Code Replay for Xcode

When creating YouTube videos or writing about iOS Development, I'll typically try out the code in Xcode first and then convert it into either a blog post or YouTube video once the implementation is complete.

When it comes time to make the video tutorial, I'll often edit out the parts that show me typing as I feel it's not an efficient use of the viewer's time. I'd much rather have the code appear immediately and spend the time walking through it instead.

Let's say I was creating a tutorial on how to implement this function:

func isPrime(num: Int) -> Bool {
    guard num > 1 else { 
    	return false 
    }

    for index in 2..<num {
        if num % index == 0 {
            return false
        }
    }

    return true
}

In the case of this function, for example, I may want to start off by introducing the method signature, a discussion of some edge cases, the main implementation, and then conclude with some additional optimizations or alternative implementations.

I may even want to turn it into a blog post afterward 🤷.

I wanted to share a tool that I created for myself to help me streamline both of these workflows.

Code Replay is an Xcode Editor Extension designed to easily capture the incremental stages of implementation, streamlining the creation of documentation, a YouTube video, or a blog post.

I'll kick things off by creating a "New Session." Now, as I work through the implementation, I can establish "Checkpoints" at important intervals.

These Checkpoints will not only be saved to a Markdown file to simplify the process of writing the blog post, but I can also "Replay" them to make the video more concise and streamlined.

This is a tool I developed primarily for personal use to streamline the blogging and tutorial recording process and I understand the target audience is limited. Regardless, once I'm no longer embarrassed by the code, I'll release it as an open-source project 😊.