How to fix 'cordova' is not recognized in the Windows command prompt

Question

ERROR

C:\>cordova

'cordova' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

My Environment Path

C:\>path
PATH=C:\Windows\system32;C:\Windows;C:\Windows\System32\Wbem;C:\Windows\System32
\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\;C:\Program Files\nodejs\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Git\cmd
;C:\Program Files (x86)\GtkSharp\2.12\bin;C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\8.
1\Windows Performance Toolkit\;C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\110\Tools\B
inn\;C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Web Platform Installer\;**C:\Program Files\ANT\apa
che-ant-1.9.3\bin;C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.7.0_51\bin;C:\Development\sdk\tools
;C:\Development\sdk\platform-tools;C:\Development\cordova-3.3.0\cordova-android\
bin;**

NB: I have read every available tutorial, followed at least 10 of them, read all the similar questions about 'phonegap' not recognized,, .etc. I have my 'Enabled' registry set to 1 as some solutions have suggested, re-installed 'phonegap' & 'cordova' through NPM install -g phonegap, and same for 'cordova', and I still can't get them to run.

I copied an old phonegap application that I made on another PC, and I can run it through just fine. Hope this would clear anything up.

Solution 1

You do not need to add any cordova folder to the path.

cordova command is a nodejs npm script, what you need is to have the npm folder in your path :

%appdata%\npm\

or if it does not work, use instead

c:\users\YourUserName\AppData\Roaming\npm\

(replace YourUserName with the name of your user profile)

What's strange is that I don't remember I had to change it manually, I think it should be added automatically when installing node and npm.

Solution 2

npm install -g cordova

-g is a global install option and it will make the cordova globally available in AppData\Roaming\npm. Restart the prompt if necessary.

Solution 3

The Method below is the solution of every such problem related to npm, Be it Phonegap, Cordova, Ionic or else... The concept is that every software installed using npm is saved on this path:

C:\Users\[Your User Name]\AppData\Roaming\npm

So, what we are going to do is just adding the above path to Windows Environment Variable. If you are a begineer, the steps for adding path are as follows:

1. Go to Control Panel.
2. Under All Control Panel Items, Go to System.
3. Click on the Advanced system settings options in the Sidebar.
4. The System Properties Dialog Box will appear.

You would have done the so far work through searching "Edit Environment Variables" in Search Bar :).

1. Now, In the System Properties dialog box, there will be Advanced Tab.
2. In Advanced tab, there will be an option Environment Variables...
3. Click on it, this will open another Dialog box for Environment Variables.

4. In System variables, Select Path as shown in image link, and click Edit...

   Path attribute in System Variables

5. Copy the above path, and add it here as shown in link Copy the Path

6. Here, you should make sure that the 2 different paths are always seperated by a semicolon ;. Keeping this in mind, add your path to the existing paths.

This will make the application run globally. This is the General Algorithm of steps employed for any type of Path Configuration. If You have any issues left, please feel free to ask.

Solution 4

Try running Command Prompt as an administrator..It worked for me

Solution 5

Try restarting the command prompt window. It worked for me.

View more solutions

Comments

[Pankaj Kharche]

assign this to your path variable in environment variable. java path should be at first place. @Roshdy

[James Wong]

I agree with @QuickFix, 1) the /npm/ folder is missing and 2) If you correctly ran npm install -g cordova the npm path would have been added automatically.

[Roshdy]

it works...Thanks a lot. I wonder why it's not mentioned in the documentation or the corresponding tutorials =S

[Leon Africa]

-g ensures a global install.. It's wise to do these things as admin on windows.

[Black]

Note: There are two path variables, make sure to enter the path into the system path variable

[TechSavvySam]

I added %APPDATA%\npm which gives you your specific path to ...\Roaming\npm

[Hussain Rahimi]

@Black: For me it worked when added the path in the user path variable not system path variable

[Kartik Arora]

Good, that's a short and sweet way to do the same task.

[John Smith]

This worked for me. I was only having issues with Cordova when using command line as admin

[Kartik Arora]

That's great @Eric.

[SubqueryCrunch]

For me adding "%appdata%\npm\" to the system Path variable did not work but adding "%appdata%\npm" worked. I hope this helps someone.