@choreruiz/capacitor-node-js

A full-fledged Node.js v18 runtime for Capacitor apps on iOS and Android.

This is a maintained fork of Capacitor-NodeJS by Rene Hampolz, with fixes for Capacitor 8, Xcode 26, and Swift Package Manager builds.

What's different from upstream

• Capacitor 8.1 compatibility (removed deprecated handleOnResume/handleOnPause lifecycle methods)
• Xcode 26 explicit module builds (proper import CapacitorNodejsBridge)
• builtin_modules discovery in Capacitor's public/ subdirectory
• SPM-first architecture (ios/Bridge/ + ios/Swift/ targets)
• CocoaPods support maintained via updated podspec
• Published to npm as @choreruiz/capacitor-node-js (no more manual .tgz installs)

Install

npm install @choreruiz/capacitor-node-js
npx cap sync

After cap sync, copy the bridge modules into your iOS project:

cp -R node_modules/@choreruiz/capacitor-node-js/ios/assets/builtin_modules ios/App/App/public/builtin_modules

Or add this to your package.json scripts so it runs automatically:

{
  "cap:sync": "cap sync && cp -R node_modules/@choreruiz/capacitor-node-js/ios/assets/builtin_modules ios/App/App/public/builtin_modules 2>/dev/null; true"
}

Configuration

In capacitor.config.ts:

plugins: {
  CapacitorNodeJS: {
    nodeDir: 'nodejs-project',     // directory inside public/ with your Node.js code
    startMode: 'auto',             // 'auto' or 'manual'
  },
}

Usage

Place your Node.js project in public/nodejs-project/ (or whatever nodeDir you configured). The engine starts automatically on app launch.

Send messages to Node.js

import { NodeJS } from '@choreruiz/capacitor-node-js';

await NodeJS.send({ eventName: 'myEvent', args: [{ hello: 'world' }] });

Receive messages from Node.js

import { NodeJS } from '@choreruiz/capacitor-node-js';

NodeJS.addListener('myResponse', (event) => {
  console.log('Got from Node:', event.args);
});

Node.js side (bridge module)

const { channel } = require('bridge');

channel.addListener('myEvent', (data) => {
  console.log('Got from Capacitor:', data);
  channel.send('myResponse', { result: 'ok' });
});

channel.send('ready');

Architecture

+----------------------------------+
|          Capacitor App           |
|  (WebView / Vue / React / etc)   |
+----------------------------------+
|     CapacitorNodeJS Plugin       |
|   (Swift / Kotlin bridge)        |
+----------------------------------+
|     NodeMobile.xcframework       |
|   Node.js v18.20.4 (JIT-less)    |
+----------------------------------+

• iOS: Swift Package Manager with CapacitorNodejsBridge (C++17) and CapacitorNodejsSwift targets
• Android: Gradle with CMake NDK build (arm64-v8a, armeabi-v7a, x86_64)
• Bridge: IPC via JSON channels between Capacitor WebView and Node.js process

Binary size

The npm package includes pre-built Node.js binaries:

Platform	Architecture	Size
iOS	arm64 (device)	53 MB
iOS	arm64 + x86_64 (simulator)	111 MB
Android	arm64-v8a	60 MB
Android	armeabi-v7a	109 MB
Android	x86_64	39 MB

Credits

Built on the excellent Capacitor-NodeJS by Rene Hampolz. Node.js mobile binaries from aspect-build/aspect-mobile.

License

MIT - see LICENSE