The world of mobile app development is exciting, but it can also be challenging to navigate. That's why we're thrilled to introduce you to the power of swift app development using Ionic framework. With its unique ability to build for any platform using just HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, you'll be amazed at what you can create.

In this tutorial, we'll take you on a step-by-step journey as we build a realistic Photo Gallery app that showcases the capabilities of Ionic. From taking photos with your device's camera to displaying them in a grid and storing them permanently on the device, we'll cover it all.

What We'll Build

Our goal is to create an Angular-based codebase that runs seamlessly on the web, iOS, and Android platforms using Ionic Framework UI components. We'll deploy our app as a native iOS and Android mobile app using Capacitor, Ionic's official native app runtime. And, we'll power our Photo Gallery functionality with the Capacitor Camera, Filesystem, and Preferences APIs.

Highlights

  • One Angular-based codebase that runs on the web, iOS, and Android platforms
  • Deployed as a native iOS and Android mobile app using Capacitor
  • Photo Gallery functionality powered by Capacitor's Camera, Filesystem, and Preferences APIs

If you're interested in exploring the previous version of this guide that covered Ionic 4 and Cordova, check out our earlier article.

Download Required Tools

Before we dive into the code, make sure you have the necessary tools installed:

  • Node.js for interacting with the Ionic ecosystem (download the LTS version)
  • A code editor like Visual Studio Code
  • Command-line interface/terminal (CLI):

+ Windows users: use the built-in command line (cmd) or PowerShell CLI running in Administrator mode

+ Mac/Linux users: virtually any terminal will work

Install Ionic Tooling

In your terminal, run the following commands to install the Ionic CLI, native-run, and cordova-res:

`

npm install -g @ionic/cli native-run cordova-res

`

The -g option means install globally. When packages are installed globally, EACCES permission errors can occur. Consider setting up npm to operate globally without elevated permissions.

Create an App

Next, create an Ionic Angular app that uses the "Tabs" starter template and adds Capacitor for native functionality:

`

ionic start photo-gallery tabs --type=angular

`

When prompted to choose between NgModules and Standalone, opt for NgModules as this tutorial follows the NgModules approach.

This starter project comes complete with three pre-built pages and best practices for Ionic development. With common building blocks already in place, we can add more features easily!

Add Capacitor Plugins

Change into the app folder:

`

cd photo-gallery

`

Next, install the necessary Capacitor plugins to make the app's native functionality work:

`

npm install @capacitor/camera @capacitor/preferences @capacitor/filesystem

`

PWA Elements

Some Capacitor plugins, including the Camera API, provide web-based functionality and UI via the Ionic PWA Elements library. It's a separate dependency, so install it next:

`

npm install @ionic/pwa-elements

`

Run the App

Finally, run your app using the following command:

`

ionic serve

`

And voilà! Your Ionic app is now running in a web browser. Most of your app can be built and tested right in the browser, greatly increasing development and testing speed.

In our next article, we'll explore more advanced features of swift app development with Ionic framework. Stay tuned!