Scenekit

This is a comprehensive reference for building 3D scenes in iOS apps with SceneKit's node-based architecture, covering scene setup, geometry primitives, PBR materials, lighting with shadow configuration, camera control, three animation approaches (SCNAction, SCNTransaction, Core Animation), physics simulation, particle systems, and SwiftUI integration via SceneView. The skill includes concrete code samples for transforms, material properties, light types with category bitmasks, and model loading from USDZ and SCN files. Worth noting that Apple deprecated SceneKit at WWDC 2025 in favor of RealityKit, so this is most useful for maintaining existing codebases or prototyping quick 3D visualizations where migration complexity isn't justified. The examples use Swift 6.3 with SIMD types for performance-critical transform operations.

skills.sh installs: 3.2K
GitHub stars: 1.3K
last updated: Aug 21, 2026

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Install

$ npx -y skills add dpearson2699/swift-ios-skills --skill scenekit --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

SceneKit

Maintain existing SceneKit scenes only. Apple deprecated SceneKit at WWDC 2025 and limits it to maintenance; route new projects, major modernization, and USD/USDZ pipelines to RealityKit. Existing apps continue to work.

Scene Setup
Nodes and Geometry
Materials
Lighting
Cameras
Animation
Physics
Particle Systems
Loading Models
SwiftUI Integration
Common Mistakes
Review Checklist
References

Scene Setup

SCNView in UIKit

import SceneKit

let sceneView = SCNView(frame: view.bounds)
sceneView.scene = SCNScene()
sceneView.allowsCameraControl = true
sceneView.autoenablesDefaultLighting = true
sceneView.backgroundColor = .black
view.addSubview(sceneView)

allowsCameraControl adds built-in orbit, pan, and zoom gestures. Typically disabled in production where custom camera control is needed.