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Pulse — Quick Start Guide

You now have a complete, working iOS 26 app with Liquid Glass design!

What You Have

✅ Full Xcode project ready to build ✅ Liquid Glass UI with morphing, interactive glass effects ✅ MultipeerConnectivity for peer-to-peer discovery ✅ 5 main screens:

  • OnboardingView (handle + tech stack setup)
  • RadarView (glass field with floating peer nodes)
  • PeerNode (individual developer bubbles)
  • StatusToggleButton (morphing FAB)
  • ChatView (1:1 messaging)

How to Open & Run

Step 1: Open in Xcode

cd ~/pulse/Pulse
open Pulse.xcodeproj

Step 2: Set Your Team

  1. Click on Pulse in the left sidebar (project navigator)
  2. Select the Pulse target
  3. Go to Signing & Capabilities tab
  4. Under Team, select your Apple Developer account

Step 3: Run It

  • Press ⌘R or click the Play button
  • Choose an iOS 26 simulator or real device
  • The app will launch with the onboarding screen

What You'll See

1. Onboarding (First Launch)

  • Enter a handle like @jesse_codes
  • Pick your tech stack (Swift, Rust, Python, etc.)
  • Tap "Start Discovering"

2. Radar View (Main Screen)

  • You'll see 4 demo peers floating in a glass field:

    • @jesse_codes (active, green, close)
    • @swift_sarah (active, green, medium distance)
    • @rust_dev (flow state, yellow, far)
    • @pythonista (idle, gray, very far)

  • Nodes pulse if active

  • Tap any node to open chat

3. Status Toggle (Bottom-Right)

  • Tap the circular button to expand
  • Choose your status:
    • 🟢 Active (open to chat)
    • 🟡 Flow State (visible but DND)
    • ⚪ Idle (away)
  • Button morphs with Liquid Glass animation

4. Chat View

  • Tap a peer node to open chat
  • See demo messages
  • Type and send (local only for now)

Testing Real Peer Discovery

Important: Simulator cannot discover real peers. You need 2+ physical iOS 26 devices.

On Device:

  1. Build and install on Device 1
  2. Build and install on Device 2
  3. Both devices will advertise via MultipeerConnectivity
  4. They'll discover each other automatically
  5. Tap to chat

File Overview

Here's what each file does:

File Purpose
PulseApp.swift App entry point, starts MeshManager
ContentView.swift Shows onboarding if first launch, else RadarView
RadarView.swift Main screen with glass field of peer nodes
PeerNode.swift Individual floating peer bubble
StatusToggleButton.swift Morphing FAB for status selection
ChatView.swift 1:1 messaging interface
OnboardingView.swift Handle + tech stack setup
MeshManager.swift MultipeerConnectivity wrapper, handles discovery
PulsePeer.swift Data model for a peer
Message.swift Data model for messages
Info.plist Background modes for Bluetooth

Key iOS 26 Features Used

Liquid Glass

  • .glassEffect() — Applied to buttons, headers, input bars
  • .glassEffect(.regular.tint(.green).interactive()) — Tinted, touch-responsive glass
  • GlassEffectContainer — Groups glass shapes for morphing
  • .glassEffectID() — Enables smooth morphing transitions

MultipeerConnectivity

  • MCNearbyServiceAdvertiser — Broadcasts your presence
  • MCNearbyServiceBrowser — Discovers nearby peers
  • MCSession — Manages P2P connections

SwiftUI 6

  • @MainActor — Thread-safe state management
  • @Namespace — Shared namespace for morphing
  • @EnvironmentObject — Global mesh manager

Next Steps

Make It Yours

  1. Change Colors: Edit tint colors in RadarView.swift:49-55
  2. Add More Tech: Update techOptions in OnboardingView.swift:14
  3. Custom Icons: Replace SF Symbols in PeerNode.swift:57-68

Add Features

  • Distance Accuracy: Use CoreBluetooth RSSI instead of random
  • Encryption: Implement E2E with CryptoKit (see PULSE_iOS26_ARCHITECTURE.md)
  • Persistence: Save chat history with SwiftData
  • Code Sharing: Add syntax-highlighted code snippets

Publish

  • Create app icon (1024x1024px)
  • Set up App Store Connect
  • Submit for TestFlight beta
  • Launch on App Store

Troubleshooting

"No peers found"

  • Make sure you're on physical devices (not simulator)
  • Both devices need Bluetooth and WiFi enabled
  • Grant local network permissions when prompted

"Build failed"

  • Set your Development Team in Signing & Capabilities
  • Make sure you have Xcode 26+ installed
  • Target iOS 26.0+

"Glass effects not showing"

  • Ensure you're running on iOS 26 simulator or device
  • Glass effects are iOS 26+ only

Demo Mode

The app includes demo peers so you can test the UI without real devices:

  • 4 pre-loaded peers with different statuses
  • Demo chat messages
  • All UI animations work

Remove demo peers in production by deleting:

// In MeshManager.swift:70-79
private func addDemoPeers() {
    // Delete this function
}

Resources

  • Full Architecture: See PULSE_iOS26_ARCHITECTURE.md
  • Apple Docs: Liquid Glass
  • MultipeerConnectivity: Apple Docs

You're ready to build! Open Xcode and hit run.

Questions? Check the architecture doc or README.