Increase widget visibility on Apple Watch using RelevanceKit. Use when providing contextual relevance signals for watchOS widgets, declaring time-based or location-based relevance, combining multiple relevance providers, helping the system surface the right widget at the right time on watchOS 26, or routing mixed RelevanceKit/WidgetKit/HealthKit/MapKit Smart Stack scope.
SKILL.md
RelevanceKit
Provide on-device contextual clues that increase a widget's visibility in the
Apple Watch Smart Stack. RelevanceKit tells the system when a widget is
relevant by time, location, fitness state, sleep schedule, or connected hardware.
Targets Swift 6.3 / watchOS 26+.
Beta-sensitive. Re-check Apple documentation before making strong RelevanceKit availability or behavior claims.
watchOS uses two mechanisms to determine widget relevance in the Smart Stack:
Timeline provider relevance -- implement relevance() on an existing
AppIntentTimelineProvider to attach RelevantContext clues to timeline
entries. Available across platforms; only watchOS acts on the data.
Relevant widget -- use RelevanceConfiguration with a
RelevanceEntriesProvider to build a widget driven entirely by relevance
clues. The system creates individual Smart Stack cards per relevant entry.
watchOS 26+ only.
Choose a timeline provider when the widget always has data to show and relevance
is supplementary. Choose a relevant widget when the widget should only appear
when conditions match, or when multiple cards should appear simultaneously (e.g.,
several upcoming calendar events).
Key Types
Type
Module
Role
RelevantContext
RelevanceKit
A contextual clue (date, location, fitness, sleep, hardware)
WidgetRelevance
WidgetKit
Collection of relevance attributes for a widget kind
WidgetRelevanceAttribute
WidgetKit
Pairs a widget configuration with a RelevantContext
WidgetRelevanceGroup
WidgetKit
Controls grouping behavior in the Smart Stack
RelevanceConfiguration
WidgetKit
Widget configuration driven by relevance clues (watchOS 26+)
RelevanceEntriesProvider
WidgetKit
Provides entries for a relevance-configured widget (watchOS 26+)
RelevanceEntry
WidgetKit
Data needed to render one relevant widget card (watchOS 26+)
RelevanceConfiguration, RelevanceEntriesProvider, and RelevanceEntry are
WidgetKit APIs. Keep them in this skill's scope only when they are part of the
watchOS relevant-widget workflow that exposes RelevanceKit clues.
Setup
Import
import RelevanceKit
import WidgetKit
Platform Availability
RelevantContext is declared across platforms (iOS 17+, watchOS 10+), but
RelevanceKit functionality only takes effect on watchOS. Calling the API on
other platforms has no effect. Timeline-provider relevance() is available on
iOS 18+, macOS 15+, visionOS 26+, and watchOS 11+ for shared provider code.
RelevanceConfiguration, RelevanceEntriesProvider, and RelevanceEntry are
watchOS 26+ only.
Permissions
Certain relevance clues require authorization or target setup:
HealthKit access to appleExerciseTime, appleMoveTime, and appleStandTime
.sleep(_:)
HealthKit sleepAnalysis permission
.hardware(headphones:)
None
.date(...)
None
Add location purpose strings to the containing app's Info.plist, not only the
widget extension. In widget code, check CLLocationManager.isAuthorizedForWidgetUpdates
before relying on location clues. For fitness and sleep clues, enable HealthKit
and request the exact read types in the app and widget extension target that
provides relevance.
Relevance Providers
Option 1: Timeline Provider with Relevance
Add a relevance() method to an existing AppIntentTimelineProvider. This
approach shares code across iOS and watchOS while adding watchOS Smart Stack
intelligence.
Build a widget that only appears when conditions match. The system calls
relevance() to learn when the widget matters, then calls entry() with
the matching configuration to get render data.
When a feature mixes widgets, location, workouts, and Smart Stack relevance,
keep RelevanceKit focused on RelevantContext, WidgetRelevanceAttribute,
provider relevance(), RelevantIntentManager, relevant-widget handoffs, and
permissions for relevance clues. Route timelines, reload budgets, families,
rendering, APNs widget pushes, Live Activities, and widget Controls to
WidgetKit; HKWorkoutSession, HKLiveWorkoutBuilder, HKWorkoutRoute,
queries, activity-ring/sleep data, and authorization UX to HealthKit; and
MKLocalSearch, MKLocalSearchCompleter, MKDirections, geocoding,
authorization, regions, geofencing, and place data to MapKit/CoreLocation.
Time-Based Relevance
Time clues tell the system a widget matters at or around a specific moment.
Single Date
RelevantContext.date(eventDate)
Date with Kind
DateKind provides an additional hint about the nature of the time relevance:
Kind
Use
.default
General time relevance
.scheduled
A scheduled event (meeting, flight)
.informational
Information relevant around a time (weather forecast)
Apply the location row in the Permissions table and check
CLLocationManager.isAuthorizedForWidgetUpdates before returning clues.
Specific Region
import CoreLocation
let region = CLCircularRegion(
center: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: 37.3349, longitude: -122.0090),
radius: 500,
identifier: "apple-park"
)
RelevantContext.location(region)
Point-of-Interest Category (26.0+ SDKs)
Indicate relevance near any location of a given category. Returns nil if the
category is unsupported. The factory is SDK-available on Apple platforms 26.0+,
but RelevanceKit clues still only affect Smart Stack behavior on watchOS.
import MapKit
if let context = RelevantContext.location(category: .beach) {
// Widget is relevant whenever the person is near a beach
}
Fitness and Sleep Relevance
Fitness
// Relevant when activity rings are incomplete
RelevantContext.fitness(.activityRingsIncomplete)
// Relevant during an active workout
RelevantContext.fitness(.workoutActive)
// Relevant when headphones are connected
RelevantContext.hardware(headphones: .connected)
No special permission required.
Combining Signals
Return multiple WidgetRelevanceAttribute values in the WidgetRelevance
array to make a widget relevant under several different conditions.
func relevance() async -> WidgetRelevance<MyIntent> {
var attributes: [WidgetRelevanceAttribute<MyIntent>] = []
// Relevant during morning commute
attributes.append(
WidgetRelevanceAttribute(
configuration: MyIntent(mode: .commute),
context: .location(inferred: .commute)
)
)
// Relevant at work
attributes.append(
WidgetRelevanceAttribute(
configuration: MyIntent(mode: .work),
context: .location(inferred: .work)
)
)
// Relevant around a scheduled event
for event in upcomingEvents {
attributes.append(
WidgetRelevanceAttribute(
configuration: MyIntent(eventID: event.id),
context: .date(event.date, kind: .scheduled)
)
)
}
return WidgetRelevance(attributes)
}
Order matters. Return relevance attributes ordered by priority. The system
may use only a subset of the provided relevances.
Widget Integration
Relevant Widget with RelevanceConfiguration
@available(watchOS 26, *)
struct MyRelevantWidget: Widget {
var body: some WidgetConfiguration {
RelevanceConfiguration(
kind: "com.example.relevant-events",
provider: MyRelevanceProvider()
) { entry in
EventWidgetView(entry: entry)
}
.configurationDisplayName("Events")
.description("Shows upcoming events when relevant")
}
}
Associating with a Timeline Widget
When both a timeline widget and a relevant widget show the same data, use
associatedKind to prevent duplicate cards. The system replaces the timeline
widget card with relevant widget cards when they are suggested.
WidgetRelevanceGroup controls how the system groups widgets in the Smart Stack.
// Opt out of default per-app grouping so each card appears independently
WidgetRelevanceAttribute(
configuration: intent,
group: .ungrouped
)
// Named group -- only one widget from the group appears at a time
WidgetRelevanceAttribute(
configuration: intent,
group: .named("weather-alerts")
)
// Default system grouping
WidgetRelevanceAttribute(
configuration: intent,
group: .automatic
)
RelevantIntent (Timeline Provider Path)
When using a timeline provider, also update RelevantIntentManager so the
system has relevance data between timeline refreshes.
import AppIntents
func updateRelevantIntents() async {
let intents = events.map { event in
RelevantIntent(
MyWidgetIntent(event: event),
widgetKind: "com.example.events",
relevance: RelevantContext.date(from: event.start, to: event.end)
)
}
try? await RelevantIntentManager.shared.updateRelevantIntents(intents)
}
Call this whenever relevance data changes -- not only during timeline refreshes.
Previewing Relevant Widgets
Use the entry, relevance-configuration, and full-provider recipes in
Preview Recipes. Enable
WidgetKit Developer Mode on the watch, test permissions granted and denied, and
finish on a physical Apple Watch; see
Testing Tips.
Common Mistakes
Using RelevanceKit API expecting iOS behavior. The API compiles on all
platforms but only has effect on watchOS.
Duplicate Smart Stack cards. When offering both a timeline widget and a
relevant widget for the same data, use .associatedKind(_:) to prevent
duplication.
Not calling updateRelevantIntents. When using timeline providers,
calling this only inside timeline() means the system has stale relevance
data between refreshes. Update whenever data changes.
Ignoring nil from location(category:). This factory returns an optional.
Not all MKPointOfInterestCategory values are supported.
Review Checklist
Routing: RelevanceKit is watchOS-effect-only, and WidgetKit,
HealthKit, MapKit, and CoreLocation implementation remains in sibling scope.
Signals: contexts match the data model, attributes are priority-ordered,
and every clue uses the exact Permissions-table setup.
Providers: entry, placeholder, relevance, and preview paths are present;
location category optionals and widget-update authorization are handled.
Coordination: .associatedKind(_:) prevents duplicate cards, and
updateRelevantIntents runs whenever timeline-provider data changes.
Testing: Developer Mode is enabled and previews cover display sizes plus
granted and denied permission states.
