The only free and maintained Capacitor plugin for accelerometer access. Other plugins are either paid or no longer updated. This plugin provides:

Up-to-date implementation - Uses the latest APIs across all platforms
Consistent JavaScript API - Same interface as popular paid alternatives
Cross-platform - Works on iOS, Android, and Web
Permission handling - Built-in permission management
Real-time streaming - Listen to continuous accelerometer updates

Perfect for fitness apps, games, gesture detection, and motion-based interfaces.

Documentation

The most complete doc is available here: https://capgo.app/docs/plugins/accelerometer/

Compatibility

Plugin version	Capacitor compatibility	Maintained
v8..	v8..	✅
v7..	v7..	On demand
v6..	v6..	❌
v5..	v5..	❌

Note: The major version of this plugin follows the major version of Capacitor. Use the version that matches your Capacitor installation (e.g., plugin v8 for Capacitor 8). Only the latest major version is actively maintained.

Install

You can use our AI-Assisted Setup to install the plugin. Add the Capgo skills to your AI tool using the following command:

npx skills add https://github.com/cap-go/capacitor-skills --skill capacitor-plugins

Then use the following prompt:

Use the `capacitor-plugins` skill from `cap-go/capacitor-skills` to install the `@capgo/capacitor-accelerometer` plugin in my project.

If you prefer Manual Setup, install the plugin by running the following commands and follow the platform-specific instructions below:

npm install @capgo/capacitor-accelerometer
npx cap sync

Configuration

iOS

Add the following to your app's Info.plist. iOS requires this key before the Motion & Fitness permission dialog can appear:

<key>NSMotionUsageDescription</key>
<string>We need access to motion data to read accelerometer measurements</string>

Then call requestPermissions() (or start measurement updates) to trigger the system prompt.

Android

No additional configuration is required. Android does not expose a dedicated runtime permission for raw accelerometer access on supported devices.

API

Capacitor plugin contract for working with the device accelerometer.

getMeasurement()

getMeasurement() => Promise<GetMeasurementResult>

Get the most recent accelerometer sample that was recorded by the native layer.

Returns: Promise<Measurement>

Since: 1.0.0

isAvailable()

isAvailable() => Promise<IsAvailableResult>

Check if the current device includes an accelerometer sensor.

Returns: Promise<IsAvailableResult>

Since: 1.0.0

startMeasurementUpdates()

startMeasurementUpdates() => Promise<void>

Begin streaming accelerometer updates to the JavaScript layer.

Call {@link addListener} with the measurement event to receive the updates.

Since: 1.0.0

stopMeasurementUpdates()

stopMeasurementUpdates() => Promise<void>

Stop streaming accelerometer updates started via {@link startMeasurementUpdates}.

Since: 1.0.0

checkPermissions()

checkPermissions() => Promise<PermissionStatus>

Return the current permission state for accessing motion data.

On platforms without explicit permissions this resolves to granted.

Returns: Promise<PermissionStatus>

Since: 1.0.0

requestPermissions()

requestPermissions() => Promise<PermissionStatus>

Request permission to access motion data if supported by the platform.

Returns: Promise<PermissionStatus>

Since: 1.0.0

addListener('measurement', ...)

addListener(eventName: 'measurement', listenerFunc: (event: MeasurementEvent) => void) => Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Listen for measurement updates.

Param	Type	Description
`eventName`	`'measurement'`	Only the `measurement` event is supported.
`listenerFunc`	`(event: Measurement) => void`	Callback invoked with each measurement.

Returns: Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Since: 1.0.0

removeAllListeners()

removeAllListeners() => Promise<void>

Remove all listeners that have been registered on the plugin.

Since: 1.0.0

getPluginVersion()

getPluginVersion() => Promise<{ version: string; }>

Get the native Capacitor plugin version.

Returns: Promise<{ version: string; }>

Since: 1.0.0

Interfaces

Measurement

The x, y and z axis acceleration values reported by the device motion sensors.

Prop	Type	Description	Since
`x`	`number`	The acceleration on the x-axis in G's.	1.0.0
`y`	`number`	The acceleration on the y-axis in G's.	1.0.0
`z`	`number`	The acceleration on the z-axis in G's.	1.0.0