Creating an immersive space in visionOS
At a glance
| Item | Summary |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Enhance your visionOS app by adding an immersive space using RealityKit. |
| App architecture | EntryPoint composes WindowGroup + ImmersiveSpace around MainView; component values store per-entity state and registered RealityKit systems own repeated behavior. |
| Main patterns | SwiftUI scene composition, SwiftUI–RealityKit bridge, Explicit immersive-space lifecycle, Entity-component-system |
| Project style | Code-light sample with 5 scanned Swift file(s) and 210 Swift line(s); resources and generated assets are excluded from those counts. |
Project structure
Source bundle/
└── Creating Immersive Spaces/
├── App/
│ └── EntryPoint.swift # EntryPoint
├── Systems/
│ └── TurnTableSystem.swift # TurnTableComponent, TurnTableSystem
├── Views/
│ ├── ImmersionView.swift # ImmersiveView
│ └── MainView.swift # MainView
└── Extensions/
└── Entity.swift
Structure observations
- The runtime boundary is WindowGroup + ImmersiveSpace; the pruned tree lists only files that explain lifecycle, state, or framework integration.
- App code is compact; any explicit model, provider, or entity owner is still shown below rather than collapsed into view-local state.
Overall architecture
flowchart LR
EntryPoint_1["EntryPoint"]
WindowGroup___ImmersiveSpace_2["WindowGroup + ImmersiveSpace"]
MainView_3["MainView"]
RealityView_entity_graph_4["RealityView entity graph"]
RealityKit_components_and_systems_5["RealityKit components and systems"]
EntryPoint_1 --> WindowGroup___ImmersiveSpace_2
WindowGroup___ImmersiveSpace_2 --> MainView_3
MainView_3 --> RealityView_entity_graph_4
RealityView_entity_graph_4 --> RealityKit_components_and_systems_5
Reference code
Creating Immersive Spaces/App/EntryPoint.swift:11 — the app or executable entry declares the outer scene lifecycle.
struct EntryPoint: App {
// ...
}The diagram is a responsibility flow, not a claim that every adjacent node directly calls the next. It keeps scene ownership, shared state, RealityKit content, and framework-provider work at separate levels.
Ownership and state
classDiagram
TurnTableSystem *-- EntityQuery : query
Ownership evidence
Creating Immersive Spaces/Systems/TurnTableSystem.swift:32 — representative stored state or the nearest verified lifecycle anchor.
struct TurnTableSystem: System {
// ...
static let query = EntityQuery(where: .has(TurnTableComponent.self))
// ...
}| Owner | Object or state | Relationship | Mutation authority |
|---|---|---|---|
TurnTableSystem |
EntityQuery as query |
creates and retains | The owning type coordinates writes |
Ownership here is deliberately narrow: @Environment and weak references are shared links, initialized @State or stored services are lifecycle ownership, and a RealityView content closure owns additions to its entity graph without making the SwiftUI view a reference-type owner.
Class and protocol design
| Type | Responsibility | Depends on or conforms to |
|---|---|---|
EntryPoint (Creating Immersive Spaces/App/EntryPoint.swift:11) |
Declares app scenes and top-level dependency lifetime. | App |
MainView (Creating Immersive Spaces/Views/MainView.swift:10) |
Presents UI and forwards gestures or lifecycle events. | View |
TurnTableComponent (Creating Immersive Spaces/Systems/TurnTableSystem.swift:12) |
Stores RealityKit entity data. | Component |
TurnTableSystem (Creating Immersive Spaces/Systems/TurnTableSystem.swift:30) |
Updates matching RealityKit entities. | System |
ImmersiveView (Creating Immersive Spaces/Views/ImmersionView.swift:12) |
Presents UI and forwards gestures or lifecycle events. | View |
The source defines no local substitution protocol in the reviewed boundary. Its protocol use is framework-facing (App, View, RealityKit/ARKit protocols, or platform adapters), so this document does not label the whole app protocol-oriented.
Access control
| Symbol | Access | Verified effect | Likely rationale |
|---|
No reviewed declaration uses fileprivate, private(set), public, open; unmodified Swift declarations are internal.
Reference code
Creating Immersive Spaces/App/EntryPoint.swift:11 — representative visibility boundary.
struct EntryPoint: App {
// ...
}Logic ownership and placement
| Logic | Owning type or file | Placement rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Scene declaration and dependency lifetime | EntryPoint |
The App/entry boundary determines window, volume, and immersive-space lifetime. |
| Presentation, attachments, and gestures | MainView |
SwiftUI view code forwards user intent and RealityView lifecycle events. |
| Per-frame entity behavior | Creating Immersive Spaces/Systems/TurnTableSystem.swift:30 |
RealityKit systems query component data instead of centralizing every entity update in SwiftUI. |
Design patterns
| Pattern | Source evidence | Purpose or tradeoff |
|---|---|---|
| SwiftUI scene composition | Creating Immersive Spaces/App/EntryPoint.swift:11 |
Keeps windows, volumes, and immersive-space lifecycle visible at the app boundary. |
| SwiftUI–RealityKit bridge | Creating Immersive Spaces/Views/ImmersionView.swift:22 |
Builds and updates a RealityKit entity graph from SwiftUI lifecycle closures. |
| Explicit immersive-space lifecycle | Creating Immersive Spaces/App/EntryPoint.swift:18 |
Makes immersive presentation a scene transition rather than hidden global state. |
| Entity-component-system | Creating Immersive Spaces/Systems/TurnTableSystem.swift:30 |
Stores per-entity data in components and advances behavior in registered RealityKit systems. |
Naming conventions
- Role suffixes are evidence, not decoration: View:
ImmersiveView,MainView. - ECS names pair data and behavior: components
TurnTableComponent; systemsTurnTableSystem. - Protocols: no app-defined protocol in the reviewed source.
- Commands use verb-led methods:
update,addHalo. - Files generally match their primary type;
Views,Models,Managers,Providers,Components,Systems, andPackagesfolders describe architectural roles where present.
Architecture takeaways
- Treat
EntryPointas the owner of scene declarations, not as the owner of every RealityKit entity created later. - Keep view-local interaction in SwiftUI, but move provider sessions, playback resources, shared game state, or transport state into a stable owner when their lifetime exceeds one render pass.
- Use RealityKit components for per-entity data and systems for repeated simulation instead of a monolithic view model.
- Model immersive-space open, transition, and close states explicitly so windows and immersive content cannot drift apart.
- The compact source does not justify adding repository, coordinator, or protocol layers beyond the model, provider, or view boundary the sample actually declares.
Source map
| Source file | Relevant symbols |
|---|---|
Creating Immersive Spaces/App/EntryPoint.swift:11 |
EntryPoint |
Creating Immersive Spaces/Systems/TurnTableSystem.swift:12 |
TurnTableComponent, TurnTableSystem |
Creating Immersive Spaces/Views/ImmersionView.swift:12 |
ImmersiveView |
Creating Immersive Spaces/Views/MainView.swift:10 |
MainView |
Creating Immersive Spaces/Extensions/Entity.swift:1 |
Feature implementation |