Audit Swiftui Drawing Canvas

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name: audit-swiftui-drawing-canvas description: Audit macOS SwiftUI drawing canvas for correctness, current APIs, and production conventions. Use for that domain or as part of a full audit.

Bundled resource root

Let <swiftui-plugin-root> be the absolute plugin directory two levels above this SKILL.md. Resolve that path before running commands or opening shared references. When these instructions say swiftui-ctx, invoke <swiftui-plugin-root>/scripts/swiftui-ctx; do not assume the command is on PATH.

Audit SwiftUI Drawing & Canvas

AUDIT-ONLY · macOS-only · SwiftUI-only. Run this on a finished or in-progress macOS SwiftUI project to detect — and where certain, fix — every way custom drawing goes wrong: dozens of stacked Image/Shape views where one Canvas belongs, a hand-rolled Timer driving a redraw that TimelineView does for free, GeometryReader abused as a layout container, absolute hard-coded frames where containerRelativeFrame/MeshGradient fit, broken Path math, expensive static vector art with no .drawingGroup(), an ungated MeshGradient below the macOS 15 floor, and a Canvas invisible to VoiceOver. Findings are written to disk in the toolkit's unified schema; certain mechanical defects are fixed under the fix-safety protocol. This is never a from-scratch drawing generator.

These APIs are mostly long-stable (macOS 12/10.15), so the failure mode is misuse, not hallucination — the wrong tool, the wrong layer, an ungated MeshGradient. Judge architecture, not just names.

Boundary / seam note (stay in lane)

• The Layout protocol itself belongs to audit-swiftui-layout-and-tables. This skill flags GeometryReader-as-layout (a drawing-geometry smell) and routes the custom-Layout decision there with a cross_ref; it does not audit Layout conformance mechanics. GeometryReader that feeds drawing geometry (a Canvas/Path size) stays here.
• Swift Chart and chart-shaped data viz belong to audit-swiftui-charts — except a hand-rolled, non-Chart drawing of data, which stays here. If audited code reaches for Chart, note it in one line and defer.
• Cost measurement / profiling belongs to audit-swiftui-view-performance. This skill owns the .drawingGroup() usage decision (should it be there at all); the render-cost number is theirs — emit a cross_ref on the shared site.
• The Canvas/drawing accessibility descriptor is a keep-both seam with audit-swiftui-accessibility (intentional double-detection per both plans): file the finding here AND cross-link; do not collapse.
• withAnimation timing of a drawing belongs to audit-swiftui-animation-motion (TimelineView-as- clock is theirs at the seam) — flag the missing TimelineView here, route motion-curve choices there.

The three drawing-architecture rules

1. One Canvas beats a pile of views. Many sibling Image/Shape/Path views drawing one scene each become their own layout node + render pass; Canvas { ctx, size in … } draws them all in one immediate-mode pass. Use a view per interactive/identity element; use Canvas for bulk static art.
2. Time drives redraw through TimelineView, never a Timer+@State. A Timer mutating @State to re-render is a manual render loop SwiftUI already owns; TimelineView(.animation) { context in … } (or .periodic/.explicit) hands you a context.date and redraws on the schedule, vsync-aligned.
3. Geometry feeds drawing; it does not arrange views. GeometryReader to read a size into Canvas math is correct; GeometryReader wrapping children to position them is a layout job → the Layout protocol / containerRelativeFrame (route to layout-and-tables). Absolute hard-coded frames don't survive resize on a free Mac window.

The Canvas test: is the element interactive or independently identified (its own gesture, its own a11y node, its own animation)? → keep it a view. Is it bulk static or procedurally-drawn paint? → Canvas. Full reasoning + the redraw-source map: references/canvas-and-redraw.md.

Defect index (draw-01 … draw-12)

id · tell · severity · fix · open reference. Severities: hard-fail (build break / ungated below floor), warning (compiles but non-native / wrong tool), advisory (judgment / perf). auto = mechanical single-answer fix; flag = show the ✅, dev applies.

id	One-line tell	Sev	Fix	Reference
draw-01	many sibling Image/Shape/Path views drawing one static scene where one Canvas fits	advisory	flag	canvas-and-redraw.md
draw-02	Timer/Timer.publish/Date() + @State driving a periodic redraw instead of TimelineView	warning	flag	canvas-and-redraw.md
draw-03	GeometryReader wrapping children to arrange them (layout, not drawing geometry)	warning	flag	geometry-and-frames.md
draw-04	absolute hard-coded .frame(width:height:) / .position(x:y:) for a resizable drawing surface	advisory	flag	geometry-and-frames.md
draw-05	MeshGradient ungated under a deployment target < macOS 15	warning	flag	geometry-and-frames.md
draw-06	MeshGradient(width:height:…) where points/colors count ≠ width*height (mesh-arity)	warning	flag	geometry-and-frames.md
draw-07	Path math smell — unbalanced move(to:)/addLine, no closeSubpath(), magic-number control points	advisory	flag	path-and-shapes.md
draw-08	hand-rolled Path/Shape for a primitive that Circle/Ellipse/RoundedRectangle/Capsule already is	advisory	flag	path-and-shapes.md
draw-09	expensive static vector art (large Path/many shapes, no animation) with no .drawingGroup()	advisory	flag	canvas-and-redraw.md
draw-10	.drawingGroup() on a tiny/animated/text subtree (misapplied — flattens, breaks text/blends)	advisory	flag	canvas-and-redraw.md
draw-11	Canvas/hand-drawn data viz with no .accessibilityLabel/accessibilityChartDescriptor (a11y)	advisory	flag	path-and-shapes.md
draw-12	#available(iOS 15, *) gating MeshGradient in a macOS target (wrong arm)	hard-fail	auto	geometry-and-frames.md

Two claims are UNVERIFIED — carry as advisory with the flag, never assert as fact (each flagged in its reference + becomes source: verify against Xcode 26 SDK): whether .drawingGroup() on a text-bearing subtree drops the text rasterization fidelity (draw-10); whether a MeshGradient arity mismatch is a compile error vs a runtime no-op on macOS 15+ (draw-06 — flag, don't assert a crash).

The real API, at a glance

Real (exist on macOS): Canvas(opaque:colorMode:rendersAsynchronously:renderer:) (12.0+), GraphicsContext, TimelineView + .animation/.periodic/.explicit schedules (12.0+), Path + move(to:)/addLine(to:)/addCurve/addArc/closeSubpath() (10.15+), Circle/Ellipse/Rectangle/ RoundedRectangle/Capsule shapes (10.15+), Gradient/LinearGradient/RadialGradient/AngularGradient (10.15+), MeshGradient(width:height:points:colors:) (15.0+), .drawingGroup() (10.15+), containerRelativeFrame(_:alignment:) (14.0+). All long-stable except MeshGradient (the one gating concern). MeshGradient is macOS 15.0+ — never flag it as invented; flag it only when ungated below a <15 floor.

Hallucinated (do not invent): there is no Canvas2D, no .canvasRenderer, no MeshGradientView, no DrawingContext (the type is GraphicsContext). When unsure a symbol exists, VERIFY (a swiftui-ctx lookup exit-3 + Sosumi index-absence = hallucinated). Signatures, floors, and the full ❌→✅ rewrites: the routed references/*.md. Floor values are the reconciled truth in <swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/floors-master.md and the canonical invented-name list in <swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/hallucination-blacklist.md — read, never restate them.

The 8-step audit workflow (execute verbatim)

1. ORIENT. tree / find the SwiftUI sources. Read the deployment target (project.pbxproj MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET, or Package.swift platforms:). It is load-bearing: draw-05/draw-12 fire only when the floor is below macOS 15 (the MeshGradient floor). Record it.
2. LOCATE. Run the shared hybrid lint runner: bash <swiftui-plugin-root>/scripts/swiftui-lint.sh --skill audit-swiftui-drawing-canvas --dir <sources> --json /tmp/draw.json --sarif /tmp/draw.sarif. It runs this skill's tier-1 grep tells (lint/grep-tells.tsv) + tier-2 structural ast-grep rules (lint/ast-grep/*.yml — the MeshGradient-not-gated, GeometryReader-arranges-children, and Timer-redraw-loop rules grep can't express), plus a per-file parse probe, and emits unified JSON + SARIF. Read its parse_warnings — a flagged file did not fully parse, so a structural miss can't masquerade as clean; READ those by hand. The runner only LOCATES — never treat a hit as a finding. Engine + rule-file format + degradation: <swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/lint-architecture.md.
3. READ. Open every located file in full — never pattern-match-and-patch blind. View-vs-Canvas choice, the redraw source, gate scope, and whether a GeometryReader arranges or measures are all invisible to grep. Build a per-file inventory: each drawing surface + its redraw source (static / time / state) + the Canvas test verdict + its gate (if MeshGradient).
4. DETECT. Apply the index. Assign each candidate a confidence; report a finding only at 100% certainty (e.g. an ungated MeshGradient under a <15 floor, an iOS gate arm, a Timer+@State redraw loop a TimelineView replaces).
5. VERIFY. For anything ≤ ~70% confidence (a symbol you're unsure exists, a floor you can't place, an arity or behavior claim), run both evidence sources. (a) Practice — bash <swiftui-plugin-root>/scripts/swiftui-ctx lookup <api> --json (and swiftui-ctx deprecated <api> for a currency rule): read its consensus (the canonical shape — e.g. Canvas is { } at 90%, TimelineView is (_) at 99%, MeshGradient is (width, height, points, colors) at 70%), deprecated+replacement, recommended permalink, introduced_macos, and co_occurs_with; a lookup exit 3 (not-found, with a did-you-mean suggestion) corroborates a hallucination finding. (b) Spec — confirm via Sosumi: curl -sSL https://sosumi.ai/<apple-path> using references/source-directory.md for the path and <swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/sosumi-reference.md for the protocol (never WebFetch developer.apple.com). Cross-check introduced_macos against floors-master.md and the Sosumi doc: floor (MeshGradient = macOS 15.0). The CLI contract is <swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/swiftui-ctx-reference.md. Promote with the citation or discard. Carry the two UNVERIFIED items as advisory with source: verify against Xcode 26 SDK. Deeper corpus evidence (custom-style): before flagging draw-07/draw-08 (a hand-rolled Path/Shape) or routing a custom Layout (draw-03), prove the real idiom — bash <swiftui-plugin-root>/scripts/swiftui-ctx conformances Shape --json (313 repos conform; e.g. LineShape at Repo-Radar/AnalyticsCharts.swift#L223) and conformances Layout (198 repos) give a permalinked custom conformer for ## Source; bash <swiftui-plugin-root>/scripts/swiftui-ctx examples Canvas --shape "( )" --json gives a real Canvas call site for the draw-01 consolidation ✅.
6. REPORT. Write each confirmed finding (output contract below). One finding per file, zero-padded, ordered. Write the run's _index.md.
7. FIX. Apply corrections under the fix-safety protocol (<swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/fix-safety-protocol.md): clean-tree gate, findings-first, only fix_mode: auto (draw-12 wrong-arm), one conventional commit per finding citing its rule_id, never weaken a check. The ✅ "Correct" is not a hand-written snippet — it is the swiftui-ctx consensus shape put in ## Correct, backed by a real macOS example fetched with bash <swiftui-plugin-root>/scripts/swiftui-ctx file <recommended.id> --smart whose GitHub permalink (plus the Sosumi doc:) goes in ## Source as the canonical example. Leave flag-only findings open with that ✅ in ## Correct.
8. DOUBLE-CHECK. Re-grep each fixed file to confirm the tell no longer matches; record the evidence in ## Fix applied?. Re-confirm every citation still resolves and still says its floor. If a fix introduced a new tell (e.g. a MeshGradient you added now needs a macOS-15 gate), loop that file back to DETECT.

Confidence gating (load-bearing)

Report a finding only at 100% certainty. Anything ≤ ~70% goes to VERIFY (step 5) before it can become a finding — never emit a speculative finding. Auto-fix only the mechanical set (draw-12 wrong-arm gate); everything else is fix_mode: flag-only (architecture and judgment calls need a human).

Output contract

Inherits the toolkit's unified contract (full schema + body sections + frontmatter keys: <swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/finding-schema.md — do not restate it). Specialized for this domain:

• Findings: swiftui-audits/drawing-canvas/<context>/NN-slug.md (one finding per file, zero-padded, ordered). Per-run index: swiftui-audits/drawing-canvas/_index.md.
• domain: drawing-canvas. Frontmatter is the canonical schema; fix_mode is auto for draw-12, else flag-only. availability reads from floors-master.md (MeshGradient = macOS 15.0+). source is an Apple URL + access date (fetched via Sosumi) or verify against Xcode 26 SDK. Emit cross_ref on the seam findings (draw-03 → layout-and-tables; draw-09/draw-10 → view-performance; draw-11 → accessibility).

Starter <context> folders (file here when…):

<context>	File a finding here when…
canvas-consolidation/	a pile of Image/Shape/Path views should collapse to one Canvas (draw-01)
redraw-source/	a Timer+@State redraw loop should be a TimelineView (draw-02)
geometry-as-layout/	GeometryReader arranges children instead of feeding drawing geometry (draw-03) — cross_ref layout-and-tables
absolute-frames/	hard-coded .frame/.position for a resizable drawing surface (draw-04)
availability-gating/	MeshGradient ungated under a <15 floor, or gated on the iOS arm (draw-05, draw-12)
mesh-gradient/	a MeshGradient points/colors arity mismatch (draw-06)
path-math/	unbalanced/closed Path math, or a hand-rolled primitive a built-in shape covers (draw-07, draw-08)
drawing-group/	expensive static art missing .drawingGroup(), or .drawingGroup() misapplied (draw-09, draw-10) — cross_ref view-performance
accessibility/	a Canvas/hand-drawn data viz with no a11y descriptor (draw-11) — cross_ref accessibility (keep-both)

New-folder rule: if a finding does not fit any existing context folder, create a new one under swiftui-audits/drawing-canvas/ with a lowercase-hyphen slug naming the sub-category, and note it in the run's _index.md. Prefer an existing folder when the fit is reasonable; consistency across runs is a hard requirement. Two runs over the same code produce structurally identical trees.

Go-beyond artifact (optional): swiftui-audits/drawing-canvas/_redraw-map.md classifying every drawing surface as static/time-driven/state-driven with a view-vs-Canvas verdict — see references/canvas-and-redraw.md.

Reference routing

File	Open when
references/canvas-and-redraw.md	view-vs-Canvas choice, the Timer→TimelineView redraw fix, the .drawingGroup() usage/misuse decision, the redraw map (draw-01/02/09/10)
references/geometry-and-frames.md	GeometryReader-as-layout, absolute frames vs containerRelativeFrame, MeshGradient gating + the wrong-arm trap + mesh arity (draw-03/04/05/06/12)
references/path-and-shapes.md	Path math correctness, hand-rolled-vs-built-in shapes, drawing accessibility (draw-07/08/11)
references/source-directory.md	step VERIFY — the Apple/WWDC/practitioner source map fetched via Sosumi
lint/grep-tells.tsv + lint/ast-grep/*.yml	step LOCATE — this skill's declarative lint rule set fed to the shared runner (tier-1 grep tells + tier-2 structural ast-grep); edit here to tune detection

Shared toolkit references (point in, never restate):

Shared file	For
<swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/floors-master.md	every floor/availability value (the reconciled truth — MeshGradient = macOS 15.0)
<swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/hallucination-blacklist.md	the canonical invented-name list
<swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/macos-arm-gating.md	the macOS-arm gating rule + wrong-arm failure (draw-12)
<swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/finding-schema.md	the unified finding schema + frontmatter keys
<swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/fix-safety-protocol.md	the 8-point fix-safety protocol (step 7)
<swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/sosumi-reference.md	the Apple-doc spec fetch protocol (step 5 VERIFY)
<swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/swiftui-ctx-reference.md	the practice-corpus CLI contract — lookup/deprecated/file --smart for the consensus shape + permalinked example (steps 5 VERIFY · 7 FIX)
<swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/cross-ref-graph.md	seam ownership + cross_ref targets (layout-and-tables, view-performance, accessibility, animation-motion, charts)

Detection accelerator

bash <swiftui-plugin-root>/scripts/swiftui-lint.sh --skill audit-swiftui-drawing-canvas --dir <files-or-dir> [--json out.json] [--sarif out.sarif] — the toolkit's one shared hybrid lint engine, fed this skill's declarative rules: tier-1 grep tells (lint/grep-tells.tsv, draw-01/02/04/05/06/07/08/09/10/11/12) + tier-2 ast-grep structural rules (lint/ast-grep/*.yml — draw-05 MeshGradient-not-gated, draw-03 GeometryReader-arranges-children, draw-02 Timer-redraw-loop) that grep cannot express. It runs a per-file parse probe (surfaces "did not fully parse" so a structural miss can't look clean), emits unified JSON + SARIF, emits warnings/advisories only (no hard-fail tells — nothing blocks the gate), and degrades to grep-only with a notice if ast-grep is unreachable (npx --package @ast-grep/cli ast-grep; faster: brew install ast-grep). It only LOCATES — always READ each hit in full before reporting (step 3). The legacy scripts/draw-lint.sh is a thin pointer to this runner. Engine + rule-file format + JSON/SARIF shape + safety rails: <swiftui-plugin-root>/references/_shared/lint-architecture.md.