Add Swift Package Manager Support to a Capacitor Plugin

Add SPM support to an existing Capacitor plugin so it can be consumed without CocoaPods.

When to Use This Skill

• User wants a plugin to work through Xcode's package manager
• User is converting an existing iOS plugin from Obj-C bridge files to bridged Swift registration
• User needs the plugin package manifest and file exports updated for SPM

Procedures

Step 1: Gather Plugin Information

Read these files in the plugin root:

• package.json
• the .podspec
• the main Swift plugin class under ios/

Record:

• the package name
• the pod name
• the iOS deployment target
• the plugin class name
• the JavaScript plugin name
• all exposed plugin methods
• any third-party CocoaPods dependencies that also need SPM equivalents

Step 2: Create Package.swift

Add a Package.swift manifest that:

• declares the plugin package name
• sets the iOS minimum version
• points the target at the plugin's iOS source directory
• depends on the Capacitor Swift package support package used by the project
• adds any resolved third-party SPM packages

Keep the target structure aligned with the actual plugin source tree.

Step 3: Convert the Swift Plugin Class

Update the plugin class to conform to CAPBridgedPlugin.

Add the bridge properties at the top of the class:

• identifier
• jsName
• pluginMethods

Preserve each method name and return type exactly as the plugin already exposes them.

Step 4: Remove Objective-C Bridge Files

Delete the old bridge header and implementation files once the Swift bridge is in place.

Then clean the Xcode project file so it no longer references them.

Step 5: Update Package Metadata

Update the plugin package manifest so it exports:

• the iOS sources
• the podspec
• Package.swift

Add an iOS SPM install command if the project maintains script helpers.

Step 6: Verify

Install dependencies with the repository's existing package manager.

Then cd into the example or test app directory that contains capacitor.config.*, run npx cap sync (or the repository's equivalent runner) there, and build that same app.

Error Handling

• Start with the Swift package resolver: check the target path and package dependency names first.
• Verify bridge registration by matching the class name, identifier, and jsName against the exported API.
• For unsupported CocoaPods dependencies, replace them with SPM-compatible packages or keep CocoaPods for that dependency.