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Common Configuration

electron-builder configuration can be defined

  • in the package.json file of your project using the build key on the top level: 
    "build": {
  "appId": "com.example.app"
}

  • or through the --config <path/to/yml-or-json5-or-toml-or-js> option. Defaults to electron-builder.yml. 

    appId: "com.example.app"

    json, json5, toml or js/ts (exported configuration or function that produces configuration) formats also supported.

    Tip

    If you want to use js file, do not name it electron-builder.js. It will conflict with electron-builder package name.

    Tip

    If you want to use toml, please install yarn add toml --dev.

Most of the options accept null — for example, to explicitly set that DMG icon must be default volume icon from the OS and default rules must be not applied (i.e. use application icon as DMG icon), set dmg.icon to null.

Artifact File Name Template

${ext} macro is supported in addition to file macros.

Environment Variables from File

Env file electron-builder.env in the current dir (example). Supported only for CLI usage.

How to Read Docs

  • Name of optional property is normal, required is bold.
  • Type is specified after property name: Array<String> | String. Union like this means that you can specify or string (**/*), or array of strings (["**/*", "!foo.js"]).

Configuration

  • appId = com.electron.${name} String | “undefined” - The application id. Used as CFBundleIdentifier for MacOS and as Application User Model ID for Windows (NSIS target only, Squirrel.Windows not supported). It is strongly recommended that an explicit ID is set.
  • productName String | “undefined” - As name, but allows you to specify a product name for your executable which contains spaces and other special characters not allowed in the name property. If not specified inside of the build configuration, productName property defined at the top level of package.json is used. If not specified at the top level of package.json, name property is used.
  • copyright = Copyright © year ${author} String | “undefined” - The human-readable copyright line for the app.

  • buildDependenciesFromSource = false Boolean - Whether to build the application native dependencies from source.

  • nodeGypRebuild = false Boolean - Whether to execute node-gyp rebuild before starting to package the app.

    Don’t use npm (neither .npmrc) for configuring electron headers. Use electron-builder node-gyp-rebuild instead.

  • npmArgs Array<String> | String | “undefined” - Additional command line arguments to use when installing app native deps.

  • npmRebuild = true Boolean - Whether to rebuild native dependencies before starting to package the app.

  • nativeRebuilder = sequential “legacy” | “sequential” | “parallel” | “undefined” - Use legacy app-builder binary for installing native dependencies, or @electron/rebuild in sequential or parallel compilation modes.

  • buildNumber String | “undefined” - The build number. Maps to the --iteration flag for builds using FPM on Linux. If not defined, then it will fallback to BUILD_NUMBER or TRAVIS_BUILD_NUMBER or APPVEYOR_BUILD_NUMBER or CIRCLE_BUILD_NUM or BUILD_BUILDNUMBER or CI_PIPELINE_IID env.

  • buildVersion String | “undefined” - The build version. Maps to the CFBundleVersion on macOS, and FileVersion metadata property on Windows. Defaults to the version. If buildVersion is not defined and buildNumber (or one of the buildNumber envs) is defined, it will be used as a build version (version.buildNumber).

  • downloadAlternateFFmpeg Boolean - Whether to download the alternate FFmpeg library from Electron’s release assets and replace the default FFmpeg library prior to signing

  • electronCompile Boolean - Whether to use electron-compile to compile app. Defaults to true if electron-compile in the dependencies. And false if in the devDependencies or doesn’t specified.

  • electronDist String | module:app-builder-lib/out/configuration.__type - Returns the path to custom Electron build (e.g. ~/electron/out/R). Zip files must follow the pattern electron-v${version}-${platformName}-${arch}.zip, otherwise it will be assumed to be an unpacked Electron app directory

  • electronDownload - The electron-download options.

    • version String
    • cache String | “undefined” - The cache location.
    • mirror String | “undefined” - The mirror.
    • strictSSL Boolean
    • isVerifyChecksum Boolean
    • platform “darwin” | “linux” | “win32” | “mas”
    • arch String

  • electronBranding ElectronBrandingOptions - The branding used by Electron’s distributables. This is needed if a fork has modified Electron’s BRANDING.json file.

  • electronVersion String | “undefined” - The version of electron you are packaging for. Defaults to version of electron, electron-prebuilt or electron-prebuilt-compile dependency.

  • extends Array<String> | String | “undefined” - The name of a built-in configuration preset (currently, only react-cra is supported) or any number of paths to config files (relative to project dir).

    The latter allows to mixin a config from multiple other configs, as if you Object.assign them, but properly combine files glob patterns.

    If react-scripts in the app dependencies, react-cra will be set automatically. Set to null to disable automatic detection.

  • extraMetadata any - Inject properties to package.json.

  • forceCodeSigning = false Boolean - Whether to fail if the application is not signed (to prevent unsigned app if code signing configuration is not correct).
  • nodeVersion String | “undefined” - libui-based frameworks only The version of NodeJS you are packaging for. You can set it to current to set the Node.js version that you use to run.
  • launchUiVersion Boolean | String | “undefined” - libui-based frameworks only The version of LaunchUI you are packaging for. Applicable for Windows only. Defaults to version suitable for used framework version.
  • framework String | “undefined” - The framework name. One of electron, proton, libui. Defaults to electron.
  • beforePack module:app-builder-lib/out/configuration.__type | String | “undefined” - The function (or path to file or module id) to be run before pack
  • afterExtract module:app-builder-lib/out/configuration.__type | String | “undefined” - The function (or path to file or module id) to be run after the prebuilt Electron binary has been extracted to the output directory

  • afterPack - The function (or path to file or module id) to be run after pack (but before pack into distributable format and sign).

  • afterSign - The function (or path to file or module id) to be run after pack and sign (but before pack into distributable format).

  • artifactBuildStarted module:app-builder-lib/out/configuration.__type | String | “undefined” - The function (or path to file or module id) to be run on artifact build start.

  • artifactBuildCompleted module:app-builder-lib/out/configuration.__type | String | “undefined” - The function (or path to file or module id) to be run on artifact build completed.

  • afterAllArtifactBuild - The function (or path to file or module id) to be run after all artifacts are build.

  • msiProjectCreated module:app-builder-lib/out/configuration.__type | String | “undefined” - MSI project created on disk - not packed into .msi package yet.

  • appxManifestCreated module:app-builder-lib/out/configuration.__type | String | “undefined” - Appx manifest created on disk - not packed into .appx package yet.

  • onNodeModuleFile - The function (or path to file or module id) to be run on each node module file. Returning true/false will determine whether to force include or to use the default copier logic

  • beforeBuild (context: BeforeBuildContext) => Promise | null - The function (or path to file or module id) to be run before dependencies are installed or rebuilt. Works when npmRebuild is set to true. Resolving to false will skip dependencies install or rebuild.

    If provided and node_modules are missing, it will not invoke production dependencies check.

  • includePdb = false Boolean - Whether to include PDB files.

  • removePackageScripts = true Boolean - Whether to remove scripts field from package.json files.

  • removePackageKeywords = true Boolean - Whether to remove keywords field from package.json files.

  • disableSanityCheckAsar = false Boolean - Whether to disable sanity check asar package (useful for custom electron forks that implement their own encrypted integrity validation)

Overridable per Platform Options

Following options can be set also per platform (top-level keys mac, linux and win) if need.

  • appId = com.electron.${name} String | “undefined” - The application id. Used as CFBundleIdentifier for MacOS and as Application User Model ID for Windows (NSIS target only, Squirrel.Windows not supported). It is strongly recommended that an explicit ID is set.

  • artifactName String | “undefined” - The artifact file name template. Defaults to ${productName}-${version}.${ext} (some target can have other defaults, see corresponding options).

  • executableName String | “undefined” - The executable name. Defaults to productName.

  • compression = normal “store” | “normal” | “maximum” | “undefined” - The compression level. If you want to rapidly test build, store can reduce build time significantly. maximum doesn’t lead to noticeable size difference, but increase build time.

  • disableDefaultIgnoredFiles = false Boolean | “undefined” - Whether to exclude all default ignored files(https://www.electron.build/configuration/contents#files) and options. Defaults to false.

  • files The files configuration.

  • extraResources The extra resources configuration.

  • extraFiles The extra files configuration.

  • asar = true AsarOptions | Boolean | “undefined” - Whether to package the application’s source code into an archive, using Electron’s archive format.

    Node modules, that must be unpacked, will be detected automatically, you don’t need to explicitly set asarUnpack - please file an issue if this doesn’t work.

  • asarUnpack Array<String> | String | “undefined” - A glob patterns relative to the app directory, which specifies which files to unpack when creating the asar archive.

  • fileAssociations Array<FileAssociation> | FileAssociation - The file associations.

    • ext String | Array<String> - The extension (minus the leading period). e.g. png.

    • name String | “undefined” - The name. e.g. PNG. Defaults to ext.

    • description String | “undefined” - windows-only. The description.

    • mimeType String | “undefined” - linux-only. The mime-type.

    • icon String | “undefined” - The path to icon (.icns for MacOS and .ico for Windows), relative to build (build resources directory). Defaults to ${firstExt}.icns/${firstExt}.ico (if several extensions specified, first is used) or to application icon.

      Not supported on Linux, file issue if need (default icon will be x-office-document). Not supported on MSI.

    • role = Editor String - macOS-only The app’s role with respect to the type. The value can be Editor, Viewer, Shell, or None. Corresponds to CFBundleTypeRole.

    • isPackage Boolean - macOS-only Whether the document is distributed as a bundle. If set to true, the bundle directory is treated as a file. Corresponds to LSTypeIsPackage.

    • rank = Default String - macOS-only The app’s rank with respect to the type. The value can be Owner, Default, Alternate, or None. Corresponds to LSHandlerRank.

  • protocols Array<Protocol> | Protocol - The URL protocol schemes.
    • name String - The name. e.g. IRC server URL.
    • schemes Array<String> - The schemes. e.g. ["irc", "ircs"].
    • role = Editor “Editor” | “Viewer” | “Shell” | “None” - macOS-only The app’s role with respect to the type.
  • electronLanguages Array<String> | String - The electron locales to keep. By default, all Electron locales used as-is.

  • forceCodeSigning Boolean - Whether to fail if app will be not code signed.

  • electronUpdaterCompatibility String | “undefined” - The electron-updater compatibility semver range.

  • publish The publish options.

  • detectUpdateChannel = true Boolean - Whether to infer update channel from application version pre-release components. e.g. if version 0.12.1-alpha.1, channel will be set to alpha. Otherwise to latest.

  • generateUpdatesFilesForAllChannels = false Boolean - Please see Building and Releasing using Channels.

  • releaseInfo - The release info. Intended for command line usage:

    -c.releaseInfo.releaseNotes="new features"

    • releaseName String | “undefined” - The release name.
    • releaseNotes String | “undefined” - The release notes.
    • releaseNotesFile String | “undefined” - The path to release notes file. Defaults to release-notes-${platform}.md (where platform it is current platform — mac, linux or windows) or release-notes.md in the build resources.
    • releaseDate String - The release date.
    • vendor Object<String, any> | “undefined” - Vendor specific information.

  • target String | TargetConfiguration

  • defaultArch String

Metadata

Some standard fields should be defined in the package.json.

  • name String - The application name.

  • description String - The application description.

  • homepage String | “undefined” - The url to the project homepage (NuGet Package projectUrl (optional) or Linux Package URL (required)).

    If not specified and your project repository is public on GitHub, it will be https://github.com/${user}/${project} by default.

  • license String | “undefined” - linux-only. The license name.

  • author AuthorMetadata | “undefined”

  • repository String | RepositoryInfo | “undefined” - The repository.

  • build Configuration - The electron-builder configuration.

Proton Native

To package Proton Native app, set protonNodeVersion option to current or specific NodeJS version that you are packaging for. Currently, only macOS and Linux supported.

Build Version Management

CFBundleVersion (macOS) and FileVersion (Windows) will be set automatically to version.build_number on CI server (Travis, AppVeyor, CircleCI and Bamboo supported).

Hooks

Node.js 8

All examples assumed that you use latest Node.js 8.11.x or higher.

beforePack

The function (or path to file or module id) to be run before pack.

(context: BeforePackContext): Promise<any> | any

As function

beforePack: async (context) => {
  // your code
}

Because in a configuration file you cannot use JavaScript, can be specified as a path to file or module id. Function must be exported as default export.

"build": {
  "beforePack": "./myBeforePackHook.js"
}

File myBeforePackHook.js in the project root directory:

myBeforePackHook.js

exports.default = async function(context) {
  // your custom code
}

afterPack

The function (or path to file or module id) to be run after pack (but before pack into distributable format and sign).

(context: AfterPackContext): Promise<any> | any

As function

afterPack: async (context) => {
  // your code
}

Because in a configuration file you cannot use JavaScript, can be specified as a path to file or module id. Function must be exported as default export.

"build": {
  "afterPack": "./myAfterPackHook.js"
}

File myAfterPackHook.js in the project root directory:

myAfterPackHook.js

exports.default = async function(context) {
  // your custom code
}

afterSign

The function (or path to file or module id) to be run after pack and sign (but before pack into distributable format).

(context: AfterPackContext): Promise<any> | any

Configuration in the same way as afterPack (see above).

afterAllArtifactBuild

The function (or path to file or module id) to be run after all artifacts are built.

(buildResult: BuildResult): Promise<Array<string>> | Array<string>

Configuration in the same way as afterPack (see above).

myAfterAllArtifactBuild.js

exports.default = function () {
  // you can return additional files to publish
  return ["/path/to/additional/result/file"]
}

onNodeModuleFile

The function (or path to file or module id) to be run on each node module file.

(file: string) => void

Configuration in the same way as afterPack (see above).

AfterPackContext

interface AfterPackContext {
  outDir: string
  appOutDir: string
  packager: PlatformPackager<any>
  electronPlatformName: string
  arch: Arch
  targets: Array<Target>
}

BuildResult

interface BuildResult {
  outDir: string
  artifactPaths: Array<string>
  platformToTargets: Map<Platform, Map<string, Target>>
  configuration: Configuration
}