CloudKit CKRecordZone Deletion Issue

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CloudKit CKRecordZone Deletion Issue

Problem: CloudKit record zones deleted via CKDatabase.modifyRecordZones(deleting:) or CKModifyRecordZonesOperation are successfully removed but then reappear. I suspect they are automatically reinstated by CloudKit sync, despite successful deletion confirmation.

Environment:

SwiftData with CloudKit integration
Custom CloudKit zones created for legacy zone-based sharing

Observed Behavior:

Create custom zone (e.g., "TestZone1") via CKDatabase.modifyRecordZones(saving:)
Copy records to zone for sharing purposes
Delete zone using any CloudKit deletion API - returns success, no errors
Immediate verification: Zone is gone from database.allRecordZones()
After SwiftData/CloudKit sync or app restart: Zone reappears

Reproduction:

Tested with three different deletion methods - all exhibit same behaviour:
- modifyRecordZones(deleting:) async API
- CKModifyRecordZonesOperation (fire-and-forget)
- CKModifyRecordZonesOperation with result callbacks
Zone deletion succeeds, change tokens (used to track updates to shared records) cleaned up
But zones are restored presumably by CloudKit background sync

Expected: Deleted zones should remain deleted Actual: Zones are reinstated, creating orphaned zones

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Answer 1

Frameworks Engineer OP

Apple

1h

You would need to mark the zone as user-purged for the DefaultStore to obey an out of band delete. Alternatively you can use NSPersistentCloudKitContainer to manage CloudKit sync on the side through Coexistence and use its purge APIs.

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