How to know if an object already exists in SwiftData

A step by step guide on creating a SwiftUI, UIKit or AppKit algorithm that checks if an object has been added to a SwiftData persistent storage container.

Oscar de la Hera Gomez
Written by Oscar de la Hera Gomez
First published on 09/12/2023 at 12:27
Last Updated on 09/12/2023 at 16:16
<p>Three flowers that represent Swift, Swift Data and Xcode.  The text "Does a SwiftData object exist?" sits beneath them.</p>

A step by step guide on creating a SwiftUI, UIKit or AppKit algorithm that checks if an object has been added to a SwiftData persistent storage container.

SubscribeCheck out our SwiftData Quick Start Guide
<p>A screenshot of an iPhone showing the result of the sample app available on our open source swift GitHub repository.</p>

The following tutorial has been made available, along with a simple app for demonstrating SwiftData, through the tutorial/swift-data-basics branch on our Open Source Swift Starter Project.

git clone git@github.com:delasign/swift-starter-project.git
View RepositoryHow to create a SwiftLint enabled Swift XCode Project

Step One: Setup the Project

<p>A screenshot of Xcode highlighting the functionality that is available in a code snippet below that allows you to get an object by id.</p>

Follow the tutorial linked below to add SwiftData to your project, along with the ability to search for a specific object.

How to get an object from SwiftData in Swift

Step Two: Add the Functionality

<p>A screenshot of Xcode highlighting the code that is available in a snippet below which allows you to check if a SwiftData object of a specific Id exists within the SwiftData persistent storage container.</p>

Add functionality similar that below to the project to check if an object exists within your SwiftData persistent storage container.

Please note that we are filtering by id, as this is the unique attribute that we declared in Step One.

We recommend adding this to a file called DataCoordinator+SwiftData.swift, where DataCoordinator is the name of the MainActor singleton that manages the SwiftData.

This function can be used by passing in the Id of the object that you are searching for. It will return a boolean value indicating if it exists or not.

Looking to learn more about things you can do with SwiftData, Swift or XCode ?

Consult our quick start guide or search our blog to find educational content on learning how to use SwiftData, Swift or XCode.

Consult our SwiftData Quick Start GuideSearch our Blog

Any Questions?

We are actively looking for feedback on how to improve this resource. Please send us a note to inquiries@delasign.com with any thoughts or feedback you may have.
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