Widgets & Live Activities

RSS for tag

Discuss how to manage and implement Widgets & Live Activities.

WidgetKit Documentation

Posts under Widgets & Live Activities subtopic

Post

Replies

Boosts

Views

Activity

Live Activity - Firebase Cloud Messaging, APNs iOS 18+
Hello, We are using the Firebase Admin SDK (firebase-admin framework) to send push notifications via Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) for Live Activity updates in our iOS app. With the introduction of iOS 18, a new key "input-push-token": 1 has been added to the Live Activities push payload structure. 1) Can this new key ("input-push-token": 1) be used when sending payloads via FCM? We noticed that FCM is still using the push update format introduced in iOS 17.2. Will FCM be updated to support the new push structure introduced with iOS 18? Or is the "input-push-token" feature only available when sending notifications via direct APNs? 2) We are concerned about the expiration of the Live Activity start push token. If a user doesn't open the app for a long time, the token may expire, and this could result in failed updates. That’s why we are looking into the new "input-push-token" behavior in iOS 18. Do you have any recommendations on how to manage or prevent token expiration? Is there any official guidance on the lifespan of the Live Activity push tokens? Will FCM support the delivery of start/update/end Live Activity actions even when the app is completely terminated? We would highly appreciate any official clarification or roadmap regarding this. It would help us determine whether we should wait for FCM support or switch to sending notifications directly via APNs. Thank you for your help!
1
0
154
Apr ’25
[Widget] ChronoKit.InteractiveWidgetActionRunner.Errors.runnerClientError `There is no metadata for `
In our widget we include a button with an intent, making a network call to refresh some shared data in its perform(). Whether the call finishes in time or not is not important to us, what matters more is that the widget gets reloaded at the end and displays whatever data it has available with its transition animation. On iOS18.0 we see the widget being reloaded but on the latest version 18.4 this doesn't happen anymore. Going through the logs, on both devices we see this same flow: default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.853674 +0300 WidgetRenderer_Default Evaluating dispatch of UIEvent: 0x300e002a0; type: 0; subtype: 0; backing type: 11; shouldSend: 1; ignoreInteractionEvents: 0, systemGestureStateChange: 0 default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.853691 +0300 WidgetRenderer_Default Sending UIEvent type: 0; subtype: 0; to windows: 1 default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.853702 +0300 WidgetRenderer_Default Sending UIEvent type: 0; subtype: 0; to window: <WidgetRenderer.WidgetWindow: 0x5689b4000>; contextId: 0x8E401B8A default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.853735 +0300 SpringBoard Evaluating dispatch of UIEvent: 0x300af9420; type: 0; subtype: 0; backing type: 11; shouldSend: 1; ignoreInteractionEvents: 0, systemGestureStateChange: 0 default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.853836 +0300 SpringBoard Sending UIEvent type: 0; subtype: 0; to windows: 1 default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.853864 +0300 SpringBoard Sending UIEvent type: 0; subtype: 0; to window: <_UISystemGestureWindow: 0xb5a20d000>; contextId: 0x5A4C4C23 default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.854862 +0300 SpringBoard Evaluating dispatch of UIEvent: 0x300aeeca0; type: 0; subtype: 0; backing type: 11; shouldSend: 1; ignoreInteractionEvents: 0, systemGestureStateChange: 0 default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.854866 +0300 WidgetRenderer_Default [Timeline[<edited-bundle-identifier>::<edited-bundle-identifier>.<Widget>:widget:systemMedium::321.00/148.00/20.20:(null)]--A76785AED3F9::0xb5bc4c000)] Handle action default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.854892 +0300 SpringBoard Sending UIEvent type: 0; subtype: 0; to windows: 1 default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.854901 +0300 SpringBoard Sending UIEvent type: 0; subtype: 0; to window: <SBHomeScreenWindow: 0xb5ad60000>; contextId: 0x71D69FA2 default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.855015 +0300 WidgetRenderer_Default Handle action: <private> default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.855360 +0300 SpringBoard Allowing tap for icon view '<private>' default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.855376 +0300 SpringBoard Not allowing tap gesture to begin because we're not editing, the custom view controller's user interaction is enabled, and the effective icon alpha isn't zero. default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.856940 +0300 SpringBoard Icon touch ended: <private> default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.857474 +0300 backboardd contact 1 presence: none default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.857826 +0300 chronod Received action <private> for interaction <WidgetRenderSession--4632871937259503361-scene::C1F20222-CC99-45CC-B074-A76785AED3F9::0xb5bc4c000-[<edited-bundle-identifier>::<edited-bundle-identifier>.<Widget>:widget:systemMedium::321.00/148.00/20.20:(null)]> default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.858381 +0300 chronod [<WidgetRenderSession--4632871937259503361-scene::C1F20222-CC99-45CC-B074-A76785AED3F9::0xb5bc4c000-[<edited-bundle-identifier>::<edited-bundle-identifier>.<Widget>:widget:systemMedium::321.00/148.00/20.20:(null)]>] Handle interaction: <private> default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.858436 +0300 chronod Pausing reloads for: [<edited-bundle-identifier>::<edited-bundle-identifier>.<Widget>:widget] default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.869525 +0300 chronod [0xd180b2440] activating connection: mach=true listener=false peer=false name=com.apple.linkd.registry default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.870054 +0300 WidgetRenderer_Default Evaluating dispatch of UIEvent: 0x300e002a0; type: 0; subtype: 0; backing type: 11; shouldSend: 0; ignoreInteractionEvents: 0, systemGestureStateChange: 0 default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.870124 +0300 SpringBoard Evaluating dispatch of UIEvent: 0x300af9420; type: 0; subtype: 0; backing type: 11; shouldSend: 0; ignoreInteractionEvents: 0, systemGestureStateChange: 0 default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.870198 +0300 SpringBoard Evaluating dispatch of UIEvent: 0x300aeeca0; type: 0; subtype: 0; backing type: 11; shouldSend: 0; ignoreInteractionEvents: 0, systemGestureStateChange: 0 default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.871831 +0300 linkd Accepting XPC connection from PID 129 for service "com.apple.linkd.registry" default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.871840 +0300 linkd [0x410cbe6c0] activating connection: mach=false listener=false peer=true name=com.apple.linkd.registry.peer[129].0x410cbe6c0 info 2025-04-10 15:05:26.876032 +0300 chronod Client requested ( "<LNFullyQualifiedActionIdentifier: 0xd17321b40, bundleIdentifier: <edited-bundle-identifier>, actionIdentifier: ReloadBalanceIntent>" ), got { } default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.877178 +0300 chronod [0xd180b2440] invalidated because the current process cancelled the connection by calling xpc_connection_cancel() default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.877377 +0300 linkd [0x410cbe6c0] invalidated because the client process (pid 129) either cancelled the connection or exited Then it followa with this on iOS18.4 : error 2025-04-10 15:21:32.964920 +0300 chronod [<WidgetRenderSession-7817322460413849944-scene::B5E4D7C4-91E1-4656-8175-C3C3C1CB894D::0xc733b8000-[<edited-bundle-identifier>::<edited-bundle-identifier>.<Widget>:widget:systemLarge::364.00/382.00/23.00:(null)~(null)]>] Encountered error when handling interaction: ChronoKit.InteractiveWidgetActionRunner.Errors.runnerClientError(Error Domain=WFLinkActionWorkflowRunnerClientErrorDomain Code=1 "There is no metadata for ReloadBalanceIntent in `<edited-bundle-identifier>`" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=There is no metadata for ReloadBalanceIntent in `<edited-bundle-identifier>`}) default 2025-04-10 15:21:32.964958 +0300 chronod [<edited-bundle-identifier>::<edited-bundle-identifier>.<Widget>:widget] Resuming reloads. Reload state paused -> clean info 2025-04-10 15:21:32.965013 +0300 chronod [interactionFailed] All diagnostics are disabled. Whereas on iOS18.0 it follows with a simplified error: error 2025-04-10 15:05:26.879005 +0300 chronod [<WidgetRenderSession--4632871937259503361-scene::C1F20222-CC99-45CC-B074-A76785AED3F9::0xb5bc4c000-[<edited-bundle-identifier>::<edited-bundle-identifier>.<Widget>:widget:systemMedium::321.00/148.00/20.20:(null)]>] Encountered error when handling interaction: Error Domain=ChronoKit.InteractiveWidgetActionRunner.Errors Code=1 default 2025-04-10 15:05:26.879065 +0300 chronod Resuming reloads for: [<edited-bundle-identifier>::<edited-bundle-identifier>.<Widget>:widget] but afterwards we see many lines describing the reload process. So it turns out that the intent fails(?) to execute on both OSes but iOS18.0 triggers a reload even so, which fits our purposes. What could the issue be? The intent is pretty standard, it contains only the title, localizedDescription and is defined only inside the widget.
1
2
120
Apr ’25
Why does a Live Activity get .dismissed by the system even when all conditions seem normal?
Hello, I'm working with Live Activities and noticed that sometimes an activity transitions to .dismissed, even though the user hasn't manually swiped it away and system conditions appear to be completely normal — such as: The activity is still within its intended 8-hour lifetime The battery level is high The app is active or recently active The activity is lightweight (not using frequent updates) According to the ActivityKit documentation: /// The Live Activity ended and is no longer visible because a person or the system removed it. case dismissed This doesn’t clarify why the system would dismiss an activity when all conditions seem fine. Additional context: When reviewing system logs via Console.app, we’re seeing messages such as: liveactivitiesd Removing activity from replicator: 381F3DDC-585B-4021-B075-548606F543DA for relationship IDs: [C7AB9C2A-49DD-43FC-BB58-D768ECF9D354] This suggests that the system is actively removing the activity, but there’s no API or reason provided that helps us understand why this is happening. Questions: What are the system-level triggers that could cause a Live Activity to be dismissed under normal conditions? Is there a known set of heuristics (e.g., memory pressure, resource constraints) that might apply? Is there a way to distinguish between system-triggered dismissal and user-initiated swipe-to-dismiss? Any best practices to reduce the likelihood of unexpected system removal? This is especially important for our use case, where users rely on Live Activities to view real-time flight and boarding information — and losing the activity unexpectedly negatively affects user experience. Thanks in advance for any insight!
1
0
151
Jun ’25
Are push-to-start tokens app wide or per type?
Confusion Based on the fact that the subscription is requested on a Activity type, I assumed that the push-to-start tokens would be different. But the push-to-start token for WidgetExtensionAttributes and WidgetExtensionAttributesOther were identical. This is misleading. The code below prints identical tokens even though the name of the token and their underlying schema are different. Code Sample func getTokens() { Task { if let data = Activity<func getTokens() { Task { if let data = Activity<WidgetExtensionAttributes>.pushToStartToken { print("exists:", data.hexadecimalString) } else { print("requesting pushToStartToken") for await ptsToken in Activity<WidgetExtensionAttributes> .pushToStartTokenUpdates { let ptsTokenString = ptsToken.hexadecimalString print("new:", ptsTokenString) } } } Task { if let data = Activity<WidgetExtensionAttributesOther>.pushToStartToken { print("other exists:", data.hexadecimalString) } else { print("other requesting pushToStartToken") for await ptsToken in Activity<WidgetExtensionAttributesOther> .pushToStartTokenUpdates { let ptsTokenString = ptsToken.hexadecimalString print("other new:", ptsTokenString) } } } }>.pushToStartToken { print("exists:", data.hexadecimalString) } else { print("requesting pushToStartToken") for await ptsToken in Activity<WidgetExtensionAttributes> .pushToStartTokenUpdates { let ptsTokenString = ptsToken.hexadecimalString print("new:", ptsTokenString) } } } Task { if let data = Activity<WidgetExtensionAttributesOther>.pushToStartToken { print("other exists:", data.hexadecimalString) } else { print("other requesting pushToStartToken") for await ptsToken in Activity<WidgetExtensionAttributesOther> .pushToStartTokenUpdates { let ptsTokenString = ptsToken.hexadecimalString print("other new:", ptsTokenString) } } } } Activity Types struct WidgetExtensionAttributesOther: ActivityAttributes { public struct ContentState: Codable, Hashable { var age: Int } var addresses: [String] } struct WidgetExtensionAttributes: ActivityAttributes { public struct ContentState: Codable, Hashable { var emoji: String } var name: String } Docs After much investigation I noticed the wording of the docs kind of hint that the push-to-start token is per ActivityKit as it says: An asynchronous sequence you use to observe changes to the token for starting a Live Activity with an ActivityKit push notification. But docs and the API don't align well. Questions Is it correct that the push-to-start token is per app? If so then is there a reason that that API designers decided to still have to pass a specific type and not just make a request without passing a type? Should I maybe file a radar? Is it correct to say push-to-start is per app, while update tokens are per instance. i.e. if I have two soccer matches, then unless the push-to-start token was refreshed by the OS, then both would use the same push-to-start token, however each match would have a unique update token?
1
0
238
May ’25
Effective use of .disfavouredLocations API
I have a Health & Fitness widget that runs on iPhone and Apple Watch. As Health data access requires the device to be unlocked, the iPhone widget is already slightly limited in capability because of updates. With widgets further expanding to places like CarPlay, I know I can use the .disfavouredLocations{} API to try and prevent it being offered there. This is crucial as the widget functionality would be basically non-existent as your device is locked during CarPlay use. My problem is, on the Mac despite using the .disfavouredLocations{.iPhoneWidgetsOnMac} etc...., the widget can still be added in the "other unsupported section". And yet, in that section the Apple Fitness app widget is no where to be seen. Is there an API I am missing to completely remove a widget from the Mac widget gallery and hopefully CarPlay, Standby etc.... (all places where the device running the widget is usually locked -> No Health data)? Or does the Apple Fitness app have a private API to block it from these places where its function is not wanted and this isn't available to other apps?
1
0
105
Jun ’25
WidgetKit WidgetConfigurationIntent Parameter Icons
In WatchOS 26 you can now configure Apple Watch Widgets that use AppIntents instead of having a preconfigured option via AppIntentRecommendation. This is demonstrated in the Weather Details Widget. In that, the Intent has been set up such that the options have icons for each parameter. How can I update my Intent code to offer this? struct DataPointsWidgetIntent: AppIntent, WidgetConfigurationIntent { static var title: LocalizedStringResource = "Data Points Widget Configuration" static var description = IntentDescription("Configure the individual data point display for Widgets.") static var isDiscoverable: Bool { return false} init() {} func perform() async throws -> some IntentResult { print("DataPointsWidgetIntent perform") return .result() } @Parameter(title: "Show Individual Data Points", default: true) var showDataPoints: Bool? @Parameter(title: "Trend Timescale", default: .week) var timescale: TimescaleTypeAppEnum? static var parameterSummary: some ParameterSummary { Summary("Test Info") { \.$showDataPoints \.$timescale } } } enum TimescaleTypeAppEnum: String, AppEnum { case week case fortnight static var typeDisplayRepresentation = TypeDisplayRepresentation(name: "Trend Timescale") static var caseDisplayRepresentations: [Self: DisplayRepresentation] = [ .week: "Past Week", .fortnight: "Past Fortnight" ] }
1
1
111
Jun ’25
reloadAllTimelines() is broken on watchOS 11.5
I am experiencing an issue with my watchOS app. My application updates a shared file, accessible by both the main app and the WidgetKit extension, during a WatchConnectivity background task. Following this update, I call reloadAllTimelines(). This functionality worked as expected on watchOS 10, even without Developer Mode enabled. However, after updating my device to watchOS 11.5, this API appears to be broken. My reasons for believing this API is broken are threefold: The functionality worked reliably on watchOS 10. On watchOS 11.5, enabling "WidgetKit Developer Mode" (found under Settings > Developer) resolves the issue, and my complications update correctly. When I enter watch face edit mode, the snapshot/preview displayed (which utilizes the same underlying logic as the timeline API) shows the correct data. This indicates that the data has been successfully received from the phone, and the widget is indeed reading the updated shared file. Despite this, the actual widget view during its resting phase never updates. It's worth noting that TimelineReloadPolicy functions as expected, but I cannot rely on this for my use case. My widget requires immediate updates upon receiving new data. Apple, please investigate this behavior.
1
2
154
Jun ’25
Data Race in Widgets?
I've turned on Swift 6 language mode and noticed that during runtime Xcode gives this warning for a new widget (iOS 17.2): warning: data race detected: @MainActor function at TestWidgetExtension/TestWidget.swift:240 was not called on the main thread struct TestWidget: Widget { let kind: String = "TestWidget" var body: some WidgetConfiguration { AppIntentConfiguration( kind: kind, intent: ConfigurationAppIntent.self, provider: Provider() ) { entry in // LINE 240 TestWidgetEntryView(entry: entry) .containerBackground(Color.white, for: .widget) } } } Is there any way to solve this on my side? Thank you!
1
0
61
Jun ’25
Widget Previews in visionOS 26 Beta (Xcode 26 Beta)
Hello, I'm currently developing for visionOS using Xcode's latest beta version. I have a question regarding Widget Previews for visionOS 26: When I create a new Widget Extension target directly from a visionOS project, the generated code does not include the #Preview macro. Following the documentation, I manually added the #Preview macro to a Widget created within a visionOS project, but Xcode then displays an error stating that "This platform does not support previewing widgets." My interpretation is that Widget Previews are currently not supported for Widgets created specifically for visionOS in this beta version. Is this understanding correct? Or am I missing a specific way to implement previews for visionOS Widgets, or is there a particular project setting I might have overlooked? Any clarification or guidance on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
1
0
133
Jun ’25
Update Complications in WatchOS from iOS using WatchConnectivity?
I'm trying to update data displayed in my Watch Complications (WidgetKit). I have an iOS app that sends data to the Apple Watch using WCSession.default.transferUserInfo. However, the data only updates on the complications or widgets after I open the watchOS app manually. Ideally, I'd like the Watch widget/complication to reflect the updated data as soon as it's sent from the iPhone, without requiring the user to open the Watch app.
1
0
149
Jun ’25
AppIntent perform function is not invoked from ControlWidget
I have an AppIntent that edits an object in my app. The intent accepts an app entity as a parameter, so if you run the intent it will ask which one do you want to edit, then you select one from the list and it shows a dialog that it was edited successfully. I use this same intent in my Home Screen widget initializing it with an objectEntity. The code needs to run in the app's process, not the widget extension process, so the file is added to both targets and it conforms to ForegroundContinuableIntent, and that is supposed to ensure it always runs in the app process. This works great when run from the Shortcuts app and when involved via a button in the Home Screen widget, exactly as expected. Here is that app intent: @available(iOS 17.0, *) struct EditObjectIntent: AppIntent { static let title: LocalizedStringResource = "Edit Object" @Parameter(title: "Object", requestValueDialog: "Which object do you want to edit?", inputConnectionBehavior: .connectToPreviousIntentResult) var objectEntity: ObjectEntity init() { print("INIT") } init(objectEntity: ObjectEntity) { self.objectEntity = objectEntity } @MainActor func perform() async throws -> some IntentResult & ReturnsValue<ObjectEntity> & ProvidesDialog { // Edit the object from objectEntity.id... return .result(value: objectEntity, dialog: "Done") } } @available(iOS 17.0, *) @available(iOSApplicationExtension, unavailable) extension EditObjectIntent: ForegroundContinuableIntent { } I now want to create a ControlButton that uses this intent: struct EditObjectControlWidget: ControlWidget { var body: some ControlWidgetConfiguration { StaticControlConfiguration(kind: "EditObjectControlWidget") { ControlWidgetButton(action: EditObjectIntent()) { Label("Edit Object", systemImage: "pencil") } } } } When I add the button to Control Center and tap it (on iOS 18), init is called 3x in the app process and 2x in the widget process, yet the perform function is not invoked in either process. No error appears in console logs for the app's process, but this appears for the widget process: LaunchServices: store <private> or url <private> was nil: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-54 "process may not map database" UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=process may not map database, _LSLine=72, _LSFunction=_LSServer_GetServerStoreForConnectionWithCompletionHandler} Attempt to map database failed: permission was denied. This attempt will not be retried. Failed to initialize client context with error Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-54 "process may not map database" UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=process may not map database, _LSLine=72, _LSFunction=_LSServer_GetServerStoreForConnectionWithCompletionHandler} What am I doing wrong here? Thanks!
1
0
140
Jul ’25