capacitor

Initialize Capacitor in a project

$ npx cap init [appName] [appId]

$ npx cap add [android|ios]

$ npx cap sync

$ npx cap sync [android|ios]

$ npx cap copy

$ npx cap open [android|ios]

$ npx cap run [android|ios]

$ npx cap doctor

npx cap [-V] [-h] [COMMAND]

Capacitor is an open-source native runtime by Ionic for building cross-platform mobile applications using web technologies (JavaScript, HTML, CSS). It allows web developers to create native iOS, Android, and Progressive Web Apps from a single codebase.
The Capacitor CLI manages the native project lifecycle including initialization, platform management, asset synchronization, and building. Unlike Cordova, Capacitor embraces native project configuration, giving developers direct access to native IDEs and build systems.
Web assets are built separately (using any web framework) and then copied to native projects with cap sync. Native functionality is accessed through Capacitor plugins that bridge JavaScript to native iOS/Android APIs.

-V, --version

Display version number.

Show usage information. Works with individual commands.

init appName appId

Initialize a new Capacitor project with configuration files.

Add native platform support (android or ios).

Copy web assets and update native plugins. Runs copy and update together.

Copy web assets to native projects without updating plugins.

Update native plugins and dependencies.

Open the native IDE (Android Studio or Xcode) for the platform.

Build and run the app on a device or emulator.

Build the native project.

List installed Capacitor plugins and platforms.

Check system configuration and diagnose common issues.

Migrate project between Capacitor versions.

Requires Node.js and npm. For iOS development, macOS with Xcode is required. For Android development, Android Studio and the Android SDK must be installed. The CLI is typically run via npx rather than global installation to ensure version consistency across projects.

Capacitor was created by the Ionic team and first released in 2019 as a modern alternative to Apache Cordova. It was designed to address Cordova's limitations by providing better native project integration, improved plugin ecosystem, and support for Progressive Web Apps. The project has become the recommended runtime for Ionic Framework applications and can be used with any web framework.

ionic(1), npm(1), npx(1), cordova(1)