Ionic Angular

Ionic development with Angular — project structure, Angular-specific components, navigation, lazy loading, forms, and lifecycle integration.

Prerequisites

1. Ionic Framework 7 or 8 with @ionic/angular.
2. Angular 16+ (Angular 17+ recommended for standalone architecture).
3. Node.js and npm installed.
4. Ionic CLI installed (npm install -g @ionic/cli).

Agent Behavior

• Auto-detect architecture. Check src/main.ts for bootstrapApplication (standalone) vs. platformBrowserDynamic().bootstrapModule (NgModule). Adapt all code examples to the detected architecture.
• Guide step-by-step. Walk the user through one topic at a time.
• Adapt imports. For standalone components, import each Ionic component from @ionic/angular/standalone. For NgModule components, import IonicModule in the page module.

Procedures

Step 1: Analyze the Project

Auto-detect the following by reading project files — do not ask the user for information that can be inferred:

1. Ionic version: Read @ionic/angular version from package.json.
2. Angular version: Read @angular/core version from package.json.
3. Architecture: Check src/main.ts for bootstrapApplication (standalone) or platformBrowserDynamic().bootstrapModule (NgModule). If src/app/app.module.ts exists and imports IonicModule, confirm NgModule.
4. Capacitor: Check if @capacitor/core is in package.json. Check for android/ and ios/ directories.
5. Routing: Check for src/app/app.routes.ts (standalone) or src/app/app-routing.module.ts (NgModule).
6. Navigation pattern: Check src/app/ for a tabs/ directory (tab-based) or ion-menu usage in templates (side menu).

Step 2: Understand Project Structure

Read references/project-structure.md for the standard Ionic Angular directory layout.

Key points:

• Standalone projects have app.config.ts, app.routes.ts, and standalone page components.
• NgModule projects have app.module.ts, app-routing.module.ts, and per-page *.module.ts files.
• Ionic config lives in ionic.config.json.
• Theme variables are in src/theme/variables.scss.
• Global styles and Ionic CSS imports are in src/global.scss.

Step 3: Understand Architecture Differences

Read references/standalone-vs-ngmodules.md for detailed differences.

Summary:

Aspect	Standalone	NgModule
Bootstrap	bootstrapApplication in main.ts	platformBrowserDynamic().bootstrapModule
Ionic setup	provideIonicAngular({}) in app.config.ts	IonicModule.forRoot() in app.module.ts
Component imports	Import each Ionic component per file	IonicModule provides all globally
Import source	@ionic/angular/standalone	@ionic/angular
Lazy loading	loadComponent in routes	loadChildren in routes
Icon registration	addIcons() from ionicons required	Automatic
Tree-shaking	Yes	No

Step 4: Set Up Navigation

Read references/navigation.md for full navigation patterns.

Topics covered:

• Route configuration — defining routes with lazy loading for both architectures.
• Root component layout — <ion-app> with <ion-router-outlet>.
• Template navigation — routerLink with routerDirection for transition animations.
• Programmatic navigation — NavController (navigateForward, navigateBack, navigateRoot, back).
• Route parameters — reading params via ActivatedRoute.
• Tab navigation — <ion-tabs> with child routes per tab.
• Side menu — <ion-menu> with <ion-menu-toggle> and child routes.
• Route guards — functional guards (Angular 15.2+) with CanActivateFn.
• Modals — ModalController for overlay navigation with data passing.
• Linear vs. non-linear routing — when to use each pattern.

Step 5: Implement Lifecycle Hooks

Read references/lifecycle.md for Ionic page lifecycle hook details.

Key rules:

• ngOnInit fires once (first creation). Use for one-time setup.
• ionViewWillEnter fires on every page visit. Use for refreshing data.
• ionViewDidEnter fires after the transition animation. Use for heavy work that would block animations.
• ionViewWillLeave fires before leaving. Use for cleanup, pausing subscriptions.
• ngOnDestroy fires when the page is popped from the navigation stack. Use for final cleanup.
• Implement interfaces ViewWillEnter, ViewDidEnter, ViewWillLeave, ViewDidLeave from @ionic/angular.

Step 6: Build Forms

Read references/forms.md for form patterns with Ionic components.

Topics covered:

• Reactive forms — FormBuilder, FormGroup, Validators with Ionic input components.
• Template-driven forms — [(ngModel)] with FormsModule.
• Ionic form components — ion-input, ion-textarea, ion-select, ion-checkbox, ion-toggle, ion-radio-group, ion-range, ion-datetime.
• Validation display — errorText (Ionic 7+) or manual <ion-note> for older versions.
• Label placement — labelPlacement attribute (floating, stacked, fixed).

Step 7: Manage Services and State

Read references/services-and-state.md for service and state management patterns.

Topics covered:

• Injectable services — @Injectable({ providedIn: 'root' }).
• HTTP data fetching — HttpClient setup for standalone and NgModule, CRUD service pattern.
• Reactive state — BehaviorSubject for shared observable state.
• Angular signals — signal() and computed() for reactive state (Angular 16+).
• Loading indicators — LoadingController for async operations.
• Error feedback — ToastController for user-facing error/success messages.
• Environment config — environment.ts / environment.prod.ts for API URLs.

Step 8: Optimize Performance

Read references/performance.md for performance optimization techniques.

Topics covered:

• Lazy loading — loadComponent (standalone) and loadChildren (NgModule).
• trackBy / track — efficient list rendering with *ngFor and @for.
• Virtual scrolling — Angular CDK cdk-virtual-scroll-viewport for large lists.
• OnPush change detection — reduce unnecessary re-renders.
• Preloading strategy — PreloadAllModules for instant subsequent navigation.
• Skeleton text — ion-skeleton-text for perceived performance during loading.

Step 9: Write Tests

Read references/testing.md for testing patterns.

Topics covered:

• Unit testing pages — TestBed setup for standalone and NgModule pages.
• Testing services — basic services and HTTP services with HttpTestingController.
• Mocking dependencies — jasmine.createSpyObj for service and controller mocks.
• Testing navigation — mocking NavController.
• Testing guards — TestBed.runInInjectionContext for functional guards.
• E2E testing — Cypress and Playwright setup.

Error Handling

• NullInjectorError: No provider for IonRouterOutlet: In standalone apps, verify provideIonicAngular({}) is called in app.config.ts. In NgModule apps, verify IonicModule.forRoot() is imported in app.module.ts.
• Ionic components not rendering: In standalone components, verify each Ionic component is imported from @ionic/angular/standalone and listed in the imports array. In NgModule components, verify IonicModule is imported in the page module.
• Icons not showing (standalone): Verify addIcons() is called with the required icons from ionicons/icons, and IonIcon is imported from @ionic/angular/standalone.
• ionViewWillEnter not firing: Verify the component is directly routed via <ion-router-outlet>. Child components do not receive Ionic lifecycle events.
• Page data not refreshing on back navigation: Use ionViewWillEnter instead of ngOnInit for data loading. Ionic caches pages in the DOM, so ngOnInit only fires once.
• Form validation errors not displaying: For Ionic 7+, use errorText on <ion-input>. For older versions, manually check control.invalid && control.touched and show <ion-note>.
• routerLink not working on Ionic components: In standalone components, import RouterLink from @angular/router in the component's imports array.
• Page transitions not animating: Use NavController from @ionic/angular instead of Angular's Router for animated navigation. Alternatively, add routerDirection to routerLink elements.
• Tab navigation broken: Verify the tab attribute on <ion-tab-button> matches the child route path. Do not programmatically navigate between tabs.

Related Skills

• capacitor-angular — Capacitor-specific Angular patterns (plugin services, NgZone, deep links, platform detection).
• ionic-app-development — General Ionic development (components, theming, CLI).
• ionic-app-creation — Create a new Ionic app from scratch.
• ionic-app-upgrades — Upgrade Ionic to a newer version.