aj-bartocci/verifying-with-storybook

Verifying with Storybook

Overview

Storybook-SwiftUI enables instant visual verification of SwiftUI views during development. Tag views with unique identifiers, launch the app directly to Storybook, and automatically navigate to the specific view being developed.

Core principle: Visual verification should be as fast as running a test - tag it, launch it, see it.

When to Use

Use this workflow when:

• Implementing new SwiftUI views or components
• Fixing UI bugs that require visual verification
• Iterating on design implementations
• Need to verify view appears correctly across different states

Don't use when:

• Pure logic changes with no UI impact
• Working on backend/API code
• Unit testing is sufficient for verification

Setup: Launch Arguments

To enable direct launch to Storybook, configure your app's launch arguments:

1. Add Launch Argument Handler

In your app's entry point or SceneDelegate:

import Storybook
import SwiftUI

@main
struct MyApp: App {
    var body: some Scene {
        WindowGroup {
            if ProcessInfo.processInfo.arguments.contains("--storybook") {
                Storybook.render()
            } else {
                ContentView()
            }
        }
    }
}

2. Configure Xcode Scheme

Edit Scheme → Run → Arguments → Arguments Passed On Launch:

• Add: --storybook
• Leave unchecked by default
• Check when you want to launch directly to Storybook

Tip: Create a separate scheme called "Storybook" with this argument always enabled.

Tagging for Navigation

Use Unique Tags for Development

When creating or modifying a view, add a unique tag using a UUID:

extension Storybook {
    @objc static let myButton = StorybookPage(
        folder: "/Design System/Buttons",
        views: [
            PrimaryButton()
                .storybookTitle("Primary")
                .storybookTags("dev-12a34b56")  // Unique tag for this session
        ]
    )
}

Why UUIDs work well:

• Guaranteed unique across all views
• Easy to search (no conflicts)
• Can be temporary (remove after verification)
• Auto-navigate works (single result)

Generate UUID

# macOS/Linux
uuidgen | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]' | cut -c1-8
# Example: 3f1b16a2

# Or in code
UUID().uuidString.lowercased().prefix(8)

Verification Workflow

Standard Flow

digraph verification_flow {
    "Add unique tag to view" [shape=box];
    "Build and run with --storybook" [shape=box];
    "Search for tag" [shape=box];
    "Auto-navigate?" [shape=diamond];
    "View opens automatically" [shape=box];
    "Tap result to open" [shape=box];
    "Verify visually" [shape=box];
    "Make changes" [shape=box];
    "Hot reload or rebuild" [shape=box];
    "Done?" [shape=diamond];
    "Remove dev tag" [shape=box];
    "Complete" [shape=box];

    "Add unique tag to view" -> "Build and run with --storybook";
    "Build and run with --storybook" -> "Search for tag";
    "Search for tag" -> "Auto-navigate?";
    "Auto-navigate?" -> "View opens automatically" [label="single result"];
    "Auto-navigate?" -> "Tap result to open" [label="multiple"];
    "View opens automatically" -> "Verify visually";
    "Tap result to open" -> "Verify visually";
    "Verify visually" -> "Done?";
    "Done?" -> "Remove dev tag" [label="yes"];
    "Done?" -> "Make changes" [label="no"];
    "Make changes" -> "Hot reload or rebuild";
    "Hot reload or rebuild" -> "Verify visually";
    "Remove dev tag" -> "Complete";
}

Quick Reference

| Step | Command/Action | Example | |------|---------------|---------| | Generate tag | uuidgen \| tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]' \| cut -c1-8 | dev-3f1b16a2 | | Add to view | .storybookTags("dev-{uuid}") | .storybookTags("dev-3f1b16a2") | | Launch | Enable --storybook argument and run | Xcode Run ▶ | | Navigate | Search #{tag} in Storybook | #dev-3f1b16a2 | | Verify | View opens automatically if unique | Visual inspection | | Clean up | Remove dev tag before commit | Delete .storybookTags() line |

Complete Example

Scenario: Building a new profile card component

// 1. Create the view
struct ProfileCard: View {
    let name: String
    let avatar: String

    var body: some View {
        HStack {
            Image(systemName: avatar)
                .font(.largeTitle)
            Text(name)
                .font(.headline)
        }
        .padding()
        .background(Color.gray.opacity(0.1))
        .cornerRadius(8)
    }
}

// 2. Add to Storybook with unique dev tag
extension Storybook {
    @objc static let profileCard = StorybookPage(
        folder: "/Components/Profile",
        views: [
            ProfileCard(name: "John Doe", avatar: "person.circle")
                .storybookTitle("Default State")
                .storybookTags("dev-a7c8f3e1"),  // ← Unique tag
            ProfileCard(name: "Jane Smith", avatar: "person.circle.fill")
                .storybookTitle("Filled Avatar")
                .storybookTags("profile-card")   // ← Semantic tag (stays)
        ]
    )
}

// 3. Launch app with --storybook argument
// 4. Search: #dev-a7c8f3e1
// 5. View opens automatically
// 6. Iterate: make changes → hot reload → verify
// 7. Before commit: remove dev-a7c8f3e1 tag, keep profile-card tag

Tag Management Strategy

Temporary Dev Tags

• Format: dev-{short-uuid}
• Purpose: Navigate during active development
• Lifecycle: Add when starting work, remove before commit
• Unique per development session

Permanent Semantic Tags

• Format: Descriptive names (button, primary-cta, error-state)
• Purpose: Organize and categorize components
• Lifecycle: Commit with the code
• Shared across similar components

// Good: Both temporary and permanent tags
.storybookTags("dev-3f1b16a2", "button", "primary-cta")

// During dev: search #dev-3f1b16a2 (unique, auto-navigates)
// After dev: search #button or #primary-cta (find related components)

Common Mistakes

❌ Using Non-Unique Tags for Dev

.storybookTags("button")  // Too many results, no auto-navigation

Fix: Use UUID-based tag for development work

❌ Forgetting to Remove Dev Tags

.storybookTags("dev-a7c8f3e1")  // ← Still in code after commit

Fix: Always clean up dev tags before committing. Semantic tags should stay.

❌ Not Setting Up Launch Argument

Running full app → navigating to test → finding Storybook Fix: Configure --storybook argument to launch directly

❌ Reusing Same Dev Tag

Using dev-current for multiple views across sessions Fix: Generate fresh UUID for each new development task

Integration with Development Workflow

For AI Agents

When implementing UI changes:

1. Generate unique tag: tag=$(uuidgen | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]' | cut -c1-8)
2. Add to view: .storybookTags("dev-$tag")
3. Build/run with --storybook
4. Search #dev-$tag to verify
5. Iterate until correct
6. Remove dev tag before completion

For Human Developers

During development:

• Enable Storybook scheme
• Add dev tag to view you're working on
• Search tag whenever you rebuild
• Visual feedback loop is immediate

Before commit:

• Review diffs for any dev- tags
• Remove temporary tags
• Keep semantic tags for organization

Troubleshooting

View doesn't auto-open:

• Ensure tag is truly unique (only one view has it)
• Check search includes # prefix
• Verify tag search returns exactly 1 result

Can't find view:

• Confirm view is added to Storybook extension
• Check tag spelling matches exactly
• Try searching without # to see all matches

Launch argument not working:

• Verify scheme has --storybook argument
• Check argument is enabled (checked)
• Ensure app code checks ProcessInfo.processInfo.arguments