guide-swiftui-view-refactor

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• SKILL.md
• mv-patterns.md · references/

SKILL.md (first lines)

> **Guide Skill** — This is an expert workflow/pattern guide, not API reference documentation.
> Originally from [Dimillian/Skills](https://github.com/Dimillian/Skills) by Thomas Ricouard. MIT License.


# SwiftUI View Refactor

## Overview
Refactor SwiftUI views toward small, explicit, stable view types. Default to vanilla SwiftUI: local state in the view, shared dependencies in the environment, business logic in services/models, and view models only when the request or existing code clearly requires one.

## Core Guidelines

### 1) View ordering (top → bottom)
- Enforce this ordering unless the existing file has a stronger local convention you must preserve.
- Environment
- `private`/`public` `let`
- `@State` / other stored properties
- computed `var` (non-view)
- `init`
- `body`
- computed view builders / other view helpers
- helper / async functions

### 2) Default to MV, not MVVM
- Views should be lightweight state expressions and orchestration points, not containers for business logic.
- Favor `@State`, `@Environment`, `@Query`, `.task`, `.task(id:)`, and `onChange` before reaching for a view model.
- Inject services and shared models via `@Environment`; keep domain logic in services/models, not in the view body.
- Do not introduce a view model just to mirror local view state or wrap environment dependencies.
- If a screen is getting large, split the UI into subviews before inventing a new view model layer.

### 3) Strongly prefer dedicated subview types over computed `some View` helpers
- Flag `body` properties that are longer than roughly one screen or contain multiple logical sections.
- Prefer extracting dedicated `View` types for non-trivial sections, especially when they have state, async work, branching, or deserve their own preview.
- Keep computed `some View` helpers rare and small. Do not build an entire screen out of `private var header: some View`-style fragments.
- Pass small, explicit inputs (data, bindings, callbacks) into extracted subviews instead of handing down the entire parent state.
- If an extracted subview becomes reusable or independently meaningful, move it to its own file.

Prefer:

```swift
var body: some View {
    List {
        HeaderSection(title: title, subtitle: subtitle)
        FilterSection(
            filterOptions: filterOptions,
            selectedFilter: $selectedFilter
        )
        ResultsSection(items: filteredItems)
        FooterSection()
    }
}

private struct HeaderSection: View {
    let title: String
    let subtitle: String

    var body: some View {
        VStack(alignment: .leading, spacing: 6) {
            Text(title).font(.title2)
            Text(subtitle).font(.subheadline)
        }
    }
}

private struct FilterSection: View {
    let filterOptions: [FilterOption]
    @Binding var selectedFilter: FilterOption

    var body: some View {
        ScrollView(.horizontal, showsIndicators: false) {
            HStack {
                ForEach(filterOptions, id: \.self) { option in
                    FilterChip(option: option, isSelected: option == selectedFilter)
                        .onTapGesture { selectedFilter = option }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```

Avoid:

```swift
var body: some View {
    List {
        header
        filters
        results
        footer
    }
}

private var header: some View {
    VStack(alignment: .leading, spacing: 6) {
        Text(title).font(.title2)
        Text(subtitle).font(.subheadline)
    }
}
```

### 3b) Extract actions and side effects out of `body`
- Do not keep non-trivial button actions inline in the view body.
- Do not bury business logic inside `.task`, `.onAppear`, `.onChange`, or `.refreshable`.
- Prefer calling small private methods from the view, and move real business logic into services/models.
- The body should read like UI, not like a view controller.

```swift
Button("Save", action: save)
    .disabled(isSaving)

.task(id: searchText) {
    await reload(for: searchText)
}

private func save() {
    Task { await saveAsync() }
}

private func reload(for searchText: String) async {

From Prisma-Labs-Dev/apple-skills, MIT.

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