# capacitor-best-practices

Reviews a Capacitor project for the mistakes that break builds and leak dev settings into release. Worth running before you ship.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 2700 installs · ★ 73
- Author: Cap-go
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/Cap-go/capgo-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/capacitor-best-practices/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-17
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/capacitor-best-practices

## What it does

The skill walks a Capacitor app through a checklist: package versions, `capacitor.config.ts`, plugin usage, the native `ios/` and `android/` folders, release prep. It starts read-only — `npx cap doctor`, `npx cap ls`, the config file, `android/variables.gradle` — then reports findings grouped by severity with file and line. Edits happen only after you agree; major upgrades and migrations get a separate ask.

The rules it enforces are blunt. Keep `@capacitor/core`, `cli`, `ios` and `android` on one version, and plugin majors matching the Capacitor major. Run `npx cap sync` after every plugin install or removal and every config change, or you get `"<Plugin>" plugin is not implemented on ios`. Files under `android/app/src/main/assets/public/` and `ios/App/App/public/` are generated and get overwritten by `cap copy` — edit `src/` and rebuild instead.

Branch on `error.code`, never on `error.message`: strings shift between versions and platforms. Check `Capacitor.isPluginAvailable('Name')` before calling a plugin and keep a web fallback. On Capacitor 8.5 iOS lifecycle is scene-based, so once UIScene is adopted the AppDelegate callbacks stop firing and custom native code moves to `SceneDelegate`. Security, performance, testing and live updates belong to sibling skills, not this one.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add Cap-go/capgo-skills --skill capacitor-best-practices -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/capacitor-best-practices/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/capacitor-best-practices/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add Cap-go/capgo-skills --skill capacitor-best-practices -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/capacitor-best-practices/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add Cap-go/capgo-skills --skill capacitor-best-practices -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/capacitor-best-practices/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install Cap-go/capgo-skills capacitor-best-practices
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/capacitor-best-practices/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add Cap-go/capgo-skills --skill capacitor-best-practices -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/Cap-go/capgo-skills --path skills/capacitor-best-practices
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/capacitor-best-practices/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add Cap-go/capgo-skills --skill capacitor-best-practices -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/Cap-go/capgo-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/capacitor-best-practices/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- catch version drift across `@capacitor/core`, `cli`, `ios` and `android`
- strip a dev `server.url` from release config
- fix `"<Plugin>" plugin is not implemented on ios`
- explain why edits in `android/app/src/main/assets/public` keep disappearing
- sanity-check a project before store submission

## Example prompts
- review my Capacitor project against best practices
- check `capacitor.config.ts` for dev settings that could ship to production
- I'm getting `"<Plugin>" plugin is not implemented on ios` — what now

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: 5cf8af828c38d8f0.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 5cf8af828c38d8f0
```text
---
name: capacitor-best-practices
description: Review and set up Capacitor apps against current best practices (Capacitor 8.5 stable, 9 alpha via `@next`). Use for a Capacitor codebase review, `capacitor.config.ts` audit, new project setup, aligning `@capacitor/core`/`cli`/`ios`/`android` and plugin majors, plugin patterns (availability checks, `checkPermissions`/`requestPermissions`, error `code` handling, web fallbacks), or release prep; or on `"<Plugin>" plugin is not implemented on ios`, `Could not find the web assets directory`, `platform has not been added yet`, a dev `server.url` shipped to production, lost edits in `android/app/src/main/assets/public`, SPM vs CocoaPods, or AppDelegate/UIScene drift. Do not use for security audits (capacitor-security), performance (capacitor-performance), tests (capacitor-testing), crashes (debugging-capacitor), major upgrades (capacitor-app-upgrades), SPM migration (cocoapods-to-spm), UIScene adoption (capacitor-uiscene-migration), or live updates (capgo-live-updates).
---

# Capacitor Best Practices

Review a Capacitor app for structural mistakes that cause broken builds, lost edits, production leaks, and plugin crashes. Route deep topics to the sibling skill that owns them.

## When to Use

TRIGGER when:
- The user asks for a general code/architecture review of a Capacitor or Ionic + Capacitor app.
- Setting up a new Capacitor project or adding iOS/Android to an existing web app.
- `capacitor.config.ts|json` review: `webDir`, `server.url`, `cleartext`, plugin config, env-specific config.
- Version drift between `@capacitor/core`, `@capacitor/cli`, `@capacitor/ios`, `@capacitor/android`, or plugin majors that do not match Capacitor's major.
- Plugin usage review: missing `npx cap sync`, no availability check, no permission flow, matching on error message strings.
- Errors such as `"<Plugin>" plugin is not implemented on ios`, `Could not find the web assets directory`, `ios platform has not been added yet`.
- Pre-release sanity checklist across config, native projects, and live updates.

Do not use:
- Security audit, secrets, storage, pinning, CSP -> `capacitor-security`; Xcode hardening -> `capacitor-ios-security-hardening`.
- Bundle size, startup time, memory, bridge profiling -> `capacitor-performance`.
```
END THIRD-PARTY FILE 5cf8af828c38d8f0

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the 5cf8af828c38d8f0 tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

First 2288 of 10872 bytes. © Cap-go · MIT · https://github.com/Cap-go/capgo-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/capacitor-best-practices/SKILL.md

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