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axiom-macos

Use when building ANY macOS app — windows, menus, sandboxing, distribution, AppKit bridging or modernization (control events, state restoration, concentric corners), touch input, or macOS-specific SwiftUI patterns.

Published by CharlesWiltgen ↗CharlesWiltgen/Axiom

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SKILL.md

name: axiom-macosdescription: Use when building ANY macOS app — windows, menus, sandboxing, distribution, AppKit bridging or modernization (control events, state restoration, concentric corners), touch input, or macOS-specific SwiftUI patterns.license: MIT

macOS Development

You MUST use this skill for ANY macOS-specific development including windows, menus, sandboxing, distribution, AppKit bridging, and macOS SwiftUI differences.

Can't launch Axiom agents? Where this router sends you to an agent, follow its procedure inline. Over MCP, axiom_get_agent returns it; elsewhere, read its file below, which needs only file search and read.

Available here: skills/touch-auditor.md.

For any other agent, over MCP axiom_get_agent returns it too; run its xclog, xcsym and xcprof steps with the axiom_xclog_*, axiom_xcsym_* and axiom_xcprof_* tools. Elsewhere, search Axiom's skills for skills/<agent>.md; if there is none, do that work yourself with this suite's skills, using any Axiom tool on your PATH.

Quick Reference

Symptom / Task	Reference
Window management (WindowGroup, Window, MenuBarExtra, DocumentGroup)	See `skills/windows.md`
Menu bar, commands, keyboard shortcuts	See `skills/menus-and-commands.md`
Table, Inspector, NavigationSplitView, focus	See `skills/swiftui-differences.md`
App Sandbox, file access, security-scoped bookmarks	See `skills/sandbox-and-file-access.md`
Another team's app or app group container access denied without a prompt (`OS27`)	See `skills/sandbox-and-file-access.md`
Developer ID, notarization, Sparkle auto-updates	See `skills/direct-distribution.md`
NSViewRepresentable, NSHostingController, AppKit bridging, @Observable in AppKit, NSHostingMenu, SwiftUI scenes from AppKit	See `skills/appkit-interop.md`
Modernizing AppKit: mouseDown replacement, control events, status-item sessions, state restoration, concentric corners (`OS27`)	See `skills/appkit-modernization.md`
Touch on a touch-display Mac or Sidecar: design rules, tracking loops → gesture recognizers, hit targets, hover, exclusivity, system gestures, non-Apple UI frameworks	See `skills/touch.md`
Automated touch-readiness scan (mouseDown overrides, tracking loops, hover-only controls, custom recognizers)	Launch `touch-auditor` agent or `/axiom:audit touch`
Screen recording, sharing, or capture (ScreenCaptureKit)	See `skills/screencapturekit.md`
SCStream / SCContentFilter / screenshots / file recording API, clip buffering, recording editor (`OS27`)	See `skills/screencapturekit-ref.md`
Bring an iOS app to Mac: Catalyst adoption, Designed for iPad, Mac availability opt-out	See `skills/ios-apps-on-mac.md`
Apple Pay on Mac / Catalyst	See `axiom-payments/skills/apple-pay.md` (Catalyst section)

Cross-Suite Routes

These topics overlap with macOS development but live in separate suites:

SwiftUI (shared iOS/macOS)

View state, data flow, @Observable → See axiom-swiftui
Navigation (NavigationStack basics) → See axiom-swiftui (skills/nav.md)
Layout (ViewThatFits, AnyLayout) → See axiom-swiftui (skills/layout.md)
Animations → See axiom-swiftui (skills/animation-ref.md)

Data & persistence

SwiftData, Core Data, GRDB → See axiom-data
CloudKit sync → See axiom-data

Concurrency

Swift 6 concurrency, actors, Sendable → See axiom-concurrency

Other

Accessibility (VoiceOver, Dynamic Type) → See axiom-accessibility
Networking (URLSession, Network.framework) → See axiom-networking
Security (Keychain, passkeys, encryption) → See axiom-security

Conflict Resolution

axiom-macos vs axiom-swiftui: When working on a macOS SwiftUI app:

Use axiom-macos for macOS-only concerns: windows, menus, commands, sandboxing, distribution, Table, Inspector, AppKit bridging
Use axiom-swiftui for cross-platform SwiftUI: navigation, layout, state management, animations
Both may apply: A macOS app using NavigationSplitView with Table needs axiom-macos for Table specifics and axiom-swiftui for NavigationSplitView basics

axiom-macos vs axiom-security: For sandbox and code signing:

Use axiom-macos for macOS App Sandbox, security-scoped bookmarks, file access entitlements, Developer ID signing
Use axiom-security for Keychain storage, encryption, passkeys, certificate management

Decision Tree

digraph macos {
    start [label="macOS development task" shape=ellipse];
    what [label="What area?" shape=diamond];

    start -> what;
    what -> "skills/windows.md" [label="windows/scenes"];
    what -> "skills/menus-and-commands.md" [label="menus/commands/shortcuts"];
    what -> "skills/swiftui-differences.md" [label="Table/Inspector/focus/macOS SwiftUI"];
    what -> "skills/sandbox-and-file-access.md" [label="sandbox/file access"];
    what -> "skills/direct-distribution.md" [label="distribution/notarization/updates"];
    what -> "skills/appkit-interop.md" [label="AppKit bridging"];
    what -> "skills/appkit-modernization.md" [label="modernize AppKit\n(input/restoration/27 look)"];
    what -> "skills/touch.md" [label="touch input\n(touch display/Sidecar)"];
    what -> "skills/ios-apps-on-mac.md" [label="iOS app to Mac\n(Catalyst / Designed for iPad)"];
    what -> "skills/screencapturekit.md" [label="screen capture/\nrecording/sharing"];
    what -> "axiom-swiftui" [label="cross-platform SwiftUI"];
    what -> "axiom-security" [label="Keychain/encryption"];
}

iOS screen capture? On iOS 27+ use ScreenCaptureKit's SCContentSharingPicker — see axiom-media (skills/screen-capture.md); ReplayKit (deprecated in the 27 SDKs) only below 27.

Resources

WWDC: 2021-10062, 2022-10061, 2022-10075, 2023-10148, 2024-10149, 2026-272, 2026-289

Tech Talks: 111456, 111468

Docs: /security/app-sandbox, /swiftui/windowgroup, /swiftui/table

Skills: axiom-swiftui, axiom-security, axiom-concurrency, axiom-uikit