I am planning a Core Data migration for a macOS app targeting macOS 12 and later and I would appreciate guidance on structuring the rollout to minimise risk. Context The app currently uses a SQLite store located at: ~/Library/Containers/com.company.AppName/Data/Library/Application Support/AppName I want to: Relocate the persistent store to an app group container: ~/Library/Group Containers/group.com.company.AppName Perform schema migration, including: Renaming attributes Deleting attributes Using a custom NSEntityMigrationPolicy subclass Adopt iCloud sync using NSPersistentCloudKitContainer Potentially leverage staged migration (macOS 14+) Additionally, I intend to port the app to iOS, so the end state needs to support an app group container and CloudKit with the latest schema from the outset. Questions Store relocation vs schema migration Is it advisable to perform store relocation and schema migration in a single step, or should these be separate releases? If combined, are there pitfalls when moving the SQLite file and running a migration in the same launch cycle? Custom migration policy Any best practices for structuring NSEntityMigrationPolicy when also relocating the store? Should migration policies assume the store has already been moved, or handle both concerns? Staged migration (macOS 14+) Is staged migration worth adopting when still supporting macOS 12–13? Would you gate it conditionally, or avoid it entirely for consistency? CloudKit adoption Is introducing NSPersistentCloudKitContainer in the same release as the above migrations too risky? Are there known issues when enabling CloudKit immediately after a migration? Release strategy Would you recommend: A single release handling everything Two phases: (1) store & schema migration, (2) CloudKit Or three phases: store relocation → schema migration → CloudKit Goal I want a smooth, reliable transition without data loss or duplication, particularly for existing users with non-trivial datasets. Any insights, practical experience, or recommended sequencing strategies would be very helpful.

I'm running into a problem in my attempt to clear CKAssets on the iCloud server. The documentation for CKAsset says: If you no longer require an asset that’s on the server, you don’t delete it. Instead, orphan the asset by setting any fields that contain the asset to nil and then saving the record. CloudKit periodically deletes orphaned assets from the server. I'm deleting image file assets which are properties on an ImageReference type (largeImage and thumbNailImage properties). When I delete an image, I am setting those properties to nil and sending the record for the ImageReference to iCloud using the async CKDatabase.modifyRecords method. This always results in an error: <CKError 0x600000d92a60: "Asset File Not Found" (16/3002); "open error: 2 (No such file or directory)"> And of course the assets still appear in the CloudKit dashboard. What is the proper way of orphaning the assets on the CloudKit server?

Hi everyone, I’m facing an issue with CloudKit sync getting stuck during initial device migration in my SwiftData-based app. The app follows a local-first architecture using SwiftData + CloudKit sync, and works correctly for: ✔ Incremental sync ✔ Bi-directional updates ✔ Small datasets However, when onboarding a new device with large historical data, sync becomes extremely slow or appears stuck. Even after two hours data is not fully synced. ~6900 Transactions 🚨 Problem When installing the app on a new iPhone and enabling iCloud sync: • Initial hydration starts • A small amount of data syncs • Then sync stalls indefinitely Observed behaviour: • iPhone → Mac sync works (new changes sync back) • Mac → iPhone large historical migration gets stuck • Reinstalling app / clearing container does not resolve issue • Sync never completes full migration This gives the impression that: CloudKit is trickling data but not progressing after a certain threshold. The architecture is: • SwiftData local store • Manual CloudKit sync layer • Local-first persistence • Background push/pull sync So I understand: ✔ Conflict resolution is custom ✔ Initial import may not be optimized by default But I expected CloudKit to eventually deliver all records. Instead, the new device remains permanently in a “partial state”. ⸻ 🔍 Observations • No fatal CloudKit errors • No rate-limit errors • No quota issues • iCloud is available • Sync state remains “Ready” • Hydration remains “mostlyReady” Meaning: CloudKit does not report failure — but data transfer halts. ⸻ 🤔 Questions Would appreciate guidance on: Is CloudKit designed to support large initial dataset migration via manual sync layers? Or is this a known limitation vs NSPersistentCloudKitContainer? ⸻ Does CloudKit internally throttle historical record fetches? Could it silently stall without error when record volume is high? ⸻ Is there any recommended strategy for: • Bulk initial migration • Progressive hydration • Forcing forward sync progress ⸻ Should initial migration be handled outside CloudKit (e.g. via file transfer / backup restore) before enabling sync? ⸻ 🎯 Goal I want to support: • Large historical onboarding • Multi-device sync • User-visible progress Without forcing migration to Core Data. ⸻ 🙏 Any advice on: • Best practices • Debugging approach • CloudKit behavior in such scenarios would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I have implemented CKSyncEngine synchronization, and it works well. I can update data on one device and see the changes propagate to another device quickly. However, the initial sync when a user downloads the app on a new device is a significant issue for both me and my users. One problem is that the sync engine fetches deletion events from the server. On a new device, the local database is empty, so these deletions are essentially no-ops. This would not be a big problem if there were only a few records or if it was fast. I measured the initial sync and found that there are 150 modified records and 62,168 deletions. Counting these alone takes over five minutes, even without processing them. The deletions do nothing because the local database has nothing to delete, yet they still add a significant delay. I understand that the sync engine ensures consistency across all devices, but five minutes of waiting with the app open just to insert a small number of records is excessive. The problem would be worse if there were tens of thousands of new records to insert, since downloading and saving the data would take even longer. This leads to a poor user experience. Users open the app and see data being populated for several minutes, or they are stuck on a screen that says the data is being synchronized with iCloud. I am wondering if there is a way to make the sync engine ignore deletion events when the state serialization is nil. Alternatively, is there a recommended method for handling initial synchronization more efficiently? One idea I considered is storing all the data as a backup in iCloud Documents, along with the state serialization at that point in time. When a user opens the app for the first time, I could download the file, extract the data, and set the state serialization to the saved value. I am not sure if this would work. I do not know if state serialization is tied to the device or if it only represents the point where the sync engine left off. My guess is that it might reference some local device storage. I am not sure what else to try. I could fetch all data using CloudKit, create the sync engine with an empty state serialization, and let it fetch everything again, but that would still take a long time. My records are very small, mostly a date when something happened and an ID referencing the parent. Since the app tracks watched episodes, I only store the date the user watched the episode and the ID of that episode.

I received the following crash: Thread 0 Crashed: libsystem_kernel.dylib __pthread_kill + 8 libsystem_pthread.dylib pthread_kill + 296 (pthread.c:1721) libsystem_c.dylib abort + 124 (abort.c:122) libc++abi.dylib __abort_message + 132 (abort_message.cpp:66) libc++abi.dylib demangling_terminate_handler() + 304 (cxa_default_handlers.cpp:76) libobjc.A.dylib _objc_terminate() + 156 (objc-exception.mm:496) libc++abi.dylib std::__terminate(void (*)()) + 16 (cxa_handlers.cpp:59) libc++abi.dylib __cxxabiv1::failed_throw(__cxxabiv1::__cxa_exception*) + 88 (cxa_exception.cpp:152) libc++abi.dylib __cxa_throw + 92 (cxa_exception.cpp:299) libobjc.A.dylib objc_exception_throw + 448 (objc-exception.mm:385) Foundation -[NSConcreteMutableAttributedString initWithString:] + 268 (NSAttributedString.m:1049) CloudDocs -[BRCloudPathComponentDisplayMetadata initWithDisplayName:suffix:url:icon:] + 180 (BRCloudPathComponentDisplayMetadata.m:75) CloudDocs -[NSURL(BRCloudPathComponent) br_pathComponentDisplayMetadataWithOptions:]_block_invoke + 516 (BRCloudPathComponentDisplayMetadata.m:292) CloudDocs -[NSArray(BRAdditions) br_transform:keepNull:] + 228 (NSArray+BRAdditions.m:20) CloudDocs -[NSURL(BRCloudPathComponent) br_pathComponentDisplayMetadataWithOptions:] + 76 (BRCloudPathComponentDisplayMetadata.m:276) AppKit -[NSPathCell _autoUpdateCellContents] + 2080 (NSPathCell.m:442) AppKit -[NSPathCell setURL:] + 76 (NSPathCell.m:599) AppKit -[NSPathControl setURL:] + 64 (NSPathControl.m:366) I tried reproducing on my end by passing various URLs in iCloud Drive to an NSPathControl, file reference urls, attempting to evict a URL from iCloud Drive then settings the URL property without luck. Setting the URL to nil does not crash (the property is nullable). I have no idea how to trigger that code path. Anyone else run into this and have a workaround?

Hi, I am implementing a premium feature in my app where CloudKit syncing is available only for "Pro" users. The Workflow: Free Users: I initialize the ModelContainer with cloudKitDatabase: .none so their data stays local. Pro Upgrade: When a user purchases a subscription, I restart the container with cloudKitDatabase: .automatic to enable syncing. The Problem: If a user starts as "Free" (creates local data) and later upgrades to "Pro", the app crashes immediately upon launch with the following error: Fatal error: Failed to create ModelContainer: SwiftDataError(_error: SwiftData.SwiftDataError._Error.loadIssueModelContainer, _explanation: nil) It seems that SwiftData fails to load the existing data once the configuration changes to expect a CloudKit-backed store. My Question: Is there a supported way to "toggle" CloudKit on for an existing local dataset without causing this crash? I want the user's existing local data to start syncing once they pay, but currently, it just crashes. My code: import Foundation import SwiftData public enum DataModelEnum: String { case task, calendar public static let container: ModelContainer = { let isSyncEnabled = UserDefaults.isProUser let config = ModelConfiguration( groupContainer: .identifier("group.com.yourcompany.myApp"), cloudKitDatabase: isSyncEnabled ? .automatic : .none ) do { return try ModelContainer(for: TaskModel.self, CalendarModel.self, configurations: config) } catch { fatalError("Failed to create ModelContainer: \(error)") } }() }

Understand dataless files and how to minimize the performance impact as the system materializes them. View Technote TN3150 >

Hi, I'm using SwiftData in my app, and I want to sent data to iCloud with CloudKit, but I found that If the user turns off my App iCloud sync function in the settings App, the local data will also be deleted. A better way is maintaining the local data, just don't connect to iCloud.How should I do that? I need guidance!!! I'm just getting started with CloudKit And I would be appreciated!

I have an app that uses a Share Extension that allows the user to share videos, from Files and Photos etc., the video URL and some related data is then persisted with SwiftData and synchronized with CloudKit. This code has worked consistently for a long time although recently, with iOS 26 and recent builds of iOS 18, I have observed that the video is either not saved to SwiftData (iOS 26.0), or available locally when the app is opened on the same device where the share occurred, but not synchronized to other devices (iOS 18.7 and iOS 26.1 beta). Assuming the video is opened locally after being shared into the app, it is typically synchronized with CloudKit to other devices although it's not as reliable as it should be. Is there a reliable approach in the Share Extension to ensure that the data is saved to the local SwiftData database and then synchronized with CloudKit. I suspect it could be that the lifetime of the Share Extension has become even more constrained in recent OS updates that the process ends before it has the opportunity to save and synchronize the data. Any thoughts on how to ensure this is reliable would be greatly appreciated. The data saved is not too large as it consists only of the video URL and not the data of the video itself.

Issue: I am making an application that stores data locally from notifications fired from the server. Everything works fine in the foreground but the background is having problems with not being triggered when notifications are fired. So we tried firing 2 notifications at the same time, including default and silent types. But the problem continues to arise on ios 18, when firing multiple times like that, the trigger is not handling all notifications, leading to data loss. I tried on ios 15 and it worked fine. Environment: Device or Simulator: Iphone 11 pro max (iOS 18.3.2 Steps to Reproduce: Open app, allow received notification. Move app to background mode or terminate app. Sent 2 notifications: a. Default notification payload: { "aps": { "content-available": 1 }, ”notification”: {…}, “alert”: {..}, “data": "some_value" } b. Silent notification payload: { "aps": { "content-available": 1 }, ”data": "some_value" } What I've Tried: Trigger notification in function: application(_:didReceiveRemoteNotification:fetchCompletionHandler:) Handle write data to local storage in above function, put it in background thread also. Thanks in advance!

Since publishing new record types to my CloudKit schema in production, a previously unchanged record type has stopped indexing new records. While records of this type are successfully saved without errors, they are not returned in query results—they can only be accessed directly via their recordName. This issue occurs exclusively in the Production environment, both in the CloudKit Console and our iOS app. The problem began on July 21, 2025, and continues to persist. The issue affects only new records of this specific record type; all other types are indexing and querying as expected. The affected record's fields are properly configured with the appropriate index types (e.g., QUERYABLE) and have been not been modified prior to publishing the schema. With this, are there any steps I should take to restore indexing functionality for this record type in Production? There have been new records inserted, and I would prefer to not have to reset the production database, if possible.

I know you guys probably dont care or what to help with this but I got taken down in the support communities because I simply run a beta version (didn’t even discuss it) but here we go **My MacBook Air has multiple accounts and the other users & shared category takes up 100+ gb. When I sign into one of the accounts, that 100+ gb gets moved to System Data. When I look in finder, the user only seems to take up 12 gb, though. I’ve shown hidden items and looked through the library, but it’s not showing anything that’s taking up that much space! **

I am experiencing catastrophic data loss affecting years of documents after a routine iPhone-to-iPhone iCloud synchronization. Standard Apple Support has been unable to resolve this issue, and I urgently need engineering-level assistance. INCIDENT SUMMARY: Date: August 9, 2025 Action: Synced iCloud from iPhone 16 to iPhone 12 mini Result: ALL files in iCloud Drive on Mac disappeared Data lost: Multiple years of documents including critical PDF files Support Case #: 102658156364 TECHNICAL DETAILS: Mac: MacBook Pro running macOS Sonoma 14.6.1 Source: iPhone 16 Destination: iPhone 12 mini iCloud account: info@birth2death. com WHAT HAPPENED: Had fully populated iCloud Drive on Mac and iPhone 16 Signed into iCloud on iPhone 12 mini to sync data After sync completion, Mac's iCloud Drive became completely empty Desktop and Documents folders show in structure but contain no files iCloud.com shows empty folders "Recently Deleted" in iCloud.com is also empty ATTEMPTED RECOVERY: Checked ~/Library/Mobile Documents/ - only folder structure remains Verified with 'brctl dump' - shows folders but no documents Checked all trash locations - empty No Time Machine backup available Apple Support unable to recover server-side backups

Hi. I am having this error when trying to write to CloudKit public database. <CKError 0x600000dbc4e0: "Permission Failure" (10/2007); server message = "Invalid bundle ID for container"; On app launch, I check for account status and ensure that the correct bundle identifier and container is being used. When the account status is checked, I do get the correct bundle id and container id printed in the console but trying to read or write to the container would throw that "Invalid bundle ID for container" error. private init() { container = CKContainer.default() publicDB = container.publicCloudDatabase // Check iCloud account status checkAccountStatus() } func checkAccountStatus() { print("🔍 CloudKit Debug:") print("🔍 Bundle identifier from app: (Bundle.main.bundleIdentifier ?? "unknown")") print("🔍 Container identifier: (container.containerIdentifier ?? "unknown")") container.accountStatus { [weak self] status, error in DispatchQueue.main.async { switch status { case .available: self?.isSignedIn = true self?.fetchUserID() case .noAccount, .restricted, .couldNotDetermine: self?.isSignedIn = false self?.errorMessage = "Please sign in to iCloud in Settings to use this app." default: self?.isSignedIn = false self?.errorMessage = "Unknown iCloud account status." } print("User is signed into iCloud: \(self?.isSignedIn ?? false)") print("Account status: \(status.rawValue)") } } } I have tried: Creating a new container Unselecting and selecting the container in signing & capabilities Unselecting and selecting the container in App ID Configuration I used to have swift data models in my code and read that swift data is not compatible with CloudKit public data so I removed all the models and any swift data codes and only uses CloudKit public database. let savedRecord = try await publicDB.save(record) Nothing seems to work. If anyone could help please? Rgds, Hans

Hello, I'm working on a iOS project, and I added a setup precedure to save and load configuration files during the app's initialization process. However, I can't find my files in my iPhone test while it's Ok on my Mac. How can I retrieve them? Thanks

I have an app which uses key-value storage and will not sync data past a certain size -- meaning that device "A" will send the data to the cloud but device "B" will never receive the updated data. Device "B" will receive the NSUbiquitousKeyValueStoreDidChangeExternallyNotification that the KVS changed but the data is empty. The data in in the KVS is comprised of 4 keys, each containing a value of NSData generated by NSKeyedArchiver. The NSData is comprised of property-list data types (e.g. numbers, strings, dates, etc.) I've verified that the KVS meets the limits of: A total of 1 MB per app, with a per-key limit of 1 MB A per-key value size limit of 1 MB, and a maximum of 1024 keys A maximum length for key strings is 64 bytes using UTF8 encoding Also, the app has never received an NSUbiquitousKeyValueStoreQuotaViolationChange notification. Of the 4 keys, 3 of them contain no more than 30 KB of data each. However, one of the keys can contain as much as 160 KB of data which will not sync to another device. Strangely, if I constrain the data to 100 KB it will work, however, that is not ideal as it is a fraction of the necessary data. I don't see any errors in the debug log either. Any suggestions on what to try next to get this working?

My use case is the following: Every user of my app can create as an owner a set of items.  These items are private until the owner invites other users to share all of them as participant. The participants can modify the shared items and/or add other items. So, sharing is not done related to individual items, but to all items of an owner. I want to use CoreData & CloudKit to have local copies of private and shared items. To my understanding, CoreData & CloudKit puts all mirrored items in a special zone „com.apple.coredata.cloudkit.zone“. So, this zone should be shared, i.e. all items in it. In the video it is said that NSPersistentCloudKitContainer uses Record Zone Sharing optionally in contrast to hierarchically record sharing using a root record. But how is this done? Maybe I can declare zone „com.apple.coredata.cloudkit.zone“ as a shared zone?

I have a DocumentGroup working with a FileDocument, and that's fine. However, when someone creates a new document I want them to have to immediately save it. This is the behavior on ipadOS and iOS from what I can understand (you select where before the file is created). There seems to be no way to do this on macOS? I basically want to have someone: create a new document enter some basic data hit "create" which saves the file then lets the user start editing it (1), (2), and (4) are done and fairly trivial. (3) seems impossible, though...? This really only needs to support macOS but any pointers would be appreciated.