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Capacitor

DEVOPS
Velocity5.0

Cross-platform native runtime for building web-based mobile apps

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Capacitor 9's alpha is quietly cutting Cordova loose and moving iOS to Swift Package Manager

swift-package-managercordova-removalsystem-barsalpha-seriescli-tooling
◆Current state
Capacitor is running a 9.0.0 alpha series with small, fix-dominated builds. Two structural threads run through them: Swift Package Manager support is being made to work properly, with dependency patching in plugins, prerelease handling and generation bugs fixed across consecutive alphas; and Cordova's footprint is shrinking, with Cordova.framework removed from the iOS project and the Kotlin plugin no longer added for Cordova plugins. Android work centres on SystemBars and safe-area insets.
◆Where it's heading
The direction is a Capacitor that no longer carries Cordova's build artifacts by default and that treats SPM as the iOS dependency mechanism rather than an alternative to CocoaPods. Neither is announced as a headline in these notes — both are arriving as a run of small fixes, which is how compatibility-sensitive migrations usually ship. The experimental packageOptions CLI flag and package-manager telemetry suggest the team is measuring that transition before committing to defaults.
◆Prediction
Expect the alpha series to continue until the SPM patching fixes stop recurring, with Cordova compatibility becoming opt-in rather than assumed by the time 9.0 stabilises.

◆Recent moves

  1. 19d ago

    Cordova.framework removed from the iOS project

    The clearest signal in the alpha series that Cordova is being unwound: its framework is dropped from the generated iOS project and the CLI stops adding the Kotlin plugin for Cordova plugins. An Android URI-permission fix for image capture intents ships alongside.

    View source ↗
  2. 20d ago

    SystemBars insets work plus experimental CLI packageOptions

    The only alpha here carrying real features: safe-area-inset-x on older Android API levels, respect for insetsHandling disable, a getDouble plugin config method, and an experimental packageOptions CLI flag. The added iOS package-manager telemetry hints at how the SPM transition is being tracked.

    View source ↗
  3. 20d ago

    Swift Package Manager dependency patching fixes

    Three fixes to SPM handling — patching the Capacitor dependency version inside plugins, making it work on prereleases, and removing a double comma in generation. Individually minor, collectively the sign of SPM support still being built out.

    View source ↗
  4. 20d ago

    Build repairs after a merge

    Housekeeping: logic missing from a merge restored, an Android verify script brought back, and missing CLI imports added. Pure alpha-series churn with nothing user-facing.

    View source ↗