getsentry/sentry-cocoa-sdk

All Skills > SDK Setup > Cocoa SDK

Sentry Cocoa SDK

Opinionated wizard that scans your Apple project and guides you through complete Sentry setup.

Invoke This Skill When

• User asks to "add Sentry to iOS/macOS/tvOS" or "set up Sentry" in an Apple app
• User wants error monitoring, tracing, profiling, session replay, or logging in Swift/ObjC, or metrics in Swift
• User mentions sentry-cocoa, SentrySDK, or the Apple/iOS Sentry SDK
• User wants to monitor crashes, app hangs, watchdog terminations, or performance

Note: SDK versions and APIs below reflect Sentry docs at time of writing (sentry-cocoa 9.15.0). Always verify against docs.sentry.io/platforms/apple/ before implementing.

---

Phase 1: Detect

Run these commands to understand the project before making any recommendations:

# Check existing Sentry dependency
grep -rEi "sentry|sentry-cocoa|SentrySPM|SentrySwiftUI" \
  --include="Package.swift" --include="Podfile" --include="Cartfile" \
  --include="Package.resolved" --include="project.pbxproj" . 2>/dev/null | head -20

# Detect UI framework (SwiftUI vs UIKit)
grep -rE "@main|struct .*: App" --include="*.swift" . 2>/dev/null | head -5
grep -rE "AppDelegate|UIApplicationMain|@UIApplicationDelegateAdaptor" --include="*.swift" . 2>/dev/null | head -5

# Detect platform and deployment targets
grep -rE "platforms:|\\.iOS|\\.macOS|\\.tvOS|\\.watchOS|\\.visionOS|IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET|MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET|TVOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET|WATCHOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET|XROS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET" \
  --include="Package.swift" --include="project.pbxproj" . 2>/dev/null | head -20
grep -E "platform :ios|platform :osx|platform :tvos|platform :watchos" Podfile 2>/dev/null

# Detect logging
grep -rE "import OSLog|import os\\.log|Logger\\(|CocoaLumberjack|DDLog" --include="*.swift" . 2>/dev/null | head -5

# Detect companion backend
ls ../backend ../server ../api 2>/dev/null
ls ../go.mod ../requirements.txt ../Gemfile ../package.json 2>/dev/null

What to note:

• Is sentry-cocoa already in Package.swift or Podfile? If yes, skip to Phase 2 (configure features).
• SwiftUI (@main App struct) or UIKit (AppDelegate)? Determines init pattern.
• Which Apple platforms? (Affects which features are available — see Platform Support Matrix.)
• Existing logging library? (Enables structured log capture.)
• SwiftUI tracing import/product? SentrySwiftUI still exists but is deprecated in SDK 9.4.1+; prefer the main Sentry module for released binary products.
• Companion backend? (Triggers Phase 4 cross-link for distributed tracing.)

---

Phase 2: Recommend

Based on what you found, present a concrete recommendation. Don't ask open-ended questions — lead with a proposal:

Recommended (core coverage):

• Error Monitoring — always; crash reporting, app hangs, watchdog terminations, NSError/Swift errors
• Tracing — always for apps; auto-instruments app launch, network, UIViewController, file I/O, Core Data
• Profiling — production iOS/macOS apps; UI profiling via configureProfiling

Optional (enhanced observability):

• Session Replay — user-facing iOS apps; verify masking on iOS 26+ / Liquid Glass builds
• Logging — when structured log capture is needed
• Metrics — Swift apps needing aggregate counters, gauges, or distributions
• User Feedback — apps that want crash/error feedback forms from users

Not available for Cocoa:

• Crons — backend only
• AI Monitoring — JS/Python only

Recommendation logic:

| Feature | Recommend when... | |---------|------------------| | Error Monitoring | Always — non-negotiable baseline | | Tracing | Always for apps — rich auto-instrumentation out of the box | | Profiling | iOS/macOS production apps where performance matters (not tvOS/watchOS/visionOS) | | Session Replay | User-facing iOS apps; tvOS may work but is not officially supported | | Logging | Existing os.log / CocoaLumberjack usage, or structured logs needed | | Metrics | Aggregate product or health signals that should not create issues; Swift only, SDK 9.12+ | | User Feedback | Apps wanting in-app bug reports with screenshots |

Propose: "I recommend Error Monitoring + Tracing + Profiling. Want me to also add Session Replay and Logging?"

---

Phase 3: Guide

Install

Option 1 — Sentry Wizard (recommended):

You need to run this yourself — the wizard opens a browser for login and requires interactive input that the agent can't handle. Copy-paste into your terminal:

brew install getsentry/tools/sentry-wizard && sentry-wizard -i ios

It handles login, org/project selection, auth token setup, SDK installation, AppDelegate updates, and dSYM/debug symbol upload build phases.

Once it finishes, come back and skip to Verification.

If the user skips the wizard, proceed with Option 2 (SPM/CocoaPods) and manual setup below.

Option 2 — Swift Package Manager: File → Add Packages → enter:

https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-cocoa.git

Or in Package.swift:

.package(url: "https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-cocoa", from: "9.15.0"),

SPM Products — choose exactly one per target:

| Product | Use Case | |---------|----------| | Sentry | Recommended — static framework, fast app start; includes SwiftUI APIs in SDK 9.4.1+ | | Sentry-Dynamic | Dynamic framework alternative | | SentrySwiftUI | Legacy/deprecated re-export for SwiftUI APIs; use only when maintaining older setup | | Sentry-WithoutUIKitOrAppKit | watchOS, app extensions, CLI tools (Swift < 6.1) | | SentrySPM + NoUIFramework trait | Source build without UIKit/AppKit for CLI/headless targets (SDK 9.7+ / Swift 6.1+ / Xcode 26.4+ for Xcode UI) |

Warning: Xcode allows selecting multiple products — choose only one.

If using SentrySPM from source, current source-build projects may import SentrySwift instead of Sentry; verify the module name in the target. Released binary products use import Sentry.

Swift 6.1+ trait-based opt-out of UIKit/AppKit (requires [email protected] manifest):

// Package.swift (Swift 6.1+)
.package(
    url: "https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-cocoa",
    from: "9.15.0",
    traits: ["NoUIFramework"]
),

// In your target's dependencies:
.product(name: "SentrySPM", package: "sentry-cocoa")

This is the preferred opt-out path for command-line/headless targets on Swift 6.1+. It compiles the SDK from source so the trait can remove UIKit/AppKit/SwiftUI linkage. For Swift < 6.1 continue using Sentry-WithoutUIKitOrAppKit.

Note: Package traits are visible in the Xcode UI starting with Xcode 26.4+. On older Xcode versions, traits still work when declared in Package.swift but won't appear in the GUI.

Option 3 — CocoaPods (deprecated; prefer SPM):

platform :ios, '15.0'
use_frameworks!

target 'YourApp' do
  pod 'Sentry', :git => 'https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-cocoa.git', :tag => '9.15.0'
end

Sentry plans to stop publishing CocoaPods releases at the end of June 2026; use this only for existing CocoaPods projects.

Known issue (Xcode 14+): Sandbox rsync.samba error → Target Settings → "Enable User Script Sandbox" → NO.

---

Quick Start — Recommended Init

Full iOS app config enabling the most common features with sensible defaults. Add before any other code at app startup.

For macOS, watchOS, app extensions, or NoUIFramework builds, omit options that are unavailable for that platform (sessionReplay, screenshots/view hierarchy, user-feedback UI, UIKit tracing, and profiling on tvOS/watchOS/visionOS). Keep the core dsn, environment, error monitoring, tracing, logs, and metrics settings that compile for the detected target.

SwiftUI — App entry point:

import SwiftUI
import Sentry

@main
struct MyApp: App {
    init() {
        SentrySDK.start { options in
            options.dsn = ProcessInfo.processInfo.environment["SENTRY_DSN"]
                ?? "https://[email protected]/0"
            options.environment = ProcessInfo.processInfo.environment["SENTRY_ENVIRONMENT"]
                ?? "production"
            // releaseName defaults to "<bundle id>@<version>+<build>"; set only if you need a custom release.

            // Error monitoring (on by default — explicit for clarity)
            options.enableCrashHandler = true
            options.enableAppHangTracking = true
            options.enableReportNonFullyBlockingAppHangs = true
            options.enableWatchdogTerminationTracking = true
            options.attachScreenshot = true
            options.attachViewHierarchy = true
            options.sendDefaultPii = true

            // Tracing
            options.tracesSampleRate = 1.0          // lower to 0.2 in high-traffic production

            // Profiling (SDK 9.0.0+ API)
            options.configureProfiling = {
                $0.sessionSampleRate = 1.0
                $0.lifecycle = .trace
            }

            // Session Replay. Keep production sampling conservative and verify masking on iOS 26+.
            options.sessionReplay.sessionSampleRate = 0.1
            options.sessionReplay.onErrorSampleRate = 1.0

            // Logging (SDK 9.0.0+ top-level; use options.experimental.enableLogs in 8.x)
            options.enableLogs = true

            // Metrics are enabled by default in SDK 9.12+. Set false only to opt out.
            options.enableMetrics = true
        }
    }

    var body: some Scene {
        WindowGroup { ContentView() }
    }
}

UIKit — AppDelegate:

import UIKit
import Sentry

@UIApplicationMain
class AppDelegate: UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate {
    func application(
        _ application: UIApplication,
        didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?
    ) -> Bool {
        SentrySDK.start { options in
            options.dsn = ProcessInfo.processInfo.environment["SENTRY_DSN"]
                ?? "https://[email protected]/0"
            options.environment = ProcessInfo.processInfo.environment["SENTRY_ENVIRONMENT"]
                ?? "production"
            // releaseName defaults to "<bundle id>@<version>+<build>"; set only if you need a custom release.

            options.enableCrashHandler = true
            options.enableAppHangTracking = true
            options.enableReportNonFullyBlockingAppHangs = true
            options.enableWatchdogTerminationTracking = true
            options.attachScreenshot = true
            options.attachViewHierarchy = true
            options.sendDefaultPii = true

            options.tracesSampleRate = 1.0

            options.configureProfiling = {
                $0.sessionSampleRate = 1.0
                $0.lifecycle = .trace
            }

            options.sessionReplay.sessionSampleRate = 0.1
            options.sessionReplay.onErrorSampleRate = 1.0

            // Logging (SDK 9.0.0+ top-level; use options.experimental.enableLogs in 8.x)
            options.enableLogs = true

            // Metrics are enabled by default in SDK 9.12+. Set false only to opt out.
            options.enableMetrics = true
        }
        return true
    }
}

Warning: SDK initialization must occur on the main thread.

---

For Each Agreed Feature

Walk through features one at a time. Load the reference file for each, follow its steps, and verify before moving to the next:

| Feature | Reference file | Load when... | |---------|---------------|-------------| | Error Monitoring | ${SKILL_ROOT}/references/error-monitoring.md | Always (baseline) | | Tracing | ${SKILL_ROOT}/references/tracing.md | App launch, network, UIViewController perf | | Profiling | ${SKILL_ROOT}/references/profiling.md | Production perf-sensitive apps | | Session Replay | ${SKILL_ROOT}/references/session-replay.md | User-facing iOS apps; tvOS only with caveat | | Logging | ${SKILL_ROOT}/references/logging.md | Structured log capture needed | | Metrics | ${SKILL_ROOT}/references/metrics.md | Aggregate counters, gauges, distributions | | User Feedback | ${SKILL_ROOT}/references/user-feedback.md | In-app bug reporting wanted |

For each feature: Read ${SKILL_ROOT}/references/<feature>.md, follow steps exactly, verify it works.

---

Configuration Reference

Key SentryOptions Fields

| Option | Type | Default | Purpose | |--------|------|---------|---------| | dsn | String? | nil | SDK disabled if empty; macOS can read SENTRY_DSN, other Apple platforms must set explicitly | | environment | String | "production" | e.g., "production" | | releaseName | String? | bundle-derived | Defaults to <bundle id>@<version>+<build> | | debug | Bool | false | Verbose SDK output — disable in production | | sendDefaultPii | Bool | false | Include IP, user info from active integrations | | enableCrashHandler | Bool | true | Master switch for crash reporting | | enableAppHangTracking | Bool | true | Master switch for app hang tracking | | enableReportNonFullyBlockingAppHangs | Bool | true | Report non-fully-blocking hangs on supported UI platforms | | appHangTimeoutInterval | Double | 2.0 | Seconds before classifying as hang | | enableWatchdogTerminationTracking | Bool | true | Track watchdog kills (iOS, tvOS, Mac Catalyst) | | attachScreenshot | Bool | false | Capture screenshot on error | | attachViewHierarchy | Bool | false | Capture view hierarchy on error | | tracesSampleRate | NSNumber? | nil | Transaction sample rate (nil = tracing disabled); Swift auto-boxes Double literals (e.g. 1.0 → NSNumber) | | tracesSampler | Closure | nil | Dynamic per-transaction sampling (overrides rate) | | enableAutoPerformanceTracing | Bool | true | Master switch for auto-instrumentation | | tracePropagationTargets | [Any] | all requests | Strings or NSRegularExpression values that receive distributed trace headers | | enableCaptureFailedRequests | Bool | true | Auto-capture HTTP 5xx errors as events | | enableNetworkBreadcrumbs | Bool | true | Breadcrumbs for outgoing HTTP requests | | add(inAppInclude:) | Method | bundle executable | Add module prefixes treated as "in-app" code | | maxBreadcrumbs | Int | 100 | Max breadcrumbs per event | | sampleRate | Float | 1.0 | Error event sample rate | | beforeSend | Closure | nil | Hook to mutate/drop error events | | onLastRunStatusDetermined | Closure | nil | Called after SDK determines previous launch crash status | | strictTraceContinuation | Bool | false | Reject incoming traces from other orgs; validates sentry-org_id in baggage headers (sentry-cocoa ≥9.10.0) | | orgId | String? | nil | Organization ID for strict trace validation; auto-parsed from DSN host (e.g. o123.ingest.sentry.io → "123") if not set explicitly | | enableLogs | Bool | false | Enable structured logs | | enableMetrics | Bool | true | Enable Swift Metrics API (SDK 9.12+) |

Environment Variables

| Variable | Maps to | Purpose | |----------|---------|---------| | SENTRY_DSN | dsn | macOS fallback only; set explicitly on iOS/tvOS/watchOS/visionOS | | SENTRY_RELEASE | releaseName | Do not assume automatic Cocoa fallback; set explicitly if needed | | SENTRY_ENVIRONMENT | environment | Do not assume automatic Cocoa fallback; set explicitly if needed |

Platform Feature Support Matrix

| Feature | iOS | tvOS | macOS | watchOS | visionOS | |---------|-----|------|-------|---------|----------| | Crash Reporting | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | | App Hangs | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | | Watchdog Termination | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | | App Start Tracing | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | | UIViewController Tracing | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | | SwiftUI Tracing | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | | Network Tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | | Profiling | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | | Session Replay | Yes | Unofficial | No | No | No | | MetricKit | Yes (15+) | No | Yes (12+) | No | No | | Metrics API | Yes | Yes | Yes | Verify | Yes |

---

Verification

Test that Sentry is receiving events:

// Trigger a test error event:
SentrySDK.capture(message: "Sentry Cocoa SDK test")

// Or test crash reporting (without debugger — crashes are intercepted by debugger):
// SentrySDK.crash()  // uncomment, run without debugger, relaunch to see crash report

Check the Sentry dashboard within a few seconds. If nothing appears:

1. Set options.debug = true — prints SDK internals to Xcode console
2. Verify the DSN is correct and the project exists
3. Ensure initialization is on the main thread

---

Production Settings

Lower sample rates for production to control volume and cost:

options.tracesSampleRate = 0.2          // 20% of transactions

options.configureProfiling = {
    $0.sessionSampleRate = 0.1          // 10% of sessions
    $0.lifecycle = .trace
}

options.sessionReplay.sessionSampleRate = 0.1   // 10% continuous
options.sessionReplay.onErrorSampleRate = 1.0   // 100% on error (keep high)

options.enableLogs = true
options.enableMetrics = true             // default true in SDK 9.12+
options.debug = false                   // never in production

---

Phase 4: Cross-Link

After completing Apple setup, check for a companion backend missing Sentry coverage:

# Detect companion backend
ls ../backend ../server ../api 2>/dev/null
cat ../go.mod 2>/dev/null | head -5
cat ../requirements.txt ../Pipfile 2>/dev/null | head -5
cat ../Gemfile 2>/dev/null | head -5
cat ../package.json 2>/dev/null | grep -E '"name"|"dependencies"' | head -5

If a backend is found, configure tracePropagationTargets to enable distributed tracing end-to-end, and suggest the matching skill:

| Backend detected | Suggest skill | Trace header support | |-----------------|--------------|---------------------| | Go (go.mod) | sentry-go-sdk | Automatic | | Python (requirements.txt) | sentry-python-sdk | Automatic | | Ruby (Gemfile) | sentry-ruby-sdk | Automatic | | Node.js backend (package.json) | sentry-node-sdk (or sentry-express-sdk) | Automatic |

---

Troubleshooting

| Issue | Solution | |-------|----------| | Events not appearing | Set debug: true, verify DSN format, ensure init is on main thread | | Crashes not captured | Run without debugger attached — debugger intercepts signals | | App hangs not reported | Auto-disabled when debugger attached; check appHangTimeoutInterval | | Session Replay not recording | Verify sessionSampleRate > 0 or onErrorSampleRate > 0; on iOS 26+ verify masking and any manual Liquid Glass gating | | Tracing data missing | Confirm tracesSampleRate > 0; check enableAutoPerformanceTracing = true | | Profiling data missing | Verify sessionSampleRate > 0 in configureProfiling; for .trace lifecycle, tracing must be enabled | | rsync.samba build error (CocoaPods) | Target Settings → "Enable User Script Sandbox" → NO | | Multiple SPM products selected | Choose only one of Sentry, Sentry-Dynamic, SentrySwiftUI, Sentry-WithoutUIKitOrAppKit, or SentrySPM (with NoUIFramework trait on Swift 6.1+) | | inAppExclude compile error | Removed in SDK 9.0.0 — use options.add(inAppInclude:) | | enableAppHangTrackingV2 compile error | Removed in SDK 9.0.0 — use enableAppHangTracking; V2 behavior is default where supported | | Watchdog termination not tracked | Requires enableCrashHandler = true (it is by default) | | Network breadcrumbs missing | Requires enableSwizzling = true (it is by default) | | profilesSampleRate compile error | Removed in SDK 9.0.0 — use configureProfiling closure instead |