ionic-app-development
Guides the agent through general Ionic Framework development including core concepts, component reference, CLI usage, layout, theming, animations, gestures, development workflow, and troubleshooting. Covers all Ionic UI components grouped by category with properties, events, methods, slots, and CSS custom properties. Do not use for creating a new Ionic app (use ionic-app-creation), framework-specific patterns (use ionic-angular, ionic-react, ionic-vue), or upgrading Ionic versions (use ionic-app-upgrades).
What this skill does
# Ionic App Development General Ionic Framework development — core concepts, component reference, CLI usage, layout, theming, utilities, development workflow, and troubleshooting. ## Prerequisites 1. **Node.js** (latest LTS) installed. 2. **Ionic CLI** installed globally (`npm install -g @ionic/cli`). 3. An existing Ionic project. For creating a new Ionic app, use the **`ionic-app-creation`** skill. ## Agent Behavior - **Auto-detect the framework.** Check `package.json` for `@ionic/angular`, `@ionic/react`, or `@ionic/vue` to determine the framework in use. Adapt code examples accordingly. - **Route to reference files.** This skill is an overview that routes agents to specific reference files for detailed component APIs and topic-specific guidance. - **Do not duplicate framework-specific skills.** For Angular, React, or Vue specific patterns, refer to the respective framework skill. ## Core Concepts ### How Ionic Works Ionic Framework is a UI toolkit for building cross-platform apps using web technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript/TypeScript). It provides a library of pre-built UI components that adapt their styling to the platform (`ios` or `md` mode). - **Components** are custom HTML elements (Web Components) prefixed with `ion-` (e.g., `<ion-button>`, `<ion-content>`). - **Platform modes**: Ionic renders components differently based on the platform. iOS devices use the `ios` mode; Android and all other platforms use the `md` (Material Design) mode. The `<html>` element receives a class (`ios` or `md`) that enables platform-specific styles. - **Capacitor integration**: Ionic apps use Capacitor to access native device features. Ionic handles the UI; Capacitor handles native APIs. See the **`capacitor-app-development`** skill for Capacitor-specific guidance. ### Page Lifecycle Ionic provides lifecycle events on top of the framework's own lifecycle hooks. These fire when a page is navigated to or from: | Event | Description | | --------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | | `ionViewWillEnter` | Fires when the page is about to enter and become active. | | `ionViewDidEnter` | Fires when the page has fully entered and is now active. | | `ionViewWillLeave` | Fires when the page is about to leave and become inactive. | | `ionViewDidLeave` | Fires when the page has fully left and is now inactive. | These are in addition to the framework-specific lifecycle hooks (e.g., Angular's `ngOnInit`, React's `useEffect`, Vue's `onMounted`). Use Ionic lifecycle events for tasks that should run each time a page becomes visible (e.g., refreshing data), since some navigation strategies cache pages. ## Component Reference Ionic provides 80+ UI components. Detailed API documentation for each component is organized into reference files by category. Each reference file covers properties, events, methods, slots, CSS shadow parts, and CSS custom properties. When the user needs help with a specific component, read the corresponding reference file. | Category | Reference File | Components Covered | | ---------------- | ----------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Action & Buttons | `references/components-action.md` | action-sheet, button, fab, fab-button, fab-list, ripple-effect | | Data Display | `references/components-data-display.md` | accordion, accordion-group, badge, card, card-content, card-header, card-subtitle, card-title, chip, item, item-divider, item-group, item-sliding, item-options, item-option, label, list, list-header, note, text | | Form | `references/components-form.md` | checkbox, datetime, datetime-button, input, input-otp, input-password-toggle, picker, radio, radio-group, range, searchbar, select, select-option, segment, segment-button, segment-content, segment-view, textarea, toggle | | Layout | `references/components-layout.md` | app, content, grid, col, row, header, footer, toolbar, title, buttons, back-button, split-pane | | Media | `references/components-media.md` | avatar, icon, img, thumbnail | | Navigation | `references/components-navigation.md` | breadcrumb, breadcrumbs, menu, menu-button, menu-toggle, nav, nav-link, router, router-link, router-outlet, route, route-redirect, tabs, tab, tab-bar, tab-button | | Overlay | `references/components-overlay.md` | alert, loading, modal, popover, toast, backdrop | | Scroll & Virtual | `references/components-scroll.md` | infinite-scroll, infinite-scroll-content, refresher, refresher-content, reorder, reorder-group | | Progress | `references/components-progress.md` | progress-bar, skeleton-text, spinner | ## Ionic CLI The Ionic CLI is the primary tool for developing Ionic apps. Below are the most commonly used commands. Run `ionic --help` for the full and always up-to-date command list. ### Installation ```bash npm install -g @ionic/cli ``` If upgrading from the legacy `ionic` package: ```bash npm uninstall -g ionic npm install -g @ionic/cli ``` ### Key Commands | Command | Description | | ---------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | `ionic serve` | Start a local dev server with live reload. | | `ionic serve --external` | Serve on all network interfaces (for testing on devices). | | `ionic serve --port=<port>` | Serve on a custom port (default: 8100). | | `ionic serve --prod` | Serve with production build configuration. | | `ionic build` | Build the web app for production. | | `ionic generate` | Generate pages, components, services (framework-dependent). | | `ionic doctor check` | Check the project for common issues. | | `ionic info` | Print system/environment info for bug reports. | | `ionic repair` | Remove and recreate dependencies and platform files. | ### `ionic serve` Options | Option | Description | | ---------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | `--ssl` | Enable HTTPS (experimental). | | `--no-livereload` | Serve without automatic reloading. | | `--no-open` | Do not open a browser window automatically. | | `--consolelogs` | Print app console output in terminal. | | `--browser=<browser>` | Open in a specific browser (safari, firefox, google chrome). | | `--browseroption=<path>` | Open a specific URL path (e.g., `/#/tab/dash`). | For framework-specific CLI options, pass them after `--`: ```bash ionic serve -- --proxy-config proxy.conf.json ``` ## Layout Read `references/components-layout.md` for the full API reference for layout components. ### Grid System Ionic uses a 12-column flexbox grid system (`ion-grid`, `ion-row`, `ion-col`). Columns expand to fill the r
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