macos-native-development

Use CGEvent for low-level keyboard handling instead of NSEvent when you need reliable event capture, especially for dead keys and focus-loss scenarios. CGEvent provides direct access to the event tap mechanism, giving you finer control over event processing in Swift and Objective-C++ applications.

Combine SwiftUI views with AppKit by managing explicit state and handling lifecycle cleanup carefully. This Skill covers safe integration patterns, status bar implementations, and techniques for maintaining consistent behavior across SwiftUI and AppKit components.

ScreenCaptureKit requires queue-based timeouts and versioning for async responses to handle capture reliably. This Skill provides guidance on structuring screen capture operations with proper error handling and cross-version compatibility for macOS.

CGEvent offers lower-level access and more reliable event interception than NSEvent, particularly for capturing system-wide keyboard input, handling dead keys, and managing focus loss. It's the preferred choice when NSEvent doesn't capture all event types your app needs.

Handle platform quirks through version-aware code, explicit state management, and proper lifecycle cleanup. This Skill covers cross-version compatibility patterns for Swift and Objective-C++ apps using AppKit, SwiftUI, and low-level event handling.

Implement explicit state management and ensure cleanup of event taps and system integrations. This Skill provides patterns for safe event tap lifecycle, status bar item management, and resource cleanup to prevent memory leaks and hanging processes.