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name: macos-menubar-tuist-app description: Build, refactor, or review SwiftUI macOS menubar apps that use Tuist. risk: safe source: "Dimillian/Skills (MIT)" date_added: "2026-03-25"

macos-menubar-tuist-app

Build and maintain macOS menubar apps with a Tuist-first workflow and stable launch scripts. Preserve strict architecture boundaries so networking, state, and UI remain testable and predictable.

When to Use

• When working on LSUIElement menubar utilities built with Tuist and SwiftUI.
• When you need Tuist manifests, launch scripts, or architecture guidance for a menubar app.

Core Rules

• Keep the app menubar-only unless explicitly told otherwise. Use LSUIElement = true by default.
• Keep transport and decoding logic outside views. Do not call networking from SwiftUI view bodies.
• Keep state transitions in a store layer (@Observable or equivalent), not in row/view presentation code.
• Keep model decoding resilient to API drift: optional fields, safe fallbacks, and defensive parsing.
• Treat Tuist manifests as the source of truth. Do not rely on hand-edited generated Xcode artifacts.
• Prefer script-based launch for local iteration when tuist run is unreliable for macOS target/device resolution.
• Prefer tuist xcodebuild build over raw xcodebuild in local run scripts when building generated projects.

Expected File Shape

Use this placement by default:

• Project.swift: app target, settings, resources, Info.plist keys
• Sources/*Model*.swift: API/domain models and decoding
• Sources/*Client*.swift: requests, response mapping, transport concerns
• Sources/*Store*.swift: observable state, refresh policy, filtering, caching
• Sources/*Menu*View*.swift: menu composition and top-level UI state
• Sources/*Row*View*.swift: row rendering and lightweight interactions
• run-menubar.sh: canonical local restart/build/launch path
• stop-menubar.sh: explicit stop helper when needed

Workflow

1. Confirm Tuist ownership

• Verify Tuist.swift and Project.swift (or workspace manifests) exist.
• Read existing run scripts before changing launch behavior.

1. Probe backend behavior before coding assumptions

• Use curl to verify endpoint shape, auth requirements, and pagination behavior.
• If endpoint ignores limit/page, implement full-list handling with local trimming in the store.

1. Implement layers from bottom to top

• Define/adjust models first.
• Add or update client request/decoding logic.
• Update store refresh, filtering, and cache policy.
• Wire views last.

1. Keep app wiring minimal

• Keep app entry focused on scene/menu wiring and dependency injection.
• Avoid embedding business logic in App or menu scene declarations.

1. Standardize launch ergonomics

• Ensure run script restarts an existing instance before relaunching.
• Ensure run script does not open Xcode as a side effect.
• Use tuist generate --no-open when generation is required.
• When the run script builds the generated project, prefer TUIST_SKIP_UPDATE_CHECK=1 tuist xcodebuild build ... instead of invoking raw xcodebuild directly.

Validation Matrix

Run validations after edits:

TUIST_SKIP_UPDATE_CHECK=1 tuist xcodebuild build -scheme <TargetName> -configuration Debug

If launch workflow changed:

./run-menubar.sh

If shell scripts changed:

bash -n run-menubar.sh
bash -n stop-menubar.sh
./run-menubar.sh

Failure Patterns and Fix Direction

• tuist run cannot resolve the macOS destination: Use run/stop scripts as canonical local run path.

• Menu UI is laggy or inconsistent after refresh: Move derived state and filtering into the store; keep views render-only.

• API payload changes break decode: Relax model decoding with optional fields and defaults, then surface missing data safely in UI.

• Feature asks for quick UI patch: Trace root cause in model/client/store before changing row/menu presentation.

Completion Checklist

• Preserve menubar-only behavior unless explicitly changed.
• Keep network and state logic out of SwiftUI view bodies.
• Keep Tuist manifests and run scripts aligned with actual build/run flow.
• Run the validation matrix for touched areas.
• Report concrete commands run and outcomes.

Limitations

• Use this skill only when the task clearly matches the scope described above.
• Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review.
• Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.