ShipSwift: SwiftUI components an AI assistant can fetch over MCP, with the backend half sold separately

Three install routes that reach different amounts of the library

ShipSwift lists three ways in, and they are not equivalent. Option 1 is marked Recommended and combines Skills with a hosted MCP server. You install the skills first:

npx skills add signerlabs/shipswift-skills

Then you connect the server so your AI can fetch skills. The commands given for Claude Code and Gemini CLI are:

claude mcp add --transport http shipswift https://api.shipswift.app/mcp
gemini mcp add --transport http shipswift https://api.shipswift.app/mcp

For Cursor, VS Code Copilot, Windsurf and other tools, the README sends you to the separate Skills repo for MCP setup. Option 2 installs skills that read source files from this repo directly, with no MCP and no server, and it works offline:

npx skills add signerlabs/ShipSwift

Option 3 is plain file copy from ShipSwift/SWPackage/ into an Xcode project. Which route you pick decides which skills your assistant can see.

The offline route cannot see the Pro skills

The README includes a tip that connecting the MCP server in addition to Option 1 gives your AI access to additional Pro skills, described as backend guides, compliance templates and pitfall docs. The inverse follows. If you take Option 2 for its offline, no server benefit, or copy files by hand, you get the SwiftUI source and nothing from that Pro tier.

This matters most for the multi file modules. The SWPaywall module wraps a subscription paywall built on StoreKit 2, and the README says the iOS client is included free while the full-stack skill, which adds the backend, compliance and pitfalls, is Pro. SWTikTokTracking, a TikTok Events API integration for attribution tracking, is split the same way. A paywall that compiles on the device but has no backend guidance behind it is the practical result of staying on the free side. The pricing page at shipswift.app is where the README points for Pro.

Copying one file is not always enough because SWUtil comes along

Option 3 says each component in SWAnimation, SWChart and SWComponent is self contained, so you copy the file, plus SWUtil if needed. That qualifier is where copy and paste can fail. SWUtil holds DebugLog, String, Date and View extensions, and LocationManager, and the other directories are allowed to depend on it.

The repository states the dependency rules explicitly. SWUtil depends on no other SWPackage directory. SWAnimation, SWChart and SWComponent may depend on SWUtil only. SWModule may depend on SWUtil and SWComponent. So a module such as SWChat or SWAuth pulls in more than its own folder, and copying only the module directory into Xcode leaves references unresolved. If a component fails to compile after you copy it, check whether it uses an extension from SWUtil before suspecting the component.

What the Showcase App and the Xcode project give you to run

Two previews are offered. The first is a Showcase App on the App Store, which lets you preview every component on your own device. The second is the project in the repository, which you build yourself:

git clone https://github.com/signerlabs/ShipSwift.git
cd ShipSwift
open ShipSwift.xcodeproj

You then select a simulator or device and press Cmd+R. The top level of the repository also contains SWSecrets.swift.example, which suggests some features need keys supplied locally, but the README excerpt does not say which ones. The catalog at shipswift.app is described as searchable, with copy and paste source and live previews. None of these routes tell you which iOS version a given component needs, so confirm that against your own deployment target.

What is inside the SW prefixed packages

SWAnimation holds 30 animation components in four groups. Plain SwiftUI animations include Shimmer, TypewriterText, ShakingIcon, GlowSweep and BeforeAfterSlider. Two are Canvas rendered 3D effects, DotSphere and CharSphere. The rest are Metal shader backgrounds such as Plasma, Starfield, LiquidChrome, Voronoi and Metaballs, so those are the ones that need a Metal capable renderer.

SWChart provides LineChart, BarChart, AreaChart, DonutChart, RingChart, RadarChart, ScatterChart and ActivityHeatmap. SWComponent is split into Display, Feedback and Input folders, with items such as OnboardingView, Alert, ThinkingIndicator, Stepper and SearchBar.

SWModule has seven frameworks. SWAuth covers Amplify and Cognito sign in, social login, email and password, and phone sign in with a country code picker. SWCamera adds a viewfinder, zoom, photo picker and face detection using Vision landmark tracking. SWChat has a message list, text input and optional voice recognition through VolcEngine ASR, so voice input is tied to that vendor. SWSetting is a settings page template and SWSubjectLifting does background removal with VisionKit ImageAnalysis.

A naming convention that keeps copied code from colliding

Every type uses the SW prefix, for example SWAlertManager and SWStoreManager. View modifiers use a lowercase .sw prefix, for example .swAlert(), .swPageLoading() and .swPrimary. The prefix has a practical effect when you paste many files into an existing app: names are unlikely to clash with your own types, and you can search a project for SW to see every piece you imported.

The same convention is how the example prompts work. Asking an assistant to add a shimmer loading animation, build an authentication flow with Cognito, or show all chart components maps to Shimmer, SWAuth and SWChart. The README also suggests prompts such as Explore ShipSwift skills and Build a chat feature for the local route. The consequence of the prefix is that anything you rename after copying breaks that trace back to the library.

The custom development offer and the missing release tags

ShipSwift is also a sales page. The README says the library gets your AI about 80 percent of the way, and a paid service covers the last 20 percent. It lists a 48 hour demo on your TestFlight, 4 week delivery of an App Store ready iOS app, and prices from $5,000, fixed and milestone billed. The contact is [email protected]. This is a commercial service run by the library's authors, separate from the MIT licensed code.

On upkeep, the last push to the repository was on 2026-10-26. The repository has no GitHub releases, so there is no tagged version to pin and the main branch is what you get. The library's own claim is that components are production ready, but the repository carries no changelog entry or release note that lets you check that against a specific build, so test each component in your own app before shipping it.

Editorial conclusion

ShipSwift suits iOS developers who already work with Claude Code, Gemini CLI or Cursor and want ready SwiftUI components pulled in by prompt. It is a weaker fit if you need the backend, compliance or pitfall guidance for features like the paywall, because that part is a Pro skill, and the repository gives you no tagged release to pin. Decide first which of the three install routes you are on.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. Issues
2. License: MIT
3. Project website
4. README
5. signerlabs/ShipSwift on GitHub