A complete solution to package and build a ready for distribution Electron app for macOS, Windows and Linux with “auto update” support out of the box.
- NPM packages management:
- Native application dependencies compilation (including Yarn support).
- Development dependencies are never included. You don't need to ignore them explicitly.
- Code Signing on a CI server or development machine.
- Auto Update ready application packaging.
- Numerous target formats:
- All platforms:
7z
,zip
,tar.xz
,tar.lz
,tar.gz
,tar.bz2
,dir
(unpacked directory). - macOS:
dmg
,pkg
,mas
. - Linux: AppImage, snap, debian package (
deb
),rpm
,freebsd
,pacman
,p5p
,apk
. - Windows:
nsis
(Installer),nsis-web
(Web installer),portable
(portable app without installation), AppX (Windows Store), Squirrel.Windows.
- All platforms:
- Two package.json structure is supported, but you are not forced to use it even if you have native production dependencies.
- Build version management.
- Publishing artifacts to GitHub Releases, Amazon S3 and Bintray.
- Pack in a distributable format already packaged app.
- Separate build steps.
- Build and publish in parallel, using hard links on CI server to reduce IO and disk space usage.
- electron-compile support (compile for release-time on the fly on build).
Question | Answer |
---|---|
“I want to configure electron-builder” | See options |
“I have a question” | Open an issue or join the chat |
“I found a bug” | Open an issue |
“I want to donate” | Donate with Donorbox or Paypal |
Real project example — onshape-desktop-shell.
Yarn is strongly recommended instead of npm.
yarn add electron-builder --dev
Platform specific 7zip-bin-*
packages are optionalDependencies
, which may require manual install if you have npm configured to not install optional deps by default.
- electron-react-boilerplate A boilerplate for scalable cross-platform desktop apps.
- electron-react-redux-boilerplate A minimal boilerplate to get started with Electron, React and Redux.
- electron-boilerplate A minimalistic yet comprehensive boilerplate application.
- electron-vue A boilerplate for making electron applications built with vue.
-
Specify the standard fields in the application
package.json
— name,description
,version
and author. -
Specify the build configuration in the
package.json
as follows:"build": { "appId": "your.id", "mac": { "category": "your.app.category.type" } }
See all options.
-
Create a directory build in the root of the project and save a
background.png
(macOS DMG background),icon.icns
(macOS app icon) andicon.ico
(Windows app icon) into it.The Linux icon set will be generated automatically based on the macOS
icns
file (or you can put them into thebuild/icons
directory if you want to specify them yourself. The filename must contain the size (e.g.32x32.png
) of the icon). -
Add the scripts key to the development
package.json
:"scripts": { "pack": "electron-builder --dir", "dist": "electron-builder" }
Then you can run
yarn dist
(to package in a distributable format (e.g. dmg, windows installer, deb package)) oryarn pack
(only generates the package directory without really packaging it. This is useful for testing purposes).To ensure your native dependencies are always matched electron version, simply add script
"postinstall": "electron-builder install-app-deps"
to yourpackage.json
. -
If you have native addons of your own that are part of the application (not as a dependency), add
"nodeGypRebuild": true
to thebuild
section of your developmentpackage.json
.
💡 Don't use npm (neither.npmrc
) for configuring electron headers. Use node-gyp-rebuild bin instead. -
Install the required system packages if you are not on macOS 10.12+.
Please note that everything is packaged into an asar archive by default.
For an app that will be shipped to production, you should sign your application. See Where to buy code signing certificates.
Execute node_modules/.bin/electron-builder --help
(node_modules/.bin/electron-builder build --help
for `build subcommand) to get the actual CLI usage guide.
Building:
--mac, -m, -o, --macos Build for macOS, accepts target list (see
https://goo.gl/HAnnq8). [array]
--linux, -l Build for Linux, accepts target list (see
https://goo.gl/O80IL2) [array]
--win, -w, --windows Build for Windows, accepts target list (see
https://goo.gl/dL4i8i) [array]
--x64 Build for x64 [boolean]
--ia32 Build for ia32 [boolean]
--armv7l Build for armv7l [boolean]
--dir Build unpacked dir. Useful to test. [boolean]
--extraMetadata, --em Deprecated. Use -c.extraMetadata.
--prepackaged, --pd The path to prepackaged app (to pack in a
distributable format)
--projectDir, --project The path to project directory. Defaults to current
working directory.
--config, -c The path to an electron-builder config. Defaults to
`electron-builder.yml` (or `json`, or `json5`), see
https://goo.gl/YFRJOM
Publishing:
--publish, -p Publish artifacts (to GitHub Releases), see
https://goo.gl/WMlr4n
[choices: "onTag", "onTagOrDraft", "always", "never", undefined]
--draft Create a draft (unpublished) release [boolean]
--prerelease Identify the release as a prerelease [boolean]
Deprecated:
--platform The target platform (preferred to use --mac, --win or --linux)
[choices: "mac", "win", "linux", "darwin", "win32", "all", undefined]
--arch The target arch (preferred to use --x64 or --ia32)
[choices: "ia32", "x64", "all", undefined]
Other:
--help Show help [boolean]
--version
Examples:
electron-builder -mwl build for macOS, Windows and Linux
electron-builder --linux deb tar.xz build deb and tar.xz for Linux
electron-builder --win --ia32 build for Windows ia32
electron-builder --em.foo=bar set package.json property `foo` to
`bar`
electron-builder configure unicode options for NSIS
--config.nsis.unicode=false
See node_modules/electron-builder/out/electron-builder.d.ts
. Typings is supported.
"use strict"
const builder = require("electron-builder")
const Platform = builder.Platform
// Promise is returned
builder.build({
targets: Platform.MAC.createTarget(),
config: {
"//": "build options, see https://goo.gl/ZhRfla"
}
})
.then(() => {
// handle result
})
.catch((error) => {
// handle error
})
You can use electron-builder only to pack your electron app in a AppImage, Snaps, Debian package, NSIS, macOS installer component package (pkg
)
and other distributable formats.
./node_modules/.bin/build --prepackaged <packed dir>
--projectDir
(the path to project directory) option also can be useful.
electron-builder on Slack (please use threads). Public archive without registration.
See the Wiki for more documentation.
Set the DEBUG environment variable to debug what electron-builder is doing:
DEBUG=electron-builder:*