I’m trying to build a CRUD app using SwiftData, @Query model and multidatepicker. The data from a multidatepicker is stored or persists in SwiftData as Set = []. My current dilemma is how to use SwiftData and @Query model Predicate to find all records on the current date. I can’t find any SwiftData documentation or examples @Query using Set = []. My CRUD app should retrieve all records for the current date. Unfortunately, I don’t know the correct @Query model syntax for Set = [].

Hey everyone, I have a question. When creating an app, how should I design a message table that involves personal privacy? The content is stored locally on the user's device, and then encrypted in the server database? How should I design it?

Hello, I am building a pretty large database (~40MB) to be used in my SwiftData iOS app as read-only. While inserting and updating the data, I noticed a substantial increase in size (+ ~10MB). A little digging pointed to ACHANGE and ATRANSACTION tables that apparently are dealing with Persistent History Tracking. While I do appreciate the benefits of that, I prefer to save space. Could you please point me in the right direction?

Greetings i have an app that uses three different SwiftData models and i want to know what is the best way to use the them accross the app. I though a centralized behaviour and i want to know if it a correct approach.First let's suppose that the first view of the app will load the three models using the @Enviroment that work with @Observation. Then to other views that add data to the swiftModels again with the @Environment. Another View that will use the swiftData models with graph and datas for average and min and max.Is this a corrent way? or i should use @Query in every view that i want and ModelContext when i add the data. @Observable class CentralizedDataModels { var firstDataModel: [FirstDataModel] = [] var secondDataModel: [SecondDataModel] = [] var thirdDataModel: [ThirdDataModel] = [] let context: ModelContext init(context:ModelContext) { self.context = context } }

Our app saves its data to iCloud by default. In most cases, this is working as intended & the data can be synced across devices with no problems. But recently, in testing, we discovered a situation where it's possible to save data before the NSMetadataQuery finishes & starts downloading the cloud files. When this happens, the query will then finish, and return the NEW file (with no other versions or conflicts). Is there a way to ensure that writing a file (version A) to ubiquitous storage when another version (version B) exists in the cloud is treated as a conflict, rather than just stomping all over the other version? I've tried querying the file metadata for the file URL (NSURLIsUbiquitousItemKey, NSMetadataUbiquitousItemDownloadingStatusKey, NSURLUbiquitousItemDownloadRequestedKey, NSURLUbiquitousItemHasUnresolvedConflictsKey) before saving, but it just returns nil.

Hi, I’m completely stuck with a very strange CloudKit problem that started recently and has now killed all iCloud sync for a live production app. What is happening Production container: iCloud.gainzCloud (created ~11 months ago, has been working perfectly until now) In Xcode 26.0 (17A321): → Signing & Capabilities → iCloud is enabled → Container correctly shows as iCloud.gainzCloud → App builds and runs on device/simulator with zero provisioning or container errors CloudKit Dashboard (https://icloud.developer.apple.com/dashboard/): completely blank – “No containers found” Result: CloudKit sync is dead for every user (development + production environments) What I know for sure Apple Developer Support confirmed the container iCloud.gainzCloud still exists and is correctly attached to my Team ID on their backend Personal iCloud (Mail, Notes, Photos, etc.) syncs perfectly on the same Mac / same Apple ID under macOS Tahoe 26.1 I have NOT changed the password on either the Apple ID or the Developer Program account New containers I create appear in Xcode but never show up in the Dashboard Environment macOS Tahoe 26.1 (latest) Xcode Version 26.0 (17A321) Has anyone on the new Tahoe/Xcode 26 releases seen the CloudKit Dashboard suddenly go completely empty while Xcode still “sees” the container just fine? Any known trick to force the dashboard to re-index containers or clear whatever cache is broken? Thanks a lot in advance – this is blocking all iCloud functionality for a released app with active users.

I'm trying to build a custom FetchRequest that I can use outside a View. I've built the following ObservableFetchRequest class based on this article: https://augmentedcode.io/2023/04/03/nsfetchedresultscontroller-wrapper-for-swiftui-view-models @Observable @MainActor class ObservableFetchRequest<Result: Storable>: NSObject, @preconcurrency NSFetchedResultsControllerDelegate { private let controller: NSFetchedResultsController<Result.E> private var results: [Result] = [] init(context: NSManagedObjectContext = .default, predicate: NSPredicate? = Result.E.defaultPredicate(), sortDescriptors: [NSSortDescriptor] = Result.E.sortDescripors) { guard let request = Result.E.fetchRequest() as? NSFetchRequest<Result.E> else { fatalError("Failed to create fetch request for \(Result.self)") } request.predicate = predicate request.sortDescriptors = sortDescriptors controller = NSFetchedResultsController(fetchRequest: request, managedObjectContext: context, sectionNameKeyPath: nil, cacheName: nil) super.init() controller.delegate = self fetch() } private func fetch() { do { try controller.performFetch() refresh() } catch { fatalError("Failed to fetch results for \(Result.self)") } } private func refresh() { results = controller.fetchedObjects?.map { Result($0) } ?? [] } var predicate: NSPredicate? { get { controller.fetchRequest.predicate } set { controller.fetchRequest.predicate = newValue fetch() } } var sortDescriptors: [NSSortDescriptor] { get { controller.fetchRequest.sortDescriptors ?? [] } set { controller.fetchRequest.sortDescriptors = newValue.isEmpty ? nil : newValue fetch() } } internal func controllerDidChangeContent(_ controller: NSFetchedResultsController<any NSFetchRequestResult>) { refresh() } } Till this point, everything works fine. Then, I conformed my class to RandomAccessCollection, so I could use in a ForEach loop without having to access the results property. extension ObservableFetchRequest: @preconcurrency RandomAccessCollection, @preconcurrency MutableCollection { subscript(position: Index) -> Result { get { results[position] } set { results[position] = newValue } } public var endIndex: Index { results.endIndex } public var indices: Indices { results.indices } public var startIndex: Index { results.startIndex } public func distance(from start: Index, to end: Index) -> Int { results.distance(from: start, to: end) } public func index(_ i: Index, offsetBy distance: Int) -> Index { results.index(i, offsetBy: distance) } public func index(_ i: Index, offsetBy distance: Int, limitedBy limit: Index) -> Index? { results.index(i, offsetBy: distance, limitedBy: limit) } public func index(after i: Index) -> Index { results.index(after: i) } public func index(before i: Index) -> Index { results.index(before: i) } public typealias Element = Result public typealias Index = Int } The issue is, when I update the ObservableFetchRequest predicate while searching, it causes a Index out of range error in the Collection subscript because the ForEach loop (or a List loop) access a old version of the array when the item property is optional. List(request, selection: $selection) { item in VStack(alignment: .leading) { Text(item.content) if let information = item.information { // here's the issue, if I leave this out, everything works Text(information) .font(.callout) .foregroundStyle(.secondary) } } .tag(item.id) .contextMenu { if Item.self is Client.Type { Button("Editar") { openWindow(ClientView(client: item as! Client), id: item.id!) } } } } Is it some RandomAccessCollection issue or a SwiftUI bug?

The NSMetadataUbiquitousItemDownloadingStatusKey indicates the status of a ubiquitous (iCloud Drive) file. A key value of NSMetadataUbiquitousItemDownloadingStatusDownloaded is defined as indicating there is a local version of this file available. The most current version will get downloaded as soon as possible . However this no longer occurs since iOS 18.4. A ubiquitous file may remain in the NSMetadataUbiquitousItemDownloadingStatusDownloaded state for an indefinite period. There is a workaround: call [NSFileManager startDownloadingUbiquitousItemAtURL: error:] however this shouldn't be necessary, and introduces delays over the previous behaviour. Has anyone else seen this behaviour? Is this a permanent change? FB17662379

Hi everyone, Im trying to set up CloudKit for my Unreal Engine 5.4 project but seem to be hitting some roadblocks on how to set up the Record Types. From my understanding I need to set up a "file" record type with a "contents" asset field - but even with this it doesn't seem to work :( Any unreal engine devs with some experience on this who could help me out? Thanks!

My client is using iCloud Mail with his custom domain and he communicated with many govt organizations which seem to all be using Barracuda Email Protection for their spam prevention. I have properly configured his SPF, DKIM & DMARC DNS records however his emails were still being rejected. (Email header below) I contacted Barracuda support with the email header and they replied saying that the emails were rejected becuase Apple Mail has missing PTR records. I have sent dozens of emails for testing and looking at all their headers I can see (ms-asmtp-me-k8s.p00.prod.me.com [17.57.154.37]) which does not have a PTR record. ----FULL EMAIL HEADER WITH 3RD PARTY DOMAINS REMOVED----- <recipient_email_address>: host d329469a.ess.barracudanetworks.com[209.222.82.255] said: 550 permanent failure for one or more recipients (recipient_email_address:blocked) (in reply to end of DATA command) Reporting-MTA: dns; p00-icloudmta-asmtp-us-west-3a-100-percent-10.p00-icloudmta-asmtp-vip.icloud-mail-production.svc.kube.us-west-3a.k8s.cloud.apple.com X-Postfix-Queue-ID: 8979C18013F8 X-Postfix-Sender: rfc822; sender_email_address Arrival-Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2025 12:30:05 +0000 (UTC) Final-Recipient: rfc822; @****** Original-Recipient: rfc822;recipient_email_address Action: failed Status: 5.0.0 Remote-MTA: dns; d329469a.ess.barracudanetworks.com Diagnostic-Code: smtp; 550 permanent failure for one or more recipients (recipient_email_address:blocked) Return-Path: <sender_email_address> DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=sender_domain; s=sig1; bh=CyUt/U7mIHwXB5OQctPjRH/OxLH7GsLR54JjGuRkj9Y=; h=From:Message-Id:Content-Type:Mime-Version:Subject:Date:To:x-icloud-hme; b=hwEbggsctiCRlMlEgovBTjB/0sPRCb2k+1wzHRZ2dZNrZdOqvFSNWU+Aki9Bl8nfv eEOoXz5qWxO2b2rEBl08lmRQ3hCyroayIn4keBRrgkxL1uu4zMTaDUHyau2vVnzC3h ZmwQtQxiu7QvTS/Sp8jjJ/niOPSzlfhphqMxnQAZi/jmJGcZPadT8K+7+PhRllVnI+ TElJarN1ORQu+CaPGhEs9/F7AIcjJNemnVg1cude7EUuO9va8ou49oFExWTLt7YSMl s+88hxxGu3GugD3eBnitzVo7s7/O9qkIbDUjk3w04/p/VOJ+35Mvi+v/zB9brpYwC1 B4dZP+AhwJDYA== Received: from smtpclient.apple (ms-asmtp-me-k8s.p00.prod.me.com [17.57.154.37]) by p00-icloudmta-asmtp-us-west-3a-100-percent-10.p00-icloudmta-asmtp-vip.icloud-mail-production.svc.kube.us-west-3a.k8s.cloud.apple.com (Postfix) with ESMTPSA id 8979C18013F8; Thu, 20 Mar 2025 12:30:05 +0000 (UTC) From: Marcel Brunel <sender_email_address> Message-Id: <2E8D69EA-FCA6-4F5D-9D42-22A955C073F6@sender_domain> Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="Apple-Mail=_F9AC7D29-8520-4B25-9362-950CB20ADEC5" Mime-Version: 1.0 (Mac OS X Mail 16.0 (3826.400.131.1.6)) Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] - Re: Brunel - 2024 taxes Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2025 07:29:27 -0500 In-Reply-To: <SA0PR18MB350300DE7274C018F66EEA24F2D82@SA0PR18MB3503_namprd18_prod_outlook_com> To: Troy Womack <recipient_email_address> References: <SA0PR18MB350314D0B88E283C5C8E1BB6F2DE2@SA0PR18MB3503_namprd18_prod_outlook_com> <9B337A3E-D373-48C5-816F-C1884BDA6F42@sender_domain> <SA0PR18MB350341A7172E8632D018A910F2D82@SA0PR18MB3503_namprd18_prod_outlook_com> <SA0PR18MB350300DE7274C018F66EEA24F2D82@SA0PR18MB3503_namprd18_prod_outlook_com> X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.3826.400.131.1.6) X-Proofpoint-ORIG-GUID: uqebp2OIbPqBr3dYsAxdFVkCNbM5Cxyl X-Proofpoint-GUID: uqebp2OIbPqBr3dYsAxdFVkCNbM5Cxyl X-Proofpoint-Virus-Version: vendor=baseguard engine=ICAP:2.0.293,Aquarius:18.0.1093,Hydra:6.0.680,FMLib:17.12.68.34 definitions=2025-03-20_03,2025-03-19_01,2024-11-22_01 X-Proofpoint-Spam-Details: rule=notspam policy=default score=0 bulkscore=0 clxscore=1030 suspectscore=0 mlxlogscore=999 mlxscore=0 phishscore=0 malwarescore=0 spamscore=0 adultscore=0 classifier=spam adjust=0 reason=mlx scancount=1 engine=8.19.0-2411120000 definitions=main-2503200077

I have a CoreData model with two configuration - but several problems. Notably the viewContext only shows data from the .private configuration. Here is the setup: The private configuration holds entities, for example, User and Course and the shared one holds entities, for example, Player and League. I setup the NSPersistentStoreDescriptions to use the same container but with a databaseScope of .private/.shared and with the configuration of "Private"/"Shared". loadPersistentStores() does not report an error. If I try container.initializeCloudKitSchema() only the .private configuration produces CKRecord types. If I create a companion app using one configuration (w/ all entities) the schema initialization creates all CKRecord types AND I can populate some data in the .private and a created CKShare. I see that data in the CloudKit dashboard. If I axe the companion app and run the real thing w/ two configurations, the viewContext only has the .private data. Why? If when querying history I use NSPersistentHistoryTransaction.fetchRequest I get a nil return when using two configurations (but non-nil when using one).

We are currently implementing a custom iCloud sync for our macOS and iOS apps using CloudKit. Syncing works fine as long as the number of record sends is relatively small. But when we test with a large number of changes ( 80,000+ CKRecords ) we start running into problems. Our sending strategy is very conservative to avoid rate limits: We send records sequentially in batches of 250 records With about 2 seconds pause between operations Records are small and contain no assets (assets are uploaded separately) At some point we start receiving: “Database commit size exceeds limit” After that, CloudKit begins returning rate-limit errors with retryAfter-Information in the error. We wait for the retry time and try again, but from this moment on, nothing progresses anymore. Every subsequent attempt fails. We could not find anything in the official documentation regarding such a “commit size” limit or what triggers this failure state. So my questions are: Are there undocumented limits on the total number of records that can exist in an iCloud database (private or shared)? Is there a maximum volume of record modifications a container can accept within a certain timeframe, even if operations are split into small batches with pauses? Is it possible that sending large numbers of records in a row can temporarily or permanently “stall” a CloudKit container? Any insights or experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

In a document based SwiftData app for macOS, how do you go about opening a (modal) child window connected to the ModelContainer of the currently open document? Using .sheet() does not really result in a good UX, as the appearing view lacks the standard window toolbar. Using a separate WindowGroup with an argument would achieve the desired UX. However, as WindowGroup arguments need to be Hashable and Codable, there is no way to pass a ModelContainer or a ModelContext there: WindowGroup(id: "myWindowGroup", for: MyWindowGroupArguments.self) { $args in ViewThatOpensInAWindow(args: args) } Is there any other way?

I'm building a photo editing app with a token-based subscription system using RevenueCat and StoreKit. Users purchase subscriptions that grant tokens for AI generations. There are no user accounts, the app is fully anonymous. Currently, I generate an anonymous account ID via RevenueCat SDK and store it in iCloud Keychain. This allows users on the same iCloud account to restore both their subscription and token balance across devices. However, users on a different iCloud account can restore their subscription via Apple, but their token balance is lost because there's no way to link the anonymous IDs. The problem is that if a user switches iCloud accounts or gets a new device without the same iCloud, their purchased tokens are orphaned. The subscription restores fine through Apple, but the token balance tied to the old anonymous ID becomes inaccessible. I have a few constraints: no user accounts, no email or phone sign-in, must work across devices owned by the same person, and must comply with App Store guidelines. My questions are: Is iCloud Keychain the right tool for this, or is there a better approach? Would CloudKit with an anonymous record zone be more appropriate? Are there any recommended patterns for persisting consumable balances tied to anonymous users across device migrations? Any guidance would be appreciated.

Hello, thank you Apple for supporting custom store with SwiftData and the Schema type is superb to work with. I have successfully set one up with SQL and have some feedback and issues regarding its APIs. There’s a highlighted message in the documentation about not using internal restricted symbols directly, but they contradict with the given protocols and I am concerned about breaking any App Store rules. Are we allowed to use these? If not, they should be opened up as they’re useful. BackingData is required to set up custom snapshots, initialization, and getting/setting values. And I want to use it with createBackingData() to directly initialize instances from snapshots when transferring them between server and client or concurrency. RelationshipCollection for casting to-many relationships from backing data or checking if an array contains a PersistentModel. SchemaProperty for type erasure in a collection. Schema.Relationship has KeyPath properties, but it is missing for Schema.Attribute and Schema.CompositeAttribute. Which means you can’t purely depend on the schema to map data. I am unable to access the properties of a custom struct type in a predicate unless I use Mirror with schemaMetadata() or CustomStringConvertible on the KeyPath directly to extract it. Trivial, but… the KeyPath property name is inconsistent (it’s all lowercase). It would be nice to retrieve property names from custom struct types, since you are unable access CodingKeys that are auto synthesized by Codable for structs. But I recently realized they’re a part Schema.CompositeAttribute, however I don’t know how to match these without the KeyPath… I currently map my entities using CodingKeys to their PredicateCodableKeyPathProviding.… but I wish for a simpler alternative! It’s unclear how to provide the schema to the snapshot before new models are created. I currently use a static property, but I want to make it flexible if more schemas and configurations are added later on. I considered saving and loading the schema in a temporary location, but doubtful that the KeyPath values will be available as they are not Codable. I suspect schemaMetadata() has the information I need to map the backing data without a schema for snapshots, but as mentioned previously, properties are inaccessible… Allow access to entity metatypes, like value types from SchemaProperty. They’re useful for getting data out of snapshots and casting them to CodingKeys and PredicateCodableKeyPathProviding. They do not carry over when you provide them in the Schema. I am unable to retrieve the primary key from PersistentIdentifier. It seems like once you create one, you can’t get it out, like the DataStoreConfiguration in ModelContainer is not the one you used to set it up. I cannot cast it, it is an entirely different struct? I have to use JSONSerialization to extract it, but I want to get it directly since it is not a column in my database. It is transformed when it goes to/from my tables. It’s unknown how to support some schema options, such as Spotlight and CloudKit. Allow for extending macro options, such as adding options to set as primary key, whether to auto increment, etc… You can create a schema for super and sub entities, but it doesn’t appear you can actually set them up from the @Model macro or use inheritance on these models… SwiftData history tracking seems incomplete for HistoryDelete, because that protocol requires HistoryTombstone, but this type cannot be instantiated, nor does it contain anything useful to infer from. As an aside, I want to create my own custom ModelActor that is a global actor. However, I’m unable to replicate the executor that Apple provides where the executor has a ModelContext, because this type does not conform to Sendable. So how did Apple do this? The documentation doesn’t mention unchecked Sendable, but I figure if the protocol is available then we would be able to set up our own. And please add concurrency features! Anyway, I hope for more continued support in the future and I am looking forward to what’s new this WWDC! 😊

I have developed an podcast app, where subscriped podcast & episodes synched with iCloud. So its working fine with iOS & iPad with latest os version, but iCloud not synching in iPod with version 15. Please help me to fix this. Thanks Devendra K.

Testing Environment: iOS 18.4.1 / macOS 15.4.1 I am working on an iOS project that aims to utilize the user's iCloud Drive documents directory to save a specific directory-based file structure. Essentially, the app would create a root directory where the user chooses in iCloud Drive, then it would populate user generated files in various levels of nested directories. I have been attempting to use NSMetadataQuery with various predicates and search scopes but haven't been able to get it to directly monitor changes to files or directories that are not in the root directory. Instead, it only monitors files or directories in the root directory, and any changes in a subdirectory are considered an update to the direct children of the root directory. Example iCloud Drive Documents (Not app's ubiquity container) User Created Root Directory (Being monitored) File A Directory A File B An insertion or deletion within Directory A would only return a notification with userInfo containing data for NSMetadataQueryUpdateChangedItemsKey relating to Directory A, and not the file or directory itself that was inserted or deleted. (Query results array also only contain the direct children.) I have tried all combinations of these search scopes and predicates with no luck: query.searchScopes = [ rootDirectoryURL, NSMetadataQueryUbiquitousDocumentsScope, NSMetadataQueryAccessibleUbiquitousExternalDocumentsScope, ] NSPredicate(value: true) NSPredicate(format: "%K LIKE '*.md'", NSMetadataItemFSNameKey) NSPredicate(format: "%K BEGINSWITH %@", NSMetadataItemPathKey, url.path(percentEncoded: false)) I do see these warnings in the console upon starting my query: [CRIT] UNREACHABLE: failed to get container URL for com.apple.CloudDocs [ERROR] couldn't fetch remote operation IDs: NSError: Cocoa 257 "The file couldn’t be opened because you don’t have permission to view it." "Error returned from daemon: Error Domain=com.apple.accounts Code=7 "(null)"" But I am not sure what to make of that, since it does act normally for finding updates in the root directory. Hopefully this isn't a limitation of the API, as the only alternative I could think of would be to have multiple queries running for each nested directory that I needed updates for.

Hi ! Would anyone know (if possible) how to create backup files to export and then import from the data recorded by SwiftData? For those who wish, here is a more detailed explanation of my case: I am developing a small management software with customers and events represented by distinct classes. I would like to have an "Export" button to create a file with all the instances of these 2 classes and another "Import" button to replace all the old data with the new ones from a previously exported file. I looked for several solutions but I'm a little lost...

SwiftData crashes 100% when fetching history of a model that contains an optional codable property that's updated: SwiftData/Schema.swift:389: Fatal error: Failed to materialize a keypath for someCodableID.someID from CrashModel. It is possible that this path traverses a type that does not work with append(), please file a bug report with a test. Would really appreciate some help or even a workaround. Code: import Foundation import SwiftData import Testing struct VaultsSwiftDataKnownIssuesTests { @Test func testCodableCrashInHistoryFetch() async throws { let container = try ModelContainer( for: CrashModel.self, configurations: .init( isStoredInMemoryOnly: true ) ) let context = ModelContext(container) try SimpleHistoryChecker.hasLocalHistoryChanges(context: context) // 1: insert a new value and save let model = CrashModel() model.someCodableID = SomeCodableID(someID: "testid1") context.insert(model) try context.save() // 2: check history it's fine. try SimpleHistoryChecker.hasLocalHistoryChanges(context: context) // 3: update the inserted value before then save model.someCodableID = SomeCodableID(someID: "testid2") try context.save() // The next check will always crash on fetchHistory with this error: /* SwiftData/Schema.swift:389: Fatal error: Failed to materialize a keypath for someCodableID.someID from CrashModel. It is possible that this path traverses a type that does not work with append(), please file a bug report with a test. */ try SimpleHistoryChecker.hasLocalHistoryChanges(context: context) } } @Model final class CrashModel { // optional codable crashes. var someCodableID: SomeCodableID? // these actually work: //var someCodableID: SomeCodableID //var someCodableID: [SomeCodableID] init() {} } public struct SomeCodableID: Codable { public let someID: String } final class SimpleHistoryChecker { static func hasLocalHistoryChanges(context: ModelContext) throws { let descriptor = HistoryDescriptor<DefaultHistoryTransaction>() let history = try context.fetchHistory(descriptor) guard let last = history.last else { return } print(last) } }

We have an unreleased SwiftData app for iOS18+. While we were testing I saw reports on the forum about unexpected database migrations for codable arrays on iOS26.1. I'd like to ask a couple of questions: 1- Does this issue originate from the new Xcode version, or is it specific to iOS 26.1? 2- Is it possible to change our attribute so that users on older iOS versions receive the same model, preventing a migration from being triggered when they upgrade to iOS 26.1? One of our models looks like this: struct Point: Codable, Hashable { let x: Int let y: Int } @Model class Grid { private(set) var gridId: String = "" var points: [Point] = [] var updatedAt: Date = Date() private(set) var createdAt: Date = Date() #Index<Grid>([\.gridId]) ... } I can think of some options like: // 1 @Attribute(.transformable(by: CustomJsonTransformer.self)) var points: [Point] = [] // 2 @Attribute(.externalStorage) var points: [Point] = [] // 3 var points: Data = Data() // store points as data However, I'm not sure which one to use. What would you recommend to handle this, or is there a better strategy you would suggest?