@capgo/capacitor-accelerometer

Read raw accelerometer data on iOS, Android and the web with one API, as the latest sample or as a live stream. Build motion features, games and gesture detection without paid plugins.

🤖 Building with an AI coding agent? Install Capgo skills so Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Copilot, or Gemini CLI know how to install and use @capgo/capacitor-accelerometer in your Capacitor app: npx skills add Cap-go/capgo-skills. Then ask your agent: "Add @capgo/capacitor-accelerometer to my Capacitor app and wire it up." Agent setup guides · Hosted MCP

Key features

• Latest sample: getMeasurement() returns the latest cached x, y and z acceleration from Core Motion on iOS, SensorManager on Android and browser motion events on web. Before the first web motion event it returns zeros.
• Live updates: startMeasurementUpdates() streams readings to the measurement listener until stopMeasurementUpdates().
• Availability check: isAvailable() reports accelerometer availability on iOS and Android, and browser motion API support on web.
• Permissions: checkPermissions() and requestPermissions() handle motion access where the platform requires it.
• Platforms: iOS, Android and Web. iOS uses Core Motion, Android uses SensorManager, and web listens to browser motion events.

Why Capacitor Accelerometer?

The only free and maintained Capacitor plugin for accelerometer access. Other plugins are either paid or no longer updated. This plugin provides:

• Up-to-date implementation - Uses the latest APIs across all platforms
• Consistent JavaScript API - Same interface as popular paid alternatives
• Cross-platform - Works on iOS, Android, and Web
• Permission handling - Built-in permission management
• Real-time streaming - Listen to continuous accelerometer updates

Perfect for fitness apps, games, gesture detection, and motion-based interfaces.

Documentation

The most complete doc is available here: https://capgo.app/docs/plugins/accelerometer/

Compatibility

Note: The major version of this plugin follows the major version of Capacitor. Use the version that matches your Capacitor installation (e.g., plugin v8 for Capacitor 8). Only the latest major version is actively maintained.

Install

You can use our AI-Assisted Setup to install the plugin. Add the Capgo skills to your AI tool using the following command:

npx skills add https://github.com/cap-go/capacitor-skills --skill capacitor-plugins

Then use the following prompt:

Use the `capacitor-plugins` skill from `cap-go/capacitor-skills` to install the `@capgo/capacitor-accelerometer` plugin in my project.

If you prefer Manual Setup, install the plugin by running the following commands and follow the platform-specific instructions below:

npm install @capgo/capacitor-accelerometer
npx cap sync

Configuration

iOS

Add the following to your app's Info.plist. iOS requires this key before the Motion & Fitness permission dialog can appear:

<key>NSMotionUsageDescription</key>
<string>We need access to motion data to read accelerometer measurements</string>

Then call requestPermissions() (or start measurement updates) to trigger the system prompt.

Android

No additional configuration is required. Android does not expose a dedicated runtime permission for raw accelerometer access on supported devices.

API

• getMeasurement()
• isAvailable()
• startMeasurementUpdates()
• stopMeasurementUpdates()
• checkPermissions()
• requestPermissions()
• addListener('measurement', ...)
• removeAllListeners()
• getPluginVersion()
• Interfaces
• Type Aliases

Capacitor plugin contract for working with the device accelerometer.

getMeasurement()

getMeasurement() => Promise<GetMeasurementResult>

Get the most recent accelerometer sample that was recorded by the native layer.

Returns: Promise<Measurement>

Since: 1.0.0

isAvailable()

isAvailable() => Promise<IsAvailableResult>

Check if the current device includes an accelerometer sensor.

Returns: Promise<IsAvailableResult>

Since: 1.0.0

startMeasurementUpdates()

startMeasurementUpdates() => Promise<void>

Begin streaming accelerometer updates to the JavaScript layer.

Call {@link addListener} with the measurement event to receive the updates.

Since: 1.0.0

stopMeasurementUpdates()

stopMeasurementUpdates() => Promise<void>

Stop streaming accelerometer updates started via {@link startMeasurementUpdates}.

Since: 1.0.0

checkPermissions()

checkPermissions() => Promise<PermissionStatus>

Return the current permission state for accessing motion data.

On platforms without explicit permissions this resolves to granted.

Returns: Promise<PermissionStatus>

Since: 1.0.0

requestPermissions()

requestPermissions() => Promise<PermissionStatus>

Request permission to access motion data if supported by the platform.

Returns: Promise<PermissionStatus>

Since: 1.0.0

addListener('measurement', ...)

addListener(eventName: 'measurement', listenerFunc: (event: MeasurementEvent) => void) => Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Listen for measurement updates.

Returns: Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Since: 1.0.0

removeAllListeners()

removeAllListeners() => Promise<void>

Remove all listeners that have been registered on the plugin.

Since: 1.0.0

getPluginVersion()

getPluginVersion() => Promise<{ version: string; }>

Get the native Capacitor plugin version.

Returns: Promise<{ version: string; }>

Since: 1.0.0

Interfaces

Measurement

The x, y and z axis acceleration values reported by the device motion sensors.

IsAvailableResult

Result returned by {@link CapacitorAccelerometerPlugin.isAvailable}.

PermissionStatus

Permission information returned by {@link CapacitorAccelerometerPlugin.checkPermissions} and {@link CapacitorAccelerometerPlugin.requestPermissions}.

PluginListenerHandle

Type Aliases

GetMeasurementResult

Alias for the most recent measurement.

Measurement

AccelerometerPermissionState

Permission state union including limited for platforms that can throttle motion access.

PermissionState | 'limited'

PermissionState

'prompt' | 'prompt-with-rationale' | 'granted' | 'denied'

MeasurementEvent

Event payload emitted when {@link CapacitorAccelerometerPlugin.startMeasurementUpdates} is active.

Measurement

Credit

This plugin was inspired from: https://github.com/kesha-antonov/react-native-background-downloader