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

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:

npx cap sync
npx cap run android
npx cap run ios

Error Handling

• If npx cap migrate fails partially, check the terminal output for which steps failed and apply those manually using the steps in the corresponding reference file.
• 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.