electron-packager
Package Electron apps for distribution
TLDR
Package an application for the current architecture and platform
Package an application for all architectures and platforms
Package an application for 64-bit Linux
Package an application for ARM macOS
SYNOPSIS
electron-packager source_dir app_name platform arch [options]
PARAMETERS
source_dir
The path to the application's source code.
app_name
The name of the application.
platform
The target platform (e.g., linux, win32, darwin).
arch
The target architecture (e.g., x64, ia32, arm64).
--out=
The directory to place the packaged application(s).
--version=
The Electron version to use.
--overwrite
If the output directory already exists, replace it.
--icon=
Path to the application icon.
--package-manager=
The package manager to use for installing dependencies.
DESCRIPTION
electron-packager is a command-line tool that automates the process of creating application bundles for Electron apps. It takes your Electron application source code and packages it into a ready-to-distribute format for the Linux operating system.
This involves bundling your application's JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and other assets along with a prebuilt Electron binary. The tool handles architecture targeting (e.g., x64, i386, arm64) and provides options for customizing the application's name, icon, version, and other metadata. It simplifies the distribution process by creating self-contained application packages. It generates output bundles that can be installed and run on Linux distributions without requiring users to install Node.js or Electron separately. electron-packager supports generating .zip, .tar.gz, .deb, .rpm, and AppImage formats, depending on which are specified by the user.
CAVEATS
Requires Node.js and npm to be installed. Must have write permissions to the output directory.
EXAMPLE
electron-packager ./my-app MyApp linux x64 --out=./dist --version=27.0.0
This command packages the Electron application in the 'my-app' directory for Linux x64 architecture, places the output in the 'dist' directory, and uses Electron version 27.0.0.
HISTORY
electron-packager emerged as a response to the growing need for streamlined Electron application packaging. Before its existence, developers had to manually configure and bundle their Electron apps, a process that was often time-consuming and error-prone. The tool provided a faster and easier way to create cross platform packaged applications. It has evolved over time to support various target platforms, architectures, and packaging formats.