Electron Builder

electron-builder

Docs: https://www.electron.build (v26.8.x) Repo: https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-builder

Quick Start

Install:

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pnpm add electron-builder -D
pnpm add electron-updater  # If using auto-updates

Minimal config (electron-builder.yml):

yamlCopy code
appId: com.example.myapp
productName: My App
files:
  - "out/**/*"
  - "package.json"
mac:
  target: dmg
  category: public.app-category.developer-tools
win:
  target: nsis
linux:
  target:
    - AppImage
    - deb
publish:
  provider: github

Build scripts in package.json:

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{
  "scripts": {
    "build:mac": "electron-builder --mac",
    "build:win": "electron-builder --win",
    "build:linux": "electron-builder --linux",
    "build:all": "electron-builder -mwl",
    "release": "electron-builder --publish always"
  }
}

CLI Reference

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electron-builder                    # Build for current platform
electron-builder -mwl              # Build for all platforms
electron-builder --mac dmg         # macOS DMG only
electron-builder --win nsis:ia32   # Windows NSIS 32-bit
electron-builder --linux deb tar.xz
electron-builder --dir             # Unpacked dir (test builds)
electron-builder -p always         # Build and publish

# Architecture flags
--x64  --ia32  --armv7l  --arm64  --universal

# CLI config overrides
-c.extraMetadata.foo=bar
-c.mac.identity=null
-c.nsis.unicode=false

# Publish existing artifacts
electron-builder publish -f dist/*.exe -c electron-builder.yml

Publish flag values: onTag | onTagOrDraft | always | never

Configuration

Config locations (checked in order):

1. package.json > "build" key
2. electron-builder.yml (default, recommended)
3. electron-builder.json / .json5 / .toml
4. electron-builder.config.js / .ts
5. CLI: --config <path>

Do NOT name JS config electron-builder.js — conflicts with package name.

For full configuration options, file patterns, macros, icons, and directory settings: See references/configuration.md

Essential Config Properties

File Macros

Available in artifactName, file patterns, and publish URLs: ${arch}, ${os}, ${platform}, ${name}, ${productName}, ${version}, ${channel}, ${ext}, ${env.VAR_NAME}

Default Targets

Code Signing

Signing is automatic when configured. Core environment variables:

macOS: Disable signing

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export CSC_IDENTITY_AUTO_DISCOVERY=false
# Or in config: mac.identity: null
# For ad-hoc (ARM): mac.identity: "-"

macOS: Notarization

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mac:
  hardenedRuntime: true
  notarize: true    # or { teamId: "TEAM_ID" }

Requires APPLE_ID, APPLE_APP_SPECIFIC_PASSWORD, APPLE_TEAM_ID env vars.

Windows: Azure Trusted Signing

yamlCopy code
win:
  azureSignOptions:
    publisherName: "CN=Your Company"
    endpoint: "https://eus.codesigning.azure.net"
    certificateProfileName: "your-profile"
    codeSigningAccountName: "your-account"

Requires AZURE_TENANT_ID, AZURE_CLIENT_ID, AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET.

For complete code signing reference (CI setup, certificates, EV certs, cross-platform): See references/code-signing.md

Auto Update (electron-updater)

Minimal setup

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// main process
import electronUpdater, { type AppUpdater } from "electron-updater";

export function getAutoUpdater(): AppUpdater {
  const { autoUpdater } = electronUpdater;
  return autoUpdater;
}

const autoUpdater = getAutoUpdater();
autoUpdater.checkForUpdatesAndNotify();

Do NOT call setFeedURL() — app-update.yml is auto-generated at build time.

ESM Import (required workaround)

typescriptCopy code
// CORRECT
import electronUpdater from "electron-updater";
const { autoUpdater } = electronUpdater;

// WRONG (may fail with ESM)
import { autoUpdater } from "electron-updater";

Auto-updatable targets

• macOS: DMG
• Windows: NSIS
• Linux: AppImage, DEB, Pacman (beta), RPM

macOS apps MUST be signed for auto-update. Squirrel.Windows NOT supported.

Events

typescriptCopy code
autoUpdater.on("error", (err) => {});
autoUpdater.on("checking-for-update", () => {});
autoUpdater.on("update-available", (info) => {});
autoUpdater.on("update-not-available", (info) => {});
autoUpdater.on("download-progress", (progress) => {
  // .bytesPerSecond, .percent, .total, .transferred
});
autoUpdater.on("update-downloaded", (info) => {
  autoUpdater.quitAndInstall();
});

Debugging

typescriptCopy code
import log from "electron-log";
autoUpdater.logger = log;
autoUpdater.logger.transports.file.level = "info";

For staged rollouts, custom updater instances, private repos, dev testing: See references/auto-update.md

Publishing

Quick GitHub Releases setup

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publish:
  provider: github
  releaseType: draft

Set GH_TOKEN env var (personal access token with repo scope).

Quick S3 setup

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publish:
  provider: s3
  bucket: my-bucket-name

Set AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID + AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY.

Quick Generic Server setup

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publish:
  provider: generic
  url: https://example.com/releases

Upload artifacts + latest.yml manually.

Publish CLI behavior

Release Channels

Version determines channel: 1.0.0 = latest, 1.0.0-beta.1 = beta

For all publishers (Bitbucket, GitLab, Keygen, Snap Store, Spaces), workflows, and advanced config: See references/publishing.md

Platform Target Configuration

macOS

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mac:
  category: public.app-category.developer-tools
  hardenedRuntime: true
  darkModeSupport: true
  target: dmg
  entitlements: build/entitlements.mac.plist
  notarize: true

Windows (NSIS)

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nsis:
  oneClick: true              # false for assisted installer
  perMachine: false
  allowToChangeInstallationDirectory: false
  createDesktopShortcut: true
  deleteAppDataOnUninstall: false
  include: build/installer.nsh  # Custom NSIS script
  differentialPackage: true

Linux

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linux:
  category: Development
  desktop:
    MimeType: "x-scheme-handler/myapp"
  target:
    - AppImage
    - deb
    - snap

For all target options (DMG, PKG, MAS, MSI, AppX, Snap, Flatpak, portable, custom NSIS scripts): See references/platform-targets.md

Build Hooks

Execution order:

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beforeBuild → beforePack → afterExtract → afterPack → [signing] →
afterSign → artifactBuildStarted → [build] → artifactBuildCompleted →
afterAllArtifactBuild

Inline (JS/TS config)

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module.exports = {
  afterSign: async (context) => {
    if (context.electronPlatformName === "darwin") {
      await notarize(context);
    }
  },
  afterAllArtifactBuild: (result) => {
    return ["/path/to/extra/file"];  // Additional files to publish
  },
};

File reference (YAML config)

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beforePack: "./scripts/before-pack.js"
afterSign: "./scripts/notarize.js"

javascriptCopy code
// scripts/notarize.js
exports.default = async function(context) {
  // context: { outDir, appOutDir, packager, electronPlatformName, arch, targets }
};

For all hooks, context interfaces, and programmatic API: See references/hooks-and-programmatic.md

Common Patterns

Multi-platform CI build

yamlCopy code
# GitHub Actions pattern
mac:
  target:
    - target: dmg
      arch: [x64, arm64]
win:
  target:
    - target: nsis
      arch: [x64, ia32]
linux:
  target:
    - target: AppImage
      arch: [x64, arm64]
    - target: deb
      arch: [x64, arm64]
publish:
  provider: github

Complete config with auto-update and signing

yamlCopy code
appId: com.example.myapp
productName: My App
copyright: Copyright 2024 Example Inc.
asar: true
compression: normal
forceCodeSigning: true

directories:
  output: dist
  buildResources: build

files:
  - "out/**/*"
  - "package.json"

mac:
  target: [dmg, zip]
  hardenedRuntime: true
  notarize: true
  category: public.app-category.developer-tools

win:
  target: nsis

nsis:
  oneClick: false
  perMachine: false
  allowToChangeInstallationDirectory: true

linux:
  target: [AppImage, deb]
  category: Development

publish:
  provider: github

electronUpdaterCompatibility: ">= 2.16"

Gotchas

1. Never change appId after release — NSIS uses it for registry GUID
2. macOS signing required for auto-update to work
3. ESM import workaround needed for electron-updater in TypeScript
4. Don't call setFeedURL() — app-update.yml is auto-generated
5. Squirrel.Windows not supported by electron-updater — use NSIS
6. Windows env var limit 8192 chars — re-export cert without chain if too large
7. electron-builder.js conflicts with package name — use different filename
8. Set app.setAppUserModelId(appId) in main process for Windows notifications