app-builder-lib

What is app-builder-lib?

The app-builder-lib npm package is a library designed to facilitate the building and packaging of applications, particularly Electron applications. It provides a range of tools and utilities to streamline the process of creating distributable versions of your app for different platforms.

What are app-builder-lib's main functionalities?

Building Electron Applications

This feature allows you to build Electron applications for multiple platforms (macOS, Windows, Linux) using a single configuration object. The code sample demonstrates how to set up a basic build configuration and initiate the build process.

const { build } = require('app-builder-lib');

build({
  config: {
    appId: 'com.example.app',
    productName: 'ExampleApp',
    directories: {
      output: 'dist',
      buildResources: 'resources'
    },
    files: ['**/*'],
    mac: {
      target: 'dmg'
    },
    win: {
      target: 'nsis'
    },
    linux: {
      target: 'AppImage'
    }
  }
}).then(() => {
  console.log('Build successful!');
}).catch(err => {
  console.error('Build failed:', err);
});

Code Signing

This feature provides the ability to sign your application code, which is essential for distribution on certain platforms like Windows. The code sample shows how to sign an application using a certificate file.

const { sign } = require('app-builder-lib');

sign({
  path: 'path/to/your/app',
  platform: 'win32',
  certificateFile: 'path/to/certificate.pfx',
  certificatePassword: 'your-password'
}).then(() => {
  console.log('Code signing successful!');
}).catch(err => {
  console.error('Code signing failed:', err);
});

Auto-Update Integration

This feature allows you to integrate auto-update functionality into your application by publishing updates to a specified provider. The code sample demonstrates how to publish updates to a GitHub repository.

const { publish } = require('app-builder-lib');

publish({
  provider: 'github',
  owner: 'your-github-username',
  repo: 'your-repo-name',
  token: 'your-github-token'
}).then(() => {
  console.log('Publishing successful!');
}).catch(err => {
  console.error('Publishing failed:', err);
});

Other packages similar to app-builder-lib

electron-builder

electron-builder is a complete solution to package and build a ready-for-distribution Electron app for macOS, Windows, and Linux. It is similar to app-builder-lib in that it provides a comprehensive set of tools for building and packaging Electron applications. However, electron-builder is more widely used and has a larger community, which can be beneficial for support and finding resources.

electron-packager

electron-packager is a command-line tool and Node.js library that bundles Electron-based application source code with a renamed Electron executable and supporting files into folders ready for distribution. It is simpler and more lightweight compared to app-builder-lib, making it a good choice for smaller projects or those with less complex build requirements.

electron-forge

electron-forge is a complete tool for creating, publishing, and installing modern Electron applications. It aims to be a one-stop solution for getting your Electron app up and running. While it offers similar functionalities to app-builder-lib, it also includes features for scaffolding new projects and managing dependencies, making it a more holistic solution for Electron app development.

README

NSIS

⚠️ It is developer documentation. If your are looking for usage guide, see user documentation.

NSIS stands for Nullsoft Scriptable Install System. electron-builder utilizes a customized version of it and uses NsisMultiUser plugin to handle installation for single user or all users on the computer.

Some links

http://www.mathiaswestin.net/2012/09/how-to-make-per-user-installation-with.html

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/dd378457(v=vs.85).aspx#FOLDERID_UserProgramFiles

https://github.com/Drizin/NsisMultiUser

NSIS vs Inno Setup — it is not easy to choose because both are far from ideal, e.g. inno also doesn't have built-in per-user installation implementation — http://stackoverflow.com/questions/34330668/inno-setup-custom-dialog-with-per-user-or-per-machine-installation.

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2565215/checking-if-the-application-is-running-in-nsis-before-uninstalling

One-click installer: http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?t=300479

Localization (l10n)

For translators, the strings to be displayed are included in assistedMessages.yml and [messages.yml]https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-builder/blob/master/packages/app-builder-lib/templates/nsis/messages.yml).

As for other strings in NSIS, head to electron-userland/electron-builder-binaries or the upstream repository on Sorceforge.

GUID

See docs.

We use UUID v5 to generate sha-1 name-based UUID.

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3029994/convert-uri-to-guid https://alexandrebrisebois.wordpress.com/2013/11/14/create-predictable-guids-for-your-windows-azure-table-storage-entities/ https://github.com/Squirrel/Squirrel.Windows/pull/658

Compression

NSIS LZMA compression is slower and worse compared to external 7za compression. Slower because 7za is multi-threaded, worse because LZMA codec implementation is outdated and BCJ2 filter is not enabled. Difference for test app — 4 MB (before: 36.3 after: 32.8).

And compression time is also greatly reduced.

Since NSIS is awesome, no disadvantages in our approach — compression is disabled before File /oname=app.7z "${APP_ARCHIVE}" and enabled after (it is the reasons why SOLID compression is not used). So, opposite to Squirrel.Windows, archive is not twice compressed.

So, in your custom NSIS scripts you should not use any compression instructions. Only SetCompress if you need to disable compression for already archived file.

Changelog

(2023-03-30)

Bug Fixes

• NsisUpdater - only resolving true if pid !== undefined (#7503) (a2ab1ff), closes #7502
• utilizing frameworkInfo as primary manner of fetching electron version for installation. (#7511) (16283cc)