SwiftUI Debugging

Overview

SwiftUI debugging falls into three categories, each with a different diagnostic approach:

1. View Not Updating – You changed something but the view didn't redraw. Decision tree to identify whether it's struct mutation, lost binding identity, accidental view recreation, or missing observer pattern.
2. Preview Crashes – Your preview won't compile or crashes immediately. Decision tree to distinguish between missing dependencies, state initialization failures, and Xcode cache corruption.
3. Layout Issues – Views appearing in wrong positions, wrong sizes, overlapping unexpectedly. Quick reference patterns for common scenarios.

Core principle: Start with observable symptoms, test systematically, eliminate causes one by one. Don't guess.

Requires: Xcode 26+, iOS 17+ (iOS 14-16 patterns still valid, see notes) Related skills: axiom-xcode-debugging (cache corruption diagnosis), axiom-swift-concurrency (observer patterns), axiom-swiftui-performance (profiling with Instruments), axiom-swiftui-layout (adaptive layout patterns)

Example Prompts

These are real questions developers ask that this skill is designed to answer: