SceneKit

Maintain existing SceneKit scenes only. Apple deprecated SceneKit at WWDC 2025 and limits it to maintenance; route new projects, major modernization, and USD/USDZ pipelines to RealityKit. Existing apps continue to work.

Contents

• Workflow
• Route by Task
• Core Decisions
• Common Mistakes
• Review Checklist
• References

Workflow

1. Confirm the task is maintenance or extension of an existing SceneKit surface; prefer RealityKit for substantial new 3D work.
2. Inspect scene ownership, node hierarchy, coordinate spaces, camera, lights, and rendering delegate before editing.
3. Configure geometry, materials, transforms, animation, and physics with explicit lifecycle ownership.
4. Keep dynamic physics bodies under physics control and perform renderer mutations on the correct thread.
5. Verify model loading, device rendering, memory, frame time, and SwiftUI/UIKit teardown.

Route by Task

• Read core implementation details for scenes, nodes, materials, lighting, cameras, animation, physics, particles, model loading, and SwiftUI hosting.
• Read extended SceneKit patterns for custom geometry, shader modifiers, constraints, morph targets, serialization, hit testing, LOD, and renderer delegates.

Core Decisions

• Preserve SceneKit for existing pipelines while documenting migration pressure toward RealityKit.
• Treat node hierarchy and coordinate conversion as part of the data contract.
• Match physics shapes to performance needs instead of defaulting to exact geometry.
• Keep camera and lighting explicit so imported scenes do not depend on editor-only defaults.

Common Mistakes

Not adding a camera or lights

// DON'T: Scene renders blank or black -- no camera, no lights
sceneView.scene = scene

// DO: Add camera + lights, or use convenience flags
let cameraNode = SCNNode()
cameraNode.camera = SCNCamera()
cameraNode.position = SCNVector3(0, 5, 15)
scene.rootNode.addChildNode(cameraNode)
sceneView.pointOfView = cameraNode
sceneView.autoenablesDefaultLighting = true

Using exact geometry for physics shapes

// DON'T
node.physicsBody = SCNPhysicsBody(type: .dynamic,
    shape: SCNPhysicsShape(geometry: complexMesh, options: nil))

// DO: Simplified primitive
node.physicsBody = SCNPhysicsBody(type: .dynamic,
    shape: SCNPhysicsShape(
        geometry: SCNBox(width: 1, height: 2, length: 1, chamferRadius: 0),
        options: nil))

Modifying transforms on dynamic bodies

// DON'T: Resets physics simulation
dynamicNode.position = SCNVector3(5, 0, 0)

// DO: Use forces/impulses
dynamicNode.physicsBody?.applyForce(SCNVector3(10, 0, 0), asImpulse: true)

Review Checklist

• Scene has at least one camera node set as pointOfView
• Scene has appropriate lighting (or autoenablesDefaultLighting for prototyping)
• Physics shapes use simplified geometry, not full mesh detail
• contactTestBitMask set for bodies that need collision callbacks
• SCNPhysicsContactDelegate assigned to scene.physicsWorld.contactDelegate
• Dynamic body transforms changed via forces/impulses, not direct position
• Lights limited to 8 per node; attenuationEndDistance set on point/spot lights
• Materials use .physicallyBased lighting model for realistic rendering
• SceneKit assets use documented .scn, .dae, or .abc scene-source formats
• Imported and exported assets pass consistency and required-node checks before commit
• Bundled SceneKit textures/images use asset catalogs or Xcode-optimized resources
• Scene metadata/import options use documented API; no invented SCNScene.Attribute.unit
• New USD/USDZ pipelines or significant updates are routed to RealityKit
• Game Center authentication, leaderboards, achievements, or multiplayer are handed off to GameKit
• SCNReferenceNode used for large models to enable lazy loading
• Particle birthRate and particleLifeSpan balanced to control particle count
• categoryBitMask used to scope lights and cameras to relevant nodes
• SwiftUI scenes use SceneView or UIViewRepresentable-wrapped SCNView
• Deprecation acknowledged; RealityKit evaluated for new projects

References

• See references/scenekit-patterns.md for custom geometry, shader modifiers, constraints, morph targets, hit testing, scene serialization, render loop delegates, performance, SpriteKit overlay, LOD, and Metal shaders.
• SceneKit documentation, SCNSceneSource, SCNView, SceneView
• SCNPhysicsShape, SCNShadable
• WWDC 2025 session 288: Bring your SceneKit project to RealityKit
• Core implementation details -- setup, API wiring, and focused implementation recipes moved out of the entrypoint.