@capacitor/cli

What is @capacitor/cli?

@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.

What are @capacitor/cli's main functionalities?

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 create

Adding 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 ios

Building 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 build

Syncing 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 sync

Opening 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 android

Other packages similar to @capacitor/cli

cordova

Apache 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

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

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.

README

Capacitor CLI

The Capacitor command-line interface should be installed locally and executed through npm scripts.

npm install @capacitor/cli --save-dev

Using Capacitor CLI

Consult the Getting Started guide for information on using the CLI and Capacitor scripts.

License

• MIT

Changelog

7.1.0 (2025-03-12)

Bug Fixes

• android: add EdgeToEdge compatibility (#7871) (64a8bc4)
• android: sanitize portable file name (#7894) (5f09297)
• cli: don't run bundle if not installed (#7896) (ee55f6c)
• core: use getPlatform instead of platform in cordova.js (#7902) (277db7b)
• http: boundary not added for Request objects (#7897) (bdaa6f3)
• ios: don't check isMediaExtension on range requests (#7868) (028caa5)
• ios: listen for CapacitorViewDidAppear (#7850) (e24ffb7)
• ios: Reset plugin listeners when WebView process is terminated (#7905) (d039157)

Features

• Add function to inject external JS into WebView before document load (#7864) (ec0954c)
• android: add adjustMarginsForEdgeToEdge configuration option (#7885) (1ea86d1)
• cli: add more configurations to build command (#7769) (90f95d1)