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bug: "CapacitorSQLite" plugin is not implemented on electron #667
Description
Plugin version:
version 7.0.1, 7.0.2
Platform(s):
@capacitor-community/electron v5.0.1 (WIndows 11)
Issues:
the plugin failed register while electron start;
the output of exported in rt/electron-plugins.js
module.exports = {
CapacitorCommunitySqlite
}
is: { CapacitorCommunitySqlite: { default: { CapacitorSQLite: [class CapacitorSQLite] } } }
compare with version 5, the exported which work fine is:
CapacitorCommunitySqlite: {
CapacitorSQLite: [class CapacitorSQLite], <=============== Missing this in version 7
default: { CapacitorSQLite: [class CapacitorSQLite] }
}
i had tried manually populate it in electron-plugins.js (for version 7), then work fine too
module.exports = {
CapacitorCommunitySqlite:{
...CapacitorCommunitySqlite,
CapacitorSQLite:CapacitorCommunitySqlite.default.CapacitorSQLite
},
}
but this is not good solution, because every time ionic cap sync electron will overwrite back the rt/electron-plugins.js file.
Activity
AlejandroMHOB commentedon Sep 16, 2026
Additional Context: ESM/CJS Resolution Issues in Hybrid Environments (
@capacitor-community/electron)Hi team,
I wanted to provide some additional context regarding module resolution failures when using
@capacitor-community/sqlite(v7+) alongside@capacitor-community/electron(or legacy Electron runners).Problem Breakdown
Starting with recent major updates,
@capacitor-community/sqliteshifted its entry points to be ESM-first ("type": "module"inpackage.json), dropping fallback CommonJS exports for the web/renderer bindings.While this aligns with modern bundlers (Vite, esbuild, Angular 19+), it breaks the plugin generator in
@capacitor-community/electron. The Electron platform runner dynamically generates anelectron-plugins.jsfile using synchronous CommonJSrequire()calls:const CapacitorCommunitySqlite = require('..\\..\\..\\node_modules\\@capacitor-community\\sqlite\\electron\\dist\\plugin.js');module.exports = { CapacitorCommunitySqlite, ... }Workaround vs. Long-term Fix
Long-term Fix
Since
@capacitor-community/electronis largely unmaintained and lacks support for ESM-only plugins, the community-recommended path for modern Capacitor apps (Capacitor 6/7/8 with Angular 19+, Vite, or esbuild) is to migrate to the newly built and actively maintained alternative by Capawesome:👉 Capawesome Capacitor Electron Platform (
@capawesome/capacitor-electron)It has been rewritten from scratch with full native support for modern ESM packages, Node 22+, and modern build pipelines, eliminating these resolution issues altogether.
Workaround by Sqlite dependency's developers side
Developers currently bypass this either by patching
package.jsonto expose a dual-package export (main/module/exportswith CJS wrappers) or by manually patching the runner generator.Having an explicit CommonJS bundle or dual ESM/CJS export in
package.jsonfor the plugin's web/electron entry points would prevent runtime crashes for projects using CommonJS-based platform runners.I hope that the added information can help to understand the problem from developers and mantainers, to fix the problem by other developers facing the same issues.
Greeting.