Add SPM Support to a Capacitor Plugin

Add Swift Package Manager (SPM) support to an existing Capacitor plugin by replacing the Objective-C bridge with the

CAPBridgedPlugin

Swift protocol and adding a

Package.swift

manifest.

Prerequisites

Requirement	Version
Capacitor	6+
Swift	5.9+
Xcode	15+

The project must be a Capacitor plugin (not an app project). The plugin must have an existing iOS implementation with Swift source files in

ios/Plugin/

Procedures

Step 1: Gather Plugin Information

Read
```
package.json
```
in the plugin root. Extract:
- The plugin package name (e.g.,
```
@capawesome/capacitor-app-review
```
  ).
- The existing
```
files
```
  array entries.
- The existing
```
scripts
```
  entries.
Read the
```
.podspec
```
file in the plugin root. Extract:
- The pod name (the
```
Pod::Spec.new
```
  argument, e.g.,
```
CapawesomeCapacitorAppReview
```
  ). This becomes the SPM package name.
- The iOS deployment target from
```
s.ios.deployment_target
```
  (e.g.,
```
'13.0'
```
  ). Extract the major version number (e.g.,
```
13
```
  ). This becomes the SPM iOS version.
- All third-party CocoaPods dependencies — any
```
s.dependency
```
  or
```
spec.dependency
```
  entries that are not
```
Capacitor
```
  or
```
CapacitorCordova
```
  . Record each dependency name and version constraint.
Identify the plugin Swift file in
```
ios/Plugin/
```
. It contains a class extending
```
CAPPlugin
```
with
```
@objc(<PluginClassName>)
```
. Extract:
- The plugin class name (e.g.,
```
AppReviewPlugin
```
  ).
- The JavaScript name from the Objective-C
```
.m
```
  file's
```
CAP_PLUGIN
```
  macro first string argument (e.g.,
```
AppReview
```
  ).
- All plugin methods from
```
CAP_PLUGIN_METHOD
```
  macro calls in the
```
.m
```
  file, noting each method's name and return type (e.g.,
```
CAPPluginReturnPromise
```
  ).
Identify the Objective-C bridge files in
```
ios/Plugin/
```
:
- ```
<PluginClassName>.h
```
  (header file)
- ```
<PluginClassName>.m
```
  (implementation file with
```
CAP_PLUGIN
```
  macro)
Read the Capacitor peer dependency version from
```
package.json
```
(
```
peerDependencies["@capacitor/core"]
```
). Determine the major version (e.g.,
```
6
```
). This is the Capacitor major version.

Step 2: Resolve CocoaPods Dependencies for SPM

Skip this step if no third-party CocoaPods dependencies were found in Step 1.

For each third-party CocoaPods dependency, an equivalent SPM-compatible package is needed. Present the list of dependencies to the user and ask whether they can provide the SPM package URLs themselves, or whether the agent should search the web for SPM equivalents.

If the user provides SPM package URLs: Record them and proceed to Step 3.

If the user requests a web search: For each CocoaPods dependency:

Search the web for
```
"<dependency_name>" Swift Package Manager
```
to determine whether the original CocoaPods dependency also supports SPM. Many popular libraries (e.g., Firebase, Alamofire) distribute via both CocoaPods and SPM from the same repository.
If the original library supports SPM, use its Git repository URL. Use the same version as specified in the podspec — convert the CocoaPods version constraint to the SPM equivalent (e.g.,
```
~> 5.0
```
becomes
```
.upToNextMajor(from: "5.0.0")
```
,
```
= 2.1.0
```
becomes
```
.exact("2.1.0")
```
).
If the original library does not support SPM, search for
```
"<dependency_name>" SPM alternative
```
to find a replacement package that provides equivalent functionality via SPM. Use a version that is compatible with the version used in the podspec.
If no SPM-compatible alternative exists, inform the user and ask how to proceed.

Record the resolved SPM package URL, version requirement, and product name(s) for each dependency. These will be added to

Package.swift

in the next step.

Step 3: Create

Package.swift

Create

Package.swift

in the plugin root directory with the following content:

swift

// swift-tools-version: 5.9
import PackageDescription

let package = Package(
    name: "<SPM_PACKAGE_NAME>",
    platforms: [.iOS(.v<SPM_IOS_VERSION>)],
    products: [
        .library(
            name: "<SPM_PACKAGE_NAME>",
            targets: ["<PLUGIN_CLASS_NAME>"])
    ],
    dependencies: [
        .package(url: "https://github.com/ionic-team/capacitor-swift-pm.git", branch: "<CAPACITOR_MAJOR_VERSION>.0.0")
        // <ADDITIONAL_PACKAGE_DEPENDENCIES>
    ],
    targets: [
        .target(
            name: "<PLUGIN_CLASS_NAME>",
            dependencies: [
                .product(name: "Capacitor", package: "capacitor-swift-pm"),
                .product(name: "Cordova", package: "capacitor-swift-pm")
                // <ADDITIONAL_TARGET_DEPENDENCIES>
            ],
            path: "ios/Plugin"),
        .testTarget(
            name: "<PLUGIN_CLASS_NAME>Tests",
            dependencies: ["<PLUGIN_CLASS_NAME>"],
            path: "ios/PluginTests")
    ]
)

Replace all placeholders:

```
<SPM_IOS_VERSION>
```
— the SPM iOS version from Step 1 (e.g.,
```
13
```
).

<SPM_PACKAGE_NAME>

— the pod name from Step 1 (e.g.,

CapawesomeCapacitorAppReview

```
<PLUGIN_CLASS_NAME>
```
— the plugin class name from Step 1 (e.g.,
```
AppReviewPlugin
```
).
```
<CAPACITOR_MAJOR_VERSION>
```
— the Capacitor major version from Step 1 (e.g.,
```
6
```
).
```
<ADDITIONAL_PACKAGE_DEPENDENCIES>
```
— if third-party dependencies were resolved in Step 2, add a
```
.package(url: "<repo_url>", <version_requirement>)
```
entry for each. Remove the comment line if no extra dependencies exist.
```
<ADDITIONAL_TARGET_DEPENDENCIES>
```
— for each package dependency added above, add a corresponding
```
.product(name: "<ProductName>", package: "<package-name>")
```
entry. Remove the comment line if no extra dependencies exist.

Step 4: Update the Swift Plugin Class

Open the plugin Swift file (e.g.,

ios/Plugin/<PluginClassName>.swift

Add
```
CAPBridgedPlugin
```
protocol conformance to the class declaration.
Add the three required properties as the first properties in the class body, before any existing properties.

Apply this diff pattern:

diff

 @objc(<PluginClassName>)
-public class <PluginClassName>: CAPPlugin {
+public class <PluginClassName>: CAPPlugin, CAPBridgedPlugin {
+    public let identifier = "<PluginClassName>"
+    public let jsName = "<JS_NAME>"
+    public let pluginMethods: [CAPPluginMethod] = [
+        CAPPluginMethod(name: "<method1>", returnType: CAPPluginReturnPromise),
+        CAPPluginMethod(name: "<method2>", returnType: CAPPluginReturnPromise)
+    ]

Replace:

```
<PluginClassName>
```
— the plugin class name (e.g.,
```
AppReviewPlugin
```
).
```
<JS_NAME>
```
— the JavaScript name from the
```
.m
```
file's
```
CAP_PLUGIN
```
macro (e.g.,
```
AppReview
```
).
The
```
pluginMethods
```
array — list all methods from the
```
.m
```
file's
```
CAP_PLUGIN_METHOD
```
calls, preserving each method's name and return type exactly.

Step 5: Delete Objective-C Bridge Files

Delete the following files from

ios/Plugin/

```
<PluginClassName>.h
```
```
<PluginClassName>.m
```

These are no longer needed because the plugin registration is now handled by the

CAPBridgedPlugin

protocol in Swift.

Step 6: Clean Up the Xcode Project File

Open

ios/Plugin.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj

and remove all references to the deleted Objective-C files. Specifically, remove lines referencing:

<PluginClassName>.h

— file references, build phase entries (

PBXBuildFile

PBXFileReference

PBXGroup

children,

PBXHeadersBuildPhase

)

<PluginClassName>.m

— file references, build phase entries (

PBXBuildFile

PBXFileReference

PBXGroup

children,

PBXSourcesBuildPhase

)

Search for both filenames in the

.pbxproj

file and remove every line that references them.

Step 7: Update

.gitignore

Open

.gitignore

in the plugin root. Add the following entries if not already present:

diff

 # iOS files
+Package.resolved
+/.build
+/Packages
+.swiftpm/configuration/registries.json
+.swiftpm/xcode/package.xcworkspace/contents.xcworkspacedata
+.netrc

Place these entries in the iOS section of the

.gitignore

file, after any existing iOS-related entries (e.g.,

Pods

Podfile.lock

Step 8: Update

package.json

Apply two changes to

package.json

Add
```
"Package.swift"
```
to the
```
files
```
array:

diff

     "ios/Plugin/",
-    "<PodName>.podspec"
+    "<PodName>.podspec",
+    "Package.swift"
   ],

Add the
```
ios:spm:install
```
script to the
```
scripts
```
object:

diff

     "ios:pod:install": "cd ios && pod install --repo-update && cd ..",
+    "ios:spm:install": "cd ios && swift package resolve && cd ..",

If the

ios:pod:install

script does not exist, add the

ios:spm:install

script after the last existing script entry.

Step 9: Verify

Run
```
npm install
```
in the plugin root to ensure
```
package.json
```
is valid.
Verify the iOS build still succeeds by building the plugin's example or test app.

Error Handling

If the
```
.pbxproj
```
file becomes corrupted after removing ObjC references, restore it from version control and carefully re-edit, ensuring only complete lines are removed.
If the Swift build fails with
```
CAPBridgedPlugin
```
not found, verify that
```
@capacitor/core
```
is version 6+ and that
```
capacitor-swift-pm
```
branch matches the Capacitor major version.
If SPM resolution fails (
```
swift package resolve
```
), verify the
```
Package.swift
```
target paths match the actual directory structure (
```
ios/Plugin
```
for sources,
```
ios/PluginTests
```
for tests).
If the plugin has no test target directory (
```
ios/PluginTests
```
), remove the
```
.testTarget
```
block from
```
Package.swift
```
.
If the plugin has additional Swift source files beyond the main plugin file, no extra changes are needed — SPM automatically includes all
```
.swift
```
files in the target path.
If the
```
.m
```
file uses
```
CAPPluginReturnNone
```
instead of
```
CAPPluginReturnPromise
```
for some methods, preserve the original return type in the
```
pluginMethods
```
array.
If a CocoaPods dependency has no SPM equivalent and no alternative can be found, the plugin cannot fully support SPM. Inform the user and suggest they either vendor the dependency source or wait for upstream SPM support.

capacitor-plugin-spm-support

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Add SPM Support to a Capacitor Plugin

Prerequisites

Procedures

Step 1: Gather Plugin Information

Step 2: Resolve CocoaPods Dependencies for SPM

Step 3: Create
`Package.swift`

Step 4: Update the Swift Plugin Class

Step 5: Delete Objective-C Bridge Files

Step 6: Clean Up the Xcode Project File

Step 7: Update
`.gitignore`

Step 8: Update
`package.json`

Step 9: Verify

Error Handling