Swiftui Effects API

Visual Effects API Reference

Lifecycle Position

Phase 3 API Reference — load during implementation when adding visual effects. Dispatched from autonomous-ui-workflow Phase 2 research table.

View Modifiers

VisualEffect (Geometry-Safe)

ContentRow()
    .visualEffect { content, proxy in
        content.offset(x: proxy.frame(in: .global).origin.y)
    }

Methods: .blur(), .opacity(), .brightness(), .contrast(), .saturation(), .grayscale(), .hueRotation(), .colorEffect(shader:), .distortionEffect(shader:), .layerEffect(shader:)

Blend Modes

Darken: .darken, .multiply, .colorBurn, .plusDarker Lighten: .lighten, .screen, .colorDodge, .plusLighter Contrast: .overlay, .softLight, .hardLight Mix: .hue, .saturation, .color, .luminosity

Canvas (Immediate Mode)

Canvas { context, size in
    context.opacity = 0.5
    context.blendMode = .multiply
    context.fill(path, with: .color(.blue))
    context.addFilter(.blur(radius: 5))
    context.addFilter(.shadow(color: .black, radius: 3))
}

When to Use Which

Performance Cost Ranking

Cheapest → Most Expensive:
opacity → shadow → blur(small radius) → Canvas → blur(large radius) → Metal shaders

• Blur at radius > 20 is expensive — avoid in ScrollView rows
• Shadow on every list cell adds up — consider drawingGroup() for complex cells
• Canvas is faster than equivalent modifier stacks for 10+ shapes
• Always use drawingGroup() before Metal shader modifiers

Common Mistakes

1. .blur(radius: 50) on every list row — kills scroll performance. Use sparingly or cache
2. Shadow on every cell without drawingGroup() — each shadow is a separate render pass
3. Canvas without drawingGroup() — doesn't rasterize to offscreen buffer, loses performance benefit
4. .visualEffect with layout-changing transforms — only use for visual transforms (scale, offset, opacity), not frame changes
5. Applying .blendMode() without .compositingGroup() — blend mode leaks to parent unless grouped

Before (incorrect):

// In a List or ScrollView row:
CardView()
    .blur(radius: 30)  // expensive, applied every frame per cell

After (correct):

// Apply blur outside ScrollView, or use material instead:
CardView()
    .background(.ultraThinMaterial)  // system-optimized frosted glass

Before (incorrect):

Text("Overlay")
    .blendMode(.overlay)  // leaks blend mode to parent layer

After (correct):

Text("Overlay")
    .blendMode(.overlay)
    .compositingGroup()  // isolates blend to this view's layer

Checklist

• No blur in ScrollView/List row views (or explicitly justified)
• Canvas views use drawingGroup() for complex drawing
• visualEffect only uses visual transforms (not layout)
• .compositingGroup() wraps views using .blendMode()
• Metal shader effects gated with #available check

Cross-References

• swiftui-material-api — material backgrounds (preferred over manual blur for frosted glass)
• swiftui-colors-api — colors used in gradients and Canvas drawing
• apple-liquid-glass-design — Liquid Glass effects (separate from standard SwiftUI effects)