whatisgithub

What is swift-style-guide?

github/swift-style-guide — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-26

4,764Audience · developerComplexity · 1/5Setup · easy

In one sentence

An archived style guide from GitHub's engineering team explaining how they chose to write Swift code consistently, covering indentation, constants vs variables, crash prevention, and more. Each rule includes a clear explanation of why it was chosen.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Swift Style))
  Formatting
    Tabs not spaces
    Consistent indentation
  Safety Rules
    Avoid force unwrap
    Prefer constants
    Explicit access control
  Type Design
    Value types preferred
    Structs over classes
    Final classes default
  Code Clarity
    Reduce verbosity
    Explicit top-level access
  Status
    Archived repo
    No longer maintained
    Point in time snapshot
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Code map

Detail Auto

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Use GitHub's reasoned Swift style decisions as a starting point for your own team's coding standards

USE CASE 2

Understand why experienced Swift developers prefer structs over classes and constants over variables

USE CASE 3

Learn how to avoid the force-unwrapping pattern that causes iOS apps to crash unexpectedly

USE CASE 4

Set consistent code style rules across a Swift project so all code looks the same regardless of who wrote it

What is it built with?

Swift

How does it compare?

github/swift-style-guideclangen/musikcubeeastlondoner/vibe-tools
Stars4,7644,7644,764
LanguageC++TypeScript
Setup difficultyeasyeasymoderate
Complexity1/52/53/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Documentation only, nothing to install or run. Repository is archived and no longer maintained, so rules reflect Swift conventions from a past point in time rather than current community standards.

No license information mentioned in the explanation, this is a documentation-only archived repository.

So what is it?

This is an archived style guide that GitHub's engineering team wrote for writing Swift code. Swift is Apple's programming language used to build iOS, macOS, and related apps. A style guide is a document that explains which of several equivalent ways of writing code a team has agreed to use consistently, so that all code in a project looks and behaves similarly. The guide is no longer actively maintained, as noted at the top of the README, but the rules it contains reflect decisions that were reasoned through carefully at the time. Each rule includes a rationale explaining why it was chosen. The rules cover topics like: using tabs rather than spaces for indentation, preferring constants over variables wherever possible so the code is easier to reason about, avoiding a pattern called force-unwrapping that can cause apps to crash, preferring value types (structs) over reference types (classes) in most situations, making classes final by default to avoid unintended inheritance, keeping access control explicit for top-level code, and reducing unnecessary verbosity throughout. The guide is written for Swift developers who want a reference for how GitHub approached code style decisions, or for teams looking for a starting point for their own Swift coding standards. It is not a tutorial for learning Swift, and it assumes familiarity with the language. Because the repository is archived, the rules reflect a point-in-time snapshot and may not align with current Swift community conventions or later language features.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Based on GitHub's Swift style guide, explain the rule about preferring structs over classes and give me a before-and-after code example.
Prompt 2
What does the GitHub Swift style guide say about force-unwrapping optionals, why is it dangerous, and what should I use instead?
Prompt 3
I'm setting up a Swift project for a small team. Summarize the top 5 most impactful rules from the GitHub Swift style guide I should adopt first.
Prompt 4
Explain the GitHub Swift style guide rule about making classes final by default, what problem does it solve and when should I make exceptions?

Frequently asked questions

What is swift-style-guide?

An archived style guide from GitHub's engineering team explaining how they chose to write Swift code consistently, covering indentation, constants vs variables, crash prevention, and more. Each rule includes a clear explanation of why it was chosen.

What license does swift-style-guide use?

No license information mentioned in the explanation, this is a documentation-only archived repository.

How hard is swift-style-guide to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is swift-style-guide for?

Mainly developer.

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