A modern, type-safe Swift library for building AI-powered apps. SwiftAI provides a unified API that works seamlessly across different AI models - from Apple's on-device models to cloud-based services like OpenAI.
- Model Agnostic: Unified API across Apple's on-device models, OpenAI, MLX, and custom backends
- Structured Output: Strongly-typed structured outputs with compile-time validation
- Streaming API: Real-time response generation with progressive content updates
- Agent Tool Loop: First-class support for tool use
- Conversations: Stateful chat sessions with automatic context management
- Extensible: Plugin architecture for custom models and tools
- Swift-Native: Built with async/await and modern Swift concurrency
import SwiftAI
let llm = SystemLLM()
let response = try await llm.reply(to: "What is the capital of France?")
print(response.content) // "Paris"Xcode:
- Go to File β Add Package Dependencies
- Enter:
https://github.com/mi12labs/SwiftAI - Click Add Package
Package.swift (Non Xcode):
dependencies: [
.package(url: "https://github.com/mi12labs/SwiftAI", from: "main")
]Start with the simplest possible example - just ask a question and get an answer:
import SwiftAI
// Initialize Apple's on-device language model.
let llm = SystemLLM()
// Ask a question and get a response.
let response = try await llm.reply(to: "What is the capital of France?")
print(response.content) // "Paris"What just happened?
SystemLLM()creates Apple's on-device AI modelreply(to:)sends your question and returns aStringby defaulttry awaithandles the asynchronous AI processing- The response is wrapped in a
responseobject - use.contentto get the actual text
Instead of getting plain text, let's get structured data that your app can use directly:
// Define the structure you want back
@Generable
struct CityInfo {
let name: String
let country: String
let population: Int
}
let response = try await llm.reply(
to: "Tell me about Tokyo",
returning: CityInfo.self // Tell the LLM what to output
)
let cityInfo = response.content
print(cityInfo.name) // "Tokyo"
print(cityInfo.country) // "Japan"
print(cityInfo.population) // 13960000What's new here?
@Generabletells SwiftAI this struct can be generated by AIreturning: CityInfo.selfspecifies you want structured data, not a string- SwiftAI automatically converts the AI's response into your struct
- No JSON parsing required!
SwiftAI ensures the AI returns data in exactly the format your code expects. If the AI can't generate valid data, you'll get an error instead of broken data.
Let your AI call functions in your app to get real-time information:
// Create a tool the AI can use
struct WeatherTool: Tool {
let description = "Get current weather for a city"
@Generable
struct Arguments {
let city: String
}
func call(arguments: Arguments) async throws -> String {
// Your weather API logic here
return "It's 72Β°F and sunny in \(arguments.city)"
}
}
// Use the tool with your AI
let weatherTool = WeatherTool()
let response = try await llm.reply(
to: "What's the weather like in San Francisco?",
tools: [weatherTool]
)
print(response.content) // "Based on current data, it's 72Β°F and sunny in San Francisco"What's new here?
Toolprotocol lets you create functions the AI can callArgumentsstruct defines what parameters your tool needs (also@Generable)- The AI automatically decides when to call your tool
- You get back a natural language response that incorporates the tool's data
The AI reads your tool's description and automatically decides whether to call it. You don't manually trigger tools - the AI does it when needed.
Get real-time responses as the AI generates content, perfect for chat interfaces:
// Stream text responses in real-time
let stream = llm.replyStream(to: "Write a short story about a robot")
for try await partialText in stream {
print(partialText) // Shows growing text as it's generated
updateUI(with: partialText) // Update your UI progressively
}Streaming with structured data:
@Generable
struct Story {
let title: String
let characters: [String]
let plot: String
}
let stream = llm.replyStream(
to: "Write a story about space exploration",
returning: Story.self
)
for try await partialStory in stream {
// Fields populate as they become available
if let title = partialStory.title {
updateTitle(title)
}
if let characters = partialStory.characters {
updateCharacters(characters)
}
if let plot = partialStory.plot {
updatePlot(plot)
}
}What's new here?
replyStream()returns anAsyncThrowingStreaminstead of waiting for completion- Text fields stream progressively as tokens are generated
- Structured fields are populated incrementally
Streaming provides immediate feedback to users, making AI interactions feel faster and more responsive. The ChatApp example demonstrates this in action.
Different AI models have different strengths. SwiftAI makes switching seamless:
// Choose your model based on availability
let llm: any LLM = {
let systemLLM = SystemLLM()
return systemLLM.isAvailable ? systemLLM : OpenaiLLM(apiKey: "your-api-key")
}()
// Same code works with any model
let response = try await llm.reply(to: "Write a haiku about Berlin.")
print(response.content)What's new here?
SystemLLMruns on-device (private, fast, free)OpenaiLLMuses the cloud (more capable, requires API key)isAvailablechecks if the on-device model is ready- Same
reply()method works with any LLM
Your code doesn't change when you switch models. This lets you optimize for different scenarios (privacy, capabilities, cost) without rewriting your app.
For multi-turn conversations, use Chat to maintain context across messages:
// Create a chat with tools
let chat = try Chat(with: llm, tools: [weatherTool])
// Have a conversation
let greeting = try await chat.send("Hello! I'm planning a trip.")
let advice = try await chat.send("What should I pack for Seattle?")
// The AI remembers context from previous messagesWhat's new here?
Chatmaintains conversation history automaticallysend()is likereply()but remembers previous messages- Tools work in conversations too
- The AI remembers context from earlier in the conversation
reply()is stateless - each call is independentChatis stateful - builds on previous conversation
Add validation rules and descriptions to guide AI generation:
@Generable
struct UserProfile {
@Guide(description: "A valid username starting with a letter", .pattern("^[a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9_]{2,}$"))
let username: String
@Guide(description: "User age in years", .minimum(13), .maximum(120))
let age: Int
@Guide(description: "One to three favorite colors", .minimumCount(1), .maximumCount(3))
let favoriteColors: [String]
}What's new here?
@Guideadds constraints and descriptions to fields which help LLM generate good content.pattern()tells the LLM to follow a regex.minimum()and.maximum()constrain numbers.minimumCount()and.maximumCount()control array sizes
Constraints ensure the AI follows your business rules.
The MLX backend provides access to local language models through Apple's MLX framework.
Setup:
// Add SwiftAIMLX to your target in Package.swift
targets: [
.target(
name: "YourTarget",
dependencies: [
.product(name: "SwiftAI", package: "SwiftAI"),
.product(name: "SwiftAIMLX", package: "SwiftAI") // π Add this
]
)
]Usage:
import SwiftAI
import SwiftAIMLX
import MLXLLM
// The model manager handles MLX models within an app instance.
// Responsibilities:
// - Downloading models from Hugging Face (if not already on disk)
// - Caching model weights in memory
// - Sharing model weights across the app instance
let modelManager = MlxModelManager(storageDirectory: .documentsDirectory)
// Create an LLM with a specific configuration.
// Available configurations are listed in `LLMRegistry` (from MLXLLM).
//
// If the model is not yet available locally, it will be automatically
// downloaded from Hugging Face on first use.
let llm = modelManager.llm(withConfiguration: LLMRegistry.gemma3n_E2B_it_lm_4bit)
// Use the same API as with other LLM backends.
let response = try await llm.reply(to: "Hello!")
print(response.content)Note: Structured output generation is not yet supported with MLX models.
| What You Want | What To Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Simple text response | reply(to:) |
reply(to: "Hello") |
| Structured data | reply(to:returning:) |
reply(to: "...", returning: MyStruct.self) |
| Real-time streaming | replyStream(to:) |
replyStream(to: "Hello") |
| Streaming structured | replyStream(returning:) |
replyStream(to: "...", returning: MyStruct.self) |
| Function calling | reply(to:tools:) |
reply(to: "...", tools: [myTool]) |
| Conversation | Chat |
chat.send("Hello") |
| Model switching | any LLM |
SystemLLM() or OpenaiLLM() |
| Model | Type | Privacy | Capabilities | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SystemLLM | On-device | π Private | Good | π Free |
| OpenaiLLM | Cloud API | Excellent | π° Paid | |
| MlxLLM | On-device | π Private | Excellent | π Free |
| CustomLLM | Your choice | Your choice | Your choice | Your choice |
We welcome contributions! Please read our Contributing Guidelines.
git clone https://github.com/your-org/SwiftAI.git
cd SwiftAI
swift build
swift testSwiftAI is released under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.
SwiftAI is alpha π§ β rough edges and breaking changes are expected.
Built with β€οΈ for the Swift community