We curate open-source GitHub repositories matching “Objective-C libraries for iOS and macOS development”. Results are ranked by relevance to your query — pick filters below to narrow, or refine with AI.
MJRefresh is a scroll view interaction library and a set of reusable UI components for implementing pull-to-refresh and infinite scrolling behaviors in mobile user interfaces. It provides customizable refresh indicators and controllers that manage reload callbacks and loading states within scrollable containers. The library allows for the replacement of standard loading indicators with custom images, GIF sequences, and status labels to match specific visual branding. It includes a global configuration store to handle dynamic UI localization and the translation of refresh content across an app
MJRefresh is an Objective-C library for adding pull-to-refresh and infinite scrolling to iOS/macOS scroll views, fitting the request for custom UI components, but it doesn't address networking, image loading, Core Data, or JSON/XML parsing.
MagicalRecord is a data persistence library and wrapper for Core Data that implements the Active Record pattern. It maps database rows directly to object instances, allowing for the creation, update, and retrieval of records without writing manual query logic. The project functions as a mapping layer that synchronizes object properties with a managed object context. It utilizes generic-based type resolution and model-class querying to enable data fetching directly on model classes, which removes the need for a separate external manager and reduces repetitive fetch request boilerplate. The li
MagicalRecord is an Objective-C library that simplifies Core Data management by implementing the Active Record pattern, directly addressing your need for a Core Data abstraction — but it does not cover the other requested features like networking, image loading, or JSON/XML parsing.
MWPhotoBrowser is an iOS photo gallery component and media selection tool. It provides a grid-based browser for displaying photos and videos sourced from local storage, system libraries, or web URLs. The component includes a metadata captioning overlay that maps external text properties to descriptive captions displayed over media. To optimize the browsing experience, it utilizes a disk-based remote media cache that saves web images and videos locally to reduce network requests. The system supports a media selection workflow allowing users to pick multiple items using checkboxes and state-ba
MWPhotoBrowser is an Objective-C library for iOS that delivers image loading and caching along with a custom photo gallery UI component, addressing some of the listed needs (image handling and custom UI) but not networking, Core Data abstraction, or JSON/XML parsing.
JSONKit is an Objective-C library used for parsing, serializing, and manipulating JSON data. It functions as a JSON parser that converts text into native data structures and a serializer that transforms native objects into formatted JSON text. The library includes a gzip compression wrapper that compresses serialized JSON payloads to reduce network transfer sizes and automatically detects and decompresses gzip buffers before decoding. The toolset provides capabilities for JSON parsing and serialization, supporting customizable indentation, character escaping, and flexible comment handling.
JSONKit is an Objective-C JSON parsing and serialization library that fits the search for iOS/macOS development libraries, though it covers only the JSON/XML parsing feature among the listed needs.
AFNetworking is an Objective-C networking library for Apple platforms, including iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. It functions as an HTTP client that manages remote server communication by wrapping the system loading framework to handle requests and responses. The library provides specialized security and identity tools, featuring SSL certificate pinning for server trust validation and the implementation of standardized OAuth authentication flows. It further distinguishes itself with network reachability monitoring to track interface availability and request mocking capabilities to simulate ser
AFNetworking is an Objective-C HTTP networking library for Apple platforms that handles request/response serialization, OAuth, reachability, and certificate pinning — it squarely meets the networking and JSON/XML parsing needs you listed, but does not directly provide image caching, Core Data abstraction, or custom UI components, so it is a focused library within the category rather than a comprehensive one.
SocketRocket is an Objective-C WebSocket client library designed to establish bidirectional real-time communication channels between an application and a server. It provides a networking layer for real-time data streaming, utilizing a heartbeat monitor to maintain the stability of active network streams. The library is built to operate across restricted networks by routing traffic through HTTP proxies. It secures data transmission using TLS encryption and SSL certificate pinning to prevent unauthorized interception of network traffic. Its underlying capabilities include low-level TCP socket
SocketRocket is an Objective-C WebSocket client library that handles real-time networking for iOS/macOS, so it covers the networking requirement, but does not address image loading, Core Data abstraction, custom UI components, or JSON/XML parsing — a focused library that fits the query's category but not its full feature list.
FSCalendar is a customizable calendar UI library and date picker component for iOS applications. It provides a programmable interface for rendering date grids and event markers, supporting both Swift and Objective-C development. The library enables the creation of custom date picking interfaces with specific range restrictions and selection rules. It supports the display of date-based metadata and event visualization within a mobile scheduling context. The framework covers visual styling and cell design, allowing for custom view components, subtitles, and event markers. It includes a flexibl
FSCalendar is an Objective-C library that provides a customizable calendar UI and date picker for iOS, fitting the category of iOS development libraries, but it only covers the custom UI components aspect of your list and does not address networking, image loading, Core Data abstraction, or JSON/XML parsing.
PageMenu is an Objective-C UI library for implementing scrollable page navigation systems in iOS applications. It provides a UI component that organizes multiple content views into a paging system linked to a top navigation bar, allowing users to switch between sections via tap gestures or horizontal swipes. The library features a customizable UIKit page indicator that tracks and animates transitions between views. It supports the creation of segmented control navigation interfaces, which can be formatted with custom separators, rounded edges, and specific styling for colors and fonts. The s
PageMenu is an Objective-C library providing a customizable paging navigation UI component for iOS apps, directly fitting the request for a custom UI element library, though it does not cover the broader networking, image loading, or Core Data needs.
Bolts-ObjC is an Objective-C mobile development library providing tools for coordinating asynchronous operations and routing deep links within native applications. It functions as a framework for managing background tasks and resolving navigation metadata to direct users to specific content. The library includes a deep link routing engine and an app link navigator that resolve handler compatibility to launch native experiences or trigger web browser fallbacks. It also features a mobile analytics link logger to track user movement through deep links for integration with external analytics plat
Bolts-ObjC is an Objective-C library for iOS/macOS that focuses on async task management and deep-link routing, but it does not provide the networking, image loading, Core Data abstraction, custom UI components, or JSON/XML parsing you listed.
Three20 is an Objective-C iOS UI framework that provides a collection of native user interface components and networking tools for building iPhone applications. It functions as both a mobile UI component library for creating application screens and an iOS networking library for handling HTTP requests and data synchronization between mobile devices and servers. The framework covers the end-to-end process of iOS application development, including native UI construction, mobile network request handling, and Objective-C mobile programming.
Three20 is an Objective-C iOS library that provides UI components and networking tools, fitting the request for an iOS/macOS development library, but it lacks support for image loading/caching, Core Data abstraction, and JSON/XML parsing, so it only partially covers the listed features.
sskeychain is an Objective-C library that provides a simplified programming interface for managing secure data persistence on iOS and macOS. It serves as an object-oriented wrapper for the Apple Security framework, enabling the storage and retrieval of passwords and account credentials. The library handles the translation between low-level system APIs and high-level object interfaces to manage sensitive information. It includes mechanisms for defining keychain item accessibility levels to control when stored data is available to an application. The project provides a shared interface for man
sskeychain is an Objective-C library for iOS and macOS that simplifies secure credential storage via the Keychain, but it does not address the specific features listed such as networking, image loading, Core Data abstraction, custom UI, or JSON/XML parsing, so it only partially fits your search.
Reachability is an Objective-C network connectivity library designed to monitor internet access and interface availability within Apple platform applications. It serves as a memory-managed wrapper for tracking network reachability, ensuring compatibility with automatic reference counting. The library utilizes Grand Central Dispatch to monitor network interface changes and trigger asynchronous notifications. It employs block-based dispatch to execute custom closures immediately upon detecting a change in the network reachability state. The project covers network connectivity monitoring, allow
This is a focused Objective-C library for monitoring network reachability on iOS/macOS, which fits the category of a development library but addresses only one of the common needs you listed (networking).
MBProgressHUD is an Objective-C UI component and progress HUD library for iOS. It provides a screen-blocking activity indicator overlay that informs users of ongoing background processes using customizable icons and status labels. The library manages translucent interface layers to provide background task feedback and overlay management. It visualizes the completion percentage of long-running tasks through a dynamic overlay that prevents user interaction until a process completes.
MBProgressHUD is an Objective-C UI component library for iOS that provides a customizable progress HUD overlay, directly addressing the custom UI components need listed in your requirements, though it is narrowly focused on this single area and does not cover networking, image loading, or other mentioned features.
CocoaLumberjack is a logging framework designed for Apple platforms, providing a system for capturing, filtering, and managing diagnostic messages within mobile and desktop applications. It serves as a tool for monitoring software health and troubleshooting runtime issues by recording application events across various severity levels. The framework utilizes a modular architecture that allows developers to define custom log levels and route diagnostic output to multiple concurrent destinations, including the system console, local files, and remote servers. It incorporates an asynchronous pipel
CocoaLumberjack is a logging framework for Apple platforms, making it a legitimate development library for iOS and macOS, but it focuses on diagnostic logging rather than the requested networking, image loading, Core Data, UI components, or JSON/XML parsing features.
iCarousel is a data-driven UI library for macOS and iOS used to build interactive three-dimensional scrolling experiences. It functions as a customizable view controller that renders paged content using cylindrical or cover-flow 3D effects. The component is distinguished by its programmable perspective and visual transformation hooks, which allow for the definition of custom 3D styles and bespoke animation effects. Users can adjust viewpoint distance, alpha fading, and foreshortening to control how the vanishing point and depth appear during navigation. The library manages high-performance v
iCarousel is an Objective-C library for iOS and macOS that provides a custom 3D carousel UI component, squarely fitting the category of development libraries but only covering one of the requested features (custom UI components) while lacking networking, image loading, Core Data abstraction, and JSON/XML parsing.
DZNEmptyDataSet is a reusable UI library and collection of view components designed for rendering empty state screens on mobile platforms. It provides a system for displaying customizable placeholder views and messages when a data collection contains no information. The library enables the creation of placeholder views containing images, text, and buttons. It includes capabilities for visual styling using attributed strings, visibility control based on data set status, and layout refreshing without reloading the underlying data source. The system also handles user interactions, allowing the
DZNEmptyDataSet is an Objective-C library for rendering empty state placeholders in iOS table and collection views, which addresses a common UI need, but it does not cover the networking, image loading, Core Data, or JSON/XML parsing capabilities this search targets.
RestKit is an iOS REST API integration framework used to connect Apple platform applications to web services. It centers on RESTful resource modeling, transforming remote API data structures into typed local objects and database entities. The framework provides capabilities for remote data persistence by caching web service resources in a local database to enable offline access. It also handles network data serialization, using pluggable parsers to convert JSON or XML responses into application data models. Additional functionality includes multipart file uploading for sending binary data an
RestKit is an Objective-C framework for iOS/macOS that provides networking, RESTful API integration, JSON/XML parsing, and a data persistence layer, directly addressing several of your required features for development libraries.
Nimbus is an iOS UI framework and application toolkit providing a collection of reusable interface components and layout tools for building native mobile applications. It includes a SwiftUI component library and a structured interface design system for maintaining consistent styling across Apple platforms. The framework employs a declarative approach to visual formatting, using CSS-based component styling to define colors, fonts, and spacing. It further streamlines development through a component-based construction system and declarative style mapping. The toolkit covers a range of interface
Nimbus is an iOS UI framework and application toolkit in Objective‑C that provides reusable interface components and asynchronous remote image loading, making it a good fit for UI‑focused development, though it does not directly address Core Data abstraction, networking, or JSON/XML parsing.
NOTE: You can find a Swift 2.0 implementation of this library in the swift branch of this repo.
This is a narrow, single-purpose Objective-C library that implements a custom status bar notification UI component, so it fits the category of iOS/macOS development libraries but covers only one of the listed development needs.
This project is a client-side software development kit for iOS and macOS applications that integrates mobile software with a cloud-based backend. It functions as a mobile backend as a service interface, enabling developers to manage user authentication, cloud data persistence, and synchronization without the need to maintain server-side infrastructure. The framework is designed for offline-first development, utilizing a local datastore to cache application state and ensure functionality during periods of network disconnection. It features an automated synchronization engine that queues pendin
Parse SDK is an Objective-C library that supplies networking, JSON parsing, ParseUI components, and ARC compatibility for iOS/macOS apps, but it lacks the image loading and Core Data abstraction features you listed, so it addresses only part of your common development needs.
ParseUI-iOS is a library of reusable interface components designed to display data fetched from remote backend services within mobile applications. It functions as a data binding framework that connects database records directly to native interface elements, reducing the amount of boilerplate code required to build data-driven software. The framework distinguishes itself by providing pre-built widgets that integrate directly with backend data models, enabling developers to render information from cloud databases automatically. By utilizing model-driven view binding, these components observe c
ParseUI iOS is an Objective-C library that provides custom UI components for use with the Parse SDK, so it fits the request for iOS/macOS development libraries, though it is limited to UI components and does not cover networking, image loading, or other common needs.