/System/Library/Frameworks

A framework is a dynamic library and resources for that library, such as images and localization strings. Frameworks have the file extension .framework.

In iOS there are two kinds of frameworks: public frameworks and private frameworks. Public frameworks are allowed to be used in App Store apps. Private frameworks are intended to be used only by Apple's apps, and are more unstable against firmware changes, but many of the interesting features are in the private frameworks.

Since iOS 3.1, all default (private and public) libraries have been combined into a big cache file in /System/Library/Caches/com.apple.dyld/dyld_shared_cache_armX (where X can be v6, v7, v7s or 64) to improve performance. See dyld_shared_cache. The original libraries are no longer useful for non-on-device-developers, so they are eliminated from the system. The framework folders still contain other resources, such as localization strings.

Private Frameworks

See /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks.

Public Frameworks

Resources for public frameworks can be found inside /System/Library/Frameworks.

• List of iOS Public Frameworks from Apple.
• List of frameworks related to CoreAudio.

Framework	1.x	2.x	3.x	4.x	5.x	6.x	7.x	8.x	9.x	10.x	11.x	Prefix	Language	Description
Accelerate	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	cblas, vDSP	C	Vector and Matrix math, digital signal processing, large number handling, and image processing
Accounts	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	AC	Obj-C	Provides access to accounts in the Accounts database. Allows creation of accounts if none exsist. Only Twitter is avaliable in iOS 5.0 and later.
AddressBook	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	AB	Obj-C	Provides access to the Address Book database.
AddressBookUI	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
AdSupport	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	AS	Obj-C	Provides access to identifiers for serving adverts and a flag that indicates if limited tracking is on.
ARKit	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes			Introduced in iOS 11.x.
AppSupport	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
AppleBasebandManager	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
ArtworkCache	Partial	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No			Introduced in iOS 1.1.x.
AssetsLibrary	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	AL	Obj-C	Used to access pictures and videos managed by the Photos application.
AudioToolbox	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	AU, Audio	--	Provides interfaces for recording, playback, stream parsing, and managing audio sessions. Part of CoreAudio.
AudioUnit	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	AU, Audio	--	Interfaces for the loading of audio units and their use.
AVFoundation	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	AV	Obj-C	Used for playing and recording audio and video.
AVKit	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	AV
BluetoothManager	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Calculate	Partial	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No			Introduced in iOS 1.1.x.
Calendar	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
CallKit	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Camera	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Celestial	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
CFNetwork	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	CF	C	Interfaces for high-performance networking.
CloudKit	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Contacts	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Contacts
ContactsUI	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Contacts UI
CoreAudio	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Audio	C++	Declares constants and data-types used by other interfaces in CoreAudio.
CoreAudioKit	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Audio
CoreBluetooth	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	CB	Obj-C	Provides access to Bluetooth peripherals (hardware).
CoreData	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	NS	Obj-C	Interfaces for application data model manipulation.
CoreFoundation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	CF	C	Basic data management and services.
CoreGraphics	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	CG	C	APIs to interface with the Quartz engine, allows 2D rendering, etc.
CoreImage	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	CI	Obj-C	Interfaces for manipulating images and video.
CoreLocation	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	CL	Obj-C	Interfaces for determining location.
CoreMedia	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	CM	C	Low-level routines for manipulating audio and video.
CoreMIDI	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	MIDI	Obj-C	Routines for handling MIDI data. Only available in iOS 4.2 and later. Part of CoreAudio.
CoreML	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes		Introduced in iOS 11.x.
CoreMotion	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	CM	Obj-C, C++	Interfaces for accessing accelerometer and gyrometric data.
CoreSpotlight	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
CoreSurface	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
CoreTelephony (CoreTelephony)	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	CT	Obj-C	Allows access to Carrier information and information pertaining to a current call.
CoreText	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	CT	C++	Text layout and rendering engine.
CoreVideo	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	CV	--	Low-level routines for manipulating audio and video - Apple advises not to use this framework directly, and although public doesn't document much of it.
DeviceLink	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
EventKit	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	EK	Obj-C	Interfaces for accessing Calendar event data. This is a replacement for the older Calendar.framework.
EventKitUI	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	EK	Obj-C	Classes for system graphical interfaces.
ExternalAccessory	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	EA	Obj-C	Interfaces for communication with attached external accessories via 30-pin dock or Bluetooth. Lightning is not yet mentioned by Apple in documentation.
Foundation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	NS	Obj-C	Objective-C wrappers to features found in CoreFoundation with extra features and functionality not covered by Objective-C.
GameController	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
GameKit	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	GK	Obj-C	Manages P2P connectivity. With iOS 4.1 and later, GameKit can be used with Game Center (an extension to the framework) to create social games.
GameplayKit	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	GK	Obj-C	Manages P2P connectivity. With iOS 4.1 and later, GameKit can be used with Game Center (an extension to the framework) to create social games.
GLKit	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	GLK	Obj-C	Utility classes for building OpenGL ES applications.
GMM	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
GraphicsServices	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
GSS	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	gss	--	Security related services - Apple advises to look at the headers as they provide no documentation.
HealthKit	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
HealthKitUI	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
HomeKit	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
iAD	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	AD	Obj-c	Classes for displaying advertisements.
IAP	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
ImageIO	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	CG	C++	Input and output for images. Part of CoreGraphics.
Intents	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
IntentsUI	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
IOKit	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	--	C++	Low-level framework for communicating with the kernel and hardware. Apple advises not to use this framework directly and will reject it from the App Store.
IOMobileFramebuffer	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
ITSync	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
iTunesStore	Partial	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No			Introduced in iOS 1.1.x.
JavaScriptCore	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
LayerKit	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
LocalAuthentication	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
MapKit	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	MK	Obj-C	Classes for embedding Map graphical interfaces. Before iOS 5.1, Google Mobile Maps was used to provide map data; afterwards, Apple provided the map data.
MBX2D	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
MBXConnect	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
MeCCA	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
MediaAccessibility	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
MediaPlayer	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	MP	Obj-C	Provides facilities to play audio, and video. Also allows access to the iPod or Music library.
MediaToolbox	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	MT	C++	Apple has no reference as of writing, but headers appear to suggest this framework deals with audio processing.
Message	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Messages	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
MessageUI	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	MF	Obj-C	Interfaces for SMS and Mail compose view controllers without leaving the application.
Metal	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
MetalKit	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
MetalPerformanceShaders	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
MobileBluetooth	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
MobileCoreServices	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	UT	C	Defines UTIs supported by the system.
MobileMusicPlayer	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
ModelIO	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
MultipeerConnectivity	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
MoviePlayerUI	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
MultitouchSupport	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
MusicLibrary	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
NetworkExtension	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
NewsstandKit	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	NK	Obj-C	Interfaces for downloading Newsstand application content.
NotificationCenter	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
OfficeImport	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
OpenAL	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	AL	C++	Interface for the cross-platform audio library.
OpenGLES	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	EAGL, GL	C	Interface for the OpenGL ES library.
PassKit	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	PK	Obj-C	Interfaces for creation of Passes for Passbook.app and Wallet.app.
Photos	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
PhotosUI	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
PhotoLibrary	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Preferences	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
PushKit	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
QuartzCore	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	CA	Obj-C	Contains the CoreAnimation interfaces.
QuickLook	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	QL	Obj-C	Interfaces for previewing files of unknown formats.
ReplayKit	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
SafariServices	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
SceneKit	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Security	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	CSSM, Sec	Obj-C	Interfaces for managing keys, trust policies, and certificates.
Social	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	SL	Obj-C	Interfaces for interacting with social accounts, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Speech	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
SpriteKit	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
StoreKit	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	SK	Obj-C	Interfaces for handling in-app purchase transactions.
System	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
SystemConfiguration	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	SC	C++	Interfaces for determining network availability.
TelephonyUI	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Twitter	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	TW	Obj-C	Interfaces for sending tweets.
UIKit	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	UI	Obj-C	Classes for iOS UI elements and for the user interface layer of applications.
URLify	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
UserNotifications	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
UserNotificationsUI	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
VideoSubscriberAccount	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
VideoToolbox	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	--	--	Interfaces used by the device. Apple states not to include this framework directly.
VisualVoicemail	Partial	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No			Introduced in iOS 1.1.x.
WatchConnectivity	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
WatchKit	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	8.2+	Yes	Yes			Interfaces for connectivity between iOS apps and Apple Watch.
WebCore	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
WebKit	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes

Files

• (none)

Parents

(root)/System/Library