL") return } do { let decoder = JSONDecoder() var decodedResponse = NYTOverviewResponse() //decode the JSON let (data, _) = try await URLSession.shared.data(from: url) decoder.keyDecodingStrategy = .convertFromSnakeCase decodedResponse = try decoder.decode(NYTOverviewResponse.self, from: data) //remove any lists that don't have list_name_encoded. Fixes a bug in the data decodedResponse.results!.lists = decodedResponse.results!.lists!.filter { $0.listNameEncoded != "" } // sort the lists decodedResponse.results!.lists!.sort { (lhs, rhs) -> Bool in lhs.displayName < rhs.displayName } //delete any potential existing data try modelContext.delete(model: NYTOverviewResponse.self) //add the new data modelContext.insert(decodedResponse) } catch { Logger.errorLog.error("\(error.localizedDescription)") } } } ListsView.Swift import os.log import SwiftData import SwiftUI @MainActor struct ListsView: View { //MARK: - Variables and Constants @Query var nytOverviewResponses: [NYTOverviewResponse] enum Updated: String { case weekly = "WEEKLY" case monthly = "MONTHLY" } //MARK: - Main View var body: some View { List { if nytOverviewResponses.isEmpty { ContentUnavailableView("No lists yet", systemImage: "list.bullet", description: Text("NYT Bestseller lists not downloaded yet")) } else { WeeklySection MonthlySection } } .navigationBarTitle("Bestseller Lists", displayMode: .large) .listStyle(.grouped) } var WeeklySection: some View { let rawLists = nytOverviewResponses.last?.results?.lists ?? [] // Build a value-typed array to avoid SwiftData faulting during sort let weekly = rawLists .filter { $0.updateFrequency == Updated.weekly.rawValue } .map { (name: $0.displayName, encoded: $0.listNameEncoded, model: $0) } .sorted { $0.name < $1.name } return Section(header: Text("Weekly lists to be published on \(nytOverviewResponses.last?.results?.publishedDate ?? "-")")) { ForEach(weekly, id: \.encoded) { item in Text(item.name).font(Font.custom("Georgia", size: 17)) } } } var MonthlySection: some View { let rawLists = nytOverviewResponses.last?.results?.lists ?? [] // Build a value-typed array to avoid SwiftData faulting during sort let monthly = rawLists .filter { $0.updateFrequency == Updated.monthly.rawValue } .map { (name: $0.displayName, encoded: $0.listNameEncoded, model: $0) } .sorted { $0.name < $1.name } return Section(header: Text("Monthly lists to be published on \(nytOverviewResponses.last?.results?.publishedDate ?? "-")")) { ForEach(monthly, id: \.encoded) { item in Text(item.name).font(Font.custom("Georgia", size: 17)) } } } }
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270
Activity
Sep ’25
Are these @model classes correct for swiftdata with cloudkit?
I have used core data before via the model editor. This is the first time I'm using swift data and that too with CloudKit. Can you tell me if the following model classes are correct? I have an expense which can have only one sub category which in turn belongs to a single category. Here are my classes... // Expense.swift // Pocket Expense Diary // // Created by Neerav Kothari on 16/05/25. // import Foundation import SwiftData @Model class Expense { @Attribute var expenseDate: Date? = nil @Attribute var expenseAmount: Double? = nil @Attribute var expenseCategory: Category? = nil @Attribute var expenseSubCategory: SubCategory? = nil var date: Date { get { return expenseDate ?? Date() } set { expenseDate = newValue } } var amount: Double{ get { return expenseAmount ?? 0.0 } set { expenseAmount = newValue } } var category: Category{ get { return expenseCategory ?? Category.init(name: "", icon: "") } set { expenseCategory = newValue } } var subCategory: SubCategory{ get { return expenseSubCategory ?? SubCategory.init(name: "", icon: "") } set { expenseSubCategory = newValue } } init(date: Date, amount: Double, category: Category, subCategory: SubCategory) { self.date = date self.amount = amount self.category = category self.subCategory = subCategory } } // // Category.swift // Pocket Expense Diary // // Created by Neerav Kothari on 16/05/25. // import Foundation import SwiftData @Model class Category { @Attribute var categoryName: String? = nil @Attribute var categoryIcon: String? = nil var name: String { get { return categoryName ?? "" } set { categoryName = newValue } } var icon: String { get { return categoryIcon ?? "" } set { categoryIcon = newValue } } @Relationship(inverse: \Expense.expenseCategory) var expenses: [Expense]? = [] init(name: String, icon: String) { self.name = name self.icon = icon } } // SubCategory.swift // Pocket Expense Diary // // Created by Neerav Kothari on 16/05/25. // import Foundation import SwiftData @Model class SubCategory { @Attribute var subCategoryName: String? = nil @Attribute var subCategoryIcon: String? = nil var name: String { get { return subCategoryName ?? "" } set { subCategoryName = newValue } } var icon: String { get { return subCategoryIcon ?? "" } set { subCategoryIcon = newValue } } @Relationship(inverse: \Expense.expenseSubCategory) var expenses: [Expense]? = [] init(name: String, icon: String) { self.name = name self.icon = icon } } The reason why I have wrappers is the let the existing code (before CloudKit was integrated), work. In future versions I plan to query expenses even via category or sub category. I particularly doubt for the relationship i have set. should there be one from category to subcategory as well?
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172
Activity
Jun ’25
swift
Hi, thank you for your reply. I have checked and confirmed that all AppleUser entity fields (id, name, email, password, createdAt) are optional, relationships (posts, comments) are optional, and I assign values when creating a new object, but Core Data still throws a nilError during registration; I have uploaded my project to GitHub for your reference here: https://github.com/Kawiichao/job. If reviewing it requires any payment, please let me know in advance. Thank you very much for your kind offer—I really appreciate it!
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1
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72
Activity
Sep ’25
How to handle required @relationship optionals in SwiftData CloudKit?
Hi all, As you know, when using SwiftData Cloudkit, all relationships are required to be optional. In my app, which is a list app, I have a model class Project that contains an array of Subproject model objects. A Subproject also contains an array of another type of model class and this chain goes on and on. In this type of pattern, it becomes really taxxing to handle the optionals the correct way, i.e. unwrap them as late as possible and display an error to the user if unable to. It seems like most developers don't even bother, they just wrap the array in a computed property that returns an empty array if nil. I'm just wondering what is the recommended way by Apple to handle these optionals. I'm not really familiar with how the CloudKit backend works, but if you have a simple list app that only saves to the users private iCloud, can I just handwave the optionals like so many do? Is it only big data apps that need to worry? Or should we always strive to handle them the correct way? If that's the case, why does it seem like most people skip over them? Be great if an Apple engineer could weigh in.
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3
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203
Activity
Oct ’25
Old CloudKit Data Repopulating after a Local Reset
We are trying to solve for the following condition with SwiftData + CloudKit: Lots of data in CloudKit Perform "app-reset" to clear data & App settings and start fresh. Reset data models with try modelContext.delete(model:_) myModel.count() confirms local deletion (0 records); but iCloud Console shows expectedly slow process to delete. Old CloudKit data is returning during the On Boarding process. Questions: • Would making a new iCloud Zone for each reset work around this, as the new zone would be empty? We're having trouble finding details about how to do this with SwiftData. • Would CKSyncEngine have a benefit over the default SwiftData methods? Open to hearing if anyone has experienced a similar challenge and how you worked around it!
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2
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241
Activity
Jun ’25
Widget error upon restore iPhone: The file "Name.sqlite" couldn't be opened
I have an app that uses NSPersistentCloudKitContainer stored in a shared location via App Groups so my widget can fetch data to display. It works. But if you reset your iPhone and restore it from a backup, an error occurs: The file "Name.sqlite" couldn't be opened. I suspect this happens because the widget is created before the app's data is restored. Restarting the iPhone is the only way to fix it though, opening the app and reloading timelines does not. Anything I can do to fix that to not require turning it off and on again?
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12
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318
Activity
Jul ’25
CKRecordZone deleted when second user accepts zone-wide CKShare
I'm seeing a critical issue where a custom CKRecordZone is consistently deleted server-side when a second iCloud account interacts with a zone-wide CKShare. I've reproduced this 20+ times across two days and have exhausted every client-side fix I can think of. Looking for guidance on what might be going wrong. Setup Container: iCloud.com.cohencooks (production app on App Store) Custom CKRecordZone in owner's private database Zone-wide CKShare(recordZoneID:) (iOS 15+ zone sharing) SwiftData with ModelConfiguration(cloudKitDatabase: .none) — no automatic CloudKit mirroring Acceptance via CKFetchShareMetadataOperation → CKContainer.accept(metadata) (no UICloudSharingController) Minimal reproduction // 1. Owner creates zone + share let zone = CKRecordZone(zoneName: "MyZone") try await privateDB.save(zone) let share = CKShare(recordZoneID: zone.zoneID) share[CKShare.SystemFieldKey.title] = "My Share" as CKRecordValue share.publicPermission = .readWrite let (results, _) = try await privateDB.modifyRecords(saving: [share], deleting: []) // 2. Owner pushes ~500 records to zone — all succeed // 3. Second user (different iCloud account) accepts share let metadata = try await container.shareMetadata(for: shareURL) try await container.accept(metadata) // 4. Owner's next CKFetchRecordZoneChangesOperation → zoneNotFound (code 26) // Zone is permanently gone. allRecordZones() confirms deletion. What I observe Three distinct failure patterns depending on configuration: Pattern 1 — publicPermission = .readWrite, no addParticipant: Zone dies instantly after acceptance. First push notification shows cloudkit.share changed (zone alive), second push notification returns zoneNotFound. The non-owner never successfully wrote anything. Pattern 2 — publicPermission = .none with explicit addParticipant: Zone survives acceptance and 2-3 minutes of bidirectional sync (non-owner pulls 578 records, pushes meal plans back). Then a push notification arrives and the zone is gone. This is dramatically better than Pattern 1 but still fails. Pattern 3 — Container destabilization after repeated testing: After 20+ create/delete cycles in one day, zones die from the owner's own push notifications — no second device involved at all. The container appears to enter an unstable state. Inconsistent state after deletion Here's something that might help narrow this down. After one of the zone deletions, I deployed the same build to a second device signed into a different iCloud account that had previously accepted the CKShare. Without sending a new invite, that device found the "Household" zone via allRecordZones() on sharedCloudDatabase — it could pull all 578 records, push updates, and the share URL still resolved. Meanwhile, the owner device (zone creator) gets "zone not found" from both allRecordZones() and direct recordZone(for:) on privateCloudDatabase. So it looks like the zone is deleted from the owner's private database, but the CKShare and zone records remain accessible to participants via the shared database. Participants can still read and write as if nothing happened — the owner just can't see the zone anymore. This also creates a recovery problem — when the owner creates a new zone with the same name, it gets a new CKShare URL, but the participant is still connected to the old "ghost" zone. The two sides are permanently split. Does this mean the zone deletion is happening through a path that doesn't properly clean up the sharing infrastructure? Is this expected behavior when a zone-wide CKShare's zone is deleted, or does it suggest the deletion is happening through an abnormal server-side path? What I've ruled out Hypothesis Test Result publicPermission = .readWrite Changed to .none + explicit addParticipant Zone survived longer but still eventually deleted Zone name tombstoning Tested 6 fresh names never used in this container All eventually deleted Non-owner writes causing deletion Gated ALL non-owner push methods (recipe, meal plan, grocery, photo, event) Zone still deleted database.save(share) vs modifyRecords Switched to modifyRecords(saving:deleting:) Zone still deleted NSPersistentCloudKitContainer interference Removed all Core Data CloudKit code Zone still deleted Double share acceptance Fresh app install, single acceptance only Zone still deleted Advanced Data Protection Neither account has ADP enabled Not the cause Programmatic vs system acceptance Tested both container.accept() and tapping share link Zone still deleted CloudKit Dashboard No ZoneDelete operation is visible in the logs. All operations are ZoneFetch, ZoneChanges, RecordQuery, RecordFetch. I do see EphemeralGroup operations targeting the custom zone — not sure what generates those. Comparison with working apps I compared my implementation with another app that uses the exact same zone-wide CKShare(recordZoneID:) pattern with publicPermission = .readWrite and programmatic acceptance — and it works. The main difference is that app uses CKSyncEngine (iOS 17+) rather than raw CKFetchRecordZoneChangesOperation / CKModifyRecordsOperation. Could CKSyncEngine be handling something internally that prevents this issue? Questions Is there a known interaction between zone-wide CKShare(recordZoneID:) acceptance and zone lifecycle that could cause zone deletion? Does CKSyncEngine handle zone-wide sharing differently than manual CKFetchRecordZoneChangesOperation + CKModifyRecordsOperation? What generates EphemeralGroup operations in CloudKit Dashboard? Could these trigger a zone delete? After 20+ zone create/delete cycles in a container, is there a server-side rate limit or tombstone mechanism that would destabilize new zones? Is the inconsistent state I described (zone gone from owner's private DB but still accessible from participant's shared DB) expected behavior, or does it indicate the deletion is happening through an abnormal path? Is the custom programmatic acceptance flow (CKFetchShareMetadataOperation → container.accept()) fully supported for zone-wide shares, or does it require UICloudSharingController? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. This is blocking multi-user functionality for our app (mesa, a meal planning app on the App Store). Single-user sync works perfectly — the issue only manifests when a second iCloud account is involved. Environment: iOS 18.4.1, Xcode 16+, Swift, SwiftUI
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85
Activity
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SwiftData document-based app crashes on undo/redo without ModelContext.transaction(block:)
Overview I'm developing a document-based app for macOS using SwiftData. When I undo/redo changes using Command-Z/Command-Shift-Z, the app reliably crashes with the following error: SwiftData/ModelSnapshot.swift:46: Fatal error: Unexpected backing data for snapshot creation: SwiftData._FullFutureBackingData<DocumentTest.ChildItem> And before the app crashes, what always happens is that UndoManager stops removing/restoring instances of ChildItem (but continues to remove/restore instances of ParentItem). The issue goes away when I enclose the relevant code in ModelContext.transaction(block:). However, this shouldn't be necessary, as ModelContext.autosaveEnabled is true by default. The issues are occurring with Xcode 26.4 (17E192) and macOS Tahoe 26.4 (25E246). I have modified the macOS Document App project template to showcase the issue. The sample project, along with a screen recording of the crash, can be downloaded from here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13bCB1qRZ6273BI81zW2zUUBraSvv6p5w?usp=share_link Is this expected behavior or should I file a bug report in Feedback Assistant? Steps to Reproduce To recreate the issue, follow these steps: Download and extract the "Xcode Project.zip" file linked above. Open the extracted "DocumentTest" project in Xcode. Build and run the "DocumentTest" app. In the document selection window, click "New Document" at the bottom-left. In the app, click the "+" button at the top-right to add a ParentItem with ChildItems. Click on the added ParentItem's button to add another ChildItem to it. Repeat steps 5–6 until you have 5 ParentItems with an additional ChildItem. Press Command-Z 10 times to undo all the changes. Press Command-Shift-Z 10 times to redo all the changes. Repeat steps 8–9 until UndoManager stops removing/restoring the additional ChildItem, and continue repeating them until the app eventually crashes (you may have to repeat them 5–10 times before the issue occurs). If you uncomment the ModelContext.transaction(block:) at line 13 of ContentView.swift and repeat the same steps above, no ChildItems will go missing and the app will not crash. Code ParentItem Model @Model final class ParentItem { var timestamp: Date @Relationship( deleteRule: .cascade, inverse: \ChildItem.parentItem ) var childItems: [ChildItem] = [] init(timestamp: Date) { self.timestamp = timestamp } } ChildItem Model @Model final class ChildItem { var index: Int var parentItem: ParentItem? init(index: Int) { self.index = index } } Creating, Inserting, and Linking ParentItem and ChildItem // Create and insert ParentItem let newParentItem = ParentItem( timestamp: Date() ) modelContext.insert(newParentItem) // Create and insert ChildItems var newChildItems: [ChildItem] = [] for index in 0..<Int.random(in: 2...8) { let newChildItem = ChildItem(index: index) newChildItems.append(newChildItem) modelContext.insert(newChildItem) } /* Establish relationship between ParentItem and ChildItems */ for newChildItem in newChildItems { newParentItem.childItems.append( newChildItem ) newChildItem.parentItem = newParentItem } Adding an Additional ChildItem to ParentItem // Uncommenting this block fixes the crash // try! modelContext.transaction { // Create and insert the new ChildItem let newChildItem = ChildItem( index: parentItem.childItems.count ) modelContext.insert(newChildItem) // Establish relationship to parentItem parentItem.childItems.append(newChildItem) newChildItem.parentItem = parentItem // }
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