Apache Cordova CLI

When upgrading to version 11.0.0 (released Dec 17, 2021), note these changes:

• Android Command Change: The deprecated android command has been replaced with avdmanager.
• Deprecated Field: The preferGlobal field in package.json is deprecated and has been removed.
• Plugin Save Command: The plugin save command has been removed from the CLI help.
• Node Support: Node support has been updated (refer to specific version requirements for your environment).

Follow these steps to initialize a new project, add a plugin (e.g., camera), add a platform (e.g., android), verify requirements, build, and run the application.

# Create the project: cordova create <directory> <package_id> <name>
cordova create myApp com.myCompany.myApp myApp
cd myApp

# Add a plugin
cordova plugin add cordova-plugin-camera --save

# Add a platform
cordova platform add android --save

# Check if system requirements for the platform are met
cordova requirements android

# Build the application
cordova build android --verbose

# Run the application on a connected device or emulator
cordova run android

Cordova CLI includes a script to provide command-line tab-completion for Bash on Unix-like systems (Linux, BSD, OS X). This makes typing Cordova commands and arguments faster and less error-prone.

Linux or BSD

Copy the scripts/cordova.completion file (found within the Cordova installation) to your /etc/bash_completion.d directory. The completion will be active in any new shell session.

OS X

1. Place the scripts/cordova.completion file in a readable location on your filesystem.
2. Add the following line to the end of your ~/.bashrc file: source <path to>/cordova.completion
3. The completion will be active in any new shell session.

# Example for OS X
source /path/to/your/scripts/cordova.completion

In version 3.0.10 and later, you can update an existing platform using the cordova platform update <platform> command. This command triggers the platform's specific update script. Supported platforms with update scripts include:

• Android
• iOS
• WP7
• WP8

Install the Cordova command-line tool globally using npm. This allows you to manage multi-platform Cordova applications and integrate plugins from your terminal.

# On Windows
npm install -g cordova

# On Mac OS X/Linux
sudo npm install -g cordova

When upgrading to version 13.0.0 (released Nov 23, 2025), be aware of the following breaking changes:

• Node.js Engine Requirement: The Node.js engine requirement has been bumped. Ensure your environment meets the new minimum version.
• Telemetry Removal: The telemetry feature has been removed.
• Dependency Updates: Various npm packages and dependencies have been bumped to newer versions.

When upgrading to version 10.0.0 (released Jul 31, 2020), be aware of the following breaking changes and removals:

• Command Removals/Undocumentations:
  • platform save command is removed/undocumented.
  • plugin save command is removed/undocumented.
  • --copy-from option is no longer supported.
  • hooks/ directory mentions have been removed from documentation.
  • platform check command is undocumented.
• Configuration Changes:
  • Support for <project>/.cordova/config.json has been removed.
  • The autosave setting in config has been removed.
• Node.js Support:
  • Support for Node.js 6 and 8 has been dropped.
• Other Changes:
  • cordova info logic has been migrated from the library to the CLI.
• Dependency Bumps: Significant updates to cordova-lib (v10.0.0) and various other core dependencies.

Once installed, you can use the <TAB> key to autocomplete Cordova commands, platform names, and plugin identifiers. The completion works as long as your command line begins with an executable named cordova.

Completion Examples

Command completion:

$ cordova <TAB>
build     compile   create    emulate   platform  plugin    prepare   serve

Subcommand completion:

$ cordova pla<TAB>
cordova platform <TAB>
add ls remove rm

Argument completion (Platforms):

$ cordova platform a<TAB>
android     blackberry  ios         wp8         www

Argument completion (Plugins):

$ cordova plugin rm org.apache.cordova.<TAB>
org.apache.cordova.file    org.apache.cordova.inappbrowser

$ cordova <TAB>
$ cordova platform add <TAB>

The --usegit flag was deprecated in version 6.0.0. The recommended way to add a platform from a Git repository is to use the following syntax: cordova platform add <git_url>#<branch>.

cordova platform add https://github.com/example/cordova-platform-example.git#master

You can view the general syntax summary or obtain detailed help for a specific command using the help command or the -h flag.

To see the general help summary, use: cordova-cli help

To see help for a specific command, use one of the following patterns:

• cordova-cli help [command]
• cordova-cli [command] -h
• cordova-cli -h [command]

# Show general help
cordova-cli help

# Show help for a specific command (e.g., 'platform')
cordova-cli help platform
cordova-cli platform -h
cordova-cli -h platform

When upgrading to version 12.0.0 (released May 20, 2023), be aware of the following breaking changes:

• Node.js Requirement: The minimum Node.js requirement is now >=16.13.0.
• cordova run behavior: The run command now calls the platform API to list targets.
• update-notifier removal: Support for update-notifier has been removed.
• Dependency Bumps: Significant updates to cordova-create (v5.0.0) and cordova-lib (v12.0.0).