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Installing Capacitor

This guide will help you install Capacitor into an existing frontend web app.

If starting a new app, we recommend using the documentation from your JavaScript framework of choice and then following this guide to integrate Capacitor.

You can also create a new basic app with npm init @capacitor/app.

Capacitor provides a native mobile runtime and API layer for web apps. It does not come with any specific set of UI controls. We recommend you use a mobile component framework (such as Ionic Framework).

Before you start

Make sure your environment is set up for the platforms you will be building for.

Project Requirements

Capacitor was designed to drop into any modern JavaScript web app. Projects must meet the following requirements:

  • Must have a package.json file.
  • Must have a separate directory for web assets.
  • Must have an index.html file with a <head> tag in the root of the web assets directory.

Adding Capacitor to your app

In the root of your app, install Capacitor:

npm install @capacitor/core
npm install @capacitor/cli --save-dev

Then, initialize Capacitor using the CLI questionnaire:

npx cap init

The CLI will ask you a few questions, starting with your app name, and the package id you would like to use for your app.

The npx cap command is how Capacitor is executed locally on the command-line in your project. Learn more about the Capacitor CLI.

Where to go next

Get started with iOS ›

Get started with Android ›

Developer Workflow Guide ›

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