GlowGetter

A lightweight Swift package that makes it a breeze to add a customizable glow effect to your SwiftUI views.
Compatible with iOS 15.0 and later

GlowGetter provides an easy-to-use SwiftUI modifier that overlays a view with a Metal-powered glow effect. With just one simple modifier, you can enhance your views with a subtle or pronounced glow to match your design needs. Under the hood, the package leverages a custom view (named GlowRenderView) that encapsulates Metal's powerful rendering functionalities.

Here are some examples of GlowGetter in action:

Please Note:
The current implementation of GlowGetter is experimental. We acknowledge that the rendering method isn’t perfect yet, and improvements are planned for possible future releases.

1. In Xcode, navigate to File > Add Packages...
2. Enter the repository URL:
   https://github.com/Aeastr/GlowGetter
3. Follow the prompts to add the package to your project.

• GlowRenderView
  This view is responsible for setting up a Metal-rendered glow overlay. It is embedded within a SwiftUI wrapper to make the effect easily composable.

• SwiftUI Modifier (.glow(_:_:))
  A single modifier overlays your view with a glow effect. The intensity of the glow can be adjusted with the first parameter, and you can optionally provide a shape to clip the glow.

Simply import the package and apply the modifier to any SwiftUI view.

If you just want to apply a glow with a specified intensity, use the modifier with only the intensity parameter:

import SwiftUI
import GlowGetter

struct ContentView: View {
    var body: some View {
        Color.orange
            .glow(0.8)
    }
}

You can also control the shape of the glow by using the optional clipping parameter. For instance, to clip the glow to a circular shape, pass a Circle() as the second argument:

import SwiftUI
import GlowGetter

struct CircularGlowContentView: View {
    var body: some View {
        Color.orange
            .clipShape(Circle())
            .glow(0.8, Circle())
    }
}

Or if your design calls for a rounded rectangle, simply provide a .rect:

import SwiftUI
import GlowGetter

struct RoundedGlowContentView: View {
    var body: some View {
        Color.orange
            .clipShape(.rect(cornerRadius: 20))
            .glow(0.8, .rect(cornerRadius: 20))
    }
}

GlowGetter uses a Metal layer behind the scenes to produce a glow effect by blending a rendered overlay with the underlying view content. The overlay is applied using a custom SwiftUI view (GlowRenderView), which is wrapped up inside a neat .glow(_:) modifier. This allows you to add or remove the effect in a declarative manner.

This implementation serves as a quick way to achieve a glow effect using a SwiftUI overlay. It may not be the most ideal method for high-performance or production-quality rendering. For optimal results in demanding scenarios, a more robust Metal-based rendering pipeline is recommended.

Special thanks to Jordi Bruin | X and Ben Harraway | X for their invaluable insights and assistance in refining the underlying rendering functionality.

This repo adapts some code that was built for Vivid, which lets you use your MacBook at the maximum brightness.

GlowGetter is available under the MIT license. See the LICENSE file for more information.