How to Build Your First Swift Package

June 26, 2025

This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Karan Pal

From Copy-Paste Developer to Swift Package Creator

Every iOS developer knows this pain: You need that perfect utility function you wrote months ago, so you dive through old projects, copy the code, paste it, and tweak it slightly. Six months later, you have 5 different versions of the same code scattered everywhere.

What if I told you that you’re not just copying code — you’re actually building libraries?

The Complete Swift Package Transformation

I’ve just published a comprehensive 3-part series that will transform you from a copy-paste developer into a professional package creator:

Part 1: Create your first Swift package and get it working

Part 2: Professional structure, testing, and publishing strategies

Part 3: Advanced dependency management and building community

What You’ll Learn

In this series, you’ll discover:

The Mindset Shift: You’re already building libraries, just not packaging them
Hands-On Creation: Step-by-step package building in Xcode (with real code!)
Professional Testing: Comprehensive strategies that catch bugs before users do
Smart Publishing: Semantic versioning and release management
Dependency Mastery: Avoiding version conflicts and common gotchas
Community Building: Turning packages into career opportunities

Quick Teaser: Your First Package

Here’s a taste of what you’ll build:

import Foundation

public extension String {
    /// Removes whitespace and newlines from both ends
    var trimmed: String {
        return self.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
    }

    /// Checks if string is a valid email format
    var isValidEmail: Bool {
        let emailRegEx = "[A-Z0-9a-z._%+-]+@[A-Za-z0-9.-]+\\.[A-Za-z]{2,64}"
        let emailPred = NSPredicate(format:"SELF MATCHES %@", emailRegEx)
        return emailPred.evaluate(with: self)
    }
}

Then use it across all your projects:

import MyUtilities

let email = userInput.trimmed
if email.isValidEmail {
    // Handle valid email
}

The magic moment: That scattered utility code becomes a professional, reusable library!

Why This Matters for Your Career

Creating Swift packages isn’t just about code organization — it’s about:

Professional Growth: Demonstrating software architecture skills
GitHub Portfolio: Impressive, reusable code that shows problem-solving ability
Community Impact: Helping other developers build better apps
Time Savings: Never copy-paste utility code again
Career Opportunities: Package expertise opens doors to consulting and speaking