How do I create a category in Xcode 6 or higher?

Question

I want to create a category on UIColor in my app using Xcode 6. But the thing is that in Xcode 6 there is no Objective-C category file template.

Is the

Answer 1

Extending unmircea's fantastic answer re: how to create a custom category to implement a custom UIColor palette, you could create a category.

Once you've created your category (in this example, it's a category called ColorPalette of class UIColor), you'll have a header and an implementation file.

UIColor+ColorPalette.h

#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>

@interface UIColor (ColorPalette)

// Your custom colors

+ (UIColor *) customRedButtonColor;
+ (UIColor *) customGreenButtonColor;

@end

UIColor+ColorPalette.m

#import "UIColor+ColorPalette.h"

@implementation UIColor (ColorPalette)

// Button Colors

+ (UIColor *) customRedButtonColor {
    return [UIColor colorWithRed:178.0/255.0 green:25.0/255.0 blue:0.0/255.0 alpha:1.0];
}

+ (UIColor *) customGreenButtonColor {
    return [UIColor colorWithRed:20.0/255.0 green:158.0/255.0 blue:96.0/255.0 alpha:1.0];
}

To use your custom color palette, just import the header into the class where you'd like to implement your custom colors:

#import "UIColor+ColorPalette.h"

and call the color as you would a standard color like redColor, greenColor, or blueColor.

Here's a link to a slightly more in-depth discussion of creating a custom palette.

Additionally, here is a tool to help you select the custom color values

Answer 2

Xcode6-Beta5 update

The interface has now changed and it's possible to add a Category directly from the New > File window.

See unmircea's answer.

---

I was surprised myself, and I guess because of Swift they forgot about good old Objective-C.

You have two options:

1. Create an Objective-C class with the category name, example UIView+Powerups, then manually change the interface to match the one of category. Note that the snippet for the category interface and implementation is still working, so that's extra easy: type @interface-category and @implementation-category.

2. Import it from Xcode 5! Use this command:

   cp -r /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Developer/Library/Xcode/Templates/File\ Templates/Cocoa\ Touch/Objective-C\ category.xctemplate /Applications/Xcode6-Beta.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Developer/Library/Xcode/Templates/File\ Templates/Source/
   

   Close and reopen Xcode 6 and you'll find "Objective-C Category" in the wizard for the new file.