YYKit
A large collection of iOS UI and utility components bundled into one library.
- Stars
- 14k
- Forks
- 3.7k
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- Objective-C
- Last update
- 2.4 years ago
- Type
- Library
No commits in over a year — check for forks or alternatives before adopting.
What it is
YYKit is an umbrella collection of iOS components written in Objective-C, covering areas such as models, caching, images, rich text, and utility categories. The author split its parts into separate smaller libraries, which the README recommends using instead of the combined YYKit package. It is aimed at iOS developers who want ready-made building blocks for their apps.
- Add the YYKit umbrella pod to an iOS project and import YYKit.h to access its components
- Use a separate component such as YYText or YYCache instead of the full bundle
- Explore the included Demo project to see Twitter- and Weibo-style interfaces built with the library
Great for
- iOS developers maintaining Objective-C codebases
- Developers who need a specific component such as rich text or image decoding
- Teams that want to borrow ideas from a mature, widely starred iOS codebase
Not ideal for
- Developers starting a new project who want Swift-first libraries, since the README describes Objective-C components only
- Anyone targeting platforms other than iOS, because the README describes iOS components only
- Projects that need a current iOS version: the README lists iOS 6.0+ and Xcode 8.0+, which are very old
How to get it
- 1
Install with a package manager
You'll need: Xcode 8.0+ · CocoaPods or Carthage (optional, for package-manager install)
Add to Podfile, then install (CocoaPods)
pod 'YYKit'Install pods
pod install - 2
Run it
- Add pod 'YYKit' to your Podfile.
- Run pod install.
- Import <YYKit/YYKit.h> in your code.
- Open Demo/YYKitDemo.xcodeproj to see example screens.
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Prefer the separate components (YYModel, YYCache, YYText, YYImage, and others) listed in the README over the combined library
- Use the CocoaPods install if you need WebP support, since the README says the Carthage build omits the webp component
- For manual installs, add the -fno-objc-arc flag to NSObject+YYAddForARC.m and NSThread+YYAdd.m as the README instructs
- Read the Demo project and CocoaDocs API documentation to learn the components
Downloads
Strengths
- Broad coverage of common iOS needs in one collection
- Installable through CocoaPods, Carthage, or manual source copying
- Released under the permissive MIT license
Trade-offs
- The README says the author does not recommend using the combined YYKit directly, pointing users to the split components instead
- Minimum supported versions (iOS 6.0, Xcode 8.0) are very old, so compatibility with current toolchains is unclear from the README
- Category methods have no prefix, which the README itself warns may cause conflicts
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YYKit (this) | 14k | Library | intermediate | 2.4 years ago | iOS developers maintaining Objective-C codebases |
| SDWebImage | 25.6k | Library | intermediate | 7 months ago | iOS or macOS app developers who need to show remote images in lists or grids |
| Kingfisher | 24.4k | Library | beginner | 4 days ago | iOS or macOS developers who need to show remote images in lists or detail screens |
| IGListKit | 13.1k | Library | intermediate | 13 days ago | iOS developers building list or feed screens with UICollectionView |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.