Cloudkit

CloudKit

Sync data across devices using CloudKit, iCloud key-value storage, and iCloud Drive. Covers container setup, record CRUD, queries, subscriptions, CKSyncEngine, SwiftData integration, conflict resolution, and error handling.

Contents

• Container and Database Setup
• Workflow
• CKRecord CRUD
• CKQuery
• CKSubscription
• CKSyncEngine (iOS 17+)
• SwiftData + CloudKit
• NSUbiquitousKeyValueStore
• iCloud Drive File Sync
• Account Status and Error Handling
• Conflict Resolution
• Common Mistakes
• Review Checklist
• References

Workflow

1. Choose the database scope and sync owner; verify capability, container, account status, schema, and environment before writing records.
2. Make a local change durable, enqueue it, then let subscriptions or CKSyncEngine drive remote work rather than polling.
3. Persist change tokens or sync-engine state after successful application.
4. Test offline edits, partial failure, rate limiting, token expiry, conflict, account loss, zone deletion, and relaunch.
5. On failure, classify the CKError, restore the affected fixture or queue item, apply the documented retry/reset/merge action, and rerun the same scenario. Never restart a full sync blindly after partial success.

Load references/cloudkit-patterns.md for incremental zone changes, shares, assets, batch operations, and Dashboard procedures.

Container and Database Setup

Enable iCloud + CloudKit in Signing & Capabilities. A container provides three databases:

import CloudKit

let container = CKContainer.default()
// Or named: CKContainer(identifier: "iCloud.com.example.app")

let publicDB  = container.publicCloudDatabase
let privateDB = container.privateCloudDatabase
let sharedDB  = container.sharedCloudDatabase

CKRecord CRUD

Records are key-value pairs. Max 1 MB per record (excluding CKAsset data).

// CREATE
let record = CKRecord(recordType: "Note")
record["title"] = "Meeting Notes" as CKRecordValue
record["body"] = "Discussed Q3 roadmap" as CKRecordValue
record["createdAt"] = Date() as CKRecordValue
record["tags"] = ["work", "planning"] as CKRecordValue
let saved = try await privateDB.save(record)

// FETCH by ID
let recordID = CKRecord.ID(recordName: "unique-id-123")
let fetched = try await privateDB.record(for: recordID)

// UPDATE -- fetch first, modify, then save
fetched["title"] = "Updated Title" as CKRecordValue
let updated = try await privateDB.save(fetched)

// DELETE
try await privateDB.deleteRecord(withID: recordID)

Custom Record Zones

Apps create custom zones in the private database. Shared databases expose zones that other users share with the current user. Custom zones support atomic commits, change tracking, and sharing; public databases do not support custom zones.

let zoneID = CKRecordZone.ID(zoneName: "NotesZone")
let zone = CKRecordZone(zoneID: zoneID)
try await privateDB.save(zone)

let recordID = CKRecord.ID(recordName: UUID().uuidString, zoneID: zoneID)
let record = CKRecord(recordType: "Note", recordID: recordID)

CKQuery

Query records with NSPredicate. Supported: ==, !=, <, >, <=, >=, BEGINSWITH, CONTAINS, IN, AND, NOT, BETWEEN, distanceToLocation:fromLocation:.

CONTAINS tests list membership except for tokenized full-text search with self CONTAINS. BEGINSWITH is the string-prefix operator; unsupported operators, key paths, or field types fail when the query executes. For every encryption review, explicitly call out field eligibility: encrypted values cannot be queried or sorted; CKAsset is encrypted by default; and CKRecord.Reference cannot be encrypted because CloudKit needs it server-side.

let predicate = NSPredicate(format: "title BEGINSWITH %@", "Meeting")
let query = CKQuery(recordType: "Note", predicate: predicate)
query.sortDescriptors = [NSSortDescriptor(key: "createdAt", ascending: false)]

let (results, _) = try await privateDB.records(matching: query)
for (_, result) in results {
    let record = try result.get()
    print(record["title"] as? String ?? "")
}

// Fetch all records of a type
let allQuery = CKQuery(recordType: "Note", predicate: NSPredicate(value: true))

// Full-text search across string fields
let searchQuery = CKQuery(
    recordType: "Note",
    predicate: NSPredicate(format: "self CONTAINS %@", "roadmap")
)

// Compound predicate
let compound = NSCompoundPredicate(andPredicateWithSubpredicates: [
    NSPredicate(format: "createdAt > %@", cutoffDate as NSDate),
    NSPredicate(format: "tags CONTAINS %@", "work")
])

CKSubscription

Subscriptions trigger push notifications when records change server-side. CloudKit/Xcode handles the APNs entitlement when CloudKit is enabled; no separate explicit App ID push setup is needed. Silent/background processing still needs Background Modes > Remote notifications.

// Query subscription -- fires when matching records change
let subscription = CKQuerySubscription(
    recordType: "Note",
    predicate: NSPredicate(format: "tags CONTAINS %@", "urgent"),
    subscriptionID: "urgent-notes",
    options: [.firesOnRecordCreation, .firesOnRecordUpdate]
)
let notifInfo = CKSubscription.NotificationInfo()
notifInfo.shouldSendContentAvailable = true  // silent push
subscription.notificationInfo = notifInfo
try await privateDB.save(subscription)

// Database subscription -- fires on any database change
let dbSub = CKDatabaseSubscription(subscriptionID: "private-db-changes")
dbSub.notificationInfo = notifInfo
try await privateDB.save(dbSub)

// Record zone subscription -- fires on changes within a zone
let zoneSub = CKRecordZoneSubscription(
    zoneID: CKRecordZone.ID(zoneName: "NotesZone"),
    subscriptionID: "notes-zone-changes"
)
zoneSub.notificationInfo = notifInfo
try await privateDB.save(zoneSub)

Handle in AppDelegate:

func application(
    _ application: UIApplication,
    didReceiveRemoteNotification userInfo: [AnyHashable: Any]
) async -> UIBackgroundFetchResult {
    let notification = CKNotification(fromRemoteNotificationDictionary: userInfo)
    guard notification?.subscriptionID == "private-db-changes" else { return .noData }
    // Fetch changes using CKSyncEngine or CKFetchRecordZoneChangesOperation
    return .newData
}

CKSyncEngine (iOS 17+)

CKSyncEngine is the recommended sync approach for custom model data. It handles scheduling, transient retries, change tokens, and database subscriptions, but not app-specific save failures: CKError.serverRecordChanged from sentRecordZoneChanges.failedRecordSaves still requires custom conflict resolution and rescheduling. Automatic sync timing is indeterminate. Requires CloudKit capability + Remote notifications; private/shared databases only.

import CloudKit

final class SyncManager: CKSyncEngineDelegate {
    let syncEngine: CKSyncEngine

    init(container: CKContainer = .default()) {
        let config = CKSyncEngine.Configuration(
            database: container.privateCloudDatabase,
            stateSerialization: Self.loadState(),
            delegate: self
        )
        self.syncEngine = CKSyncEngine(config)
    }

    func handleEvent(_ event: CKSyncEngine.Event, syncEngine: CKSyncEngine) async {
        switch event {
        case .stateUpdate(let update):
            Self.saveState(update.stateSerialization)