electron-edge-js

.NET and Node.js in-process on Electron

This is a fork of edge-js adapted to support Electron

Overview

electron-edge-js allows you to run .NET code in Electron process on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Call compiled .NET dlls or inline C# code directly from Electron process.

Version support policy

Electron officially supports 3 latest released versions. You can read more about Electron release schedule and support here Electron Releases.

electron-edge-js support policy

• Windows supports 6 latest Electron releases.
• macOS comes pre-compiled with 6 latest Electron releases. When using Electron version that is not pre-compiled electron-edge-js binaries will be compiled during npm install using node-gyp.
• Linux will will always compile electron-edge-js binaries during npm install using node-gyp.

NOTE: Due to nan module compatibility issues versions prior to Electron 29 are not supported.

Windows supported versions

Electron	x86/x64	arm64
34.x - 39.x	:heavy_check_mark:	:heavy_check_mark:

macOS binaries pre-compiled for

Electron	x64	arm64
34.x - 39.x	:heavy_check_mark:	:heavy_check_mark:

Supports

Electron	x64	arm64
29.x - 39.x	:heavy_check_mark:	:heavy_check_mark:

Linux

On Linux npm install will compile binaries with correct Electron headers for a given Electron version.

Linux supported versions

Electron	x64	arm64
29.x - 39.x	:heavy_check_mark:	:heavy_check_mark:

Other Linux architectures might work but have not been tested.

Usage is the same as edge-js, replace require('edge-js') with require('electron-edge-js'):

npm install electron-edge-js

-var edge = require('edge-js');
+var edge = require('electron-edge-js');

var helloWorld = edge.func(function () {/*
    async (input) => {
        return ".NET Welcomes " + input.ToString();
    }
*/});

Quick start

Sample app that shows how to work with .NET Core using inline code and compiled C# libraries.
https://github.com/agracio/electron-edge-js-quick-start

Pre-requisites

• Windows: Visual C++ Redistributable

Packaging Electron application

electron-edge-js needs to be specified as an external module, some examples

webpack

webpack.config.js

module.exports = {
  target: 'node',
  externals: {
    'electron-edge-js': 'commonjs2 electron-edge-js',
    'edge-cs': 'commonjs2 edge-cs',
  },
  node: {
    __dirname: true,
    __filename: true,
  },
}

From #138

webpack.config.js

externals: {
    'electron-edge-js': 'commonjs2 electron-edge-js',
},
node: {
    __dirname: false,
    __filename: false,
},
extraResources:[
    "./node_modules/electron-edge-js/**",
]

Electron main.js

// https://github.com/ScottJMarshall/electron-webpack-module-resolution
require("module").globalPaths.push(process.cwd()+'/node_modules');
var edge = require('electron-edge-js');

Vue.js

vue.config.js

module.export = {
    pluginOptions: {
        electronBuilder: {
            externals:["electron-edge-js"]
        }
    }
}

Vite

When using dotnet Core CLR environment variable process.env.EDGE_USE_CORECLR needs to be set in Vite config instead of code.

vite.config.ts

export default defineConfig(({ command }) => {
  process.env.EDGE_USE_CORECLR = 1;
  return {
    // ..
  }
});

Related issues to use for troubleshooting:
https://github.com/agracio/electron-edge-js/issues/39
https://github.com/agracio/electron-edge-js/issues/74
https://github.com/agracio/electron-edge-js/issues/21
https://github.com/agracio/electron-edge-js/issues/138

electron-builder

electron-builder example based on electron-edge-js-quick-start
https://github.com/agracio/electron-edge-js-quick-start-builder

electron-forge

electron-forge example based on electron-edge-js-quick-start
https://github.com/agracio/electron-edge-js-quick-start-forge

Async execution

If electron-edge-js module is used on main Electron thread it will cause Electron app to freeze when executing long-running .NET code even if your C# code is fully async.
To avoid this you can use worker thread packages such as threads.js or piscina

This issue is not present when using Electron IPC

Workaround from #97

main.js

const { fork } = require("child_process"); fork("../child.js", [], { env: {file: 'filename'}, })

child.js

const path = require('path');
const powerpoint = require('office-script').powerpoint;
const filePath = '../../directory/';

powerpoint.open(path.join(${remotePath}${process.env.file}.pptx), function(err) {
    if(err) throw err;
});

Window refresh issue

If electron-edge-js module is used on main Electron thread refreshing the window (F5, Ctrl+R, Command+R etc) will cause a hard crash in electron-edge-js module and Electron app.
Currently there is no solution to this issue other than using Electron IPC.

Documentation

For full documentation see edge-js repo.