Agent skill · Design & Presentation

app-icon-generator

Generates an app icon for macOS or iOS — a fast CoreGraphics placeholder and/or flat layered source art to finish in Icon Composer (the Liquid Glass / iOS 26+ standard). Produces appearance variants (light/dark/tinted) and installs into the asset catalog. Use when the user wants to create, generate, iterate, or update an app icon.

rshankrasgithub.com/rshankrasGitHub ↗
claude-codecan modify filesMIT
Install
npx skills add rshankras/claude-code-apple-skills --skill app-icon-generator --agent claude-code

Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.

Facts
Files in the skill folder: 3
SKILL.md size: 20 KB
Bundled scripts: none
Allowed tools: ReadWriteEditGlobGrepBashAskUserQuestion
Path: skills/generators/app-icon-generator/SKILL.md
Open the folder on GitHub →
Where it comes from
Stars: 589
Language: Swift

Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.

Review
written from the skill's own SKILL.md · Aug 5, 2026

What it does

Generates an app icon for macOS or iOS by creating either a fast CoreGraphics Swift script placeholder or flat layered source art. It can produce appearance variants (light/dark/tinted) and installs the result into the asset catalog for later use in Icon Composer. It also guides how to adapt the flat artwork for the Liquid Glass workflow and the Icon Composer handoff.

How it works

  • It instructs to determine platform and deployment context, read project planning files, and identify existing icons before generating.
  • It provides a step-by-step process to create a Swift script at scripts/generate-icon.swift that renders 3 variants at 1024x1024 using CoreGraphics, and saves them into an icon-variants/ directory.
  • It defines a set of design-building blocks (e.g., drawGradientBackground, drawCircle, drawBrackets, etc.) and notes that some legacy elements (drawShine, drawShadow) are off for iOS 26+/macOS 26+ targets.
  • It specifies a resizing/install workflow: use sips to create multiple icon sizes, write a Contents.json for the asset catalog (macOS and iOS variants), and copy into the asset catalog. It also describes how to generate appearance variants for light, dark, and tinted modes.
  • It imposes a GUI handoff for Icon Composer: prepare flat layers or SVG/PNG layers, then use Icon Composer to assemble up to 4 depth groups and export a final .icon file, replacing the AppIcon set; this is a manual GUI step, not scripted.

When to use it

Use when the user asks to generate or update an app icon, needs a placeholder icon, or wants to create/add layered source art for Icon Composer.

What it can touch

  • It references tools and commands: swift, sips, and files like scripts/generate-icon.swift, Contents.json, and the asset catalog directory structure. It also mentions running xcodebuild for verification. All file and tool names are quoted exactly as shown in the instruction set.

Caveats

  • It notes that Icon Composer is GUI-first and cannot author a final layered .icon programmatically; the final icon is produced by Icon Composer. It emphasizes appearance variants and the Liquid Glass workflow, with a warning to re-verify against the current HIG after the static verification date if targeting newer Apple guidelines. It also clarifies legacy drawing blocks are off for iOS 26+/macOS 26+ targets.
From the SKILL.md

# App Icon Generator Generate an app icon programmatically with a CoreGraphics Swift script, resize it to every required size, and install it into the Xcode asset catalog — with appearance variants (light/dark/tinted). ## Read first — the Liquid Glass era (iOS 26 / macOS 26) > **Apple icon standards verified as of July 2026** — Icon Composer, Xcode 26, macOS Tahoe 26.4+. This guidance is static (the skill does no per-run web lookup); if that date is well in the past or the OS has moved on, re-verify against the [HIG · App icons](https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/app-icons) before trusting the specifics below. Apple's shippable icon format changed. On iOS 26 / macOS 26 the modern app icon is a **layered, light-responsive Liquid Glass icon** authored in **Icon Composer** (free; ships with Xcode 26, needs macOS Tahoe 26.4+). You supply *flat* artwork in up to **four depth groups** (background → foreground); the **system renders the glass** — specular highlights, refraction, translucency, shadows — and masks the rounded-rect shape. One `.icon` file adapts across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch and across **Default / Dark / Mono (tinted)** appearances. **S

What's inside
Steps it walks through
  1. Read first — the Liquid Glass era (iOS 26 / macOS 26)
  2. When This Skill Activates
  3. Pre-Generation Checks
  4. 1. Project Context Detection
  5. 2. App Context Detection
  6. Configuration Questions
  7. Question 1: App Category
  8. Question 2: Visual Style
  9. Question 3: Color Palette
  10. Question 4: Accent Color
  11. Apple HIG Icon Guidelines
  12. Designing the Icon (Apple's Rules)
  13. Composition
  14. Appearance modes
Ships with 2 files
  • apple-hig-icons.md
  • templates/generate-icon-template.swift
Commands it runs
swift scripts/generate-icon.swift
sips -z 16 16     master.png --out icon_16x16.png
sips -z 32 32     master.png --out icon_16x16@2x.png
sips -z 32 32     master.png --out icon_32x32.png
sips -z 64 64     master.png --out icon_32x32@2x.png
sips -z 128 128   master.png --out icon_128x128.png
sips -z 256 256   master.png --out icon_128x128@2x.png
sips -z 256 256   master.png --out icon_256x256.png
sips -z 512 512   master.png --out icon_256x256@2x.png
sips -z 512 512   master.png --out icon_512x512.png
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About this skill
What does the app-icon-generator skill do?

Generates an app icon for macOS or iOS — a fast CoreGraphics placeholder and/or flat layered source art to finish in Icon Composer (the Liquid Glass / iOS 26+ standard). Produces appearance variants (light/dark/tinted) and installs into the asset catalog. Use when the user wants to create, generate, iterate, or update an app icon.

How do I install it?

Run `npx skills add rshankras/claude-code-apple-skills --skill app-icon-generator --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.

Where does this skill come from?

From rshankras/claude-code-apple-skills, a repository with 589 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.

Is a popular skill a good skill?

Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.

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