axiom-extensions-widgets-ref

# Extensions & Widgets API Reference

## Overview

This skill provides comprehensive API reference for Apple's widget and extension ecosystem:

- **Standard Widgets** (iOS 14+) — Home Screen, Lock Screen, StandBy widgets
- **Interactive Widgets** (iOS 17+) — Buttons and toggles with App Intents
- **Live Activities** (iOS 16.1+) — Real-time updates on Lock Screen and Dynamic Island
- **Control Center Widgets** (iOS 18+) — System-wide quick controls
- **App Extensions** — Shared data, lifecycle, entitlements

**What are widgets?**: Widgets are SwiftUI views that display timely, relevant information from your app. Unlike live app views, widgets are **archived snapshots** rendered on a timeline and displayed by the system.

**What are extensions?**: App extensions are separate executables bundled with your app that run in sandboxed environments with limited resources and capabilities.

## When to Use This Skill

✅ **Use this skill when**:
- Implementing any type of widget (Home Screen, Lock Screen, StandBy)
- Creating Live Activities for ongoing events
- Building Control Center controls
- Sharing data between app and extensions
- Understanding widget timelines and refresh policies
- Integrating widgets with App Intents
- Supporting watchOS or visionOS widgets

❌ **Do NOT use this skill for**:
- Pure App Intents questions (use **app-intents-ref** skill)
- SwiftUI layout issues (use **swiftui-layout** skill)
- Performance optimization (use **swiftui-performance** skill)
- Debugging crashes (use **xcode-debugging** skill)

## Related Skills

- **app-intents-ref** — App Intents for interactive widgets and configuration
- **swift-concurrency** — Async/await patterns for widget data loading
- **swiftui-performance** — Optimizing widget rendering
- **swiftui-layout** — Complex widget layouts
- **extensions-widgets** — Discipline skill with anti-patterns and debugging

## Key Terminology

**Timeline** — A series of entries that define when and what content your widget displays.