{"id":13004,"library":"cordova-build","title":"Cordova Build CLI (Self-Hosted)","description":"cordova-build is an npm package designed to provide a self-hosted alternative to the now-defunct PhoneGap Build service. It allows developers to run Cordova build processes on their own servers or agents, bypassing third-party cloud services. The package operates in four distinct modes: Server, Agent, Client, and UI, enabling a distributed build environment. However, this project is effectively abandoned; its last update was on October 27, 2014, and the current version is 0.0.248. It was developed to address disadvantages of PhoneGap Build, which itself was officially shut down in October 2020. Due to its age, `cordova-build` relies on severely outdated development environments such as Node.js versions from 2014, Xcode 5.1, Windows Phone SDK 8, and Android SDK versions from that era, making it highly incompatible with modern operating systems and mobile development toolchains. It has no discernible release cadence and is no longer maintained.","status":"abandoned","version":"0.0.248","language":"javascript","source_language":"en","source_url":null,"tags":["javascript"],"install":[{"cmd":"npm install cordova-build","lang":"bash","label":"npm"},{"cmd":"yarn add cordova-build","lang":"bash","label":"yarn"},{"cmd":"pnpm add cordova-build","lang":"bash","label":"pnpm"}],"dependencies":[],"imports":[],"quickstart":{"code":"npm install -g cordova-build\ncordova-build -mode:server","lang":"javascript","description":"This demonstrates global installation and starting the `cordova-build` server in a self-hosted environment."},"warnings":[{"fix":"Do not use this package for new projects. For self-hosted Cordova/Capacitor builds, consider using the official Apache Cordova CLI directly, or explore CI/CD solutions like Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or GitLab CI with appropriate build environment setup.","message":"The `cordova-build` package is completely abandoned. It was last updated in October 2014 and is highly unlikely to function correctly with modern Node.js versions, operating systems, or mobile development SDKs.","severity":"breaking","affected_versions":">=0.0.1"},{"fix":"Upgrading these dependencies to a compatible state is impractical or impossible. There is no viable fix for using this package in a modern environment.","message":"This tool requires extremely outdated system dependencies, including Node.js versions from 2014, Xcode 5.1, Windows Phone SDK 8, and old Android SDK versions. These are incompatible with current development environments and may pose security risks.","severity":"breaking","affected_versions":">=0.0.1"},{"fix":"Modern mobile app development workflows involve direct use of platform CLIs (Cordova, Capacitor, React Native CLI, Flutter CLI) and integrating them into standard CI/CD pipelines for automated builds.","message":"The core problem `cordova-build` aimed to solve (being an alternative to PhoneGap Build) is no longer relevant, as PhoneGap Build itself was officially shut down in October 2020.","severity":"gotcha","affected_versions":">=0.0.1"}],"env_vars":null,"last_verified":"2026-04-19T00:00:00.000Z","next_check":"2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z","problems":[{"fix":"This issue is unresolvable without significant rewrite or running in an extremely outdated, insecure Node.js environment. It's recommended to find modern alternatives.","cause":"The package was built for a very old Node.js environment. Dependencies or core Node.js APIs it relies on may no longer exist or have changed significantly.","error":"Error: Cannot find module '...' (or similar module loading errors)"},{"fix":"Modern macOS does not support Xcode 5.1, and Windows Phone SDK 8 is obsolete. There is no practical fix to make these requirements available for `cordova-build`.","cause":"The tool explicitly requires specific, long-deprecated versions of platform SDKs (e.g., Xcode 5.1, Windows Phone SDK 8) which are not available or compatible with modern operating systems.","error":"Xcode 5.1 is not installed (or similar errors referencing ancient SDK versions)"},{"fix":"While `npm install -g cordova-build` might complete on very specific, outdated environments, it will fail on most modern setups. Do not attempt to install or use this package.","cause":"Installation fails due to incompatibility with current npm/Node.js versions or missing native build tools required by old dependencies.","error":"Command failed: npm install -g cordova-build (or similar errors during installation)"}],"ecosystem":"npm","meta_description":null,"install_score":null,"install_tag":null,"quickstart_score":null,"quickstart_tag":null,"pypi_latest":null,"cli_name":""}