macos-menubar-tuist-app

macos-menubar-tuist-app

Build and maintain macOS menubar apps with a Tuist-first workflow and stable launch scripts. Preserve strict architecture boundaries so networking, state, and UI remain testable and predictable.

Core Rules

• Keep the app menubar-only unless explicitly told otherwise. Use LSUIElement = true by default.
• Keep transport and decoding logic outside views. Do not call networking from SwiftUI view bodies.
• Keep state transitions in a store layer (@Observable or equivalent), not in row/view presentation code.
• Keep model decoding resilient to API drift: optional fields, safe fallbacks, and defensive parsing.
• Treat Tuist manifests as the source of truth. Do not rely on hand-edited generated Xcode artifacts.
• Prefer script-based launch for local iteration when tuist run is unreliable for macOS target/device resolution.
• Prefer tuist xcodebuild build over raw xcodebuild in local run scripts when building generated projects.

Expected File Shape

Use this placement by default:

• Project.swift: app target, settings, resources, Info.plist keys
• Sources/*Model*.swift: API/domain models and decoding
• Sources/*Client*.swift: requests, response mapping, transport concerns
• Sources/*Store*.swift: observable state, refresh policy, filtering, caching
• Sources/*Menu*View*.swift: menu composition and top-level UI state
• Sources/*Row*View*.swift: row rendering and lightweight interactions
• run-menubar.sh: canonical local restart/build/launch path
• stop-menubar.sh: explicit stop helper when needed

Workflow

1. Confirm Tuist ownership
2. Verify Tuist.swift and Project.swift (or workspace manifests) exist.
3. Read existing run scripts before changing launch behavior.

1. Probe backend behavior before coding assumptions
2. Use curl to verify endpoint shape, auth requirements, and pagination behavior.
3. If endpoint ignores limit/page, implement full-list handling with local trimming in the store.

1. Implement layers from bottom to top
2. Define/adjust models first.
3. Add or update client request/decoding logic.
4. Update store refresh, filtering, and cache policy.
5. Wire views last.

1. Keep app wiring minimal
2. Keep app entry focused on scene/menu wiring and dependency injection.
3. Avoid embedding business logic in App or menu scene declarations.

1. Standardize launch ergonomics
2. Ensure run script restarts an existing instance before relaunching.
3. Ensure run script does not open Xcode as a side effect.
4. Use tuist generate --no-open when generation is required.
5. When the run script builds the generated project, prefer TUIST_SKIP_UPDATE_CHECK=1 tuist xcodebuild build ... instead of invoking raw xcodebuild directly.

Validation Matrix

Run validations after edits:

TUIST_SKIP_UPDATE_CHECK=1 tuist xcodebuild build -scheme <TargetName> -configuration Debug

If launch workflow changed:

./run-menubar.sh

If shell scripts changed:

bash -n run-menubar.sh
bash -n stop-menubar.sh
./run-menubar.sh

Failure Patterns and Fix Direction

• tuist run cannot resolve the macOS destination:

Use run/stop scripts as canonical local run path.

• Menu UI is laggy or inconsistent after refresh:

Move derived state and filtering into the store; keep views render-only.

• API payload changes break decode:

Relax model decoding with optional fields and defaults, then surface missing data safely in UI.

• Feature asks for quick UI patch:

Trace root cause in model/client/store before changing row/menu presentation.

Completion Checklist

• Preserve menubar-only behavior unless explicitly changed.
• Keep network and state logic out of SwiftUI view bodies.
• Keep Tuist manifests and run scripts aligned with actual build/run flow.
• Run the validation matrix for touched areas.
• Report concrete commands run and outcomes.