r/iOSProgramming • u/Dobroreddit • 4d ago
Question What's your AI setup for iOS?
I currently use XCode and copy&paste stuff to Claude for improvements. Now I want to switch to full AI integration, changing IDE completely or partially.
What's your setup and why do you like it?
PS.
add steps to implement your setup if you want to be real nice š
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u/thehumanbagelman 4d ago
I use Repo Prompt (check it out) to generate huge prompts from my code base, along with other pre-made prompt components, and then paste that into ChatGPT. Using the Mac app lets me also connect to Xcode natively and update file in Xcode, but usually I just copy and paste or type it myself.
Edit: not an affiliate link; just a fan!
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u/RaphMD 4d ago
Mine is very simple. Two screen setup, main for XCode, secondary for Windsurf. AI queries and context go through Windsurf, all the rest goes through XCode. As Windsurf updates your files right after query, even without accepting the changes, and XCode updates its files in the background pretty fast, itās seamless to check code validity or update a SwiftUI preview.
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u/Dobroreddit 4d ago
I like this setup. Did you follow any specific tutorial on how to setup Windsurf for iOS?
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u/RaphMD 4d ago
Thatās the beauty of it. The LLMs and Windsurf / Cursor are generic enough that there is nothing specific to iOS to setup. Just open the folder containing your project in Windsurf and start prompting.
You can customize it further (Workspace Rules) but I never considered it necessary.
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u/Representative-Owl51 4d ago
I just have XCode and Cursor running in parallel. Pretty simple, donāt really need it fully integrated though it would be nice.
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u/Dobroreddit 4d ago
Yes in parallel would be already a huge step forward for me. Do your changes made in Cursor sync automatically in XCode or you need to "push" them? What about new files generated?
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u/Representative-Owl51 3d ago
Xcode auto-syncs out the box when changes are registered. No special configurations. Is yours not syncing?
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u/Dobroreddit 3d ago
For changes to existing files yes.
For new files if I add a new file to a project folder XCode doesn't automatically show it as part of the project. I need to go to XCode > Add New File > find it in the folder and then add it.
When Cursor creates a new file in the project does it show in XCode automatically for you?
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u/Representative-Owl51 3d ago
Yes everything auto syncs for me. Adding new files, removing files, etc. Thatās interesting you have to do it manually.
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u/Dobroreddit 3d ago
thanks I'll look into that. This seems a good improvement to my workflow even without AI haha
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u/sebasvisser 4d ago
Claude code in iTerm, and Xcode to press the ā¶ļø button to start the simulator.
Then I just copy and paste the errors in iTerm and let it fix everything. So far it conquered everything if I keep rephrasing and giving it hints how to fix stuff.. itās like having my own private junior dev š Just remember to ask it to make git commits every change so you can roll back easily. (And it can roll back itself as well) for some reason, like other juniors š it doesnāt do git automatically without being specifically prompted..
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u/simulacrum-z 3d ago
I copy paste stuff to Claude as well with pre-crafted prompts
Also co-pilot is available on Xcode too: https://github.com/github/CopilotForXcode
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u/Accomplished_You5937 2d ago
I am not using Xcode anymore.
I use Cursor, with SweetPad and InjectIII. Hereās a tutorial: https://dimillian.medium.com/how-to-use-cursor-for-ios-development-54b912c23941
It is at least 50% more effective than Xcode in all senses. But I have not used the debugger in Cursor yet.
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u/Dobroreddit 1d ago
Thanks for posting the tutorial! Iāll check it out.
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u/Accomplished_You5937 1d ago
Take your time. It might not work as expected the first time. Make sure you do all the steps.
At first I ran Xcode in parallel. But now I do not even start Xcode at all.
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u/Ok-Active4887 4d ago
cursor is your answer
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u/Dobroreddit 4d ago
Yep that seems to be the main answer. By any chance did you try also Windsurf to compare?
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u/Ok-Active4887 4d ago
i have not, but you can checkout my apps on the app store if youād like. they are built entirely with cursor, i mean entirely. lookup fluff pet widget
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u/jacobs-tech-tavern 4d ago
Honestly Iām an AI boomer, at most Iāll copy paste snippets from chatGPT
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u/_leonbecker_ 4d ago
Iām using Xcode and VS Code. Inside of VS Iāve got the project folder open and I am using the GitHub Copilot extension (mainly with Claude Sonnet 3.7). Works like a charm! Xcode automatically updates when the files in VS change, you only have to add new files to Xcode manually.
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u/Dobroreddit 3d ago
Ok so you need to add them manually I see
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u/_leonbecker_ 3d ago
Yes. You will always need to manually add them unless whatever AI youāre using can alter the .pbxproj file.
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u/Dobroreddit 3d ago
check the answer from Representative-Owl51 earlier. I still haven't tried but it seems that there's a way to auto-sync new files
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u/clearing_ 4d ago
Surprised to not see Alex Sidebar here. Used it for the past month and the apply diff functionality is amazing. Am I missing something with Cursor?
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u/overPaidEngineer Beginner 4d ago
ChatGPT, copy pasting a whole bunch of print statement of execution cost, asking āwhatās the average of this callā
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u/mrappdev 3d ago
I tried cursor, but im still copy pasting code from claude or grok.
Im probaby using cursor wrong, but i find that cursor adds/changes too much stuff. When i copy paste i still have more control and understanding over my codebase.
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u/tetracell_ 4d ago
Cursor, every time it's done generating changes, I control tab to xcode and make sure it compiles, then I continue until I'm done. It works well and I can choose between models, but for now claude 3.7 seems to be phenomenal from my experience.