I’m running macOS 15.7 with Xcode 26.2, and I’m trying to learn the basics of AppKit. I’m fully aware that AppKit is considered a legacy / “old” technology and that Apple clearly does not promote it out of the box anymore. This is especially visible in recent versions of Xcode, where you can no longer create a macOS App template without Storyboards or SwiftUI. That said, AppKit is still widely used under the hood, so I think it’s reasonable to at least understand its fundamentals. Here’s the problem I’m facing. I create a standard macOS App project using the Xcode template (AppKit App Delegate). Then I: delete Main.storyboard remove all storyboard references from Info.plist try to create the window manually in applicationDidFinishLaunching At this point, the project builds, but the app either: does not show any window, or behaves as if it were not a proper GUI app While debugging, it looks like Xcode / Swift is treating my target more like a dylib / wrapper than a normal .app bundle (at least judging by runtime behavior and the lack of a proper AppKit lifecycle). While searching for answers, I found this article: https://ashidiqi.com/blog/how-to-setup-xcode-project-programmatically-with-appkit/ The author claims that in this scenario you must not use the @main attribute and instead need a main.swift file that manually calls NSApplicationMain. However, the article also mentions that Xcode shows the error: 'main' attribute cannot be used in a module that contains top-level code The confusing part is that I do not have any top-level code in my project when using @main. At the same time, when I ask an LLM for clarification, it tells me that: @main does not require a storyboard removing a storyboard does not force you to switch to main.swift @main should work fine for a fully programmatic AppKit app So I’m left with two concrete questions: What is the correct, modern answer here? When building a fully programmatic AppKit app (no storyboard, no SwiftUI), do you actually need main.swift, or is @main still fully supported and correct? Is there any supported or recommended way in modern Xcode to get a “clean” AppKit app template without a storyboard? Either via project settings, templates, or some documented workflow — without having to fight the build system or end up with a half-broken target. I’m not trying to fight Apple’s direction here — I just want to understand the correct way to work with AppKit in 2025, even if it’s not the preferred path anymore. Thanks in advance for any clarification.