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PublishedMay 28, 2026 at 06:40 AM

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SKILL.md · 500 lines · 14.6 KB

version: "1.0.1" name: homekit description: "Control smart-home accessories and commission Matter devices using HomeKit and MatterSupport. Use when managing homes/rooms/accessories, creating action sets or triggers, reading accessory characteristics, onboarding Matter devices, or building a third-party smart-home ecosystem app."

HomeKit

Control home automation accessories and commission Matter devices. HomeKit manages the home/room/accessory model, action sets, and triggers. MatterSupport handles device commissioning into your ecosystem. Targets Swift 6.3 / iOS 26+.

Setup
HomeKit Data Model
Managing Accessories
Reading and Writing Characteristics
Action Sets and Triggers
Matter Commissioning
MatterAddDeviceExtensionRequestHandler
Common Mistakes
Review Checklist
References

Setup

HomeKit Configuration

Enable the HomeKit capability in Xcode (Signing & Capabilities)
Add NSHomeKitUsageDescription to Info.plist:

xml

<key>NSHomeKitUsageDescription</key>
<string>This app controls your smart home accessories.</string>

MatterSupport Configuration

For Matter commissioning into your own ecosystem:

Add a MatterSupport Extension target and set its principal class to a

MatterAddDeviceExtensionRequestHandler subclass

Add NSBonjourServices entries for _matter._tcp, _matterc._udp, and

_matterd._udp

Add com.apple.developer.matter.allow-setup-payload only if the caller

supplies a Matter setup payload programmatically

Availability Check

swift

import HomeKit
 
let homeManager = HMHomeManager()
 
// HomeKit is available on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch,
// Mac Catalyst, and Vision Pro.
// Authorization is handled through the delegate:
homeManager.delegate = self

HomeKit Data Model

HomeKit organizes home automation in a hierarchy:

text

HMHomeManager
  -> HMHome (one or more)
       -> HMRoom (rooms in the home)
            -> HMAccessory (devices in a room)
                 -> HMService (functions: light, thermostat, etc.)
                      -> HMCharacteristic (readable/writable values)
       -> HMZone (groups of rooms)
       -> HMActionSet (grouped actions)
       -> HMTrigger (time or event-based triggers)

Initializing the Home Manager

Create a single HMHomeManager and implement the delegate to know when data is loaded. HomeKit loads asynchronously -- do not access homes until the delegate fires.

swift

import HomeKit
 
final class HomeStore: NSObject, HMHomeManagerDelegate {
    let homeManager = HMHomeManager()
 
    override init() {
        super.init()
        homeManager.delegate = self
    }
 
    func homeManagerDidUpdateHomes(_ manager: HMHomeManager) {
        // Safe to access manager.homes now
        let homes = manager.homes
        let primaryHome = manager.primaryHome
        print("Loaded \(homes.count) homes")
    }
 
    func homeManager(
        _ manager: HMHomeManager,
        didUpdate status: HMHomeManagerAuthorizationStatus
    ) {
        if status.contains(.authorized) {
            print("HomeKit access granted")
        }
    }
}

Accessing Rooms

swift

guard let home = homeManager.primaryHome else { return }
 
let rooms = home.rooms
let kitchen = rooms.first { $0.name == "Kitchen" }
 
// Room for accessories not assigned to a specific room
let defaultRoom = home.roomForEntireHome()

Managing Accessories

Discovering and Adding Accessories

Use HomeKit and MatterSupport for home-model work: homes, rooms, HMAccessory services and characteristics, action sets, triggers and automations, HomeKit accessory setup UI, and Matter commissioning. If the same request asks about lower-level Bluetooth or Wi-Fi accessory discovery or authorization, name AccessorySetupKit as the boundary for discovery descriptors, picker authorization, ASAccessorySession events, and migration. After AccessorySetupKit setup, explicitly name both post-setup handoff targets: CoreBluetooth/GATT for Bluetooth accessories and NetworkExtension for Wi-Fi accessory network flows; neither handoff is HomeKit automation logic.

swift

// System UI for accessory discovery
home.addAndSetupAccessories { error in
    if let error {
        print("Setup failed: \(error)")
    }
}

Listing Accessories and Services

swift

for accessory in home.accessories {
    print("\(accessory.name) in \(accessory.room?.name ?? "unassigned")")
 
    for service in accessory.services {
        print("  Service: \(service.serviceType)")
 
        for characteristic in service.characteristics {
            print("    \(characteristic.characteristicType): \(characteristic.value ?? "nil")")
        }
    }
}

Moving an Accessory to a Room

swift

guard let accessory = home.accessories.first,
      let bedroom = home.rooms.first(where: { $0.name == "Bedroom" }) else { return }
 
home.assignAccessory(accessory, to: bedroom) { error in
    if let error {
        print("Failed to move accessory: \(error)")
    }
}

Reading and Writing Characteristics

Reading a Value

swift

let characteristic: HMCharacteristic = // obtained from a service
 
characteristic.readValue { error in
    guard error == nil else { return }
    if let value = characteristic.value as? Bool {
        print("Power state: \(value)")
    }
}

Writing a Value

swift

// Turn on a light
characteristic.writeValue(true) { error in
    if let error {
        print("Write failed: \(error)")
    }
}

Observing Changes

Enable notifications for real-time updates:

swift

characteristic.enableNotification(true) { error in
    guard error == nil else { return }
}
 
// In HMAccessoryDelegate:
func accessory(
    _ accessory: HMAccessory,
    service: HMService,
    didUpdateValueFor characteristic: HMCharacteristic
) {
    print("Updated: \(characteristic.value ?? "nil")")
}

Action Sets and Triggers

Creating an Action Set

An HMActionSet groups characteristic writes that execute together:

swift

home.addActionSet(withName: "Good Night") { actionSet, error in
    guard let actionSet, error == nil else { return }
 
    // Turn off living room light
    let lightChar = livingRoomLight.powerCharacteristic
    let action = HMCharacteristicWriteAction(
        characteristic: lightChar,
        targetValue: false as NSCopying
    )
    actionSet.addAction(action) { error in
        guard error == nil else { return }
        print("Action added to Good Night scene")
    }
}

Executing an Action Set

swift

home.executeActionSet(actionSet) { error in
    if let error {
        print("Execution failed: \(error)")
    }
}

Creating a Timer Trigger

swift

var timeOfDay = DateComponents()
timeOfDay.hour = 22
timeOfDay.minute = 30
 
let firstFireDate = Calendar.current.nextDate(
    after: Date(),
    matching: timeOfDay,
    matchingPolicy: .nextTime
)!
 
let trigger = HMTimerTrigger(
    name: "Nightly",
    fireDate: firstFireDate,
    recurrence: DateComponents(day: 1)  // Repeat every day after firstFireDate
)
 
home.addTrigger(trigger) { error in
    guard error == nil else { return }
 
    // Attach the action set to the trigger
    trigger.addActionSet(goodNightActionSet) { error in
        guard error == nil else { return }
 
        trigger.enable(true) { error in
            print("Trigger enabled: \(error == nil)")
        }
    }
}

Creating an Event Trigger

swift

let motionDetected = HMCharacteristicEvent(
    characteristic: motionSensorCharacteristic,
    triggerValue: true as NSCopying
)
 
let eventTrigger = HMEventTrigger(
    name: "Motion Lights",
    events: [motionDetected],
    predicate: nil
)
 
home.addTrigger(eventTrigger) { error in
    // Add action sets as above
}

Matter Commissioning

Use MatterAddDeviceRequest to commission a Matter device into your ecosystem. This is separate from the HMHome home-automation model; it handles the Matter setup flow and calls into your MatterSupport extension.

Basic Commissioning

swift

import MatterSupport
 
func addMatterDevice() async throws {
    guard MatterAddDeviceRequest.isSupported else {
        print("Matter not supported on this device")
        return
    }
 
    let topology = MatterAddDeviceRequest.Topology(
        ecosystemName: "My Smart Home",
        homes: [
            MatterAddDeviceRequest.Home(displayName: "Main House")
        ]
    )
 
    let request = MatterAddDeviceRequest(
        topology: topology,
        setupPayload: nil,
        showing: .allDevices
    )
 
    // Presents system UI for device pairing
    try await request.perform()
}

When providing a setup code directly, import Matter and pass an MTRSetupPayload as setupPayload; this is the case that requires the setup-payload entitlement.

Filtering Devices

swift

// Only show devices from a specific vendor
let criteria = MatterAddDeviceRequest.DeviceCriteria.vendorID(0x1234)
 
let request = MatterAddDeviceRequest(
    topology: topology,
    setupPayload: nil,
    showing: criteria
)

Combine criteria with .all([.vendorID(...), .not(.productID(...))]) or use .any(...) when any one criterion is enough.

MatterAddDeviceExtensionRequestHandler

For full ecosystem support, create a MatterSupport Extension. The extension handles commissioning callbacks. Override the needed methods, but do not call super from those overrides.

swift

import MatterSupport
 
final class MatterHandler: MatterAddDeviceExtensionRequestHandler {
 
    override func validateDeviceCredential(
        _ deviceCredential:
            MatterAddDeviceExtensionRequestHandler.DeviceCredential
    ) async throws {
        // Validate the device attestation certificate
        // Throw to reject the device
    }
 
    override func rooms(
        in home: MatterAddDeviceRequest.Home?
    ) async -> [MatterAddDeviceRequest.Room] {
        // Return rooms in the selected home
        return [
            MatterAddDeviceRequest.Room(displayName: "Living Room"),
            MatterAddDeviceRequest.Room(displayName: "Kitchen")
        ]
    }
 
    override func configureDevice(
        named name: String,
        in room: MatterAddDeviceRequest.Room?
    ) async {
        // Save the device configuration to your backend
        print("Configuring \(name) in \(room?.displayName ?? "no room")")
    }
 
    override func commissionDevice(
        in home: MatterAddDeviceRequest.Home?,
        onboardingPayload: String,
        commissioningID: UUID
    ) async throws {
        // Use the onboarding payload to commission the device
        // into your fabric using the Matter framework
    }
}

Common Mistakes

DON'T: Access homes before the delegate fires

swift

// WRONG -- homes array is empty until delegate is called
let manager = HMHomeManager()
let homes = manager.homes  // Always empty here
 
// CORRECT -- wait for delegate
func homeManagerDidUpdateHomes(_ manager: HMHomeManager) {
    let homes = manager.homes  // Now populated
}

DON'T: Confuse HomeKit setup with Matter commissioning

swift

// WRONG -- using HomeKit accessory setup for a Matter ecosystem app
home.addAndSetupAccessories { error in }
 
// CORRECT -- use MatterAddDeviceRequest for Matter ecosystem commissioning
let request = MatterAddDeviceRequest(
    topology: topology,
    setupPayload: nil,
    showing: .allDevices
)
try await request.perform()

DON'T: Forget required configuration

Matter ecosystem commissioning needs the MatterSupport extension, principal handler class, and Matter Bonjour services. Add the setup-payload entitlement only when your app provides setup codes directly.

DON'T: Create multiple HMHomeManager instances

swift

// WRONG -- each instance loads the full database independently
class ScreenA { let manager = HMHomeManager() }
class ScreenB { let manager = HMHomeManager() }
 
// CORRECT -- single shared instance
@Observable
final class HomeStore {
    static let shared = HomeStore()
    let homeManager = HMHomeManager()
}

DON'T: Write characteristics without checking metadata

swift

// WRONG -- writing a value outside the valid range
characteristic.writeValue(500) { _ in }
 
// CORRECT -- check metadata first
if let metadata = characteristic.metadata,
   let maxValue = metadata.maximumValue?.intValue {
    let safeValue = min(brightness, maxValue)
    characteristic.writeValue(safeValue) { _ in }
}

Review Checklist

[ ] HomeKit capability enabled in Xcode
[ ] NSHomeKitUsageDescription present in Info.plist
[ ] Single HMHomeManager instance shared across the app
[ ] HMHomeManagerDelegate implemented; homes not accessed before homeManagerDidUpdateHomes
[ ] HMHomeDelegate set on homes to receive accessory and room changes
[ ] HMAccessoryDelegate set on accessories to receive characteristic updates
[ ] Characteristic metadata checked before writing values
[ ] Error handling in all completion handlers
[ ] MatterSupport extension target and principal handler configured
[ ] Matter discovery NSBonjourServices entries added
[ ] com.apple.developer.matter.allow-setup-payload used only when providing setup codes
[ ] MatterAddDeviceRequest.isSupported checked before performing requests
[ ] Matter extension handler implements commissionDevice(in:onboardingPayload:commissioningID:)
[ ] Action sets tested with the HomeKit Accessory Simulator before shipping
[ ] Triggers enabled after creation (trigger.enable(true))

References

Extended patterns (Matter extension, delegate wiring, SwiftUI): references/matter-commissioning.md
HomeKit framework
HMHomeManager
HMHome
HMAccessory
HMRoom
HMActionSet
HMTrigger
MatterSupport framework
MatterAddDeviceRequest
MatterAddDeviceExtensionRequestHandler
Enabling HomeKit in your app
Adding Matter support to your ecosystem

← v1.0.0 All versions

Skill v1.0.1

HomeKit

Contents

Setup

HomeKit Configuration

MatterSupport Configuration

Availability Check

HomeKit Data Model

Initializing the Home Manager

Accessing Rooms

Managing Accessories

Discovering and Adding Accessories

Listing Accessories and Services

Moving an Accessory to a Room

Reading and Writing Characteristics

Reading a Value

Writing a Value

Observing Changes

Action Sets and Triggers

Creating an Action Set

Executing an Action Set

Creating a Timer Trigger

Creating an Event Trigger

Matter Commissioning

Basic Commissioning

Filtering Devices

MatterAddDeviceExtensionRequestHandler

Common Mistakes

DON'T: Access homes before the delegate fires

DON'T: Confuse HomeKit setup with Matter commissioning

DON'T: Forget required configuration

DON'T: Create multiple HMHomeManager instances

DON'T: Write characteristics without checking metadata

Review Checklist

References