Setting the default tab when using storyboards

Might seem like overkill for some to subclass UITabBarController, but, I think it provides the cleanest solution.

1. Create BaseTabBarController.swift

2. Add an @IBInspectable and set it in viewDidLoad:

   class BaseTabBarController: UITabBarController {
   
       @IBInspectable var defaultIndex: Int = 0
   
       override func viewDidLoad() {
           super.viewDidLoad()
           selectedIndex = defaultIndex
       }
   
   }
   

3. In the storyboard, set you UITabBarController to be your new subclass:

4. Go to the Attributes Inspector add set the new property Default Index:

5. ta-da! (:

Whilst you can set the initial selected tab programmatically like the other answers, to achieve the same in your storyboard without touching code you would perform the following:

1. Select the Tab Bar Controller in the Storyboard Interface
2. Show the Identity Inspector in the Utilities panel
3. Add a new "User Defined Runtime Attribute"
4. Set the Key Path to "selectedIndex"
5. Set the Type to "Number"
6. Set the Value to the index of the tab you wish to select (a value of 1 would select the second tab for example)
7. Save the Storyboard, build and run the application

This should be what it looks like when you've achieved the above steps:

1. Create a new file subclass of UITabBarController;

2. Add this at the end of viewDidLoad:

   self.selectedIndex = 1;

3. Set this new file as the Custom Class in the UITabBarController of your Storyboard.

You're done.