@capacitor/cli
Advanced tools
@capacitor/cli is a command-line interface tool for Capacitor, a cross-platform native runtime that makes it easy to build web apps that run natively on iOS, Android, and the web. The CLI provides commands to create, build, and manage Capacitor projects.
Creating a new Capacitor project
This command initializes a new Capacitor project. It sets up the necessary files and directories to start building a cross-platform application.
npx @capacitor/cli createAdding a native platform
This command adds the iOS platform to your Capacitor project, allowing you to build and run your app on iOS devices.
npx cap add iosBuilding the web assets
This command builds the web assets of your Capacitor project. It compiles the web code and prepares it for deployment to native platforms.
npx cap buildSyncing the project
This command synchronizes the web assets and native platform code. It ensures that the latest web code is copied to the native project directories.
npx cap syncOpening the native IDE
This command opens the native Android project in Android Studio. It allows you to make native code changes and run the app on an Android emulator or device.
npx cap open androidApache Cordova is a mobile application development framework that allows you to use standard web technologies such as HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript for cross-platform development. It provides a set of APIs to access native device functions. Compared to @capacitor/cli, Cordova has been around longer and has a larger plugin ecosystem, but Capacitor offers a more modern development experience and better integration with modern web frameworks.
React Native CLI is a command-line interface for React Native, a framework for building native apps using React. It provides commands to create, build, and run React Native projects. Unlike @capacitor/cli, which focuses on web technologies and cross-platform development, React Native CLI is specifically designed for building native mobile apps with React.
Expo CLI is a command-line tool for Expo, a framework and platform for universal React applications. It provides a set of tools and services to build, deploy, and manage React Native apps. Expo CLI simplifies the development process by providing a managed workflow, but it may have limitations compared to @capacitor/cli in terms of accessing native device features directly.
The Capacitor command-line interface (CLI) is a tool for creating and managing Capacitor applications. While it can be installed globally, it's recommended to install it locally in your project and execute through npm scripts.
Install the CLI locally in your project:
npm install @capacitor/cli --save-dev
While not recommended for project use, you can install the CLI globally:
npm install -g @capacitor/cli
The CLI can be used through the capacitor or cap command. When installed locally, use it through your project's npm scripts or npx.
Common commands:
cap init: Initialize a new Capacitor projectcap add: Add a native platform (ios, android)cap sync: Sync your web code to your native projectsFor detailed information, consult the Getting Started guide.
If you're contributing to the Capacitor CLI or testing local changes:
Clone and setup:
git clone https://github.com/ionic-team/capacitor.git
cd cli
npm install
Build the CLI:
npm run build
Create a local link:
npm link
Development workflow:
npm run watch to automatically rebuild on changescapacitor or cap commands to test your changesnpm test to execute the test suiteThe CLI includes VS Code launch configurations for debugging. To debug a CLI command:
You can add more configurations by copying and modifying the existing ones in .vscode/launch.json.
Contributions are welcome! Please read our Contributing Guide for details.
FAQs
Capacitor: Cross-platform apps with JavaScript and the web
The npm package @capacitor/cli receives a total of 518,279 weekly downloads. As such, @capacitor/cli popularity was classified as popular.
We found that @capacitor/cli demonstrated a healthy version release cadence and project activity because the last version was released less than a year ago. It has 14 open source maintainers collaborating on the project.
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