Using @capgo/capacitor-live-activities

@capgo/capacitor-live-activities lets a Capacitor app start, update, and end iOS Live Activities with a JSON-based layout definition. It is a good fit for delivery tracking, timers, ride progress, sports scores, and any flow that needs persistent lock-screen or Dynamic Island state.

Installation

bun add @capgo/capacitor-live-activities
bunx cap sync

Before you write code

• Live Activities require iOS 16.1 or later.
• Create a Widget Extension target in Xcode and share an App Group between the main app and the widget extension.
• Add NSSupportsLiveActivities to your app Info.plist.

Check device support

import { CapgoLiveActivities } from '@capgo/capacitor-live-activities';

const { supported, reason } = await CapgoLiveActivities.areActivitiesSupported();

if (!supported) {
  console.warn('Live Activities unavailable:', reason);
}

Start an activity

import { CapgoLiveActivities } from '@capgo/capacitor-live-activities';

const { activityId } = await CapgoLiveActivities.startActivity({
  layout: {
    type: 'container',
    direction: 'vertical',
    spacing: 8,
    children: [
      { type: 'text', content: 'Order #{{orderNumber}}', fontSize: 16, fontWeight: 'bold' },
      { type: 'text', content: '{{status}}', fontSize: 14, color: '#666666' },
      { type: 'progress', value: 'progress', tint: '#34C759' },
    ],
  },
  dynamicIslandLayout: {
    expanded: {
      center: { type: 'text', content: '{{status}}' },
      trailing: { type: 'text', content: '{{eta}}' },
    },
    compactLeading: { type: 'text', content: 'ETA' },
    compactTrailing: { type: 'text', content: '{{eta}}' },
    minimal: { type: 'text', content: '{{eta}}' },
  },
  behavior: {
    widgetUrl: 'myapp://orders/12345',
  },
  data: {
    orderNumber: '12345',
    status: 'On the way',
    eta: '10 min',
    progress: 0.6,
  },
});

Update the activity

await CapgoLiveActivities.updateActivity({
  activityId,
  data: {
    status: 'Arriving soon',
    eta: '2 min',
    progress: 0.9,
  },
});

End the activity

await CapgoLiveActivities.endActivity({
  activityId,
  data: {
    status: 'Delivered',
    progress: 1,
  },
  dismissalPolicy: 'after',
  dismissAfter: Date.now() + 60 * 60 * 1000,
});

Practical advice

• Build your layout from stable state keys so updates only change data, not structure.
• Keep the widget extension focused on rendering and let your Capacitor app own activity state transitions.
• Always gate the feature behind areActivitiesSupported() so unsupported devices fall back cleanly.