After years of developing in React Native, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and explore SwiftUI. I wanted to see what Apple’s declarative UI framework had to offer-especially for something simple, useful, and familiar. That led to building my very first native To‑Do List App in SwiftUI!

💡 Why a To‑Do List?

A to-do list is the classic beginner app — but with SwiftUI, even something simple can feel elegant. I wanted to explore:

• Live reactive data binding

• Native navigation and styling

• Dark mode toggle

• UIKit interoperability (for editing tasks)

🛠 Key Features I Built

• Add tasks with live input

• Delete or reorder items in the list

• Tap to edit using a native alert

• Toggle between Light and Dark Mode

• Smooth animations and native design feel

🔍 SwiftUI Breakdown

Here’s how I structured the app:

1. TodoItem Model

struct TodoItem: Identifiable {
    let id = UUID()
    let title: String
}

2. ContentView: Main UI

@State private var items: [TodoItem] = []
@State private var newItem: String = ""
@State private var isDarkMode: Bool = false

The app maintains:

• items: the list of all to-do entries

• newItem: the input string

• isDarkMode: a toggle for theme switching

3. Adding Tasks

Button(action: addItem) {
    Text("Add")
}
.disabled(newItem.isEmpty)

A button adds new tasks only when the input isn’t empty. The newly added task updates the UI instantly thanks to @State.

4. Editing Tasks with UIKit Alert

let alert = UIAlertController(title: "Edit Task", message: nil, preferredStyle: .alert)
// Add TextField and Save button

I used UIApplication.shared.connectedScenes to access the root view controller and present the alert. This shows that SwiftUI and UIKit can work hand-in-hand.

5. List View with Edit, Move & Delete

List {
    ForEach(items.indices, id: \.self) { index in
        // Task row with pencil icon
    }
    .onDelete(perform: deleteItems)
    .onMove(perform: moveItems)
}

6. Dark Mode Toggle

Toggle(isOn: $isDarkMode) {
    Text("Todo List App")
}
.preferredColorScheme(isDarkMode ? .dark : .light)

✨ What I Learned

• SwiftUI’s declarative approach feels familiar coming from React Native — but more fluid for native iOS.

• Data binding with @State and @Binding is intuitive and powerful.

• Integrating UIKit where needed (like alerts) works well.

• Dark mode is almost effortless — just a toggle and a few color considerations.

🔚 Final Thoughts

This was my first SwiftUI app, and honestly — it was refreshing! The To‑Do List may be a small app, but it taught me SwiftUI basics: state management, layout, user interaction, and even UIKit bridges.

If you’re a React Native dev curious about native iOS — SwiftUI is worth exploring. It’s like speaking a new dialect of a language you already know.

Happy Code with Passion!