DataScoutCompanion

Embeddable SwiftData Inspector into your app

DataScoutCompanion is a lightweight, embeddable Swift package that provides a UI to inspect the contents of your SwiftData/CoreData/SQLite stores at runtime. It ships as a drop‑in Swift Package, integrates seamlessly into SwiftUI, and lets you visualize and debug your data model without leaving your app.

This package is planned as a companion to the macOS app for debugging SwiftData DataScout and will be used in the future to support synchronization between devices.

📦 Installation

Add DataScoutCompanion to your project:

1. In Xcode, choose File > Add Package Dependencies…
2. Enter the repository URL:

https://github.com/alex566/DataScoutCompanion.git

3. Set the version requirement.
4. Add the DataScoutCompanion package to your app target.

🎯 Usage

Everything you need to do is present DatabaseBrowser:

import SwiftUI
import DataScoutCompanion

struct YourRootView: View {
    @State private var isBrowserPresented = false

    var body: some View {
        YourContentView()
            .toolbar {
                Button(action: { isBrowserPresented = true }) {
                    Image(systemName: "tablecells")
                }
            }
            .sheet(isPresented: $isBrowserPresented) {
                DatabaseBrowser()
            }
    }
}

🛜 Remote debugging

1. Update Info.plist with the following keys:

    <key>NSBonjourServices</key>
    <array>
        <string>_datascout-sync._tcp</string>
    </array>
    <key>NSLocalNetworkUsageDescription</key>
    <string>To debug the database over the local network</string>

2. In your app’s startup code (e.g. in AppDelegate or SceneDelegate), import the package and call startAdvertising:

import DataScoutCompanion

func application(_ application: UIApplication,
                didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {
    // Option A: Pass an existing ModelContainer
    let myModelContainer = /* your ModelContainer instance */
    ConnectionService.shared.startAdvertising(container: myModelContainer)

    // Option B: Pass a file URL to your database
    let dbURL: URL = /* URL to your .sqlite3 file */
    ConnectionService.shared.startAdvertising(url: dbURL)

    return true
}

3. Use the Built-In Database Browser (Alternative)

If you’d rather broadcast from within the companion UI in your app:

1. Open the database you wish to debug.
2. Go to the Network Debugging menu.
3. Enable the Discovery checkbox for that database.