Libraries to set up for your next iOS project

In this post, I will share the top libraries that I usually set up for a new iOS project. Choosing the right libraries can make all the difference in streamlining the development process and ensuring your app is built with the best practices in mind.

User Interface#

As SwiftUI is my preferred way to build the user interface, there will be no libraries for UIKit in this section.

Kingfisher#

Kingfisher is a lightweight and powerful library that simplifies the process of downloading, caching, and displaying images in iOS applications. With Kingfisher, you can:

• Asynchronous image loading.
• Caching images.
• Displaying images with placeholders, loading indicators, or fading in download image.
• Loading animated images (GIFs).

Kingfisher is well-suited for a wide range of iOS applications (e.g., social media, e-commerce, news, etc.) that require image loading and caching.

Networking#

Alamofire#

Alamofire is a Swift-based HTTP networking library for iOS. It provides an elegant interface on top of Apple’s Foundation networking stack that simplifies a number of common networking tasks. With its elegant API and extensive features, Alamofire makes it effortless to:

• Making network requests.
• Response handling, validation, and caching.
• Authentication handling.
• Download and upload data.
• Adapting and retrying requests.
• Security (e.g., SSL pinning).

Alamofire is a must-have library for any iOS project that requires network requests.

Security#

KeychainAccess#

Securely storing sensitive user data, such as passwords, authentication tokens, and other credentials, is critical to iOS app development. KeychainAccess is a wrapper for Keychain. KeychainAccess ensures that sensitive user information is encrypted, protected, and resistant to unauthorized access, providing a robust solution for managing credentials in iOS apps.

KeychainAccess provides these features:

• Securely store and retrieve sensitive data in the keychain.
• Synchronizing Keychain items with iCloud.
• Touch ID (Face ID) integration.
• Shared Web Credentials.

Tools#

Firebase/Crashlytics#

Firebase Crashlytics is a powerful crash reporting tool Google’s Firebase platform provides. It offers real-time insights into app crashes, allowing developers to identify and prioritize issues that impact user experience. With Crashlytics, you can receive detailed crash reports, track trends in app stability, and gain actionable insights to diagnose and resolve issues quickly.

Here are the key capabilities of Firebase Crashlytics:

• Curated crash reports with detailed stack traces.
• Real-time alerts for new issues, regressed issues, and growing issues.

SwiftLint#

SwiftLint is a powerful tool that helps enforce Swift style and conventions in your codebase, promoting readability, consistency, and maintainability. In detail, SwiftLint offers a configurable set of rules and customizable options, allowing you to tailor its behavior to match your team’s coding standards and preferences.

Key features of SwiftLint include:

• Code style enforcement.
• Customizable rules and configurations.
• Integration with Xcode and CI/CD pipelines.

Integration with Cocoapods#

To integrate libraries into your new iOS project, you can use Cocoapods - a dependency manager for iOS projects. To get started, create a Podfile in the root directory of your project and add the following dependencies:

# User Interface
pod 'Kingfisher'

# Networking
pod 'Alamofire'

# Security
pod 'KeychainAccess'

# Tools
pod 'Firebase/Crashlytics'
pod 'SwiftLint'