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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"]).

Common Configuration

Electron-Builder / app-builder-lib / CommonConfiguration

Configuration Options

Extended by
Properties
apk?

readonly optional apk: null | LinuxTargetSpecificOptions

appId?

readonly optional appId: null | string

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.

# Default
com.electron.${name}
appImage?

readonly optional appImage: null | AppImageOptions

AppImage options.

appx?

readonly optional appx: null | AppXOptions

buildDependenciesFromSource?

optional buildDependenciesFromSource: boolean

Whether to build the application native dependencies from source.

# Default
false
buildNumber?

readonly optional buildNumber: null | string

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?

readonly optional buildVersion: null | string

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).

concurrency?

readonly optional concurrency: null | Concurrency

[Experimental] Configuration for concurrent builds.

readonly optional copyright: null | string

The human-readable copyright line for the app.

# Default
Copyright © year ${author}
deb?

readonly optional deb: null | DebOptions

Debian package options.

directories?

readonly optional directories: null | MetadataDirectories

Directories for build resources

dmg?

readonly optional dmg: null | DmgOptions

macOS DMG options.

downloadAlternateFFmpeg?

readonly optional downloadAlternateFFmpeg: boolean

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

electronFuses?

readonly optional electronFuses: null | FuseOptionsV1

Options to pass to @electron/fuses Ref: https://github.com/electron/fuses

extraMetadata?

readonly optional extraMetadata: any

Inject properties to package.json.

flatpak?

readonly optional flatpak: null | FlatpakOptions

Flatpak options.

forceCodeSigning?

readonly optional forceCodeSigning: boolean

Whether to fail if the application is not signed (to prevent unsigned app if code signing configuration is not correct).

# Default
false
freebsd?

readonly optional freebsd: null | LinuxTargetSpecificOptions

includePdb?

readonly optional includePdb: boolean

Whether to include PDB files.

# Default
false
linux?

readonly optional linux: null | LinuxConfiguration

Options related to how build Linux targets.

mac?

readonly optional mac: null | MacConfiguration

Options related to how build macOS targets.

mas?

readonly optional mas: null | MasConfiguration

MAS (Mac Application Store) options.

masDev?

readonly optional masDev: null | MasConfiguration

MAS (Mac Application Store) development options (mas-dev target).

nativeRebuilder?

readonly optional nativeRebuilder: null | "legacy" | "sequential" | "parallel"

Use legacy app-builder binary for installing native dependencies, or @electron/rebuild in sequential or parallel compilation modes.

# Default
sequential
nodeGypRebuild?

readonly optional nodeGypRebuild: 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.

# Default
false
npmArgs?

readonly optional npmArgs: null | string | string[]

Additional command line arguments to use when installing app native deps.

npmRebuild?

readonly optional npmRebuild: boolean

Whether to rebuild native dependencies before starting to package the app.

# Default
true
nsis?

readonly optional nsis: null | NsisOptions

nsisWeb?

readonly optional nsisWeb: null | NsisWebOptions

p5p?

readonly optional p5p: null | LinuxTargetSpecificOptions

pacman?

readonly optional pacman: null | LinuxTargetSpecificOptions

pkg?

readonly optional pkg: null | PkgOptions

macOS PKG options.

portable?

readonly optional portable: null | PortableOptions

productName?

readonly optional productName: null | string

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.

removePackageKeywords?

readonly optional removePackageKeywords: boolean

Whether to remove keywords field from package.json files.

# Default
true
removePackageScripts?

readonly optional removePackageScripts: boolean

Whether to remove scripts field from package.json files.

# Default
true
rpm?

readonly optional rpm: null | LinuxTargetSpecificOptions

snap?

readonly optional snap: null | SnapOptions

Snap options.

squirrelWindows?

readonly optional squirrelWindows: null | SquirrelWindowsOptions

win?

readonly optional win: null | WindowsConfiguration

Options related to how build Windows targets.

Overridable per Platform Options

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

Base Configuration

Electron-Builder / app-builder-lib / PlatformSpecificBuildOptions

Extends

Extended by

Properties

appId?

readonly optional appId: null | string

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.

Default
com.electron.${name}
artifactName?

readonly optional artifactName: null | string

The artifact file name template. Defaults to ${productName}-${version}.${ext} (some target can have other defaults, see corresponding options).

Overrides

TargetSpecificOptions.artifactName

asar?

readonly optional asar: null | boolean | AsarOptions

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.

Default
true
asarUnpack?

readonly optional asarUnpack: null | string | string[]

A glob patterns relative to the app directory, which specifies which files to unpack when creating the asar archive.

compression?

readonly optional compression: null | CompressionLevel

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.

Default
normal
cscKeyPassword?

optional cscKeyPassword: null | string

optional cscLink: null | string

defaultArch?

readonly optional defaultArch: string

detectUpdateChannel?

readonly optional detectUpdateChannel: 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. This does not apply to github publishing, which will never auto-detect the update channel.

Default
true
disableDefaultIgnoredFiles?

optional disableDefaultIgnoredFiles: null | boolean

Whether to exclude all default ignored files(https://www.electron.build/contents#files) and options. Defaults to false.

Default
false
electronLanguages?

readonly optional electronLanguages: string | string[]

The electron locales to keep. By default, all Electron locales used as-is.

electronUpdaterCompatibility?

readonly optional electronUpdaterCompatibility: null | string

The electron-updater compatibility semver range.

executableName?

readonly optional executableName: null | string

The executable name. Defaults to productName.

extraFiles?

optional extraFiles: null | string | FileSet | (string | FileSet)[]

The same as extraResources but copy into the app’s content directory (Contents for MacOS, root directory for Linux and Windows).

Inherited from

FilesBuildOptions.extraFiles

extraResources?

optional extraResources: null | string | FileSet | (string | FileSet)[]

A glob patterns relative to the project directory, when specified, copy the file or directory with matching names directly into the app’s resources directory (Contents/Resources for MacOS, resources for Linux and Windows).

File patterns (and support for from and to fields) the same as for files.

Inherited from

FilesBuildOptions.extraResources

fileAssociations?

readonly optional fileAssociations: FileAssociation | FileAssociation[]

The file associations.

files?

optional files: null | string | FileSet | (string | FileSet)[]

A glob patterns relative to the app directory, which specifies which files to include when copying files to create the package.

Defaults to: 

[
"**/*",
"!**/node_modules/*/{CHANGELOG.md,README.md,README,readme.md,readme}",
"!**/node_modules/*/{test,__tests__,tests,powered-test,example,examples}",
"!**/node_modules/*.d.ts",
"!**/node_modules/.bin",
"!**/*.{iml,o,hprof,orig,pyc,pyo,rbc,swp,csproj,sln,xproj}",
"!.editorconfig",
"!**/._*",
"!**/{.DS_Store,.git,.hg,.svn,CVS,RCS,SCCS,.gitignore,.gitattributes}",
"!**/{__pycache__,thumbs.db,.flowconfig,.idea,.vs,.nyc_output}",
"!**/{appveyor.yml,.travis.yml,circle.yml}",
"!**/{npm-debug.log,yarn.lock,.yarn-integrity,.yarn-metadata.json}"
]

Development dependencies are never copied in any case. You don’t need to ignore it explicitly. Hidden files are not ignored by default, but all files that should be ignored, are ignored by default.

Default pattern **/* is not added to your custom if some of your patterns is not ignore (i.e. not starts with !). package.json and **/node_modules/**/* (only production dependencies will be copied) is added to your custom in any case. All default ignores are added in any case — you don’t need to repeat it if you configure own patterns.

May be specified in the platform options (e.g. in the mac).

You may also specify custom source and destination directories by using FileSet objects instead of simple glob patterns.

[
{
 "from": "path/to/source",
 "to": "path/to/destination",
 "filter": ["**/*", "!foo/*.js"]
}
]

You can use file macros in the from and to fields as well. from and to can be files and you can use this to rename a file while packaging.

Inherited from

FilesBuildOptions.files

forceCodeSigning?

readonly optional forceCodeSigning: boolean

Whether to fail if app will be not code signed.

generateUpdatesFilesForAllChannels?

readonly optional generateUpdatesFilesForAllChannels: boolean

Please see Building and Releasing using Channels.

Default
false
icon?

readonly optional icon: null | string

protocols?

readonly optional protocols: Protocol | Protocol[]

The URL protocol schemes.

publish?

optional publish: Publish

Publisher configuration. See Auto Update for more information.

Overrides

TargetSpecificOptions.publish

releaseInfo?

readonly optional releaseInfo: ReleaseInfo

The release info. Intended for command line usage:

-c.releaseInfo.releaseNotes="new features"
target?

readonly optional target: null | string | TargetConfiguration | (string | TargetConfiguration)[]

Metadata

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

Electron-Builder / app-builder-lib / Metadata

Properties

author?

readonly optional author: null | AuthorMetadata

build?

readonly optional build: Configuration

The electron-builder configuration.

description?

readonly optional description: string

The application description.

homepage?

readonly optional homepage: null | string

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?

readonly optional license: null | string

linux-only. The license name.

name?

readonly optional name: string

The application name.

Required
repository?

readonly optional repository: null | string | RepositoryInfo

The repository.

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).

Build Hooks

#### Hooks

Node.js 8

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

Electron-Builder / app-builder-lib / Hooks

Extended by
Properties
# afterAllArtifactBuild?

readonly optional afterAllArtifactBuild: null | string | Hook<BuildResult, string[]>

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"]
}
# afterExtract?

readonly optional afterExtract: null | string | Hook<PackContext, void>

The function (or path to file or module id) to be run after the prebuilt Electron binary has been extracted to the output directory Same setup as beforePack

# afterPack?

readonly optional afterPack: null | string | Hook<PackContext, void>

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

# afterSign?

readonly optional afterSign: null | string | Hook<PackContext, void>

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

# appxManifestCreated?

readonly optional appxManifestCreated: null | string | Hook<string, void>

The function (or path to file or module id) to be run after Appx manifest created on disk - not packed into .appx package yet.

# artifactBuildCompleted?

readonly optional artifactBuildCompleted: null | string | Hook<ArtifactCreated, void>

The function (or path to file or module id) to be run on artifact build completed. Same setup as beforePack

# artifactBuildStarted?

readonly optional artifactBuildStarted: null | string | Hook<ArtifactBuildStarted, void>

The function (or path to file or module id) to be run on artifact build start. Same setup as beforePack

# beforeBuild?

readonly optional beforeBuild: null | string | Hook<BeforeBuildContext, boolean | void>

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.

# beforePack?

readonly optional beforePack: null | string | Hook<PackContext, void>

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
}
# electronDist?

readonly optional electronDist: null | string | Hook<PrepareApplicationStageDirectoryOptions, string>

The function (or path to file or module id) to be run when staging the electron artifact environment. Returns the path to custom Electron build (e.g. ~/electron/out/R) or folder of electron zips.

Zip files must follow the pattern electron-v${version}-${platformName}-${arch}.zip, otherwise it will be assumed to be an unpacked Electron app directory

# msiProjectCreated?

readonly optional msiProjectCreated: null | string | Hook<string, void>

The function (or path to file or module id) to be run after MSI project created on disk - not packed into .msi package yet.

# onNodeModuleFile?

readonly optional onNodeModuleFile: null | string | Hook<string, boolean | void>

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