Module 2: Initialize Amplify

Time to complete	10 minutes
Services used	AWS Amplify

Overview

Now that you have created an iOS application, you will want to continue development and add new features.

To start to use AWS Amplify in your application, you must install the Amplify command line, initialize the Amplify project directory, configure your project to use the Amplify libraries, and initialize Amplify libraries at runtime.

What you will accomplish

In this tutorial, you will:

• Initialize a new Amplify project

• Add Amplify libraries in your project

• Initialize Amplify libraries at runtime

Key concepts

Amplify CLI – Using the Amplify CLI you can create, manage, and remove AWS services directly from your terminal.

Amplify libraries – Using Amplify libraries you can interact with AWS services from a web or mobile application.

Implementation

Step 1: Install Amplify CLI

1. Install the CLI

   To install AWS Amplify CLI, open Terminal, and enter the following command:

   curl -sL https://aws-amplify.github.io/amplify-cli/install | bash
       && $SHELL

2. Configure the CLI

   Configure it to connect to your AWS account by running the following command:

   amplify configure

   Follow the steps as instructed. You can find a more detailed guide here .

Step 2: Initialize an Amplify backend

To create the basic structure of our backend, we first need to initialize the Amplify project directory and create our Cloud backend.

1. Initialize the backend

   Open the Terminal , navigate to the root directory of your project and run the following command:

   amplify init

2. Enter a name

   You will be asked to enter a name for the project. Keep the default name , and then validate that the information is correct. The following code is an example.

   ? Enter a name for the project (iOSGettingStarted): accept the default, press enter
   The following configuration will be applied:
   Project information
   | Name: iOSGettingStarted
   | Environment: dev
   | Default editor: Visual Studio Code
   | App type: ios
   ? Initialize the project with the above configuration? Yes, press enter
   Using default provider  awscloudformation, press enter
   ? Select the authentication method you want to use: AWS profile, press enter
   ? Please choose the profile you want to use: default, press enter

3. Follow the prompts

   Proceed with the remaining steps:

   Initialize the project with the above configuration? (Y/n)      Y 
   Select the authentication method you want to use: (Use arrow keys) AWS profile 
   Please choose the profile you want to use      default
   

4. Verify initialization

   This will provision the resources in the backend and might take a few minutes. Once it's done, you will see the following information:

   Deployment state saved successfully.
   ✅ Initialized provider successfully.
   ✅ Initialized your environment successfully.
   ✅ Your project has been successfully initialized and connected 
   

Step 3: Add Amplify libraries to your project

1. Add dependencies

   Switch back to Xcode. Select File and choose Add Package Dependencies...

   

2. Search for the Amplify library

   Enter the Amplify Libraries for Swift GitHub repo URL (https://github.com/aws-amplify/amplify-swift ) into the search bar, and press Enter.

   Make sure that  Up to Next Major Version  is selected from the  Dependency Rule  dropdown, and select Add Package.

   

3. Select the library

   Once the libraries are fetched, you will be asked to select which ones you wish to add to your target.

   In the drop down, next to Amplify, choose GettingStarted.

   Select None  in for the rest of the Package Products in the Add to Target section, and choose Add Package.

   

Step 4: Initialize Amplify at runtime

• Modify the file

  Open the GettingStartedApp.swift  file and replace its content with the following information:

  import Amplify
  import SwiftUI
  
  @main
  struct GettingStartedApp: App {
      init() {
          do {
              try Amplify.configure()
              print("Initialized Amplify")
          } catch {
              print("Could not initialize Amplify: \(error)")
          }
      }
  
      var body: some Scene {
          WindowGroup {
              NotesView()
          }
      }
  }

Step 5: Verify your setup

• Build the project

  To verify everything works as expected, build the project.

  Select the Product menu and then select Build , or press Cmd + B .

  There should be no error.

Conclusion

You have initialized the Amplify project and are now ready to start adding features! In the next module, we will add an entire user authentication flow with just a few lines of code.