Xcode app groups how to#
Xcode app groups code#
Xcode app groups plus#

Thanks to that, you will be seeing a directory of sqlite file in the logs when you run the app. To be able to see this directory, add core data debug, 1, argument to your scheme. Show App Groups container ( + + Click) Quickly reset. Find your bundle identifier under identifiers (from Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles) and tap it to see details Using Shared Container for Core Data StorageĬore data has a default place to store sqlite file. Access all applications from your menu bar, Apps and Simulators, supports Xcode 13 and later. Xcode will automatically enable App Group capability for your target's bundle identifier. Alternatively, you can create app groups when you enable app groups in Xcode. Note that you also need to add App Groups capability and define group identifier for the target extensions. Youll need to register one or more groups to enable app groups.

Xcode app groups plus#

In the main project directory, select your target and tap plus button under Signing & Capabilities section. In this step, we will add a new capability for app groups. You can see the created app group identifier by filtering identifiers at the top right corner. To be able to create an app group, visit apple developer website and create a new identifier for an app group, such as:. For our problem, we need an app group container to store our database, then we can reach this single database from our main app target and our extension.

So, we can create a group to share data between our apps, extensions, or app clip. Creating App GroupĪn App Group allows us to have shared containers for multiple applications and extensions. Let's quickly go over the steps to share our single storage with app extensions. For instance, you may want to show local storage-related data on your widgets, in that case, you should be able to get the data from the original app target. For these extensions, we may need to reach our local storage from the original app target. In a modern application, we might need to have some app extensions such as widget extension or share extension. Create a database for Preview Canvas.Sharing Core Data Storage with App ExtensionsĬore data is a great API for leveraging local storage requirements, supports objective-oriented declarations, and provides neat functionalities. Static let shared = PersistenceController() After this, I will talk about each part and explain why I did something the way I did.

Xcode app groups code#

First, I will show you my whole code for the PersistenceController.

In this article, I will show you how I migrated my database to the App Groups folder. Some people recommend adding App Groups support to all new projects as doing this at the beginning is much easier than migrating an existing database to the App Group folder.

Xcode app groups how to#

You can read how to configure App Groups in this article from Apple: When 2 or more apps have access to this folder, they all can use the same database. And only this particular app has access to this folder (and database). What are they and why do we need them? By default, when an app uses Core Data, the app's database is created in the Application Support directory of this app. I want you to understand each part of the code, so let's have a look at each part of my PersistenceController. As there wasn't one place with a complete working solution, I decided to write this article as it might help other iOS developers.Īt the end of this article, I will show you my entire PersistenceController code. Using ChatGPT, reading Apple's documentation, and browsing through StackOverflow and Apple Developer Forums. I spent many hours until I solved both issues. My app was freezing during migration if iCloud was turned off (for example, if the user was not signed in to iCloud).Īfter migration, all my data was duplicated. When trying to migrate my database I ran into 2 problems: And in my app, I am using NSPersistentCloudKitContainer, which means that I have Core Data with CloudKit support. However, in his example, he is using NSPersistentContainer. Donny is a great Core Data expert and his book helped me a lot with understanding this framework. If you work with Core Data, I highly recommend reading this chapter and the whole book. In his book Practical Core Data, there is a separate chapter dedicated to this topic: “Chapter 6 - Sharing a Core Data store with apps and extensions”. As I discovered, if you are using Core Data and want to share data between your iOS app and widgets, you need to use App Groups.Īt first, I tried to migrate my database following the solution by Donny Wals. Recently I needed to add iOS Widgets to my app Wins.