iOS Apps on Mac

Guidance for the two migration paths that bring an existing iOS codebase to the Mac — running unmodified on Apple silicon ("Designed for iPad" / "Designed for iPhone") and Mac Catalyst — and for choosing deliberately between them and a native Mac target.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• Deciding how your iOS or iPad app should reach the Mac
• Your compatible iOS app appeared on the Mac App Store and you need to manage (or opt out of) Mac availability
• Adding a Mac Catalyst destination and deciding between "Scale Interface to Match iPad" and "Optimize Interface for Mac"
• Making a Catalyst app feel like a Mac app — menu bar, titlebar toolbar, Settings window, pointer and keyboard
• Debugging platform-detection surprises (isMacCatalystApp is true for unmodified iOS apps on Mac too)
• Hardware-dependent features (Core Motion, ARKit) fail for Mac users of your iOS app

Example Prompts

• "Should I ship my iPad app as Designed for iPad or build with Mac Catalyst?"
• "How do I opt my iOS app out of the Mac App Store?"
• "How do I add a menu bar and toolbar to my Mac Catalyst app?"
• "Why does my iOS app on Apple silicon report isMacCatalystApp as true?"
• "What breaks when my iPhone app runs on a Mac?"
• "Should I use Optimize Interface for Mac?"
• "How do I support ⌘P printing in my Catalyst app?"

What This Skill Provides

• A decision tree across the three paths: run unmodified, Catalyst, or a native SwiftUI/AppKit target
• Designed for iPad mechanics – opt-out availability on the Mac App Store, single-touch synthesis, Touch Alternatives, hardware-gated frameworks that error at runtime, the idiom staying .pad/.phone
• Catalyst adoption checklist – interface-idiom choice (77% iPad scaling vs native Mac controls), UIMenuBuilder menu bar, UITitlebar/NSToolbar window chrome, Settings scene, hover and keyboard support, ⌘P printing (UIPrintInteractionController)
• The three runtime checks disambiguated — targetEnvironment(macCatalyst) vs isMacCatalystApp vs isiOSAppOnMac

Related

• Windows – window scenes and lifecycle for the native-target path
• Menus & Commands – what belongs in each Mac menu, for Catalyst and native apps alike
• Settings – the Settings scene Catalyst apps should adopt
• Direct Distribution – Developer ID and notarization for Catalyst apps outside the Mac App Store
• UIKit Modernization – iPhone Mirroring, which puts your iPhone app on a Mac screen with no distribution work required