Capacitor 4 to 5: An Easy Guide

A Step-by-Step Upgrade with Minimal Breaking Changes

If you're planning to upgrade your Capacitor project from version 4 to 5, this guide will provide you with clear steps and a comprehensive list of breaking changes for official plugins.

Breaking Changes: Minor and Manageable

The transition from Capacitor 4 to 5 introduces minimal breaking changes, making the upgrade process relatively smooth. This is a significant improvement compared to previous upgrades.

Simplified App Updates: Avoiding App Store Reviews

With Capacitor 5, you can now update your Ionic apps without going through the App Store or Play Store review process. This feature, known as hot-code updates, empowers you with greater flexibility and efficiency during development.

Smooth Transition with capgoapp

For a fully automated upgrade experience, consider using the capgoapp tool. This powerful utility allows you to effortlessly update Capacitor native platforms and dependencies while installing any discovered Capacitor or Cordova updates.

Direct Upgrade with ionic capacitor update

Alternatively, you can perform a direct upgrade using the ionic capacitor update command. This command will:

• Update Capacitor native platforms and dependencies
• Install any discovered Capacitor or Cordova updates