swift-reference-repos
Installation
SKILL.md
Swift macOS Desktop App Reference Repositories
Three production-grade, MIT-licensed Swift repositories that serve as architectural references for building native macOS desktop applications. Focused on AppKit, custom view embedding, compositor-style layouts, and hybrid AppKit+SwiftUI patterns.
Quick Reference
| Repo | Purpose | Stars | What It Teaches |
|---|---|---|---|
| CodeEditApp/CodeEdit | Full macOS IDE | ~22k | NSSplitView, sidebar+editor+inspector, NSToolbar, custom view embedding, AppKit+SwiftUI hybrid |
| krzyzanowskim/STTextView | TextKit 2 text component | ~1.3k | Custom NSView subclass, plugin architecture, gutter/ruler, cross-platform AppKit+UIKit |
| ghostty-org/ghostty + ghostling | Terminal emulator + libghostty | ~30k | C library embedding in Swift, Metal rendering, multi-threaded terminal, AppKit surface lifecycle |
Plus: WKWebView embedding patterns for canvas-style compositors (see references/wkwebview-embedding.md).