AlarmKit

Schedule prominent alarms and countdown timers that surface on the Lock Screen, Dynamic Island, StandBy, and a paired Apple Watch when the alarm fires. AlarmKit requires iOS 26+ / iPadOS 26+. Alarms can break through Focus and Silent mode.

AlarmKit uses ActivityKit data models for its Live Activity, but the firing alert is system-managed alarm UI, not a general custom notification UI surface. Custom UI belongs only to countdown and paused Live Activity states rendered by a Widget Extension with the same AlarmAttributes<Metadata> and AlarmPresentationState used when scheduling.

See references/alarmkit-patterns.md for complete code patterns including authorization, scheduling, countdown timers, snooze handling, and widget setup.

import AlarmKit

Contents

• Workflow
• Authorization
• Alarm vs Timer Decision
• Scheduling Alarms
• Countdown Timers
• Alarm States
• AlarmAttributes and AlarmPresentation
• AlarmButton
• Live Activity Integration
• Common Mistakes
• Review Checklist
• References

Workflow

1. Create a new alarm or timer

1. Add NSAlarmKitUsageDescription to Info.plist with a user-facing string.
2. Request authorization with AlarmManager.shared.requestAuthorization() when the app can explain the value, or handle the first-schedule system prompt.
3. If authorization is .denied or not .authorized, show recovery UI instead of scheduling.
4. Configure AlarmPresentation (alert, countdown, paused states).
5. Create AlarmAttributes with the presentation, optional metadata, and tint color.
6. Build an AlarmManager.AlarmConfiguration (.alarm or .timer).
7. Schedule with AlarmManager.shared.schedule(id:configuration:).
8. Observe state changes via alarmManager.alarmUpdates.
9. If using countdown, add a Widget Extension target with an ActivityConfiguration for the same AlarmAttributes<Metadata> type.

2. Review existing alarm code

Run through the Review Checklist at the end of this document.

Authorization

AlarmKit requires user authorization. Request early when the app can explain the value, or let AlarmKit prompt automatically on first schedule. If authorization is not granted after the explicit or automatic prompt, alarms are not scheduled and will not alert.

let manager = AlarmManager.shared

// Request authorization explicitly
let state = try await manager.requestAuthorization()
guard state == .authorized else { return }

// Check current state synchronously
let current = manager.authorizationState // .authorized, .denied, .notDetermined

// Observe authorization changes
for await state in manager.authorizationUpdates {
    switch state {
    case .authorized: print("Alarms enabled")
    case .denied:     print("Alarms disabled")
    case .notDetermined: break
    @unknown default: break
    }
}

Alarm vs Timer Decision

Use .alarm(schedule:...) when firing at a clock time. Use .timer(duration:...) when firing after a duration from now.

Scheduling Alarms

Alarm.Schedule

Alarms use Alarm.Schedule to define when they fire.

// Fixed: fire at an exact Date (one-time only)
let fixed: Alarm.Schedule = .fixed(myDate)

// Relative one-time: fire at 7:30 AM in device time zone, no repeat
let oneTime: Alarm.Schedule = .relative(.init(
    time: .init(hour: 7, minute: 30),
    repeats: .never
))

// Recurring: fire at 6:00 AM on weekdays
let weekday: Alarm.Schedule = .relative(.init(
    time: .init(hour: 6, minute: 0),
    repeats: .weekly([.monday, .tuesday, .wednesday, .thursday, .friday])
))

Schedule and Configure

let id = UUID()

let snooze = Alarm.CountdownDuration(preAlert: nil, postAlert: 300)
let configuration = AlarmManager.AlarmConfiguration(
    countdownDuration: snooze,
    schedule: .relative(.init(
        time: .init(hour: 7, minute: 0),
        repeats: .never
    )),
    attributes: attributes,
    sound: .default
)

let alarm = try await AlarmManager.shared.schedule(
    id: id,
    configuration: configuration
)

stopIntent and secondaryIntent default to nil. Omit stopIntent for AlarmKit's standard system Stop behavior; provide it only when Stop must run app cleanup, custom stop behavior, or other side effects. Omit secondaryIntent for ordinary Snooze/Repeat with secondaryButtonBehavior: .countdown and Alarm.CountdownDuration.postAlert; provide it only for .custom secondary behavior or app cleanup/custom behavior.

Alarm State Transitions

cancel(id:)
    |
scheduled --> countdown --> alerting
    |             |             |
    |         pause(id:)    stop(id:) / countdown(id:)
    |             |
    |         paused ----> countdown (via resume(id:))
    |
cancel(id:) removes from system entirely

• cancel(id:) -- remove the alarm completely, including repeating alarms
• pause(id:) -- pause a counting-down alarm; throws from other states
• resume(id:) -- resume a paused alarm; throws from other states
• stop(id:) -- stop the alarm; one-shot alarms are removed, repeating alarms reschedule
• countdown(id:) -- restart countdown from alerting state (snooze); throws from other states

Countdown Timers

Timers fire after a duration and always show a countdown UI. Use Alarm.CountdownDuration to control pre-alert and post-alert durations.

// Simple timer: 5-minute countdown, no snooze
let timerConfig = AlarmManager.AlarmConfiguration.timer(
    duration: 300,
    attributes: attributes,
    stopIntent: StopTimerIntent(timerID: id.uuidString),
    sound: .default
)

let alarm = try await AlarmManager.shared.schedule(
    id: UUID(),
    configuration: timerConfig
)

CountdownDuration

Alarm.CountdownDuration controls the visible countdown phases:

• preAlert -- seconds to count down before the alarm fires (the main countdown)
• postAlert -- seconds for a repeat/snooze countdown after the alarm fires

let countdown = Alarm.CountdownDuration(
    preAlert: 600,   // 10-minute countdown before alert
    postAlert: 300   // 5-minute snooze countdown if user taps Repeat
)

let config = AlarmManager.AlarmConfiguration(
    countdownDuration: countdown,
    schedule: .relative(.init(
        time: .init(hour: 8, minute: 0),
        repeats: .never
    )),
    attributes: attributes,
    sound: .default
)

Alarm States

Each Alarm has a state property reflecting its current lifecycle position.

Observing State Changes

AlarmManager.shared.alarms is a throwing getter for the current daemon snapshot. Use try, and either propagate the error or wrap launch refresh in do/catch before relying on the snapshot.

let manager = AlarmManager.shared

// Get all current alarms
let alarms = try manager.alarms

// Observe changes as an async sequence
for await updatedAlarms in manager.alarmUpdates {
    for alarm in updatedAlarms {
        switch alarm.state {
        case .scheduled:  print("\(alarm.id) waiting")
        case .countdown:  print("\(alarm.id) counting down")
        case .paused:     print("\(alarm.id) paused")
        case .alerting:   print("\(alarm.id) alerting!")
        @unknown default: break
        }
    }
}

An alarm that disappears from alarmUpdates is no longer scheduled with AlarmKit. Compare against app-persisted IDs when you need to distinguish fired, cancelled, and rescheduled alarms.

AlarmAttributes and AlarmPresentation

AlarmAttributes conforms to ActivityAttributes and defines the static data for the alarm's Live Activity. It is generic over a Metadata type conforming to AlarmMetadata, which inherits Decodable, Encodable, Hashable, and Sendable. The metadata value itself is optional and defaults to nil.

AlarmPresentation

Defines the UI content for each alarm state. The system renders the alerting UI, while a widget extension can customize countdown and paused Live Activity views with the same attributes and presentation state.

// Alert state (required) -- shown when alarm is firing
let alert = AlarmPresentation.Alert(
    title: "Wake Up",
    secondaryButton: AlarmButton(
        text: "Snooze",
        textColor: .white,
        systemImageName: "bell.slash"
    ),
    secondaryButtonBehavior: .countdown  // snooze restarts countdown
)

// Countdown state (optional) -- shown during pre-alert countdown
let countdown = AlarmPresentation.Countdown(
    title: "Morning Alarm",
    pauseButton: AlarmButton(
        text: "Pause",
        textColor: .orange,
        systemImageName: "pause.fill"
    )
)

// Paused state (optional) -- shown when countdown is paused
let paused = AlarmPresentation.Paused(
    title: "Paused",
    resumeButton: AlarmButton(
        text: "Resume",
        textColor: .green,
        systemImageName: "play.fill"
    )
)

let presentation = AlarmPresentation(
    alert: alert,
    countdown: countdown,
    paused: paused
)

AlarmAttributes

struct CookingMetadata: AlarmMetadata {
    var recipeName: String
    var stepNumber: Int
}

let attributes = AlarmAttributes(
    presentation: presentation,
    metadata: CookingMetadata(recipeName: "Pasta", stepNumber: 3),
    tintColor: .blue
)

let attributesWithoutMetadata = AlarmAttributes<EmptyAlarmMetadata>(
    presentation: presentation,
    metadata: nil,
    tintColor: .blue
)

struct EmptyAlarmMetadata: AlarmMetadata {}

AlarmPresentationState

AlarmPresentationState is the system-managed ContentState of the alarm Live Activity. It contains the alarm ID and a Mode enum:

• .alert(Alert) -- alarm is firing, includes the scheduled time
• .countdown(Countdown) -- actively counting down, includes fire date and durations
• .paused(Paused) -- countdown paused, includes elapsed and total durations

The widget extension reads AlarmPresentationState.mode to decide which UI to render in the Dynamic Island and Lock Screen for non-alerting states.

AlarmButton

AlarmButton defines the appearance of action buttons in the alarm UI.

let stopButton = AlarmButton(
    text: "Stop",
    textColor: .red,
    systemImageName: "stop.fill"
)

let snoozeButton = AlarmButton(
    text: "Snooze",
    textColor: .white,
    systemImageName: "bell.slash"
)

Secondary Button Behavior

The secondary button on the alert UI has two behaviors:

Live Activity Integration

AlarmKit alarms appear as Live Activities on the Lock Screen, Dynamic Island, StandBy, and on a paired Apple Watch when the alarm fires. The system manages the alerting UI. For countdown and paused states, add a Widget Extension target whose ActivityConfiguration uses the same AlarmAttributes<Metadata> type used when scheduling the alarm.

A widget extension is expected if your alarm uses countdown presentation. Keep that lightweight metadata type available to both the app and widget extension. Without the extension, alarms may be dismissed unexpectedly or fail to alert, though the system can still show a fallback countdown UI in limited cases such as after a device restart before first unlock.

When explaining AlarmKit boundaries, say the ownership line explicitly. AlarmKit owns alarm authorization, AlarmManager scheduling and state, AlarmAttributes, AlarmPresentation, AlarmPresentationState, sound, and system Stop/Repeat/Open App alarm actions for alarm and timer experiences. The firing alert remains system-rendered alarm UI; do not describe AlarmKit as a general custom notification UI surface.

Custom countdown or paused alarm UI belongs in a Widget Extension ActivityConfiguration for the same AlarmAttributes<Metadata> type and AlarmPresentationState. Name the Apple-sourced alarm surfaces together: Lock Screen, Dynamic Island, StandBy, and paired Apple Watch. Do not claim Smart Stack as an AlarmKit surface.

Route ordinary Home Screen or Smart Stack widgets, WidgetFamily layout choices, widget timelines, and WidgetCenter reload policy to widgetkit. Route non-alarm Live Activity lifecycle (Activity.request, update, end), push-to-start tokens, per-activity update tokens, and remote Live Activity content-state payload contracts to activitykit. Route generic APNs, UNUserNotificationCenter, notification categories/actions, and custom notification UI to push-notifications unless app code ultimately calls AlarmManager.

For setup, name Apple-documented NSAlarmKitUsageDescription and AlarmManager authorization. Do not require unsupported AlarmKit setup keys or com.apple.developer.alarmkit unless a current Apple source documents them.

struct AlarmWidgetBundle: WidgetBundle {
    var body: some Widget {
        AlarmActivityWidget()
    }
}

struct AlarmActivityWidget: Widget {
    var body: some WidgetConfiguration {
        ActivityConfiguration(for: AlarmAttributes<CookingMetadata>.self) { context in
            // Lock Screen presentation for countdown/paused states
            AlarmLockScreenView(context: context)
        } dynamicIsland: { context in
            DynamicIsland {
                DynamicIslandExpandedRegion(.center) {
                    Text(context.attributes.presentation.alert.title)
                }
                DynamicIslandExpandedRegion(.bottom) {
                    // Show countdown or paused info based on mode
                    AlarmExpandedView(state: context.state)
                }
            } compactLeading: {
                Image(systemName: "alarm.fill")
            } compactTrailing: {
                AlarmCompactTrailing(state: context.state)
            } minimal: {
                Image(systemName: "alarm.fill")
            }
        }
    }
}

Common Mistakes

DON'T: Forget NSAlarmKitUsageDescription in Info.plist. DO: Add a descriptive usage string. Without it, AlarmKit cannot schedule alarms at all.

DON'T: Skip authorization and assume alarms will schedule. DO: Call requestAuthorization() early and handle .denied gracefully.

DON'T: Use .timer when you need a recurring schedule. DO: Use .alarm with .weekly([...]) for recurring alarms. Timers are one-shot.

DON'T: Omit the widget extension when using countdown presentation. DO: Add a widget extension target for countdown/paused Live Activity UI. Why: Without a widget extension, alarms may be dismissed before they alert; the system fallback is limited.

DON'T: Ignore alarmUpdates and track alarm state manually. DO: Observe alarmManager.alarmUpdates to stay synchronized with the system. Why: Alarm state can change while your app is backgrounded.

DON'T: Treat stopIntent and secondaryIntent as mandatory for every alarm. DO: Omit them for standard system Stop/Snooze; provide intents only for app cleanup or custom behavior.

DON'T: Fold ordinary widgets, generic Live Activities, or push/local notification behavior into AlarmKit. DO: Route Home Screen/Smart Stack widgets, WidgetFamily, timelines, and WidgetCenter reloads to widgetkit; route non-alarm Activity.request/update/end, push-to-start, update tokens, and remote content-state payloads to activitykit; route generic APNs, UNUserNotificationCenter, and notification categories/actions to push-notifications unless app code ultimately calls AlarmManager.

DON'T: Store large data in AlarmMetadata. DO: Keep metadata lightweight or pass nil. Store large data in your app and reference by ID.

DON'T: Use deprecated stopButton parameter on AlarmPresentation.Alert. DO: Use the current init(title:secondaryButton:secondaryButtonBehavior:) initializer.

Review Checklist

• NSAlarmKitUsageDescription present in Info.plist with non-empty string
• Authorization requested and .denied state handled in UI
• AlarmPresentation covers all relevant states (alert, countdown, paused)
• Widget Extension target uses ActivityConfiguration for the same AlarmAttributes<Metadata> type if countdown presentation is used
• AlarmAttributes metadata is lightweight, optional when unused, and conforms to AlarmMetadata
• Alarm ID stored for later cancel/pause/resume/stop operations
• alarmUpdates async sequence observed to track state changes
• stopIntent and secondaryIntent omitted for standard system Stop/Snooze and provided only for cleanup/custom behavior
• postAlert duration set on CountdownDuration if snooze (.countdown behavior) is used
• AlarmKit ownership is limited to authorization, AlarmManager scheduling/state, AlarmAttributes, AlarmPresentation, AlarmPresentationState, sound, and alarm actions
• Alerting UI is described as system-managed alarm UI, not a general custom notification UI surface
• Custom countdown/paused UI is routed to a Widget Extension ActivityConfiguration using the same AlarmAttributes<Metadata> and AlarmPresentationState
• Boundary routing is explicit: Home Screen/Smart Stack widgets, WidgetFamily, timelines, and WidgetCenter reloads go to widgetkit; non-alarm Activity.request/update/end, push-to-start/update tokens, and remote content-state payloads go to activitykit; generic APNs/UNUserNotificationCenter goes to push-notifications
• Setup is source-grounded: NSAlarmKitUsageDescription and authorization are named; unsupported keys such as com.apple.developer.alarmkit are not required unless Apple documents them
• Tint color set on AlarmAttributes to differentiate from other apps
• Error handling for AlarmManager.AlarmError.maximumLimitReached
• Tested on device (alarm sound/vibration differs from Simulator)

References

• Patterns and code: references/alarmkit-patterns.md
• Apple docs: AlarmKit | AlarmManager | AlarmAttributes | Scheduling an alarm