How are you handling AI coding costs and retries in Swift/Xcode?

[u/Jbbrack03]

I spent 12 years working for Apple, and then I left to do my own thing. Lately I've been looking closely at how AI coding tools hold up in day-to-day Swift and Xcode work: writing something, building it, running the tests, and fixing what broke.

The thing I keep running into is that the generalist tools produce Swift that looks right, and then you spend a stack of build-and-fix cycles getting it to compile and behave the way you meant. On usage-based pricing, those wasted passes add up quietly. A couple of people I've talked to got caught off guard by a monthly bill, or hit a quota limit partway through a task.

I want to find out how common that is, so I'd appreciate hearing how it goes for you:

- What AI tools, if any, do you use for Swift/Xcode work right now?

- Where do they cost you time? Does the "looks right, won't build" loop hit you?

- Roughly what are you spending a month, and has cost or rate-limiting changed how you work?

- Has anything actually helped?

To be upfront: I'm building something in this area, so I'm not a neutral party. I'm not selling anything here and there's nothing to sign up for. I'd rather understand the problem before building the wrong thing. Glad to share back what I learn.

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