iOS UI Router

You MUST use this skill for ANY iOS UI work including SwiftUI, UIKit, layout, navigation, animations, and design.

When to Use

Use this router when working with:

• SwiftUI views, state, bindings
• UIKit views and constraints
• Layout issues (Auto Layout, SwiftUI layout)
• Navigation (NavigationStack, deep linking)
• Animations and transitions
• Liquid Glass design (iOS 26+)
• Apple Human Interface Guidelines
• UI architecture and patterns
• Accessibility UI issues

Conflict Resolution

ios-ui vs ios-performance: When UI is slow (e.g., "SwiftUI List slow"):

1. Try ios-ui FIRST — Domain-specific fixes (LazyVStack, view identity, @State optimization) often solve UI performance in 5 minutes
2. Only use ios-performance if domain fixes don't help — Profiling takes longer and may confirm what domain knowledge already knows

Rationale: Jumping to Instruments wastes time when the fix is a known SwiftUI pattern. Profile AFTER trying domain fixes, not before.

Routing Logic

SwiftUI Issues

View not updating → /skill axiom-swiftui-debugging
Navigation issues → /skill axiom-swiftui-nav
Performance/lag → /skill axiom-swiftui-performance
Layout problems → /skill axiom-swiftui-layout
Stacks/grids/outlines → /skill axiom-swiftui-containers-ref
Animation issues → /skill axiom-swiftui-animation-ref
Gesture conflicts → /skill axiom-swiftui-gestures
Architecture/testability → /skill axiom-swiftui-architecture
App-level composition → /skill axiom-app-composition
Search implementation → /skill axiom-swiftui-search-ref
iOS 26 features → /skill axiom-swiftui-26-ref

UIKit Issues

Auto Layout conflicts → /skill axiom-auto-layout-debugging
Animation timing issues → /skill axiom-uikit-animation-debugging

Design & Guidelines

Liquid Glass adoption → /skill axiom-liquid-glass
SF Symbols (effects, rendering, custom) → /skill axiom-sf-symbols
Design decisions → /skill axiom-hig
Typography → /skill axiom-typography-ref
TextKit/rich text → /skill axiom-textkit-ref

Accessibility

VoiceOver, Dynamic Type → /skill axiom-accessibility-diag

Testing

UI test flakiness → /skill axiom-ui-testing

Decision Tree

digraph ios_ui {
    start [label="UI issue" shape=ellipse];
    is_swiftui [label="SwiftUI?" shape=diamond];
    is_uikit [label="UIKit?" shape=diamond];
    is_design [label="Design/guidelines?" shape=diamond];

    start -> is_swiftui;
    is_swiftui -> swiftui_type [label="yes"];
    is_swiftui -> is_uikit [label="no"];
    is_uikit -> uikit_type [label="yes"];
    is_uikit -> is_design [label="no"];
    is_design -> design_type [label="yes"];
    is_design -> "accessibility-diag" [label="accessibility"];

    swiftui_type [label="What's wrong?" shape=diamond];
    swiftui_type -> "swiftui-debugging" [label="view not updating"];
    swiftui_type -> "swiftui-nav" [label="navigation"];
    swiftui_type -> "swiftui-performance" [label="slow/lag"];
    swiftui_type -> "swiftui-layout" [label="adaptive layout"];
    swiftui_type -> "swiftui-containers-ref" [label="stacks/grids/outlines"];
    swiftui_type -> "swiftui-architecture" [label="feature architecture"];
    swiftui_type -> "app-composition" [label="app-level (root, auth, scenes)"];
    swiftui_type -> "swiftui-animation-ref" [label="animations"];
    swiftui_type -> "swiftui-gestures" [label="gestures"];
    swiftui_type -> "swiftui-search-ref" [label="search"];
    swiftui_type -> "swiftui-26-ref" [label="iOS 26 features"];

    uikit_type [label="UIKit issue?" shape=diamond];
    uikit_type -> "auto-layout-debugging" [label="Auto Layout"];
    uikit_type -> "uikit-animation-debugging" [label="animations"];

    design_type [label="Design topic?" shape=diamond];
    design_type -> "liquid-glass" [label="Liquid Glass"];
    design_type -> "sf-symbols" [label="SF Symbols"];
    design_type -> "hig" [label="HIG compliance"];
    design_type -> "typography-ref" [label="typography"];
    design_type -> "textkit-ref" [label="TextKit/rich text"];
}

Anti-Rationalization

Thought	Reality
"Simple SwiftUI layout, no need for the layout skill"	SwiftUI layout has 12 gotchas. swiftui-layout covers all of them.
"I know how NavigationStack works"	Navigation has state restoration, deep linking, and identity traps. swiftui-nav prevents 2-hour debugging.
"It's just a view not updating, I'll debug it"	View update failures have 4 root causes. swiftui-debugging diagnoses in 5 min.
"I'll just add .animation() and fix later"	Animation issues compound. swiftui-animation-ref has the correct patterns.
"This UI is simple, no architecture needed"	Even small features benefit from separation. swiftui-architecture prevents refactoring debt.
"I know how .searchable works"	Search has 6 gotchas (navigation container, isSearching level, suggestion completion). swiftui-search-ref covers all of them.
"I know SF Symbols, it's just Image(systemName:)"	4 rendering modes, 12+ effects, 3 Draw playback modes, custom symbol authoring. sf-symbols has decision trees for all of them.

Example Invocations

User: "My SwiftUI view isn't updating when I change the model"
→ Invoke: /skill axiom-swiftui-debugging

User: "How do I implement Liquid Glass in my toolbar?"
→ Invoke: /skill axiom-liquid-glass

User: "NavigationStack is popping unexpectedly"
→ Invoke: /skill axiom-swiftui-nav

User: "Should I use MVVM for this SwiftUI app?"
→ Invoke: /skill axiom-swiftui-architecture

User: "How do I switch between login and main screens?"
→ Invoke: /skill axiom-app-composition

User: "Where should auth state live in my app?"
→ Invoke: /skill axiom-app-composition

User: "How do I create a grid layout with LazyVGrid?"
→ Invoke: /skill axiom-swiftui-containers-ref

User: "What's the difference between VStack and LazyVStack?"
→ Invoke: /skill axiom-swiftui-containers-ref

User: "How do I display hierarchical data with OutlineGroup?"
→ Invoke: /skill axiom-swiftui-containers-ref

User: "How do I add search to my SwiftUI list?"
→ Invoke: /skill axiom-swiftui-search-ref

User: "My search suggestions aren't working"
→ Invoke: /skill axiom-swiftui-search-ref

User: "How do I animate an SF Symbol when tapped?"
→ Invoke: /skill axiom-sf-symbols

User: "My SF Symbol Draw animation isn't working on my custom symbol"
→ Invoke: /skill axiom-sf-symbols

User: "Which rendering mode should I use for my toolbar icons?"
→ Invoke: /skill axiom-sf-symbols