Private Action

ID

swift.private_action

Severity

info

Remediation Complexity

medium

Remediation Risk

low

Remediation Effort

medium

Resource

Code Smell

Language

Swift

Tags

code-smell, encapsulation

Description

Reports an @IBAction method that isn’t declared private or fileprivate. Actions are wiring between the storyboard and the view controller — external callers should not invoke them directly.

@IBAction func tapped(_ sender: UIButton) { ... }            // FLAW
@IBAction private func tapped(_ sender: UIButton) { ... }    // OK

Rationale

@IBAction methods are entry points wired up from Interface Builder, not part of the controller’s API. Leaving them at the default internal access exposes them to siblings in the same module, which is rarely intentional and complicates refactoring (a rename or signature change becomes a binary-API break for nothing).

Remediation

@IBAction private func tapped(_ sender: UIButton) {
    // …
}

References