Enai - Integrated Browser Platform

The Context

Starting in April 2024 and continuing in January 2025, I’ve helped Enai, a macOS-native startup building an integrated browser and app platform. They needed someone with deep AppKit knowledge to fix bugs and tame complex UI components, establish proper macOS development patterns, and provide ongoing expertise as their product evolved.

These targeted engagements have focused on bringing their ambitious vision closer to reality through critical bug fixes and architectural guidance.

Technical Challenges

AppKit-Specific Patterns

• Established proper view controller lifecycle management
• Implemented conventional responder chain handling
• Fixed memory leaks in complex view hierarchies

Bug Fixes and Stability

• Diagnosed and fixed critical crashes
• Improved error handling throughout the app
• Resolved edge cases in window management
• Enhanced overall application stability

Architecture Guidance

• Recommended patterns for sustainable AppKit development
• Documented best practices for the team
• Set up proper debugging and profiling workflows

Team Dynamics

Working with a startup meant:

• Direct communication with founders
• Flexibility to suggest major architectural changes
• Knowledge transfer to help the team become self-sufficient

Personal Reflections

Enai has been an ongoing reminder of why I love consulting: dropping into a codebase, quickly understanding the problems, and delivering targeted solutions. Returning to their codebase multiple times has let me see the evolution of their product and the impact of earlier architectural decisions.

This project also reinforced the value of AppKit expertise. While everyone’s excited about SwiftUI, complex macOS apps still need AppKit knowledge, and that expertise is increasingly rare. Being their go-to AppKit expert whenever they hit platform-specific challenges has been both rewarding and validating.

What’s struck me most is realizing that after a decade with AppKit, I can now intuit things like responder chain behavior and view controller composition in ways that feel almost second nature. This intuition has proven invaluable for Enai – I can spot where their architecture fights the framework instead of embracing it.

It’s humbling to recognize this took years to develop. Early in my career, with projects like Word Counter, I wanted full control – implementing VIPER to wire everything manually, sometimes fighting the framework rather than trusting it. But time taught me that leaning on AppKit’s patterns doesn’t mean giving up control; it means gaining robustness and flexibility. The framework’s conventions exist for good reasons, and working with them rather than around them prevents those edge cases where custom wiring breaks down.

This evolution from fighting the framework to dancing with it – that’s been the real journey. And being able to share that hard-won understanding with teams like Enai is where the consulting really shines.

Impact

My contributions over multiple engagements have helped Enai:

• Stabilize their application for initial user testing
• Establish patterns that would scale with their vision
• Build confidence in their technical approach
• Accelerate development by removing blockers
• Provide continuity and expertise as their product matures

These ongoing engagements demonstrate how targeted expertise can unblock a team repeatedly and provide valuable continuity as a product evolves.