capacitor-app-upgrades · capawesome-team — Claude Code skill: Capacitor upgrades

---
name: capacitor-app-upgrades
description: "Guides the agent through upgrading a Capacitor app project to a newer major version. Supports upgrades from Capacitor 4 through 8, including multi-version jumps. Performs all upgrade steps manually — does not use the interactive `npx cap migrate` command. Do not use for plugin library upgrade or non-Capacitor mobile frameworks."
license: MIT
compatibility: "Requires Node.js and npm. Xcode on macOS is required for iOS and Android Studio with a matching JDK for Android; the minimum versions depend on the target Capacitor version."
metadata:
  author: capawesome-team
  source: https://github.com/capawesome-team/skills/tree/main/skills/capacitor-app-upgrades
---

# Capacitor App Upgrade

Upgrade a Capacitor app project to a newer major version (4→5, 5→6, 6→7, or 7→8).

## Prerequisites

| Target Version | Node.js | Xcode   | Android Studio                  |
| -------------- | ------- | ------- | ------------------------------- |
| 5              | 16+     | 14.1+   | Flamingo 2022.2.1+ (Java 17)   |
| 6              | 18+     | 15.0+   | Hedgehog 2023.1.1+              |
| 7              | 20+     | 16.0+   | Ladybug 2024.2.1+ (Java 21)    |
| 8              | 22+     | 26.0+   | Otter 2025.2.1+                 |

## Procedures

### Step 1: Detect Current Version

Read `@capacitor/core` version from `package.json` (`dependencies` or `devDependencies`). Determine the current major version.

Ask the user for the target version. Default to the latest (8) if not specified.

### Step 2: Execute Upgrade

**Do not run `npx cap migrate`.** It is an interactive command that cannot be invoked by an agent. Always apply each upgrade manually using the steps in the corresponding reference file.

For each major version jump between the current and target version, apply the corresponding upgrade guide **sequentially**:

| Current → Target | Reference                            |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------ |
| 4 → 5            | `references/upgrade-v4-to-v5.md`   |
| 5 → 6            | `references/upgrade-v5-to-v6.md`   |
| 6 → 7            | `references/upgrade-v6-to-v7.md`   |
| 7 → 8            | `references/upgrade-v7-to-v8.md`   |

For multi-version jumps (e.g., 5 → 8), apply each upgrade in order:
1. Read and apply `references/upgrade-v5-to-v6.md`
2. Run `npx cap sync`, build, and verify on both platforms
3. Read and apply `references/upgrade-v6-to-v7.md`
4. Run `npx cap sync`, build, and verify on both platforms
5. Read and apply `references/upgrade-v7-to-v8.md`
6. Run `npx cap sync`, build, and verify on both platforms

Do **not** skip intermediate versions.

### Step 3: Final Verification

After completing all upgrade steps:

```bash
npx cap sync
npx cap run android
npx cap run ios
```

## Error Handling

* If Android build fails after upgrade, run **Tools > AGP Upgrade Assistant** in Android Studio.
* If iOS build fails, verify the deployment target matches the target version requirements in the reference file.
* If Gradle property syntax warnings appear (v8+), search all `.gradle` files for property assignments without `=` and update them.
* If a multi-version upgrade fails mid-way, fix the current version step before proceeding to the next.

## Related Skills

- **`capacitor-app-development`** — For general Capacitor development topics, troubleshooting, and best practices after completing the upgrade.
- **`capacitor-plugin-upgrades`** — If the project contains Capacitor plugins that also need upgrading, use this skill after the app upgrade.
- **`capacitor-plugins`** — For installing or reconfiguring plugins after the app upgrade.
- **`ionic-app-upgrades`** — If the project uses the Ionic Framework UI library, the Ionic version may also need upgrading alongside Capacitor.