Location > AsyncLocationKit

Wrapper for Apple CoreLocation framework with Modern Concurrency Swift (async/await).

Package 198 stars GitHub

AsyncLocationKit

Modern, async/await wrapper for Apple's CoreLocation framework
No more delegate patterns or completion blocks. Embrace Swift's structured concurrency.

Features

Async/Await Native: Built from the ground up for Swift's modern concurrency model
AsyncStream Support: Monitor continuous location updates with for await loops
Type-Safe: Comprehensive event types for all CoreLocation scenarios
Zero Dependencies: Pure Swift, no external frameworks
Multi-Platform: iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS support
Thread-Safe: Concurrent access protected with serial dispatch queues
Swift 6 Ready: Full Sendable conformance for strict concurrency checking

Installation

Swift Package Manager

Add AsyncLocationKit to your Package.swift:

dependencies: [
    .package(url: "https://github.com/AsyncSwift/AsyncLocationKit.git", from: "2.0.1")
]

Or add it directly in Xcode:

File → Add Package Dependencies
Enter: https://github.com/AsyncSwift/AsyncLocationKit.git
Select version 2.0.1 or later

CocoaPods

Add to your Podfile:

pod 'AsyncLocationKit', :git => 'https://github.com/AsyncSwift/AsyncLocationKit.git', :tag => '2.0.1'

Then run:

pod install

Quick Start

Initialization

Important: Always initialize AsyncLocationManager synchronously on the main thread.

import AsyncLocationKit

let locationManager = AsyncLocationManager(desiredAccuracy: .bestAccuracy)

Request Authorization

// Request "When In Use" authorization
let status = await locationManager.requestPermission(with: .whenInUsage)

// Or request "Always" authorization
let status = await locationManager.requestPermission(with: .always)

// Handle the authorization status
switch status {
case .authorizedWhenInUse, .authorizedAlways:
    print("Location authorized!")
case .denied:
    print("Location access denied")
case .restricted:
    print("Location access restricted")
case .notDetermined:
    print("Authorization not determined")
@unknown default:
    print("Unknown authorization status")
}

Single Location Request

Get the user's location once:

do {
    if let event = try await locationManager.requestLocation() {
        switch event {
        case .didUpdateLocations(let locations):
            print("Current location: \(locations.first?.coordinate)")
        case .didFailWith(let error):
            print("Location error: \(error)")
        default:
            break
        }
    }
} catch {
    print("Failed to get location: \(error)")
}

Continuous Location Updates

Monitor location changes using AsyncStream:

Task {
    for await event in await locationManager.startUpdatingLocation() {
        switch event {
        case .didUpdateLocations(let locations):
            print("New location: \(locations.last?.coordinate)")
        case .didFailWith(let error):
            print("Error: \(error)")
        case .didPaused:
            print("Location updates paused")
        case .didResume:
            print("Location updates resumed")
        }
    }
}

The stream automatically stops when the Task is cancelled:

let task = Task {
    for await event in await locationManager.startUpdatingLocation() {
        // Handle location updates
    }
}

// Later, cancel the task to stop location updates
task.cancel()

Usage Examples

Monitor Authorization Changes

Task {
    for await event in await locationManager.startMonitoringAuthorization() {
        switch event {
        case .didUpdate(let authorization):
            print("Authorization changed to: \(authorization)")
        }
    }
}

Monitor Location Services Availability

Task {
    for await event in await locationManager.startMonitoringLocationEnabled() {
        switch event {
        case .didUpdate(let enabled):
            print("Location services enabled: \(enabled)")
        }
    }
}

Region Monitoring (iOS/macOS only)

let region = CLCircularRegion(
    center: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: 37.7749, longitude: -122.4194),
    radius: 100,
    identifier: "San Francisco"
)

Task {
    for await event in await locationManager.startMonitoring(for: region) {
        switch event {
        case .didEnterTo(let region):
            print("Entered region: \(region.identifier)")
        case .didExitTo(let region):
            print("Exited region: \(region.identifier)")
        case .didStartMonitoringFor(let region):
            print("Started monitoring: \(region.identifier)")
        case .monitoringDidFailFor(let region, let error):
            print("Monitoring failed: \(error)")
        }
    }
}

Heading Updates (iOS only)

#if os(iOS)
Task {
    for await event in await locationManager.startUpdatingHeading() {
        switch event {
        case .didUpdate(let heading):
            print("Heading: \(heading.trueHeading)°")
        case .didFailWith(let error):
            print("Heading error: \(error)")
        }
    }
}
#endif

Visit Monitoring (iOS only)

#if os(iOS)
Task {
    for await event in await locationManager.startMonitoringVisit() {
        switch event {
        case .didVisit(let visit):
            print("Visit: \(visit.coordinate)")
            print("Arrival: \(visit.arrivalDate)")
            print("Departure: \(visit.departureDate)")
        case .didFailWithError(let error):
            print("Visit monitoring error: \(error)")
        }
    }
}
#endif

Beacon Ranging (iOS/macOS only)

#if !os(watchOS) && !os(tvOS)
let beaconConstraint = CLBeaconIdentityConstraint(
    uuid: UUID(uuidString: "E2C56DB5-DFFB-48D2-B060-D0F5A71096E0")!
)

Task {
    for await event in await locationManager.startRangingBeacons(satisfying: beaconConstraint) {
        switch event {
        case .didRange(let beacons, _):
            print("Found \(beacons.count) beacons")
        case .didFailRanginFor(_, let error):
            print("Beacon ranging failed: \(error)")
        }
    }
}
#endif

Significant Location Changes (iOS/macOS only)

#if !os(watchOS) && !os(tvOS)
Task {
    for await event in await locationManager.startMonitoringSignificantLocationChanges() {
        switch event {
        case .didUpdateLocations(let locations):
            print("Significant location change: \(locations)")
        case .didFailWith(let error):
            print("Error: \(error)")
        case .didPaused, .didResume:
            break
        }
    }
}
#endif

Request Temporary Full Accuracy (iOS 14+)

#if os(iOS)
if #available(iOS 14.0, *) {
    do {
        let accuracy = try await locationManager.requestTemporaryFullAccuracyAuthorization(
            purposeKey: "YourPurposeKeyFromInfoPlist"
        )
        print("Accuracy authorization: \(accuracy)")
    } catch {
        print("Failed to request full accuracy: \(error)")
    }
}
#endif

Architecture

AsyncLocationKit uses a Performer Pattern to elegantly manage the complex delegate-based CoreLocation API:

┌─────────────────────────┐
│  AsyncLocationManager   │
│  (Public API)           │
└───────────┬─────────────┘
            │
            ▼
┌─────────────────────────┐
│  AsyncDelegateProxy     │
│  (Event Dispatcher)     │
└───────────┬─────────────┘
            │
            ▼
┌─────────────────────────┐
│  AnyLocationPerformer   │
│  (Protocol)             │
└───────────┬─────────────┘
            │
            ├──► SingleLocationUpdatePerformer
            ├──► MonitoringUpdateLocationPerformer
            ├──► AuthorizationPerformer
            ├──► RegionMonitoringPerformer
            └──► ...and more

Key Components:

AsyncLocationManager: Main entry point providing async/await methods
AsyncDelegateProxy: Thread-safe dispatcher routing events to performers
Performers: Individual handlers for specific CoreLocation delegate methods
Events: Strongly-typed enums representing CoreLocation callbacks

This architecture provides:

Thread-safe concurrent access
Clean separation of concerns
Easy testability
Type safety throughout

Configuration Options

Location Accuracy

let manager = AsyncLocationManager(desiredAccuracy: .bestAccuracy)

// Available accuracy levels:
// .bestAccuracy
// .nearestTenMetersAccuracy
// .hundredMetersAccuracy
// .kilometerAccuracy
// .threeKilometersAccuracy
// .bestForNavigationAccuracy

// Update accuracy dynamically:
manager.updateAccuracy(with: .hundredMetersAccuracy)

Background Location Updates

let manager = AsyncLocationManager(
    desiredAccuracy: .bestAccuracy,
    allowsBackgroundLocationUpdates: true
)

// Update background setting dynamically (iOS/macOS/watchOS only):
#if !os(tvOS)
manager.updateAllowsBackgroundLocationUpdates(with: true)
#endif

API Reference

Location Authorization

Method	Description	Return Type
`requestPermission(with:)`	Request location permission	`CLAuthorizationStatus`
`getAuthorizationStatus()`	Get current authorization status	`CLAuthorizationStatus`
`startMonitoringAuthorization()`	Monitor authorization changes	`AuthorizationStream`

Location Updates

Method	Description	Return Type
`requestLocation()`	Request single location update	`LocationUpdateEvent?`
`startUpdatingLocation()`	Start continuous updates	`LocationStream`
`stopUpdatingLocation()`	Stop location updates	`Void`

Monitoring

Method	Description	Return Type
`startMonitoring(for:)`	Monitor region entry/exit	`RegionMonitoringStream`
`startMonitoringVisit()`	Monitor significant visits	`VisitMonitoringStream`
`startMonitoringSignificantLocationChanges()`	Monitor significant changes	`SignificantLocationChangeMonitoringStream`

Utilities

Method	Description	Return Type
`getLocationEnabled()`	Check if location services enabled	`Bool`
`startMonitoringLocationEnabled()`	Monitor location services status	`LocationEnabledStream`

Platform Availability

Feature	iOS	macOS	watchOS	tvOS
Basic Location	✅	✅	✅	✅
Authorization	✅	✅	✅	✅
Region Monitoring	✅	✅	❌	❌
Visit Monitoring	✅	❌	❌	❌
Heading Updates	✅	❌	❌	❌
Beacon Ranging	✅	✅	❌	❌
Significant Changes	✅	✅	❌	❌
Background Updates	✅	✅	✅	❌

Requirements

Swift: 5.5 or later
iOS: 13.0 or later
macOS: 12.0 or later
watchOS: 6.0 or later
tvOS: 13.0 or later
Xcode: 13.0 or later

Migration Guide

From Delegate-Based CoreLocation

Before (delegate pattern):

class LocationManager: NSObject, CLLocationManagerDelegate {
    let manager = CLLocationManager()
    var completion: ((CLLocation?) -> Void)?

    override init() {
        super.init()
        manager.delegate = self
    }

    func requestLocation() {
        manager.requestLocation()
    }

    func locationManager(_ manager: CLLocationManager,
                        didUpdateLocations locations: [CLLocation]) {
        completion?(locations.first)
    }
}

After (async/await):

let locationManager = AsyncLocationManager()

do {
    if let event = try await locationManager.requestLocation() {
        if case .didUpdateLocations(let locations) = event {
            print(locations.first)
        }
    }
} catch {
    print("Error: \(error)")
}

Best Practices

Always initialize on the main thread: CoreLocation requires main thread initialization
```
let manager = AsyncLocationManager() // ✅ On main thread
```

Handle authorization properly: Always check authorization before requesting location

let status = await manager.requestPermission(with: .whenInUsage)
guard status == .authorizedWhenInUse || status == .authorizedAlways else {
    return
}

Cancel tasks to stop monitoring: Streams automatically clean up when tasks are cancelled

let task = Task {
    for await event in await manager.startUpdatingLocation() { ... }
}
// Later:
task.cancel() // Stops location updates

Choose appropriate accuracy: Use lower accuracy when possible to save battery

let manager = AsyncLocationManager(desiredAccuracy: .hundredMetersAccuracy)

Add required Info.plist keys: Don't forget to add location usage descriptions

<key>NSLocationWhenInUseUsageDescription</key>
<string>We need your location to show nearby places</string>
<key>NSLocationAlwaysAndWhenInUseUsageDescription</key>
<string>We need your location to provide location-based features</string>

Troubleshooting

Location updates not working

Ensure you've added the required Info.plist keys
Check that authorization has been granted
Verify location services are enabled on the device
Make sure you initialized on the main thread

Task cancelled warning

This is expected behavior when you cancel a Task that's monitoring location updates. The library properly cleans up resources.

Background location not working

Add "Location updates" to Background Modes in Xcode capabilities
Set allowsBackgroundLocationUpdates to true
Request "Always" authorization, not just "When In Use"

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request. For major changes:

Fork the repository
Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
Open a Pull Request

Guidelines

Follow Swift API design guidelines
Add tests for new features
Update documentation for public API changes
Ensure code compiles on all supported platforms

License

AsyncLocationKit is released under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2022 AsyncSwift

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.

Acknowledgments

Built by the AsyncSwift team
Inspired by the Swift concurrency revolution
Thanks to all contributors and users

Links

Made with ❤️ by the AsyncSwift team

Back to Swift