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ha-ios-architecture

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Home Assistant iOS project layout, build setup, and the "World" dependency-injection pattern. Use when starting work in the repo, deciding where code lives across targets (App, Shared, Watch, CarPlay, Extensions), accessing dependencies through the global `Current`, or setting up dependencies and code signing.

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Architecture & Project Layout

Home Assistant for Apple Platforms is a native Swift companion app for Home Assistant home automation. The primary user interaction is through a WKWebView displaying the Home Assistant web frontend, with native features for notifications, sensors, location tracking, widgets, CarPlay, Apple Watch, and more.

  • Language: Swift 5.8+
  • Platforms: iOS, watchOS, macOS (Catalyst), CarPlay
  • Build System: Xcode 26.2+, Swift Package Manager
  • Project: Open HomeAssistant.xcodeproj directly (dependencies are managed via Swift Package Manager)

Getting Started

Install Dependencies

bundle install

Third-party dependencies are managed via Swift Package Manager (SPM) and resolved automatically by Xcode. bundle install installs the Ruby tooling (Fastlane) used for linting, testing, and CI.

Code Signing (for device builds)

Create Configuration/HomeAssistant.overrides.xcconfig (git-ignored):

DEVELOPMENT_TEAM = YourTeamID
BUNDLE_ID_PREFIX = some.bundle.prefix

Project Structure

Sources/
├── App/              # Main iOS app target
├── Shared/           # Shared code across all platforms
├── Watch/            # watchOS-specific code
├── WatchApp/         # watchOS app target
├── MacBridge/        # macOS Catalyst bridge
├── CarPlay/          # CarPlay integration
├── Extensions/       # App Extensions (widgets, notifications, intents)
├── Improv/           # Improv BLE provisioning
├── PushServer/       # Push notification server communication
├── SharedPush/       # Shared push notification handling
├── SharedTesting/    # Shared testing utilities
├── Thread/           # Thread network support
├── Launcher/         # App launcher helper
Tests/
├── App/              # App-level tests
├── Shared/           # Shared module tests
├── UI/               # UI tests
├── Widgets/          # Widget tests
├── Mocks/            # Mock objects for testing
Configuration/        # Xcode build configuration files
fastlane/             # Fastlane automation (build, test, deploy)
Tools/                # Build tools, icon generation

The "World" Pattern (Dependency Injection)

This project uses the "World" pattern for dependency injection, inspired by Point-Free's "How to Control the World". This is the most important architectural concept in the codebase.

How It Works

A single global Current variable of type AppEnvironment holds all dependencies as mutable properties:

// Sources/Shared/Environment/Environment.swift
public var Current: AppEnvironment { ... }

public class AppEnvironment {
    public var date: () -> Date = Date.init
    public var calendar: () -> Calendar = { Calendar.autoupdatingCurrent }
    public var servers: ServerManager = ServerManagerImpl()
    public var clientEventStore: ClientEventStoreProtocol = ClientEventStore()
    // ... many more dependencies
}

Usage in Production Code

Access dependencies through Current:

let now = Current.date()
let server = Current.servers.all.first
Current.Log.info("Something happened")

Usage in Tests

Override dependencies for testing:

Current.date = { Date(timeIntervalSince1970: 1000000) }
Current.servers = FakeServerManager()

⚠️ Critical Rule

Never assign to Current.* properties outside of test code. This is enforced by a custom SwiftLint rule that will fail CI. In production code, only read from Current.

Additional Resources