---
name: inspector-integration
description: Use when an agent needs to integrate the Inspector library into an app without focusing on the MCP bridge: startup wiring, configuration/customization, debug-only gating, and custom panel registration. Especially useful when patching another iOS app to call `Inspector.start()` correctly and optionally register custom Inspector libraries.
---

# Inspector Integration

## Overview

Use this skill when integrating **Inspector the library** into a consumer app.
This is broader than MCP bridge setup and applies even when the app only needs:
- `Inspector.start()` / `Inspector.stop()`
- configuration via `InspectorConfiguration`
- customization via `InspectorCustomizationProviding`
- debug-only custom panels/libraries/macros
- `InspectorInterface` macro adoption (`@InspectorPanel`, `@InspectorProperty`)

## Core startup pattern

The safe baseline is:

```swift
Inspector.setConfiguration(...)
Inspector.setCustomization(...)
Inspector.start()
```

Do configuration/customization **before** `Inspector.start()`.

## Typical integration tasks
- add Inspector startup to UIKit or SwiftUI app entry points
- keep startup debug-only
- register custom libraries/panels through `InspectorCustomizationProviding`
- integrate `InspectorInterface` macros cleanly in a consumer app
- verify Example-like integration patterns in another app
- preserve existing app startup behavior while inserting Inspector cleanly

## Common entry points
- UIKit lifecycle: `SceneDelegate.scene(_:willConnectTo:)`
- older UIKit lifecycle: `AppDelegate`
- SwiftUI lifecycle: `@main App` / app delegate adaptor or debug bootstrap path

## Debug-only guidance
Prefer keeping Inspector setup in debug-only code paths so release builds stay clean.
If the consumer app uses macro-based custom panels, ensure the same debug trait/build gating applies consistently.

## Macro integration guidance

When the consumer app uses `@InspectorPanel` / `@InspectorProperty`:
- import **`InspectorInterface`** for the macro declarations
- import **`Inspector`** when the file also uses Inspector runtime APIs directly (`Inspector.start()`, customization types, etc.)
- do **not** hide `@InspectorProperty` from the macro expander with local `#if` guards around the annotation itself unless you are certain the macro still sees the declaration
- prefer gating the surrounding integration/bootstrap path rather than making the annotation invisible

The generated code references Inspector runtime symbols, so the consumer target must have the proper Inspector package products linked in its debug configuration.

## Verification
- app launches with Inspector enabled
- no duplicate `Inspector.start()` calls
- configuration/customization are applied before startup
- custom panels/libraries appear when expected

## References
Read only when needed:
- `references/integration-patterns.md`