capacitor-react

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SKILL.md

---
name: capacitor-react
description: "Guides the agent through Capacitor app development with React — project structure, hooks for native features, state management patterns, using Capacitor plugins in React components, and React-specific best practices. Do not use for Ionic Framework with React (use ionic-react), migrating or upgrading Capacitor apps or plugins, or non-React frameworks."
license: MIT
compatibility: "Requires Node.js and npm. Xcode on macOS is required for iOS and Android Studio for Android."
metadata:
  author: capawesome-team
  source: https://github.com/capawesome-team/skills/tree/main/skills/capacitor-react
---

# Capacitor React

Develop Capacitor apps with React — project structure, hooks, state management, and React-specific patterns for accessing native device features.

## Prerequisites

1. **Capacitor 6, 7, or 8** app with React.
2. Node.js and npm installed.
3. React 18 or later.
4. For **iOS**: Xcode installed.
5. For **Android**: Android Studio installed.

## Agent Behavior

- **Auto-detect before asking.** Check the project for `package.json` dependencies (`react`, `react-dom`, `@capacitor/core`), platforms (`android/`, `ios/`), build tools (`vite.config.ts`, `next.config.js`, `webpack.config.js`), and TypeScript usage. Only ask the user when something cannot be detected.
- **Guide step-by-step.** Walk the user through the process one step at a time. Never present multiple unrelated questions at once.
- **Adapt to the project.** Detect the existing code style (functional vs. class components, TypeScript vs. JavaScript, CSS modules vs. styled-components) and generate code that matches.

## Procedures

### Step 1: Analyze the Project

Auto-detect the following by reading project files:

1. **Framework variant**: Check if this is a plain React app (Vite/CRA), Next.js, or Remix by examining `package.json` dependencies and config files (`vite.config.ts`, `next.config.js`, `remix.config.js`).
2. **Capacitor version**: Read `@capacitor/core` version from `package.json`.
3. **React version**: Read `react` version from `package.json`.
4. **TypeScript**: Check if `tsconfig.json` exists and if `.tsx` files are used.
5. **Platforms**: Check which directories exist (`android/`, `ios/`).
6. **Capacitor config format**: Check if the project uses `capacitor.config.ts` or `capacitor.config.json`.
7. **State management**: Check `package.json` for `redux`, `@reduxjs/toolkit`, `zustand`, `jotai`, `@tanstack/react-query`, or similar.
8. **Router**: Check `package.json` for `react-router-dom`, `@tanstack/react-router`, or similar.

### Step 2: Project Structure

A standard Capacitor React project follows this structure:

```
project-root/
├── android/                  # Android native project (generated by Capacitor)
├── ios/                      # iOS native project (generated by Capacitor)
├── public/
├── src/
│   ├── components/           # Reusable UI components
│   ├── hooks/                # Custom React hooks (including native feature hooks)
│   ├── pages/                # Page/route components
│   ├── services/             # Service modules for Capacitor plugin calls
│   ├── App.tsx               # Root component
│   └── main.tsx              # Entry point
├── capacitor.config.ts       # Capacitor configuration
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
└── vite.config.ts            # Or other bundler config
```

If the project does not follow this structure, adapt all guidance to the project's actual directory layout. Do **not** restructure the project unless the user explicitly asks.

### Step 3: Using Capacitor Plugins in React

Read `references/plugin-usage-patterns.md` for detailed patterns on how to use Capacitor plugins in React components and hooks.

Key principles:
1. **Import plugins directly** — Capacitor plugins are imported as ES modules.
2. **Call plugin methods in event handlers or effects** — never at the module top level.
3. **Use `useEffect` for listeners** — register and clean up Capacitor event listeners inside `useEffect`.
4. **Check platform before calling** — use `Capacitor.isNativePlatform()` or `Capacitor.getPlatform()` to guard platform-specific calls.

### Step 4: Custom Hooks for Native Features

Read `references/custom-hooks.md` for reusable custom hook patterns that wrap Capacitor plugins.

Custom hooks encapsulate native feature access and provide a React-idiomatic API. When the user needs to access a native feature from multiple components, create a custom hook in `src/hooks/` (or wherever the project keeps hooks).

### Step 5: State Management with Native Data

When the project uses a state management library, integrate native data as follows:

1. **React Query / TanStack Query**: Use query functions that call Capacitor plugins. This works well for data that is fetched from native APIs (e.g., device info, contacts, filesystem reads).
2. **Redux / Zustand / Jotai**: Dispatch actions or update atoms from Capacitor plugin callbacks. Keep native API calls in action creators or service modules, not in reducers or stores.
3. **No state library**: Use React context or custom hooks with `useState`/`useReducer` to share native data across components.

Do **not** recommend adding a state management library unless the user's requirements justify it.

### Step 6: Navigation and Deep Links

If the project uses `react-router-dom` or another router:

1. **Deep links**: Register a listener for `appUrlOpen` events from the `@capacitor/app` plugin inside a `useEffect` in the root component or a dedicated hook. Navigate programmatically using the router's `useNavigate()` hook.

```typescript
import { useEffect } from 'react';
import { useNavigate } from 'react-router-dom';
import { App, URLOpenListenerEvent } from '@capacitor/app';

const useDeepLinks = () => {
  const navigate = useNavigate();

  useEffect(() => {
    const listener = App.addListener('appUrlOpen', (event: URLOpenListenerEvent) => {
      const path = new URL(event.url).pathname;
      navigate(path);
    });

    return () => {
      listener.then(handle => handle.remove());
    };
  }, [navigate]);
};
```

2. **Back button handling (Android)**: Register a listener for the `backButton` event from the `@capacitor/app` plugin to handle Android hardware back button presses.

```typescript
import { useEffect } from 'react';
import { useNavigate, useLocation } from 'react-router-dom';
import { App } from '@capacitor/app';

const useBackButton = () => {
  const navigate = useNavigate();
  const location = useLocation();

  useEffect(() => {
    const listener = App.addListener('backButton', ({ canGoBack }) => {
      if (canGoBack) {
        navigate(-1);
      } else {
        App.exitApp();
      }
    });

    return () => {
      listener.then(handle => handle.remove());
    };
  }, [navigate, location]);
};
```

### Step 7: Platform-Specific Rendering

Use `Capacitor.getPlatform()` or `Capacitor.isNativePlatform()` to conditionally render components or apply platform-specific behavior:

```typescript
import { Capacitor } from '@capacitor/core';

const MyComponent: React.FC = () => {
  const platform = Capacitor.getPlatform(); // 'ios' | 'android' | 'web'
  const isNative = Capacitor.isNativePlatform();

  return (
    <div>
      {platform === 'ios' && <IOSSpecificComponent />}
      {platform === 'android' && <AndroidSpecificComponent />}
      {!isNative && <WebFallbackComponent />}
    </div>
  );
};
```

For reusable platform checks, create a utility or hook:

```typescript
import { Capacitor } from '@capacitor/core';

export const usePlatform = () => {
  return {
    platform: Capacitor.getPlatform(),
    isNative: Capacitor.isNativePlatform(),
    isIOS: Capacitor.getPlatform() === 'ios',
    isAndroid: Capacitor.getPlatform() === 'android',
    isWeb: Capacitor.getPlatform() === 'web',
  };
};
```

### Step 8: Lifecycle and App State

Use the `@capacitor/app` plugin to respond to app lifecycle events in React:

```typescript
import { useEffect } from 'react';
import { App } from '@capacitor/app';

const useAppState = (onResume?: () => void, onPause?: () => void) => {
  useEffect(() => {
    const resumeListener = App.addListener('resume', () => {
      onResume?.();
    });

    const pauseListener = App.addListener('pause', () => {
      onPause?.();
    });

    return () => {
      resumeListener.then(handle => handle.remove());
      pauseListener.then(handle => handle.remove());
    };
  }, [onResume, onPause]);
};
```

Use this to refresh data when the app returns to the foreground, pause media, or save state when the app is backgrounded.

### Step 9: Build and Run

After implementing changes:

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

For development with live reload:

```bash
npx cap run android --livereload --external
npx cap run ios --livereload --external
```

The `--external` flag makes the dev server accessible from the device/emulator. The `--livereload` flag enables automatic reloads when source files change.

## Error Handling

- **Plugin not found at runtime**: Ensure `npx cap sync` was run after installing a plugin. Verify the plugin is listed in `package.json` dependencies.
- **`Capacitor is not defined`**: The `@capacitor/core` package must be installed. Run `npm install @capacitor/core`.
- **Native method fails on web**: Guard native-only calls with `Capacitor.isNativePlatform()`. Many plugins have web implementations, but some (e.g., `@capacitor/camera` with native UI) only work on iOS/Android.
- **Event listener memory leak**: Always return a cleanup function from `useEffect` that calls `remove()` on the listener handle. Failing to do so causes duplicate listeners on re-renders.
- **Stale closure in event listener**: If a Capacitor event listener references React state that changes over time, use a `useRef` to hold the latest value, or add the state variable to the `useEffect` dependency array and re-register the listener.
- **Live reload not connecting**: Ensure the device and development machine are on the same network. Check that the `--external` flag is used with `npx cap run`. Verify no firewall is blocking the dev server port.
- **Build works on web but fails on native**: Check for browser-only APIs (`window.localStorage`, `navigator.geolocation`) used without Capacitor alternatives. Use Capacitor plugins (`@capacitor/preferences`, `@capacitor/geolocation`) instead.
- **React strict mode double-mounting**: In development, React 18 strict mode mounts components twice. This can cause duplicate Capacitor event listeners. Ensure cleanup functions properly remove listeners — the double-mount behavior validates that cleanup works correctly.

## Related Skills

- **`ionic-react`** — Ionic Framework-specific React patterns (IonReactRouter, lifecycle hooks, overlay hooks) for apps using `@ionic/react`.
- **`capacitor-angular`** — Angular-specific patterns and best practices for Capacitor app development.
- **`capacitor-app-upgrades`** — Upgrade a Capacitor app to a newer major version.
- **`capacitor-plugins`** — Install, configure, and use Capacitor plugins from official and community sources.
- **`capacitor-push-notifications`** — Set up push notifications with Firebase Cloud Messaging in a Capacitor app.