Code Editor

The Code Editor lets you see and edit the actual Swift code of your app. It’s perfect for learning, making quick tweaks, and understanding what the AI creates.

The Code Editor is available on Pro and Scale plans. Upgrade your plan to access this feature.

When to Use the Code Editor

Learning Swift

Watch the AI generate code, then explore it in the editor. You’ll learn:

Swift syntax and patterns
SwiftUI view structure
How professional apps are organized
iOS development best practices

Quick Tweaks

Sometimes it’s faster to edit directly:

Changing a color value
Adjusting spacing
Fixing a typo in text
Modifying a simple condition

Debugging

When something isn’t working:

Read the code to understand what’s happening
Add print statements
Check for obvious issues
See exactly what the AI generated

Reading Logs

View runtime output:

Print statements
Error messages
App behavior traces

The Code Editor Interface

File Browser

On the left, your project’s file structure:

YourApp/
├── Views/
│   ├── ContentView.swift
│   ├── HomeView.swift
│   └── SettingsView.swift
├── Models/
│   ├── Task.swift
│   └── User.swift
├── Services/
│   └── DatabaseService.swift
└── App.swift

Click any file to open it.

Editor Panel

The main area shows code with:

Syntax highlighting — Colors for keywords, strings, types
Line numbers — For navigation and reference
Search — Find text (Cmd+F)
Auto-indentation — Code stays formatted

Logs Panel

At the bottom (toggle to show):

Build output and errors
Print statements from your code
Runtime logs

File Organization

Nativeline organizes code into standard Swift structure:

Folder	Contents
Views/	SwiftUI views (screens and components)
Models/	Data structures and types
Services/	API calls, database access, utilities
Resources/	Images, fonts, assets

Making Edits

Editing Workflow

Navigate to the file
Click to open
Make changes
Save (Cmd+S)
App rebuilds automatically

Example: Changing a Color

// Before
Text("Hello")
    .foregroundColor(.blue)

// After
Text("Hello")
    .foregroundColor(.orange)

Example: Adjusting Padding

// Before
VStack {
    // content
}
.padding(16)

// After
VStack {
    // content
}
.padding(24)

Example: Fixing Text

// Before
Button("Sumbit")

// After
Button("Submit")

Understanding Swift Code

Views (SwiftUI)

Most UI is in SwiftUI views:

struct HomeView: View {
    var body: some View {
        VStack {
            Text("Welcome!")
                .font(.title)

            Button("Get Started") {
                // action here
            }
        }
    }
}

Key concepts:

struct HomeView: View — Defines a view
var body: some View — What it displays
VStack, HStack, ZStack — Layout containers
Modifiers like .font(), .padding() — Styling

Models (Data)

Data structures:

struct Task: Identifiable {
    let id: UUID
    var title: String
    var isCompleted: Bool
    var dueDate: Date?
}

State Management

Using @Observable:

@Observable
class TaskManager {
    var tasks: [Task] = []

    func addTask(_ title: String) {
        tasks.append(Task(title: title))
    }
}

Reading Logs

Accessing Logs

Open Code Editor
Find the Logs panel/tab
Run your app
Watch output appear

Adding Log Statements

Ask the AI:

Add print statements to the save function to trace what's happening

Or add manually:

print("Save button tapped")
print("Saving data: \(userData)")

Log Types

Log	Meaning
Build output	Compilation status
Errors	What went wrong
Print statements	Your debug output
Runtime warnings	iOS system messages

See Reading App Logs for more details.

Best Practices

Do

✅ Save frequently (Cmd+S)
✅ Make small, incremental changes
✅ Test after each change
✅ Use AI for complex changes
✅ Learn from the generated code

Don’t

❌ Make massive changes without testing
❌ Delete code you don’t understand
❌ Ignore compiler errors
❌ Forget to save before rebuilding

When Code Changes Don’t Work

If your edits cause build errors:

Check the error in the Logs or chat
Undo (Cmd+Z) if you can’t fix it
Ask the AI: “Fix this error: [paste error]”
Rebuild after fixing

Common Swift Errors

Error	Cause	Fix
Missing `}`	Unbalanced braces	Add missing brace
Type mismatch	Wrong data type	Check types
Unknown identifier	Typo or missing import	Check spelling
Missing `return`	Function needs return	Add return statement

Code Editor vs AI Chat

Use Code Editor	Use AI Chat
Fixing typos	Creating new features
Changing values	Adding screens
Adjusting colors	Complex logic
Learning the code	Major refactoring
Quick tweaks	Design changes

Combining Both

Use AI for the big picture

“Create a settings screen with toggle options”

Review the generated code

Open in Code Editor to understand what was created

Make small tweaks yourself

Adjust colors, padding, or text directly

Use AI for complex changes

“Add an animation when toggles change”

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Cmd+S	Save file
Cmd+Z	Undo
Cmd+Shift+Z	Redo
Cmd+F	Find in file
Cmd+G	Find next
Cmd+/	Toggle comment

Reading App Logs

Detailed guide to debugging with logs

Keyboard Shortcuts

All available shortcuts

​Code Editor

​When to Use the Code Editor

​Learning Swift

​Quick Tweaks

​Debugging

​Reading Logs

​The Code Editor Interface

​File Browser

​Editor Panel

​Logs Panel

​File Organization

​Making Edits

​Editing Workflow

​Example: Changing a Color

​Example: Adjusting Padding

​Example: Fixing Text

​Understanding Swift Code

​Views (SwiftUI)

​Models (Data)

​State Management

​Reading Logs

​Accessing Logs

​Adding Log Statements

​Log Types

​Best Practices

​Do

​Don’t

​When Code Changes Don’t Work

​Common Swift Errors

​Code Editor vs AI Chat

​Combining Both

​Keyboard Shortcuts

​Related

Reading App Logs

Keyboard Shortcuts

Code Editor

When to Use the Code Editor

Learning Swift

Quick Tweaks

Debugging

Reading Logs

The Code Editor Interface

File Browser

Editor Panel

Logs Panel

File Organization

Making Edits

Editing Workflow

Example: Changing a Color

Example: Adjusting Padding

Example: Fixing Text

Understanding Swift Code

Views (SwiftUI)

Models (Data)

State Management

Reading Logs

Accessing Logs

Adding Log Statements

Log Types

Best Practices

Do

Don’t

When Code Changes Don’t Work

Common Swift Errors

Code Editor vs AI Chat

Combining Both

Keyboard Shortcuts

Related