How do you create and install an Xcode File Template for a UIKit MVP architecture feature?

Answer: An Xcode MVP Feature template generates four pre-wired files for UIKit screens (Contract, Presenter, View, and ViewController) using protocol abstractions and @MainActor isolation to maintain strict separation of concerns and full testability without simulator dependencies.

File ▸ New ▸ File from Template… ▸ UIKit ▸ MVP Feature ▸ "Profile"

Generates:

ProfileContract.swift        Protocols defining bidirectional view/presenter communication
ProfilePresenter.swift       Presentation logic (independent of UIKit)
ProfileView.swift            UIKit layout and subviews (no business logic)
ProfileViewController.swift  Coordinates the lifecycle, owns customView, and connects presenter

1. Installation Script

Run this shell script in Terminal to install the template into Xcode's user templates directory:

set -e
TPL=~/Library/Developer/Xcode/Templates/"File Templates"/UIKit/MVPFeature.xctemplate
mkdir -p "$TPL"; cd "$TPL"

V='___VARIABLE_productName:identifier___'
H='//
//  ___FILENAME___
//  ___PACKAGENAME___
//
//  Created by ___FULLUSERNAME___ on ___DATE___.
//  ___COPYRIGHT___
//'

cat > TemplateInfo.plist <<'EOF'
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Kind</key>
    <string>Xcode.IDEFoundation.TextSubstitutionFileTemplateKind</string>
    <key>Identifier</key>
    <string>com.template.UIKitMVPFeature</string>
    <key>Name</key>
    <string>MVP Feature</string>
    <key>Description</key>
    <string>Creates a UIKit MVP feature: Contract, Presenter, View and ViewController.</string>
    <key>Summary</key>
    <string>Create UIKit MVP Feature</string>
    <key>SortOrder</key>
    <string>1</string>
    <key>Platforms</key>
    <array>
        <string>com.apple.platform.iphoneos</string>
    </array>
    <key>Options</key>
    <array>
        <dict>
            <key>Identifier</key><string>productName</string>
            <key>Name</key><string>Feature Name:</string>
            <key>Description</key><string>Base name of the feature, e.g. Profile (no suffix).</string>
            <key>Type</key><string>text</string>
            <key>Required</key><true/>
            <key>NotPersisted</key><true/>
        </dict>
    </array>
</dict>
</plist>
EOF

cat > ___FILEBASENAME___Contract.swift <<EOF
$H

import Foundation

/// What the presenter is allowed to ask the view to do.
@MainActor
protocol ${V}ViewProtocol: AnyObject {
    func display(title: String)
}

/// What the view is allowed to ask the presenter to do.
@MainActor
protocol ${V}PresenterProtocol: AnyObject {
    func viewDidLoad()
}
EOF

cat > ___FILEBASENAME___Presenter.swift <<EOF
$H

import Foundation

final class ${V}Presenter: ${V}PresenterProtocol {

    /// Weak reference to avoid retain cycles with ViewController.
    private weak var view: ${V}ViewProtocol?

    init(view: ${V}ViewProtocol) {
        self.view = view
    }

    func viewDidLoad() {
        view?.display(title: "${V}")
    }
}
EOF

cat > ___FILEBASENAME___View.swift <<EOF
$H

import UIKit

/// All the layout for the screen. Holds no business logic.
final class ${V}View: UIView {

    let titleLabel: UILabel = {
        let label = UILabel()
        label.font = .preferredFont(forTextStyle: .largeTitle)
        label.numberOfLines = 0
        label.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        return label
    }()

    override init(frame: CGRect) {
        super.init(frame: frame)
        setupViews()
    }

    required init?(coder: NSCoder) {
        fatalError("init(coder:) has not been implemented")
    }

    private func setupViews() {
        backgroundColor = .systemBackground

        addSubview(titleLabel)

        NSLayoutConstraint.activate([
            titleLabel.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: safeAreaLayoutGuide.topAnchor, constant: 16),
            titleLabel.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: leadingAnchor, constant: 16),
            titleLabel.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: trailingAnchor, constant: -16)
        ])
    }
}
EOF

cat > ___FILEBASENAME___ViewController.swift <<EOF
$H

import UIKit

final class ${V}ViewController: UIViewController {

    private let customView = ${V}View()
    private lazy var presenter: ${V}PresenterProtocol = ${V}Presenter(view: self)

    override func loadView() {
        view = customView
    }

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        presenter.viewDidLoad()
    }
}

// MARK: - ${V}ViewProtocol

extension ${V}ViewController: ${V}ViewProtocol {

    func display(title: String) {
        customView.titleLabel.text = title
    }
}
EOF

plutil -lint TemplateInfo.plist

2. Architecture Details

• Weak View Reference: Presenter holds a weak var view: ViewProtocol? because ViewController owns the presenter. Strong back-references would create retain cycles and memory leaks.
• Pure Swift Presenter: The Presenter avoids importing UIKit, keeping business and presentation decisions decoupled from UI components.
• Swift 6 Strict Concurrency: All protocols and UI-facing types are annotated @MainActor.
• Fast Unit Tests: Presenter unit tests execute in milliseconds using a ViewSpy without launching a UIKit hierarchy or simulator.

3. Unit Testing the Presenter

import XCTest

@MainActor
final class ProfilePresenterTests: XCTestCase {

    final class ViewSpy: ProfileViewProtocol {
        var displayedTitle: String?
        func display(title: String) {
            displayedTitle = title
        }
    }

    func test_viewDidLoad_setsTitle() {
        let view = ViewSpy()
        let presenter = ProfilePresenter(view: view)

        presenter.viewDidLoad()

        XCTAssertEqual(view.displayedTitle, "Profile")
    }
}