I'm experiencing a critical issue with SwiftData custom migrations where objects created during migration appear to be inserted successfully but aren't persisted or found by queries after migration completes. The migration logs show objects being created, but subsequent queries return zero results.
I'm migrating from schema version V2 to V2_5, which involves:
Renaming Person class to GroupData
Keeping the same data structure but changing the class name while keeping the old class.
Using a custom migration stage to copy data from old to new schema
Below is an extract of my two schema and migration plan:
Environment:
Xcode 16.0,
iOS 18.0,
Swift 6.0
SchemaV2
enum LinkMapV2: VersionedSchema {
static let versionIdentifier: Schema.Version = .init(2, 0, 0)
static var models: [any PersistentModel.Type] {
[AnnotationData.self, Person.self, History.self]
}
@Model
final class Person {
@Attribute(.unique) var id: UUID
var name: String
var photo: String
var requirement: String
var statue: Bool
var annotationId: UUID?
var number: Int = 0
init(id: UUID = UUID(), name: String = "", photo: String = "", requirement: String = "", status: Bool = false, annotationId: UUID? = nil, number: Int = 0) {
self.id = id
self.name = name
self.photo = photo
self.requirement = requirement
self.statue = status
self.annotationId = annotationId
self.number = number
}
}
}
Schema V2_5
static let versionIdentifier: Schema.Version = .init(2, 5, 0)
static var models: [any PersistentModel.Type] {
[AnnotationData.self, Person.self, GroupData.self, History.self]
}
// Keep the old Person model for migration
@Model
final class Person {
@Attribute(.unique) var id: UUID
var name: String
var photo: String
var requirement: String
var statue: Bool
var annotationId: UUID?
var number: Int = 0
init(id: UUID = UUID(), name: String = "", photo: String = "", requirement: String = "", status: Bool = false, annotationId: UUID? = nil, number: Int = 0) {
self.id = id
self.name = name
self.photo = photo
self.requirement = requirement
self.statue = status
self.annotationId = annotationId
self.number = number
}
}
// Add the new GroupData model that mirrors Person
@Model
final class GroupData {
@Attribute(.unique) var id: UUID
var name: String
var photo: String
var requirement: String
var status: Bool
var annotationId: UUID?
var number: Int = 0
init(id: UUID = UUID(), name: String = "", photo: String = "", requirement: String = "", status: Bool = false, annotationId: UUID? = nil, number: Int = 0) {
self.id = id
self.name = name
self.photo = photo
self.requirement = requirement
self.status = status
self.annotationId = annotationId
self.number = number
}
}
}
Migration Plan
static let migrationV2toV2_5 = MigrationStage.custom(
fromVersion: LinkMapV2.self,
toVersion: LinkMapV2_5.self,
willMigrate: { context in
do {
let persons = try context.fetch(FetchDescriptor<LinkMapV2.Person>())
print("=== MIGRATION STARTED ===")
print("Found \(persons.count) Person objects to migrate")
guard !persons.isEmpty else {
print("No Person data requires migration")
return
}
for person in persons {
print("Migrating Person: '\(person.name)' with ID: \(person.id)")
let newGroup = LinkMapV2_5.GroupData(
id: person.id, // Keep the same ID
name: person.name,
photo: person.photo,
requirement: person.requirement,
status: person.statue,
annotationId: person.annotationId,
number: person.number
)
context.insert(newGroup)
print("Inserted new GroupData: '\(newGroup.name)'")
// Don't delete the old Person yet to avoid issues
// context.delete(person)
}
try context.save()
print("=== MIGRATION COMPLETED ===")
print("Successfully migrated \(persons.count) Person objects to GroupData")
} catch {
print("=== MIGRATION ERROR ===")
print("Migration failed with error: \(error)")
}
},
didMigrate: { context in
do {
// Verify migration in didMigrate phase
let groups = try context.fetch(FetchDescriptor<LinkMapV2_5.GroupData>())
let oldPersons = try context.fetch(FetchDescriptor<LinkMapV2_5.Person>())
print("=== MIGRATION VERIFICATION ===")
print("New GroupData count: \(groups.count)")
print("Remaining Person count: \(oldPersons.count)")
// Now delete the old Person objects
for person in oldPersons {
context.delete(person)
}
if !oldPersons.isEmpty {
try context.save()
print("Cleaned up \(oldPersons.count) old Person objects")
}
// Print all migrated groups for debugging
for group in groups {
print("Migrated Group: '\(group.name)', Status: \(group.status), Number: \(group.number)")
}
} catch {
print("Migration verification error: \(error)")
}
}
)
And I've attached console output below:
Console Output
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Description:
I'm experiencing a critical issue with SwiftData custom migrations where objects created during migration appear to be inserted successfully but aren't persisted or found by queries after migration completes. The migration logs show objects being created, but subsequent queries return zero results.
Problem Details:
I'm migrating from schema version V2 to V3, which involves:
Renaming Person class to GroupData
Keeping the same data structure but changing the class name
Using a custom migration stage to copy data from old to new schema
Migration Code:
swift
static let migrationV2toV3 = MigrationStage.custom(
fromVersion: LinkMapV2.self,
toVersion: LinkMapV3.self,
willMigrate: { context in
do {
let persons = try context.fetch(FetchDescriptor<LinkMapV2.Person>())
print("Found (persons.count) Person objects to migrate") // ✅ Shows 11 objects
for person in persons {
let newGroup = LinkMapV3.GroupData(
id: person.id, // Same UUID
name: person.name,
// ... other properties
)
context.insert(newGroup)
print("Inserted GroupData: '\(newGroup.name)'") // ✅ Confirms insertion
}
try context.save() // ✅ No error thrown
print("Successfully migrated \(persons.count) objects") // ✅ Confirms save
} catch {
print("Migration error: \(error)")
}
},
didMigrate: { context in
do {
let groups = try context.fetch(FetchDescriptor<LinkMapV3.GroupData>())
print("Final GroupData count: \(groups.count)") // ❌ Shows 0 objects!
} catch {
print("Verification error: \(error)")
}
}
)
Console Output:
text
=== MIGRATION STARTED ===
Found 11 Person objects to migrate
Migrating Person: 'Riverside of pipewall' with ID: 7A08C633-4467-4F52-AF0B-579545BA88D0
Inserted new GroupData: 'Riverside of pipewall'
... (all 11 objects processed) ...
=== MIGRATION COMPLETED ===
Successfully migrated 11 Person objects to GroupData
=== MIGRATION VERIFICATION ===
New GroupData count: 0 // ❌ PROBLEM: No objects found!
What I've Tried:
Multiple context approaches:
Using the provided migration context
Creating a new background context with ModelContext(context.container)
Using context.performAndWait for thread safety
Different save strategies:
Calling try context.save() after insertions
Letting SwiftData handle saving automatically
Multiple save calls at different points
Verification methods:
Checking in didMigrate closure
Checking in app's ContentView after migration completes
Using both @Query and manual FetchDescriptor
Schema variations:
Direct V2→V3 migration
Intermediate V2.5 schema with both classes
Lightweight migration with @Attribute(originalName:)
Current Behavior:
Migration runs without errors
Objects appear to be inserted successfully
context.save() completes without throwing errors
But queries in didMigrate and post-migration return empty results
The objects seem to exist in a temporary state that doesn't persist
Expected Behavior:
Objects created during migration should be persisted and queryable
Post-migration queries should return the migrated objects
Data should be available in the main app after migration completes
Environment:
Xcode 16.0+
iOS 18.0+
SwiftData
Swift 6.0+
Key Questions:
Is there a specific way migration contexts should be handled for data to persist?
Are there known issues with object persistence in custom migrations?
Should we be using a different approach for class renaming migrations?
Is there a way to verify that objects are actually being written to the persistent store?
The migration appears to work perfectly until the verification step, where all created objects seem to vanish. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!
Additional Context from my investigation:
I've noticed these warning messages during migration that might be relevant:
text
SwiftData.ModelContext: Unbinding from the main queue. This context was instantiated on the main queue but is being used off it.
error: Persistent History (76) has to be truncated due to the following entities being removed: (Person)
This suggests there might be threading or context lifecycle issues affecting persistence.
Let me know if you need any additional information about my setup or migration configuration!
This app will not crash when switching between these two tabs with TabView init(content:)
import SwiftUI
import SwiftData
struct ContentView: View {
@StateObject private var highlightManager = HighlightManager.shared
@State private var selectedTab: Int = 0
var body: some View {
TabView(selection: $selectedTab) {
MapView()
.tabItem {
Label("Map", systemImage: "map")
}
.tag(0)
// Annotation Tab
AnnotationList()
.tabItem {
Label("Annotation", systemImage: "mappin.and.ellipse")
}
.tag(1)
// Group Tab
PeopleList()
.tabItem {
Label("Group", systemImage: "person.and.person")
}
.tag(2)
}
.tutorialOverlay() // Apply the overlay to the root view
.environmentObject(highlightManager)
.toolbar {
ToolbarItem(placement: .confirmationAction) {
NavigationLink("Help") {
NavigationStack {
HelpView(selectedTab: selectedTab)
}
}
}
}
}
}