nscap init adds these npm scripts to your project:
"build:nativescript": "nscap build",
"capacitor:copy:before": "nscap build"Bundles just your NativeScript changes from src/nativescript. It is built into a nativescript folder inside your webDir as specified in your capacitor.config.json or capacitor.config.ts. Bundling uses esbuild and completes in milliseconds.
When an Android platform is present, the same command also keeps the Android side ready: it fetches the NativeScript Android runtime once (cached) into the plugin module and generates platform metadata automatically — you'll see it in the output:
⚡ nscap: android: plugin module ready (runtime + metadata)
This is a Capacitor CLI hook: it runs automatically before every npx cap copy and npx cap sync. In practice you never have to think about the NativeScript build at all — your regular Capacitor workflow keeps everything in sync:
npm run build # your web build, as usual
npx cap sync ios # nscap build runs automatically, then Capacitor copies everything:::tip Coming from v5?
The v5 build:mobile / npm-run-all scripts are no longer needed — the hook replaces them. Keep using your plain web build script.
:::
If you've generated custom platform metadata with npx nscap metadata, nscap build automatically bundles it alongside your NativeScript code. Without it, the runtime uses the SDK metadata bundled inside the NativeScript framework — the build output tells you which is in effect:
⚡ nscap: built dist/nativescript/index.js · framework-bundled SDK metadata (zero-config)