sentry-cocoa-sdk

All Skills > SDK Setup > Cocoa SDK

Sentry Cocoa SDK

Opinionated wizard that scans your Apple project and guides you through complete Sentry setup.

Invoke This Skill When

• User asks to "add Sentry to iOS/macOS/tvOS" or "set up Sentry" in an Apple app
• User wants error monitoring, tracing, profiling, session replay, or logging in Swift/ObjC, or metrics in Swift
• User mentions sentry-cocoa, SentrySDK, or the Apple/iOS Sentry SDK
• User wants to monitor crashes, app hangs, watchdog terminations, or performance

Note: SDK versions and APIs below reflect Sentry docs at time of writing (sentry-cocoa 9.15.0). Always verify against docs.sentry.io/platforms/apple/ before implementing.

---

Phase 1: Detect

Run these commands to understand the project before making any recommendations:

# Check existing Sentry dependency
grep -rEi "sentry|sentry-cocoa|SentrySPM|SentrySwiftUI" \
  --include="Package.swift" --include="Podfile" --include="Cartfile" \
  --include="Package.resolved" --include="project.pbxproj" . 2>/dev/null | head -20

# Detect UI framework (SwiftUI vs UIKit)
grep -rE "@main|struct .*: App" --include="*.swift" . 2>/dev/null | head -5
grep -rE "AppDelegate|UIApplicationMain|@UIApplicationDelegateAdaptor" --include="*.swift" . 2>/dev/null | head -5

# Detect platform and deployment targets
grep -rE "platforms:|\\.iOS|\\.macOS|\\.tvOS|\\.watchOS|\\.visionOS|IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET|MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET|TVOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET|WATCHOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET|XROS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET" \
  --include="Package.swift" --include="project.pbxproj" . 2>/dev/null | head -20
grep -E "platform :ios|platform :osx|platform :tvos|platform :watchos" Podfile 2>/dev/null

# Detect logging
grep -rE "import OSLog|import os\\.log|Logger\\(|CocoaLumberjack|DDLog" --include="*.swift" . 2>/dev/null | head -5

# Detect companion backend
ls ../backend ../server ../api 2>/dev/null
ls ../go.mod ../requirements.txt ../Gemfile ../package.json 2>/dev/null

What to note:

• Is sentry-cocoa already in Package.swift or Podfile? If yes, skip to Phase 2 (configure features).
• SwiftUI (@main App struct) or UIKit (AppDelegate)? Determines init pattern.
• Which Apple platforms? (Affects which features are available — see Platform Support Matrix.)
• Existing logging library? (Enables structured log capture.)
• SwiftUI tracing import/product? SentrySwiftUI still exists but is deprecated in SDK 9.4.1+; prefer the main Sentry module for released binary products.
• Companion backend? (Triggers Phase 4 cross-link for distributed tracing.)

---

Phase 2: Recommend

Based on what you found, present a concrete recommendation. Don't ask open-ended questions — lead with a proposal:

Recommended (core coverage):

• Error Monitoring — always; crash reporting, app hangs, watchdog terminations, NSError/Swift errors
• Tracing — always for apps; auto-instruments app launch, network, UIViewController, file I/O, Core Data
• Profiling — production iOS/macOS apps; UI profiling via configureProfiling

Optional (enhanced observability):

• Session Replay — user-facing iOS apps; verify masking on iOS 26+ / Liquid Glass builds
• Logging — when structured log capture is needed
• Metrics — Swift apps needing aggregate counters, gauges, or distributions
• User Feedback — apps that want crash/error feedback forms from users

Not available for Cocoa:

• Crons — backend only
• AI Monitoring — JS/Python only

Recommendation logic:

Feature	Recommend when...
Error Monitoring	Always — non-negotiable baseline
Tracing	Always for apps — rich auto-instrumentation out of the box
Profiling	iOS/macOS production apps where performance matters (not tvOS/watchOS/visionOS)
Session Replay	User-facing iOS apps; tvOS may work but is not officially supported
Logging	Existing os.log / CocoaLumberjack usage, or structured logs needed
Metrics	Aggregate product or health signals that should not create issues; Swift only, SDK 9.12+
User Feedback	Apps wanting in-app bug reports with screenshots

Propose: "I recommend Error Monitoring + Tracing + Profiling. Want me to also add Session Replay and Logging?"

---

Phase 3: Guide

Install

Option 1 — Sentry Wizard (recommended):

You need to run this yourself — the wizard opens a browser for login and requires interactive input that the agent can't handle. Copy-paste into your terminal:

brew install getsentry/tools/sentry-wizard && sentry-wizard -i ios

It handles login, org/project selection, auth token setup, SDK installation, AppDelegate updates, and dSYM/debug symbol upload build phases.

Once it finishes, come back and skip to Verification.

If the user skips the wizard, proceed with Option 2 (SPM/CocoaPods) and manual setup below.

Option 2 — Swift Package Manager: File → Add Packages → enter:

https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-cocoa.git

Or in Package.swift:

.package(url: "https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-cocoa", from: "9.15.0"),

SPM Products — choose exactly one per target:

Product	Use Case
Sentry	Recommended — static framework, fast app start; includes SwiftUI APIs in SDK 9.4.1+
Sentry-Dynamic	Dynamic framework alternative
SentrySwiftUI	Legacy/deprecated re-export for SwiftUI APIs; use only when maintaining older setup
Sentry-WithoutUIKitOrAppKit	watchOS, app extensions, CLI tools (Swift < 6.1)
SentrySPM + NoUIFramework trait	Source build without UIKit/AppKit for CLI/headless targets (SDK 9.7+ / Swift 6.1+ / Xcode 26.4+ for Xcode UI)

Warning: Xcode allows selecting multiple products — choose only one.

If using SentrySPM from source, current source-build projects may import SentrySwift instead of Sentry; verify the module name in the target. Released binary products use import Sentry.

Swift 6.1+ trait-based opt-out of UIKit/AppKit (requires [email protected] manifest):

// Package.swift (Swift 6.1+)
.package(
    url: "https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-cocoa",
    from: "9.15.0",
    traits: ["NoUIFramework"]
),

// In your target's dependencies:
.product(name: "SentrySPM", package: "sentry-cocoa")

This is the preferred opt-out path for command-line/headless targets on Swift 6.1+. It compiles the SDK from source so the trait can remove UIKit/AppKit/SwiftUI linkage. For Swift < 6.1 continue using Sentry-WithoutUIKitOrAppKit.

Note: Package traits are visible in the Xcode UI starting with Xcode 26.4+. On older Xcode versions, traits still work when declared in Package.swift but won't appear in the GUI.

Option 3 — CocoaPods (deprecated; prefer SPM):

platform :ios, '15.0'
use_frameworks!

target 'YourApp' do
  pod 'Sentry', :git => 'https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-cocoa.git', :tag => '9.15.0'
end

Sentry plans to stop publishing CocoaPods releases at the end of June 2026; use this only for existing CocoaPods projects.

Known issue (Xcode 14+): Sandbox rsync.samba error → Target Settings → "Enable User Script Sandbox" → NO.

Option 4 — SentryObjC (for pure Objective-C/C++ projects):

For pure Objective-C or Objective-C++ projects that cannot enable Clang modules (e.g., -fmodules=NO), use the SentryObjC wrapper SDK. It provides the same functionality as the main SDK but with pure Objective-C headers that don't require Swift module imports.

SPM:

.package(url: "https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-cocoa", from: "9.17.1"),

// In your target's dependencies:
.product(name: "SentryObjC", package: "sentry-cocoa")

Or download SentryObjC-Dynamic.xcframework.zip from the releases page.

Migration from regular Sentry to SentryObjC:

• Change #import <Sentry/Sentry.h> to #import <SentryObjC/SentryObjC.h>
• Rename Sentry-prefixed types to SentryObjC (e.g., SentrySDK → SentryObjCSDK, SentryOptions → SentryObjCOptions)
• The API surface is otherwise identical

Most users should use the standard Sentry product (Option 2). Only use SentryObjC if you have a specific requirement preventing Clang modules.

---

Quick Start — Recommended Init

Full iOS app config enabling the most common features with sensible defaults. Add before any other code at app startup.

For macOS, watchOS, app extensions, or NoUIFramework builds, omit options that are unavailable for that platform (sessionReplay, screenshots/view hierarchy, user-feedback UI, UIKit tracing, and profiling on tvOS/watchOS/visionOS). Keep the core dsn, environment, error monitoring, tracing, logs, and metrics settings that compile for the detected target.

SwiftUI — App entry point:

import SwiftUI
import Sentry

@main
struct MyApp: App {
    init() {
        SentrySDK.start { options in
            options.dsn = ProcessInfo.processInfo.environment["SENTRY_DSN"]
                ?? "https://[email protected]/0"
            options.environment = ProcessInfo.processInfo.environment["SENTRY_ENVIRONMENT"]
                ?? "production"
            // releaseName defaults to "<bundle id>@<version>+<build>"; set only if you need a custom release.

            // Error monitoring (on by default — explicit for clarity)
            options.enableCrashHandler = true
            options.enableAppHangTracking = true
            options.enableReportNonFullyBlockingAppHangs = true
            options.enableWatchdogTerminationTracking = true
            options.attachScreenshot = true
            options.attachViewHierarchy = true
            options.sendDefaultPii = true

            // Tracing
            options.tracesSampleRate = 1.0          // lower to 0.2 in high-traffic production

            // Profiling (SDK 9.0.0+ API)
            options.configureProfiling = {
                $0.sessionSampleRate = 1.0
                $0.lifecycle = .trace
            }

            // Session Replay. Keep production sampling conservative and verify masking on iOS 26+.
            options.sessionReplay.sessionSampleRate = 0.1
            options.sessionReplay.onErrorSampleRate = 1.0

            // Logging (SDK 9.0.0+ top-level; use options.experimental.enableLogs in 8.x)
            options.enableLogs = true

            // Metrics are enabled by default in SDK 9.12+. Set false only to opt out.
            options.enableMetrics = true
        }
    }

    var body: some Scene {
        WindowGroup { ContentView() }
    }
}

UIKit — AppDelegate:

import UIKit
import Sentry

@UIApplicationMain
class AppDelegate: UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate {
    func application(
        _ application: UIApplication,
        didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?
    ) -> Bool {
        SentrySDK.start { options in
            options.dsn = ProcessInfo.processInfo.environment["SENTRY_DSN"]
                ?? "https://[email protected]/0"
            options.environment = ProcessInfo.processInfo.environment["SENTRY_ENVIRONMENT"]
                ?? "production"
            // releaseName defaults to "<bundle id>@<version>+<build>"; set only if you need a custom release.

            options.enableCrashHandler = true
            options.enableAppHangTracking = true
            options.enableReportNonFullyBlockingAppHangs = true
            options.enableWatchdogTerminationTracking = true
            options.attachScreenshot = true
            options.attachViewHierarchy = true
            options.sendDefaultPii = true

            options.tracesSampleRate = 1.0

            options.configureProfiling = {
                $0.sessionSampleRate = 1.0
                $0.lifecycle = .trace
            }

            options.sessionReplay.sessionSampleRate = 0.1
            options.sessionReplay.onErrorSampleRate = 1.0

            // Logging (SDK 9.0.0+ top-level; use options.experimental.enableLogs in 8.x)
            options.enableLogs = true

            // Metrics are enabled by default in SDK 9.12+. Set false only to opt out.
            options.enableMetrics = true
        }
        return true
    }
}

Warning: SDK initialization must occur on the main thread.

---

For Each Agreed Feature

Walk through features one at a time. Load the reference file for each, follow its steps, and verify before moving to the next:

Feature	Reference file	Load when...
Error Monitoring	${SKILL_ROOT}/references/error-monitoring.md	Always (baseline)
Tracing	${SKILL_ROOT}/references/tracing.md	App launch, network, UIViewController perf
Profiling	${SKILL_ROOT}/references/profiling.md	Production perf-sensitive apps
Session Replay	${SKILL_ROOT}/references/session-replay.md	User-facing iOS apps; tvOS only with caveat
Logging	${SKILL_ROOT}/references/logging.md	Structured log capture needed
Metrics	${SKILL_ROOT}/references/metrics.md	Aggregate counters, gauges, distributions
User Feedback	${SKILL_ROOT}/references/user-feedback.md	In-app bug reporting wanted

For each feature: Read ${SKILL_ROOT}/references/<feature>.md, follow steps exactly, verify it works.

---

Configuration Reference

Key SentryOptions Fields

Option	Type	Default	Purpose
dsn	String?	nil	SDK disabled if empty; macOS can read SENTRY_DSN, other Apple platforms must set explicitly
environment	String	"production"	e.g., "production"
releaseName	String?	bundle-derived	Defaults to <bundle id>@<version>+<build>
debug	Bool	false	Verbose SDK output — disable in production
sendDefaultPii	Bool	false	Include IP, user info from active integrations
enableCrashHandler	Bool	true	Master switch for crash reporting
enableAppHangTracking	Bool	true	Master switch for app hang tracking
enableReportNonFullyBlockingAppHangs	Bool	true	Report non-fully-blocking hangs on supported UI platforms
appHangTimeoutInterval	Double	2.0	Seconds before classifying as hang
enableWatchdogTerminationTracking	Bool	true	Track watchdog kills (iOS, tvOS, Mac Catalyst)
attachScreenshot	Bool	false	Capture screenshot on error
attachViewHierarchy	Bool	false	Capture view hierarchy on error
tracesSampleRate	NSNumber?	nil	Transaction sample rate (nil = tracing disabled); Swift auto-boxes Double literals (e.g. 1.0 → NSNumber)
tracesSampler	Closure	nil	Dynamic per-transaction sampling (overrides rate)
enableAutoPerformanceTracing	Bool	true	Master switch for auto-instrumentation
tracePropagationTargets	[Any]	all requests	Strings or NSRegularExpression values that receive distributed trace headers
enableCaptureFailedRequests	Bool	true	Auto-capture HTTP 5xx errors as events
enableNetworkBreadcrumbs	Bool	true	Breadcrumbs for outgoing HTTP requests
add(inAppInclude:)	Method	bundle executable	Add module prefixes treated as "in-app" code
maxBreadcrumbs	Int	100	Max breadcrumbs per event
sampleRate	Float	1.0	Error event sample rate
beforeSend	Closure	nil	Hook to mutate/drop error events
onLastRunStatusDetermined	Closure	nil	Called after SDK determines previous launch crash status
strictTraceContinuation	Bool	false	Reject incoming traces from other orgs; validates sentry-org_id in baggage headers (sentry-cocoa ≥9.10.0)
orgId	String?	nil	Organization ID for strict trace validation; auto-parsed from DSN host (e.g. o123.ingest.sentry.io → "123") if not set explicitly
enableLogs	Bool	false	Enable structured logs
enableMetrics	Bool	true	Enable Swift Metrics API (SDK 9.12+)

Environment Variables

Variable	Maps to	Purpose
SENTRY_DSN	dsn	macOS fallback only; set explicitly on iOS/tvOS/watchOS/visionOS
SENTRY_RELEASE	releaseName	Do not assume automatic Cocoa fallback; set explicitly if needed
SENTRY_ENVIRONMENT	environment	Do not assume automatic Cocoa fallback; set explicitly if needed

Platform Feature Support Matrix

Feature	iOS	tvOS	macOS	watchOS	visionOS
Crash Reporting	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
App Hangs	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Watchdog Termination	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
App Start Tracing	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
UIViewController Tracing	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
SwiftUI Tracing	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Network Tracking	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Profiling	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Session Replay	Yes	Unofficial	No	No	No
MetricKit	Yes (15+)	No	Yes (12+)	No	No
Metrics API	Yes	Yes	Yes	Verify	Yes

---

Verification

Test that Sentry is receiving events:

// Trigger a test error event:
SentrySDK.capture(message: "Sentry Cocoa SDK test")

// Or test crash reporting (without debugger — crashes are intercepted by debugger):
// SentrySDK.crash()  // uncomment, run without debugger, relaunch to see crash report

Check the Sentry dashboard within a few seconds. If nothing appears:

1. Set options.debug = true — prints SDK internals to Xcode console
2. Verify the DSN is correct and the project exists
3. Ensure initialization is on the main thread

---

Production Settings

Lower sample rates for production to control volume and cost:

options.tracesSampleRate = 0.2          // 20% of transactions

options.configureProfiling = {
    $0.sessionSampleRate = 0.1          // 10% of sessions
    $0.lifecycle = .trace
}

options.sessionReplay.sessionSampleRate = 0.1   // 10% continuous
options.sessionReplay.onErrorSampleRate = 1.0   // 100% on error (keep high)

options.enableLogs = true
options.enableMetrics = true             // default true in SDK 9.12+
options.debug = false                   // never in production

---

Phase 4: Cross-Link

After completing Apple setup, check for a companion backend missing Sentry coverage:

# Detect companion backend
ls ../backend ../server ../api 2>/dev/null
cat ../go.mod 2>/dev/null | head -5
cat ../requirements.txt ../Pipfile 2>/dev/null | head -5
cat ../Gemfile 2>/dev/null | head -5
cat ../package.json 2>/dev/null | grep -E '"name"|"dependencies"' | head -5

If a backend is found, configure tracePropagationTargets to enable distributed tracing end-to-end, and suggest the matching skill:

Backend detected	Suggest skill	Trace header support
Go (go.mod)	sentry-go-sdk	Automatic
Python (requirements.txt)	sentry-python-sdk	Automatic
Ruby (Gemfile)	sentry-ruby-sdk	Automatic
Node.js backend (package.json)	sentry-node-sdk (or sentry-express-sdk)	Automatic

---

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Events not appearing	Set debug: true, verify DSN format, ensure init is on main thread
Crashes not captured	Run without debugger attached — debugger intercepts signals
App hangs not reported	Auto-disabled when debugger attached; check appHangTimeoutInterval
Session Replay not recording	Verify sessionSampleRate > 0 or onErrorSampleRate > 0; on iOS 26+ verify masking and any manual Liquid Glass gating
Tracing data missing	Confirm tracesSampleRate > 0; check enableAutoPerformanceTracing = true
Profiling data missing	Verify sessionSampleRate > 0 in configureProfiling; for .trace lifecycle, tracing must be enabled
rsync.samba build error (CocoaPods)	Target Settings → "Enable User Script Sandbox" → NO
Multiple SPM products selected	Choose only one of Sentry, Sentry-Dynamic, SentrySwiftUI, Sentry-WithoutUIKitOrAppKit, or SentrySPM (with NoUIFramework trait on Swift 6.1+)
inAppExclude compile error	Removed in SDK 9.0.0 — use options.add(inAppInclude:)
enableAppHangTrackingV2 compile error	Removed in SDK 9.0.0 — use enableAppHangTracking; V2 behavior is default where supported
Watchdog termination not tracked	Requires enableCrashHandler = true (it is by default)
Network breadcrumbs missing	Requires enableSwizzling = true (it is by default)
profilesSampleRate compile error	Removed in SDK 9.0.0 — use configureProfiling closure instead