Corehaptics

Name: Corehaptics
Author: vabole

vabole/apple-skills

225 installs
297 repo stars
Updated August 4, 2026
vabole/apple-skills

Add precise tactile feedback to iOS apps using Core Haptics patterns, CHHapticEngine lifecycle, custom AHAP patterns, and fallbacks when hardware or permissions limit haptics.

About

Teaches Core Haptics on Apple platforms: engine lifecycle, AHAP patterns, transient and continuous events, audio sync, and hardware fallbacks so agents add polished tactile feedback to SwiftUI and UIKit interactions.

CHHapticEngine setup and recovery
AHAP pattern authoring and playback
Transient vs continuous haptic events
Audio-haptic synchronization
Capability checks and graceful degradation

Corehaptics by the numbers

225 all-time installs (skills.sh)
+8 installs in the week ending Jul 27, 2026 (Skillselion tracking)
Ranked #409 of 1,039 Mobile Development skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
Data as of Aug 5, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)

npx skills add https://github.com/vabole/apple-skills --skill corehaptics

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Installs	225
repo stars	★ 297
Last updated	August 4, 2026
Repository	vabole/apple-skills ↗

What it does

Add precise tactile feedback to iOS apps using Core Haptics patterns, CHHapticEngine lifecycle, custom AHAP patterns, and fallbacks when hardware or permissions limit haptics.

Files

SKILL.mdMarkdownGitHub ↗

Core Haptics Documentation

Search these docs to answer questions about haptic feedback APIs.

Return Format

Always include: 1. Summary - Answer the question concisely 2. File paths - List relevant files for full details

Files

corehaptics-index.md - Framework overview, patterns, events
chhapticengine.md - Haptic engine setup and playback

Navigation: Core Haptics

Class

CHHapticEngine

Available on: iOS 13.0+, iPadOS 13.0+, Mac Catalyst 13.0+, macOS 10.15+, tvOS 14.0+, visionOS 1.0+

An object that represents the connection to the haptic server.

class CHHapticEngine

Overview

If you want your app to play custom haptics, you need to create a haptic engine. The haptic engine establishes the connection between your app and the underlying device hardware. Even though you can define a haptic pattern without an engine, you need the engine to play that pattern.

A dictionary defines a pattern, from which the haptic engine creates a pattern player for playing the haptic.

Even though your app makes a request through the haptic engine, the operating system could still override the request with system services, like haptics from system notifications.

Prepare Your App To Play Haptics

To prepare your app to play haptics, follow these steps, as demonstrated in the code below:

1. Create a haptic engine instance. Maintain a strong reference to it so it doesn’t go out of scope while the haptic is playing. 2. Call the haptic engine’s start(completionHandler:)) for an asynchronous start, or start()) to start the engine synchronously (immediately). 3. Stop the engine by calling stop(completionHandler:)) when your app finishes haptic playback.

Swift

do {
    // 1. Create a haptic engine instance.
    hapticEngine = try CHHapticEngine()

    // 2. Start the haptic engine.
    try hapticEngine.start()
} catch let error {
    print("Engine Error: \(error)")
}

// 3. Stop the engine.
hapticEngine.stop(completionHandler: { (_) -> Void in
    // Insert code to call after engine stops.
})

Objective-C

// Create an error variable through which the engine returns error information.
NSError* error = nil;

// (1.) Create an instance of a haptic engine.
self.hapticEngine = [[CHHapticEngine alloc] initAndReturnError:&error];

// (2.) Start the haptic engine.
[self.hapticEngine startAndReturnError:&error];

// (3.) Stop the engine.
[self.hapticEngine stopWithCompletionHandler:^(NSError* error){
    // Insert code to call after engine stops.
}];

Although it’s possible to create content—CHHapticPattern instances—independent of a CHHapticEngine, your app must use an engine to play that content.

Inherits From

NSObject

Conforms To

Initializing a Haptic Engine

init()) Creates an instance of the haptic engine.
init(audioSession:)) Creates a haptic engine from an audio session.

Starting and Stopping the Haptic Engine

start()) Synchronously starts the haptic engine.
start(completionHandler:)) Asynchronously starts the haptic engine.
stop(completionHandler:)) Asynchronously stops the haptic engine and executes the completion handler once the engine has stopped.
CHHapticEngine.CompletionHandler A typealias for a completion handler that the engine calls after starting or stopping.

Creating Haptic Pattern Players

makePlayer(with:)) Creates a standard haptic pattern player from a haptic pattern.
makeAdvancedPlayer(with:)) Creates an advanced haptic pattern player from a haptic pattern.

Modifying Playback Properties

playsAudioOnly A Boolean value that indicates whether the engine ignores haptic events and plays audio events only.
playsHapticsOnly A Boolean value that indicates whether the engine ignores audio events.
isMutedForAudio A Boolean value that indicates whether the engine mutes audio.
isMutedForHaptics A Boolean value that indicates whether the engine mutes haptics.

Playing a Pattern

playPattern(from:)-6m9m5) Plays a pattern that’s defined in a file at the specified URL.
playPattern(from:)-7u8se) Plays a pattern from the specified data.

Registering Audio Resources

registerAudioResource(_:options:)) Registers an external audio to use as a custom waveform.
unregisterAudioResource(_:)) Unregisters an external audio file that you previously registered with the engine.
CHHapticAudioResourceID A type that identifies a custom audio resource.

Monitoring Finished Playback

notifyWhenPlayersFinished(finishedHandler:)) Notifies you when all haptic pattern players have finished playing their haptic patterns.
CHHapticEngine.FinishedHandler A type alias for a completion handler to execute after finishing haptic playback.
CHHapticEngine.FinishedAction Possible actions to take after the haptic engine finishes execution.

Handling Haptic Engine Resets

resetHandler A block that the haptic engine calls after recovering from a haptic server error.
CHHapticEngine.ResetHandler A typealias for the block that the haptic engine calls after being reset.

Handling Haptic Engine Stoppages

stoppedHandler A closure the haptic engine calls when it stops due to external causes.
CHHapticEngine.StoppedHandler A typealias for the block that the haptic engine calls after it stops due to an external cause.
CHHapticEngine.StoppedReason The enumeration of reasons the haptic engine stopped running.

Getting the Current Media Time

currentTime The absolute time, in seconds, to use for scheduling haptic and audio events.
CHHapticTimeImmediate A time constant used to schedule a command immediately.

Querying System Capabilities

capabilitiesForHardware()) Returns a device capability object that describes the device’s haptic support and limitations.
CHHapticDeviceCapability A protocol that defines haptics and audio capabilities of a device.
CHHapticParameterAttributes A protocol for providing default, mininum, and maximum values of a parameter.
attributes(forDynamicParameter:)) Requests the haptic device’s attributes for a dynamic parameter.

Managing Power

isAutoShutdownEnabled A Boolean value that indicates whether the haptic engine starts and stops automatically on request from one of its pattern players, or when idle.

Initializers

init(andReturnError:))

Instance Properties

intendedSpatialExperience The CHHapticEngine’s intended SpatialAudioExperience.

Essentials

Preparing your app to play haptics Set up your app to play haptics.
Playing a single-tap haptic pattern Create and play a transient haptic pattern from a dictionary literal inline.
CHHapticPattern An object representing a haptic waveform.
CHHapticPatternPlayer A protocol that defines a standard pattern player capable of playing haptic patterns with fixed parameters.
CHHapticAdvancedPatternPlayer A protocol that defines an advanced pattern player capable of looping, seeking, pausing, and resuming haptic playback.

---

Extracted from Apple DocC JSON by apple-skills tooling. This is unofficial content. All documentation belongs to Apple Inc.

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About

Corehaptics by the numbers

Add your badge

What it does

Files

Core Haptics Documentation

Return Format

Files

CHHapticEngine

Overview

Prepare Your App To Play Haptics

Swift

Objective-C

Inherits From

Conforms To

Initializing a Haptic Engine

Starting and Stopping the Haptic Engine

Creating Haptic Pattern Players

Modifying Playback Properties

Playing a Pattern

Registering Audio Resources

Monitoring Finished Playback

Handling Haptic Engine Resets

Handling Haptic Engine Stoppages

Getting the Current Media Time

Querying System Capabilities

Managing Power

Initializers

Instance Properties

Essentials

Essentials

Initializing a Haptic Engine

Starting and Stopping the Haptic Engine

Creating Haptic Pattern Players

Modifying Playback Properties

Playing a Pattern

Registering Audio Resources

Audio Resource Keys

Monitoring Finished Playback

Finished Actions

Initializers

Handling Haptic Engine Resets

Handling Haptic Engine Stoppages

Stopped Reasons

Initializers

Getting the Current Media Time

Querying System Capabilities

Determining Support for Haptics

Determining Supported Parameters

Parameter Attributes

Managing Power

Initializers

Instance Properties

Creating a Haptic Pattern

Haptic Pattern Keys

Initializers

Retrieving Haptic Pattern Duration

Exporting a Haptic Pattern

Initializers

Starting and Stopping Playback

Sending Parameters to a Haptic

Silencing Haptic Playback

Setting Playback Properties

Controlling Playback

Silencing Haptic Playback

Programmatic haptics

Categorizing Haptic Events

Specifying a Type

Enumerating Haptic Types

Creating Haptic Events

Configuring Haptic Events

Haptic Event Parameter IDs

Audio Event Parameter IDs

Swift Initializers

Creating an Event Parameter

Haptic Event Parameter IDs

Audio Event Parameter IDs

Swift Initializers

Specifying an Event Parameter’s Value

Creating a Dynamic Parameter