Phoneclaw IOS AI Agent

---
name: phoneclaw-ios-ai-agent
description: Build and extend PhoneClaw, an on-device iOS AI Agent powered by Gemma 4 running fully offline on iPhone
triggers:
  - add a new skill to PhoneClaw
  - how do I set up PhoneClaw on my iPhone
  - create a custom tool for PhoneClaw
  - how does PhoneClaw's skill system work
  - register a new iOS API tool in PhoneClaw
  - how to add calendar or contacts support to PhoneClaw
  - PhoneClaw model download and setup
  - how to extend PhoneClaw with a new capability
---

# PhoneClaw iOS AI Agent

> Skill by [ara.so](https://ara.so) — Daily 2026 Skills collection.

PhoneClaw is a fully offline, on-device AI Agent for iPhone. It uses Gemma 4 (E2B or E4B) via MLX for local inference — no cloud, no data upload, no network dependency. It exposes iOS system APIs through a file-based Skill system where each capability is defined in a `SKILL.md` file, meaning new skills can be added or modified without recompiling the app.

---

## Project Structure

PhoneClaw/ ├── Skills/Library//SKILL.md # Built-in skills ├── Tools/ │ ├── ToolRegistry.swift # Register all tools here │ └── Handlers/Handler.swift # Per-tool iOS API logic ├── LLM/MLX/MLXLocalLLMService.swift # Model loading & inference ├── Models/ # Model files (gitignored) │ ├── gemma-4-e2b-it-4bit/ │ └── gemma-4-e4b-it-4bit/ └── PhoneClaw.xcworkspace

---

## Installation & Setup

### Requirements

- macOS + Xcode 16
- iOS 17+ device (real hardware required for MLX inference)
- CocoaPods
- Apple Developer account (free tier works)

### Clone and Install Dependencies

```bash
git clone https://github.com/kellyvv/phoneclaw.git
cd phoneclaw
pod install
open PhoneClaw.xcworkspace  # Always open .xcworkspace, not .xcodeproj

Download Models

Option A: Shell Install (Recommended — download on device)

Install the app via Xcode without bundling models. Open the app, go to Model Settings, and download E2B or E4B directly on the phone.

Option B: Bundle E2B into App

brew install hf
mkdir -p ./Models/gemma-4-e2b-it-4bit
hf download mlx-community/gemma-4-e2b-it-4bit \
  --local-dir ./Models/gemma-4-e2b-it-4bit

Then in Xcode: Build Phases → Copy Bundle Resources → add the model directory.

Option C: Bundle Both Models

mkdir -p ./Models/gemma-4-e2b-it-4bit ./Models/gemma-4-e4b-it-4bit
hf download mlx-community/gemma-4-e2b-it-4bit \
  --local-dir ./Models/gemma-4-e2b-it-4bit
hf download mlx-community/gemma-4-e4b-it-4bit \
  --local-dir ./Models/gemma-4-e4b-it-4bit

E2B ≈ 3.58 GB, E4B ≈ 5.22 GB. Models/ is gitignored.

ModelScope Mirror (China, no VPN needed)

Download from:

• E2B: https://modelscope.cn/models/mlx-community/gemma-4-e2b-it-4bit
• E4B: https://modelscope.cn/models/mlx-community/gemma-4-e4b-it-4bit

Signing

1. Select PhoneClaw target → Signing & Capabilities
2. Choose your Team, set a unique Bundle Identifier
3. Connect iPhone → ⌘R
4. If prompted: Settings → General → VPN & Device Management → Trust

The Skill System

Each skill is a Markdown file with YAML frontmatter. Skills live at:

• Built-in: Skills/Library/<skill-id>/SKILL.md
• Runtime (sandboxed): Application Support/PhoneClaw/skills/<skill-id>/SKILL.md

SKILL.md Structure

---
name: MySkill
name-zh: 我的能力                   # Chinese display name (optional)
description: What this skill does
version: "1.0.0"
icon: star                          # SF Symbol name
disabled: false
type: device                        # "device" = calls iOS API; "content" = pure LLM

triggers:
  - phrase the user might say
  - another trigger phrase

allowed-tools:
  - my-tool-name                    # Must match ToolRegistry keys; [] for content type

examples:
  - query: "What a user might say"
    scenario: "Context/scenario description"
---

# Skill Instructions

Instructions telling the model when to call tools, how to form parameters,
and when to answer directly without tool calls.

Skill Types

Creating a New Skill (Step-by-Step)

Step 1: Create the SKILL.md

Skills/Library/weather-note/SKILL.md

---
name: WeatherNote
name-zh: 天气备忘
description: Saves weather-related notes to reminders
version: "1.0.0"
icon: cloud.sun
disabled: false
type: device

triggers:
  - remind me about the weather
  - save a weather note

allowed-tools:
  - create-reminder

examples:
  - query: "Remind me to check the weather at 7am"
    scenario: "User wants a weather-related reminder"
---

# WeatherNote Skill Instructions

When the user wants to save a weather-related note or reminder, call the
`create-reminder` tool with the appropriate title and due date.
If no time is specified, schedule for the next morning at 7:00 AM.
Always confirm after creation.

Step 2: Register the Tool in ToolRegistry.swift

// Tools/ToolRegistry.swift

import Foundation

struct ToolRegistry {
    static let shared = ToolRegistry()

    // All registered tools keyed by name
    private(set) var tools: [String: any ToolHandler] = [:]

    init() {
        register(CreateReminderHandler())
        register(ReadClipboardHandler())
        register(WriteClipboardHandler())
        register(CreateCalendarEventHandler())
        register(SaveContactHandler())
        register(GetDeviceInfoHandler())
        // Register your new tool:
        register(MyCustomHandler())
    }

    mutating func register(_ handler: any ToolHandler) {
        tools[handler.toolName] = handler
    }
}

Step 3: Implement the Tool Handler

// Tools/Handlers/MyCustomHandler.swift

import Foundation
import EventKit

struct CreateReminderHandler: ToolHandler {
    let toolName = "create-reminder"

    // Describe parameters so the model knows how to call this tool
    var parameterSchema: [String: ToolParameter] {
        [
            "title": ToolParameter(type: .string, description: "Reminder title", required: true),
            "dueDate": ToolParameter(type: .string, description: "ISO 8601 date string", required: false),
            "notes": ToolParameter(type: .string, description: "Additional notes", required: false)
        ]
    }

    func execute(parameters: [String: Any]) async throws -> String {
        guard let title = parameters["title"] as? String else {
            throw ToolError.missingRequiredParameter("title")
        }

        let store = EKEventStore()

        // Request permission
        let granted = try await store.requestFullAccessToReminders()
        guard granted else {
            throw ToolError.permissionDenied("Reminders access denied")
        }

        let reminder = EKReminder(eventStore: store)
        reminder.title = title

        // Find or create PhoneClaw list
        let calendars = store.calendars(for: .reminder)
        let targetCalendar = calendars.first(where: { $0.title == "PhoneClaw" })
            ?? calendars.first(where: { $0.allowsContentModifications })
        
        guard let calendar = targetCalendar else {
            throw ToolError.executionFailed("No writable reminder list found")
        }
        reminder.calendar = calendar

        // Parse optional due date
        if let dueDateString = parameters["dueDate"] as? String {
            let formatter = ISO8601DateFormatter()
            if let date = formatter.date(from: dueDateString) {
                let components = Calendar.current.dateComponents(
                    [.year, .month, .day, .hour, .minute, .second],
                    from: date
                )
                reminder.dueDateComponents = components

                let alarm = EKAlarm(absoluteDate: date)
                reminder.addAlarm(alarm)
            }
        }

        if let notes = parameters["notes"] as? String {
            reminder.notes = notes
        }

        try store.save(reminder, commit: true)
        return "Reminder '\(title)' created successfully."
    }
}

Step 4: Validate

The framework auto-validates allowed-tools against ToolRegistry at startup. Watch the Xcode console — mismatched tool names are flagged immediately.

Built-In Skills Reference

Model Configuration

Available Models (MLXLocalLLMService.swift)

// LLM/MLX/MLXLocalLLMService.swift

let availableModels: [ModelConfig] = [
    ModelConfig(
        id: "gemma-4-e2b-it-4bit",
        displayName: "Gemma 4 E2B",
        directoryName: "gemma-4-e2b-it-4bit",
        recommendedFor: "A16 and above, stable default"
    ),
    ModelConfig(
        id: "gemma-4-e4b-it-4bit",
        displayName: "Gemma 4 E4B",
        directoryName: "gemma-4-e4b-it-4bit",
        recommendedFor: "iPhone 15 Pro and above, better quality"
    )
]

Model Selection Guidelines

Inference Budget

Memory is allocated dynamically based on available device RAM. Long prompts and responses are no longer truncated by a fixed budget — the app calculates limits from actual free memory at inference time.

Content-Type Skill Example

For skills that don't need iOS APIs — just LLM processing:

---
name: Summarize
name-zh: 摘要
description: Summarize any text the user provides
version: "1.0.0"
icon: text.quote
disabled: false
type: content          # No tool calls — model answers directly

triggers:
  - summarize this
  - give me a summary
  - tl;dr

allowed-tools: []      # Empty for content type

examples:
  - query: "Summarize this article for me"
    scenario: "User pastes a long text and wants a summary"
---

# Summarize Skill Instructions

When the user asks for a summary, read the provided text carefully and
produce a concise summary in 3-5 bullet points. Use the same language
as the input text. Do not call any tools.

Multimodal (Image) Usage

PhoneClaw supports image input via camera or photo library. The model processes images fully on-device.

// Example: Sending an image with a text query
// In your chat view, attach UIImage to the message before sending

let message = ChatMessage(
    role: .user,
    content: "What is in this image?",
    image: selectedUIImage   // Optional UIImage attachment
)
chatViewModel.send(message)

Image data never leaves the device — all vision inference runs locally via the multimodal Gemma 4 model.

Voice Input

Voice recording is supported in the chat UI. Tap the microphone icon to record; the audio is transcribed and analyzed on-device.

Session Management

• New session: Tap the compose icon in the top bar
• Switch session: Access history from the sidebar
• Delete session: Swipe to delete in session list
• Thinking mode: Toggle from the top-right menu in chat view

Runtime Skill Installation (No Recompile)

Install skills at runtime by writing to the app sandbox:

// Write a custom SKILL.md to the app's sandbox at runtime
let skillDir = FileManager.default
    .urls(for: .applicationSupportDirectory, in: .userDomainMask)
    .first!
    .appendingPathComponent("PhoneClaw/skills/my-custom-skill")

try FileManager.default.createDirectory(
    at: skillDir,
    withIntermediateDirectories: true
)

let skillContent = """
---
name: MyRuntimeSkill
description: Dynamically installed skill
version: "1.0.0"
icon: wand.and.stars
disabled: false
type: content
triggers:
  - do my custom thing
allowed-tools: []
examples: []
---

# My Runtime Skill
Answer the user's request directly without tools.
"""

let skillFile = skillDir.appendingPathComponent("SKILL.md")
try skillContent.write(to: skillFile, atomically: true, encoding: .utf8)

The app loads skills from both the bundle and the sandbox on startup.

Troubleshooting

Model fails to load after switching

1. Verify the model directory name exactly matches availableModels in MLXLocalLLMService.swift
2. For shell installs: confirm the model finished downloading on-device before switching
3. For bundled installs: confirm the model folder is in Copy Bundle Resources
4. Check available RAM — E4B needs iPhone 15 Pro or above

Reminder creation fails

The app first tries to reuse an existing writable reminder list. If none exists, it creates a "PhoneClaw" list. If this still fails, the system reminder source is not writable (e.g., iCloud Reminders disabled). Check: Settings → [Your Name] → iCloud → Reminders.

Permission dialog never appears

• The skill hasn't executed a real API call yet (dialogs appear on first use)
• If previously denied: Settings → Privacy & Security → [Contacts/Calendars/Reminders] → PhoneClaw → Allow

Tool name mismatch error in console

[ToolRegistry] WARNING: Skill 'my-skill' declares tool 'my-tool-name'
but no handler is registered for this key.

Fix: ensure handler.toolName in your ToolHandler implementation exactly matches the string in allowed-tools in your SKILL.md.

Pod install issues

pod deintegrate
pod install

Always reopen .xcworkspace after reinstalling pods.

Key APIs and Patterns

ToolHandler Protocol

protocol ToolHandler {
    var toolName: String { get }
    var parameterSchema: [String: ToolParameter] { get }
    func execute(parameters: [String: Any]) async throws -> String
}

ToolParameter

struct ToolParameter {
    enum ParameterType { case string, number, boolean, array }
    let type: ParameterType
    let description: String
    let required: Bool
}

ToolError

enum ToolError: Error {
    case missingRequiredParameter(String)
    case permissionDenied(String)
    case executionFailed(String)
    case invalidParameter(String)
}

Roadmap Highlights

• Planned: File/photo/Notes API access
• Planned: Shortcuts / App Intents integration
• Planned: OCR + speech recognition local models
• Planned: Local knowledge base retrieval
• Planned: Multi-model coordination (embedding, reranker, smaller tool-call models)
• Planned: Cross-app automation via URL schemes, Share Sheet, clipboard relay

References

• Gemma 4 E2B on Hugging Face
• Gemma 4 E4B on Hugging Face
• Gemma 4 E2B on ModelScope
• Gemma 4 E4B on ModelScope
• Hugging Face CLI Docs
• PhoneClaw GitHub