Special

Introducing the “Welcome to Xojo” Bundle!

New to Xojo and looking for guidance? We've put together a terrific bundle to welcome you! Xojo Bundle

This bundle includes six back issues of the magazine -- all of year 23 in printed book and digital formats -- plus a one-year subscription (beginning with 24.1) so you'll be learning all about Xojo for the next year. It's the perfect way to get started programming with Xojo. And you save as much as $35 over the non-bundle price!

This offer is only available for a limited time as supplies are short, so hurry today and order this special bundle before the offer goes away!

Article Preview


Buy Now

Issue 24.3 ('MBS Germany 2026')
Instant purchase and download via GumRoad!

FEATURE

More Foundation Models

Some additional foundation model tasks

Issue: 24.3 (May/June 2026)
Author: Marc Zeedar
Author Bio: Marc taught himself programming in high school when he bought his first computer but had no money for software. He's had fun learning ever since.
Article Description: In January, the author detailed using Apple's Foundation AI Models for free on MacOS Tahoe via Apple's Shortcuts app, avoiding plugin requirements in Xojo. This method, despite some limitations, was showcased in a presentation at the MBS Xojo Conference in Germany. The setup involves configuring a Shortcut to process data through an AI model and integrating it into Xojo projects via shell commands, though this requires file-based data transfer. While Monkeybread Plugins offer a more efficient alternative, the Shortcut method suits personal use despite distribution challenges. The author expanded on this by adding new AI functionalities: "Comment Code," which uses Private Cloud Compute for consistent results to automatically document Xojo code, and "Add XML Description," automating article summary insertion into xDev's XML files. The latter task, initially hindered by non-standard XML handling and AI model limitations, was resolved by pre-processing XML in Xojo. These enhancements illustrate practical AI integrations, encouraging further exploration of AI tools in development workflows..
Article Length (in bytes): 17,570
Starting Page Number: 22
Article Number: 24304
Resource File(s):

Download Icon project24304.zip Updated: 2026-05-04 10:01:28

Related Link(s): None

Excerpt of article text...

Back in January, I wrote about how to use Apple's Foundation AI Models in MacOS Tahoe for free. I figured out how to access them via Apple's Shortcuts app, so they don't even require a plugin to use them from within Xojo. While there are limitations to this technique, it is easy and fun, and I decided to do my presentation at this year's MBS Xojo Conference in Germany on this feature.

Since I wanted to go a bit further than what I'd already written about in xDev, I came up with a couple of additional AI tasks. I will write about those here as you probably won't be in Germany to hear my talk.

A Quick Refresh

You'll recall that using my approach requires creating a Shortcut in Apple's Shortcuts app. The Shortcut needs to be set up a certain way:

  • It needs to have its "Show in Share Sheet" option checked, as well as "Provide Output" (see Figure 1).

  • The Shortcut's first step needs to receive data from Share Sheet (see Figure 2).

...End of Excerpt. Please purchase the magazine to read the full article.