iterating-with-ai-and-mcp
Iterating with AI and MCP: let the agent edit, reload, screenshot, and iterate
Compose HotSwan ships an embedded HTTP MCP server inside the IntelliJ plugin. Any MCP-compatible AI client (Claude Code, Cursor, any tool that speaks Model Context Protocol) can call its tools to drive the iteration loop. The agent edits a Kotlin file, calls hotswan_reload, captures a screenshot of the running device, evaluates the result against the design intent, and decides the next change. Cycle time is comparable to the human loop, a few seconds per iteration, so the agent can converge on a UI tweak without a human steering each step.
This skill teaches the canonical agent loop, the seven MCP tools (verbatim names), and the safety habits (status check first, snapshot wrapping for rollback, fallback to full install for schema changes) that keep the loop reliable.
When to use this skill
- The developer wants AI-driven UI iteration: "tune this screen until it matches the mock", "let the agent pick a colour".
- The developer wants the AI to verify its own edits visually instead of guessing whether the change worked.
- The developer is wiring up a Claude Code or Cursor workflow that needs MCP tool access to a running app.
- The user asks "can the AI see what changed?", "can the AI screenshot the device?", "how does Claude Code drive HotSwan?".
- The user mentions "MCP server", "hotswan_reload", "hotswan_take_screenshot", "agent loop", or "snapshot rollback".
When NOT to use this skill
More from skydoves/compose-performance-skills
deferring-state-reads
Use this skill to push frequently-changing Jetpack Compose state reads (scroll position, animation values, drag offsets) out of the Composition phase and down into Layout or Draw using lambda-based modifiers like Modifier.offset { }, Modifier.layout { }, Modifier.graphicsLayer { }, Modifier.drawBehind { }, and Modifier.drawWithCache { }. Covers the three-phase model (Composition, Layout, Draw), why a state read at phase N invalidates phase N and every phase below, the modifier-phase cheat sheet, and lambda providers (() -> T) for hoisting hot values across composables. Use when the developer mentions every-frame work, scroll jank, animation jank, dropped frames, animated alpha or offset, "the whole subtree recomposes on scroll", Modifier.alpha(state.value), Modifier.offset(x.dp), or graphicsLayer.
11collecting-flows-safely
Use this skill to migrate Compose UI from `collectAsState()` to `collectAsStateWithLifecycle()`, hoist `Flow<T>` parameters out of composables, and apply `.conflate()` / `.distinctUntilChanged()` / `snapshotFlow` so background CPU and battery stop draining and chatty flows stop invalidating the UI per emission. Covers ViewModel `StateFlow`/`SharedFlow` consumers, sensor and location streams, and the "Flow as composable parameter" antipattern. Trigger when the user mentions `collectAsState`, `collectAsStateWithLifecycle`, lifecycle-aware flow collection, `Lifecycle.State.STARTED`, background battery drain from a Compose screen, `snapshotFlow`, `Flow` parameter on a composable, conflate, or distinctUntilChanged.
11diagnosing-compose-stability
Use this skill to diagnose Jetpack Compose stability problems by enabling and reading the Compose Compiler Reports (classes.txt, composables.txt, composables.csv, module.json). Covers the Gradle DSL, the release-only build requirement, and how to interpret per-class and per-composable stability annotations including stable, unstable, runtime, restartable, skippable, readonly, @static, and @dynamic markers. Use when the developer asks "why does this recompose", reports jank, dropped frames, slow scroll, high recomposition count, suspects an unstable parameter, mentions Compose Compiler Reports, classes.txt, composables.txt, module.json, or wants to know which composables are non-skippable. The fix lives in a sibling skill — this one only diagnoses.
10debugging-recompositions
Use this skill to find which Jetpack Compose composables are recomposing and why, using Android Studio Layout Inspector recomposition counts and skip counts, the per-parameter Argument Change Reasons (Changed / Unchanged / Uncertain / Static / Unknown) introduced in Android Studio Hedgehog and later, and runtime `@TraceRecomposition` from `compose-stability-analyzer` for production-like measurement. Walks through enabling counts, mapping each Argument Change Reason to a fix, and confirming the result in a release build. Use when the developer says "this should be skipping but isn't", "I want to see recomposition counts", asks what "Uncertain" or "Unknown" means in the inspector, or needs to confirm a stability or strong-skipping fix actually worked end-to-end.
10auditing-compose-performance
Use this skill to run an end-to-end Jetpack Compose performance audit when the symptom is broad ("the app feels sluggish", "scroll is rough everywhere", "we're starting a perf sprint", "what should we fix first?"). Orchestrates the four-phase Measure → Diagnose → Fix → Verify loop by sequencing the 25 focused skills (release-mode setup, R8, Baseline Profiles, Compose Compiler reports, stability inference, Layout Inspector, `@TraceRecomposition`, stabilization, strong skipping, phase-deferral, derivedStateOf, lazy layouts, lazy prefetch, Modifier.Node, modifier ordering, flow collection, effects, CI gates, hot-reload) and produces a written audit report with Before/After Macrobenchmark numbers. Use when the developer wants a perf sprint kickoff, a pre-release perf gate, onboarding to a perf-troubled codebase, or a written deliverable. Use when the user mentions "audit", "perf review", "perf sprint", "where do I start", or has no specific symptom yet.
10configuring-lazy-prefetch
Use this skill to tune Jetpack Compose lazy-layout prefetch with LazyLayoutCacheWindow (Compose Foundation 1.9+, @ExperimentalFoundationApi) and pausable composition in prefetch (Compose Foundation 1.10+, default on). Covers configurable Dp-based ahead/behind cache windows plumbed through rememberLazyListState(cacheWindow = ...), NestedPrefetchScope for items containing inner lazy layouts (HorizontalPager inside a LazyColumn row), version requirements, and the trade-off between memory pressure and idle-frame work. Use when the developer mentions dropped frames at high scroll velocity, prefetch window, ahead/behind extents, LazyLayoutCacheWindow, NestedPrefetchScope, pausable composition for prefetch, or wants composition retained for items briefly scrolled past. Item-level fixes (keys, contentType) live in a sibling skill.
9