electron-builder

What is electron-builder?

electron-builder is a complete solution to package and build a ready-for-distribution Electron app with “auto update” support out of the box. It supports numerous target formats and platforms, making it a versatile tool for Electron app developers.

What are electron-builder's main functionalities?

Building for Multiple Platforms

This feature allows you to build your Electron app for multiple platforms such as Windows, macOS, and Linux. The code sample demonstrates how to configure and initiate a build process for a Windows target.

const builder = require('electron-builder');

builder.build({
  targets: builder.Platform.WINDOWS.createTarget(),
  config: {
    appId: 'com.example.app',
    productName: 'ExampleApp',
    directories: {
      output: 'dist'
    }
  }
}).then(() => {
  console.log('Build complete!');
}).catch((error) => {
  console.error('Error during build:', error);
});

Auto Update

The auto-update feature allows your app to automatically check for updates and install them. The code sample shows how to set up the auto-updater to check for updates when the app is ready and handle update events.

const { autoUpdater } = require('electron-updater');

app.on('ready', () => {
  autoUpdater.checkForUpdatesAndNotify();
});

autoUpdater.on('update-available', () => {
  console.log('Update available.');
});

autoUpdater.on('update-downloaded', () => {
  autoUpdater.quitAndInstall();
});

Custom Configuration

This feature allows you to customize the build configuration for your Electron app. The code sample demonstrates how to specify custom directories, files, and target formats for different platforms.

const builder = require('electron-builder');

builder.build({
  config: {
    appId: 'com.example.app',
    productName: 'ExampleApp',
    directories: {
      output: 'dist'
    },
    files: [
      'build/**/*'
    ],
    extraResources: [
      'assets/'
    ],
    win: {
      target: 'nsis'
    },
    mac: {
      target: 'dmg'
    }
  }
}).then(() => {
  console.log('Build complete!');
}).catch((error) => {
  console.error('Error during build:', error);
});

Other packages similar to electron-builder

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. Unlike electron-builder, it does not include auto-update support out of the box and is generally considered less feature-rich.

electron-forge

electron-forge is a complete tool for creating, publishing, and installing modern Electron applications. It provides a more integrated development experience compared to electron-builder, including project scaffolding, packaging, and publishing. However, it may not offer the same level of customization and flexibility in build configurations.

electron-updater

electron-updater is a standalone module that provides auto-update functionality for Electron apps. While electron-builder includes auto-update support as part of its feature set, electron-updater can be used independently or in conjunction with other packaging tools like electron-packager.

README

The README file is missing

Changelog

(2023-09-18)

Bug Fixes

• mac: Enhance the usage boundary of iconTextSize (#7769) (#7780) (a8b1f15)
• mac: fix errors using native modules that require rebuild when both mas and mac targets are specified (#7744) (4fc7a3c)
• When error code is ENOENT, try to use electron.shell.openPath to open Windows installer (#7767) (21f3069)