Scaffold the app and build loop

For a new Mac app, ask Codex to choose the right scene model first: WindowGroup, Window, Settings, MenuBarExtra, or DocumentGroup. That keeps the app desktop-native from the first pass instead of growing from an iOS-style ContentView.

Keep the execution loop shell-first. For Xcode projects, use xcodebuild. For package-first apps, use swift build and a project-local script/build_and_run.sh wrapper that stops the old process, builds the app, launches the new artifact, and can optionally expose logs or telemetry.

If a pure SwiftPM app is a GUI app, bundle and launch it as a .app instead of running the raw executable directly. That avoids missing Dock, activation, and bundle-identity issues during local validation.

Leverage skills

Add the Build macOS Apps plugin once the work gets more desktop-specific. It covers shell-first build and debug loops, SwiftPM app packaging, native SwiftUI scene and window patterns, AppKit interop, unified logging, test triage, and signing/notarization workflows.

To learn more about how to install and use plugins and skills, see the Codex plugins documentation and skills documentation.

Build desktop-native UI

Prefer Mac conventions over iOS navigation patterns. Use NavigationSplitView for sidebar/detail layouts, explicit Settings scenes for preferences, toolbars and commands for discoverable actions, and menu bar extras for lightweight always-available utilities.

Use system materials, semantic colors, and standard controls first. Add custom window styling, drag regions, or Liquid Glass surfaces only when the product needs a distinct desktop surface.

If SwiftUI gets close but not all the way there, add the smallest possible AppKit bridge. Good examples are open/save panels, first-responder control, menu validation, drag-and-drop edges, and a wrapped NSView for one specialized control.

Debug, test, and prepare for shipping

For runtime behavior, ask Codex to add a few Logger events around window opening, sidebar selection, menu commands, or background sync, then verify those events with log stream after the app launches.

For failing tests, have Codex run the smallest useful xcodebuild test or swift test scope first and classify whether the issue is compilation, an assertion failure, a crash, a flake, or an environment/setup problem.

When the work shifts from local iteration to distribution, ask Codex to prepare both a manual archive path in Xcode and a script-based archive and notarization path for repeatable shipping. Have it inspect the app bundle, entitlements, and hardened runtime with codesign and plutil, and use App Store Connect CLI when you want uploads to stay in the terminal too.

Example prompt

Practical tips

Keep scenes explicit

Model the main window, settings window, utility windows, and menu bar extras as separate scene roots instead of hiding the whole app inside one giant view.

Let system chrome do more of the work

Before creating custom sidebars, toolbars, or materials, check whether standard SwiftUI scene and window APIs already give you the Mac behavior you want.

Treat AppKit as a narrow edge

Use NSViewRepresentable, NSViewControllerRepresentable, or a focused NSWindow helper for one missing desktop capability, but keep SwiftUI as the source of truth for selection and app state.

Validate signing and notarization separately from local build success

A successful local launch does not prove the app is signed or notarization-ready. Keep a manual Xcode archive flow for one-off release checks, add a scripted archive and notarization flow for repeatable distribution, and run codesign and plutil checks when the task is about shipping, not just local iteration.