Usually, when you call fetchRecordZoneChanges with the previous change token, you get a list of the record ID’s that have been deleted since your last fetch.
But if you get a changeTokenExpired error because it‘s been too long since you last fetched, you have to call fetch again without a token.
For my specific application, I still need to know, though, if any records have been deleted since my last sync. How can I get that information if I no longer have a valid change token?
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Hi, would it be possible that instead of crashing when calling fetchHistory that function simply throws an error instead?
fetchHistory seems to crash when it cannot understand the models if they are not compatible etc… which is understandable, but it makes it really difficult to handle and debug, there's not a lot of details, and honestly I would just rather that it throws an error and let me ignore a history entry that might be useless rather than crashing the entire app.
Thank you!
Perhaps I just have the wrong expectations, but I discovered some odd behavior from SwiftData that sure seems like a bug to me...
If you make any change to any SwiftData model object — even just setting a property to its current value — every SwiftUI view that uses SwiftData is rebuilt. Every query and every entity reference, even if the property was set on a model class that is completely unrelated to the view.
SwiftUI does such a good job of optimizing UI updates that it's hard to notice the issue. I only noticed it because the updates were triggering my debug print statements.
To double-check this, I went back to Apple's new iOS app template — the one that is just a list of dated items — and added a little code to touch an unrelated record in the background:
@Model
class UnrelatedItem {
var name: String
init(name: String) {
self.name = name
}
}
@main
struct jumpyApp: App {
var sharedModelContainer: ModelContainer = {
let schema = Schema([
Item.self,
UnrelatedItem.self
])
let modelConfiguration = ModelConfiguration(schema: schema, isStoredInMemoryOnly: false)
do {
return try ModelContainer(for: schema, configurations: [modelConfiguration])
} catch {
fatalError("Could not create ModelContainer: \(error)")
}
}()
init() {
let context = sharedModelContainer.mainContext
// Create 3 items at launch so we immediately have some data to work with.
if try! context.fetchCount(FetchDescriptor<Item>()) == 0 {
for _ in 0..<3 {
let item = Item(timestamp: Date())
context.insert(item)
}
}
// Now create one unrelated item.
let unrelatedItem = UnrelatedItem(name: "Mongoose")
context.insert(unrelatedItem)
try? context.save()
// Set up a background task that updates the unrelated item every second.
Task {
while true {
try? await Task.sleep(nanoseconds: 1_000_000_000)
Task { @MainActor in
// We don't even have to change the name or save the contxt.
// Just setting the name to the same value will trigger a change.
unrelatedItem.name = "Mongoose"
}
}
}
}
var body: some Scene {
WindowGroup {
ContentView()
}
.modelContainer(sharedModelContainer)
}
}
I also added a print statement to the ContentView so I could see when the view updates.
struct ContentView: View {
@Environment(\.modelContext) private var modelContext
@Query private var items: [Item]
var body: some View {
NavigationSplitView {
List {
let _ = Self._printChanges()
...
The result is that the print statement logs 2 messages to the debug console every second. I checked in iOS 17, 18.1, and 18.2, and they all behave this way.
Is this the intended behavior? I thought the whole point of the new Observation framework in iOS 17 was to track which data had changed and only send change notifications to observers who were using that data.
I'm seeing a lot of these in my logs:
PersistentIdentifier PersistentIdentifier(id: SwiftData.PersistentIdentifier.ID(url: x-swiftdata://Course/BC9CF99A-DE6A-46F1-A18D-8034255A56D8), implementation: SwiftData.PersistentIdentifierImplementation) was remapped to a temporary identifier during save: PersistentIdentifier(id: SwiftData.PersistentIdentifier.ID(url: x-coredata:///Course/t58C849CD-D895-4773-BF53-3F63CF48935B210), implementation: SwiftData.PersistentIdentifierImplementation). This is a fatal logic error in DefaultStore
... though everything seems to work.
Does anyone know what this means in this context? Anything I can do to not have this appear?
Starting 20th March 2025, I see an increase in bandwidth and latency for one of my CloudKit projects.
I'm using NSPersistentCloudKitContainer to synchronise my data.
I haven't changed any CloudKit scheme during that time but shipped an update. Since then, I reverted some changes from that update, which could have led to changes in the sync behaviour.
Is anyone else seeing any issues?
I would love to file a DTS and use one of my credits for that, but unfortunately, I can't because I cannot reproduce it with a demo project because I cannot travel back in time and check if it also has an increase in metrics during that time.
Maybe an Apple engineer can green-light me filing a DTS request, please.
Hi,
I did cloudkit synchronization using swiftdata.
However, synchronization does not occur automatically, and synchronization occurs intermittently only when the device is closed and opened.
For confirmation, after changing the data in Device 1 (saving), when the data is fetched from Device 2, there is no change.
I've heard that there's still an issue with swiftdata sync and Apple is currently troubleshooting it, is the phenomenon I'm experiencing in the current version normal?
I'm getting the following error message when executing the rollback method in a modelContext, what could be causing this ?
SwiftData/ModelSnapshot.swift:46: Fatal error: A ModelSnapshot must be initialized with a known-keys dictionary
I am using SwiftData with CloudKit to synchronize data across multiple devices, and I have encountered an issue: occasionally, abnormal sync behavior occurs between two devices (it does not happen 100% of the time—only some users have reported this problem). It seems as if synchronization between the two devices completely stops; no matter what operations are performed on one end, the other end shows no response.
After investigating, I suspect the issue might be caused by both devices simultaneously modifying the same field, which could lead to CloudKit's logic being unable to handle such conflicts and causing the sync to stall. Are there any methods to avoid or resolve this situation?
Of course, I’m not entirely sure if this is the root cause. Has anyone encountered a similar issue?
it seems that is going to the appstore to find the app to execute the share but my app is not in the appstore yet. I am using a sandboxed user and a non sandboxed user, I have tried real phones connected to xcode and simulator same effect, looking for how to test my ckshare in testflight thanks
I'm using SwiftData with CloutKit with a very simple app. Data syncs between iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS, but not macOS. From what I can tell, macOS is never getting CK messages unless I'm running the app from Xcode.
I can listen for the CK messages and show a line in a debug overlay. This works perfectly when I run from Xcode. I can see the notifications and see updates in my app. However, if I just launch the app outside of Xcode I will never see any changes or notifications. It is as if the Mac app never even tries to contact CloudKit.
Schema has been deployed in the CloudKit console. The app is based on the multi-platform Xcode template. Again, only the macOS version has this issue. Is there some extra permission or setting I need to set up in order to use CloudKit on macOS?
@State private var publisher = NotificationCenter.default.publisher(for: NSPersistentCloudKitContainer.eventChangedNotification).receive(on: DispatchQueue.main)
.onReceive(publisher) { notification in
// Listen for changes in CK events
if let userInfo = notification.userInfo,
let event = userInfo[NSPersistentCloudKitContainer.eventNotificationUserInfoKey] as? NSPersistentCloudKitContainer.Event {
let message = "CloudKit Sync: \(event.type.rawValue) - \(event.succeeded ? "Success" : "Failed") - \(event.description)"
// Store for UI display
syncNotifications.append(message)
if syncNotifications.count > 10 {
syncNotifications.removeFirst()
}
}
}
.overlay(alignment: .topTrailing) {
if !syncNotifications.isEmpty {
VStack(alignment: .leading) {
ForEach(syncNotifications, id: \.self) { notification in
Text(notification)
.padding(8)
}
}
.frame(width: 800, height: 500)
.cornerRadius(8)
.background(Color.secondary.opacity(0.2))
.padding()
.transition(.move(edge: .top))
}
}
I am working on a SwiftUI project using Core Data. I have an entity called AppleUser in my data model, with the following attributes: id (UUID), name (String), email (String), password (String), and createdAt (Date). All attributes are non-optional.
I created the corresponding Core Data class files (AppleUser+CoreDataClass.swift and AppleUser+CoreDataProperties.swift) using Xcode’s automatic generation. I also have a PersistenceController that initializes the NSPersistentContainer with the model name JobLinkModel.
When I try to save a new AppleUser object using:
let user = AppleUser(context: viewContext)
user.id = UUID()
user.name = "User1"
user.email = "..."
user.password = "password1"
user.createdAt = Date()【The email is correctly formatted, but it has been replaced with “…” for privacy reasons】
try? viewContext.save()
I get the following error in the console:Core Data save failed: Foundation._GenericObjCError.nilError, [:]
User snapshot: ["id": ..., "name": "User1", "email": "...", "password": "...", "createdAt": ...]
All fields have valid values, and the Core Data model seems correct. I have also tried:
• Checking that the model name in NSPersistentContainer(name:) matches the .xcdatamodeld file (JobLinkModel)
• Ensuring the AppleUser entity Class, Module, and Codegen are correctly set (Class Definition, Current Product Module)
• Deleting duplicate or old AppleUser class files
• Cleaning Xcode build folder and deleting the app from the simulator
• Using @Environment(.managedObjectContext) for the context
Despite all this, I still get _GenericObjCError.nilError when saving a new AppleUser object.
I want to understand:
1. Why is Core Data failing to save even though all fields are non-nil and correctly assigned?
2. Could this be caused by some residual old class files, or is there something else in the setup that I am missing?
3. What steps should I take to ensure that Core Data properly recognizes the AppleUser entity and allows saving?
Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Hi everyone,
We’re currently using CKSyncEngine to sync all our locally persisted data across user devices (iOS and macOS) via iCloud.
We’ve noticed something strange and reproducible:
On iOS, when the CKSyncEngine is initialized with manual sync behavior, both manual calls to fetchChanges() and sendChanges() happen nearly instantly (usually within seconds). Automatic syncing is also very fast.
On macOS, when the CKSyncEngine is initialized with manual sync behavior, fetchChanges() and sendChanges() are also fast and responsive.
However, once CKSyncEngine is initialized with automatic syncing enabled on macOS:
sendChanges() still appears to transmit changes immediately.
But automatic fetching becomes significantly slower — often taking minutes to pick up changes from the cloud, even when new data is already available.
Even manual calls to fetchChanges() behave as if they’re throttled or delayed, rather than performing an immediate fetch.
Our questions:
Is this delay in automatic (and post-automatic manual) fetch behavior on macOS expected, or possibly a bug?
Are there specific macOS constraints that impact CKSyncEngine differently than on iOS?
Once CKSyncEngine has been initialized in automatic mode, is fetchChanges() no longer treated as a truly manual trigger?
Is there a recommended workaround to enable fast sync behavior on macOS — for example, by sticking to manual sync configuration and triggering sync using a CKSubscription-based mechanism when remote changes occur?
Any guidance, clarification, or experiences from other developers (or Apple engineers) would be greatly appreciated — especially regarding maintaining parity between iOS and macOS sync performance.
Thanks in advance!
I see a chunk load error in the browser console.
I already reported this: FB17664487
Hi everyone,
I’m working on an offline-first iOS app using Core Data.
I have a question about safe future updates: in my project, I want to be able to add new optional fields to existing Entities or even completely new Entities in future versions — but nothing else (no renaming, deleting, or type changes).
Here’s how my current PersistenceController looks:
import CoreData
struct PersistenceController {
static let shared = PersistenceController()
let container: NSPersistentContainer
init(inMemory: Bool = false) {
container = NSPersistentContainer(name: "MyApp")
if inMemory {
container.persistentStoreDescriptions.first!.url = URL(fileURLWithPath: "/dev/null")
}
container.loadPersistentStores(completionHandler: { (storeDescription, error) in
if let error = error as NSError? {
print("Core Data failed to load store: \(error), \(error.userInfo)")
}
})
container.viewContext.automaticallyMergesChangesFromParent = true
}
}
Do I need to explicitly set these properties to ensure lightweight migration works?
shouldMigrateStoreAutomatically = true
shouldInferMappingModelAutomatically = true
Or, according to the documentation, are they already true by default, so I can safely add optional fields and new Entities in future versions without breaking users’ existing data?
Thanks in advance for your guidance!
I'm building a macOS + iOS SwiftUI app using Xcode 14.1b3 on a Mac running macOS 13.b11. The app uses Core Data + CloudKit.
With development builds, CloudKit integration works on the Mac app and the iOS app. Existing records are fetched from iCloud, and new records are uploaded to iCloud. Everybody's happy.
With TestFlight builds, the iOS app has no problems. But CloudKit integration isn't working in the Mac app at all. No existing records are fetched, no new records are uploaded.
In the Console, I see this message:
error: CoreData+CloudKit: Failed to set up CloudKit integration for store: <NSSQLCore: 0x1324079e0> (URL: <local file url>)
Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4099 "The connection to service named com.apple.cloudd was invalidated: failed at lookup with error 159 - Sandbox restriction." UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=The connection to service named com.apple.cloudd was invalidated: failed at lookup with error 159 - Sandbox restriction.}
I thought it might be that I was missing the com.apple.security.network.client entitlement, but adding that didn't help.
Any suggestions what I might be missing? (It's my first sandboxed Mac app, so it might be really obvious to anyone but me.)
I have a Package.swift file that builds and runs from Xcode 15.2 without issue but fails to compile when built from the command line ("swift build"). The swift version is 6.0.3. I'm at wits end trying to diagnose this and would welcome any thoughts.
The error in question is
error: external macro implementation type 'SwiftDataMacros.PersistentModelMacro' could not be found for macro 'Model()'; plugin for module 'SwiftDataMacros' not found
The code associated with the module is very vanilla.
import Foundation
import SwiftData
@Model
public final class MyObject {
@Attribute(.unique) public var id:Int64
public var vertexID:Int64
public var updatedAt:Date
public var codeUSRA:Int32
init(id:Int64, vertexID:Int64, updatedAt:Date, codeUSRA:Int32) {
self.id = id
self.vertexID = vertexID
self.updatedAt = updatedAt
self.codeUSRA = codeUSRA
}
public static func create(id:Int64, vertexID:Int64, updatedAt:Date, codeUSRA:Int32) -> MyObject {
MyObject(id: id, vertexID: vertexID, updatedAt: updatedAt, codeUSRA: codeUSRA)
}
}
Thank you.
I'm running a project with these settings:
Default Actor Isolation: MainActor
Approachable Concurrency: Yes
Strict Concurrency Checking: Complete (this issue does not appear on the other two modes)
I receive a warning for this very simple use case. Can I actually fix anything about this or is this a case of Core Data not being entirely ready for this?
In reference to this, there was a workaround listed in the release notes of iOS 26 beta 5 (https://forums.swift.org/t/defaultisolation-mainactor-and-core-data-background-tasks/80569/22). Does this still apply as the only fix for this?
This is a simplified sample meant to run on a background context. The issue obviously goes away if this function would just run on the MainActor, then I can remove the perform block entirely.
class DataHandler {
func createItem() async {
let context = ...
await context.perform {
let newGame = Item(context: context)
/// Main actor-isolated property 'timestamp' can not be mutated from a Sendable closure
newGame.timestamp = Date.now
// ...
}
}
}
The complete use case would be more like this:
nonisolated
struct DataHandler {
@concurrent
func saveItem() async throws {
let context = await PersistenceController.shared.container.newBackgroundContext()
try await context.perform {
let newGame = Item(context: context)
newGame.timestamp = Date.now
try context.save()
}
}
}
relationshipKeyPathsForPrefetching in SwiftData does not seem to work here when scrolling down the list. Why?
I would like all categories to be fetched while posts are fetched - not while scrolling down the list.
struct ContentView: View {
var body: some View {
QueryList(
fetchDescriptor: withCategoriesFetchDescriptor
)
}
var withCategoriesFetchDescriptor: FetchDescriptor<Post> {
var fetchDescriptor = FetchDescriptor<Post>()
fetchDescriptor.relationshipKeyPathsForPrefetching = [\.category]
return fetchDescriptor
}
}
struct QueryList: View {
@Query
var posts: [Post]
init(fetchDescriptor: FetchDescriptor<Post>) {
_posts = Query(fetchDescriptor)
}
var body: some View {
List(posts) { post in
VStack {
Text(post.title)
Text(post.category?.name ?? "")
.font(.footnote)
}
}
}
}
@Model
final class Post {
var title: String
var category: Category?
init(title: String) {
self.title = title
}
}
@Model final class Category {
var name: String
init(name: String) {
self.name = name
}
}
I have a single multiplatform application that I use NSPersistentCloudKitContainer on.
This works great, except I noticed when I open two instances of the same process (not windows) on the same computer, which share the same store, data duplication and "Metadata Inconsistency" errors start appearing.
This answer (https://stackoverflow.com/a/67243833) says this is not supported with NSPersistentCloudKitContainer.
Is this indeed true?
If it isn't allowed, is the only solution to disable multiple instances of the process via a lock file? I was thinking one could somehow coordinate a single "leader" process that syncs to the cloud, with the others using NSPersistentContainer, but this would be complicated when the "leader" process terminates.
Currently, it seems iPad split views are new windows, not processes -- but overall I'm still curious :0
Thank you!
Hello Apple Team,
We’re building a CloudKit-enabled Core Data app and would like clarification on the behavior and performance characteristics of Binary Data attributes with “Allows External Storage” enabled when used with NSPersistentCloudKitContainer.
Initially, we tried storing image files manually on disk and only saving the metadata (file URLs, dimensions, etc.) in Core Data. While this approach reduced the size of the Core Data store, it introduced instability after app updates and broke sync between devices. We would prefer to use the official Apple-recommended method and have Core Data manage image storage and CloudKit syncing natively.
Specifically, we’d appreciate guidance on the following:
When a Binary Data attribute is marked as “Allows External Storage”, large image files are stored as separate files on device rather than inline in the SQLite store.
How effective is this mechanism in keeping the Core Data store size small on device?
Are there any recommended size thresholds or known limits for how many externally stored blobs can safely be managed this way?
How are these externally stored files handled during CloudKit sync?
Does each externally stored Binary Data attribute get mirrored to CloudKit as a CKAsset?
Does external storage reduce the sync payload size or network usage, or is the full binary data still uploaded/downloaded as part of the CKAsset?
Are there any bandwidth implications for users syncing via their private CloudKit database, versus developer costs in the public CloudKit database?
Is there any difference in CloudKit or Core Data behavior when a Binary Data attribute is managed this way versus manually storing image URLs and handling the file separately on disk?
Our goal is to store user-generated images efficiently and safely sync them via CloudKit, without incurring excessive local database bloat or CloudKit network overhead.
Any detailed guidance or internal performance considerations would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Paul Barry
Founder & Lead Developer — Boat Buddy / Vessel Buddy iOS App
Archipelago Environmental Solutions Inc.