NSIS

The top-level nsis key contains set of options instructing electron-builder on how it should build NSIS target (default target for Windows).

These options also applicable for Web installer, use top-level nsisWeb key.

Unicode enabled by default. Large strings are supported (maximum string length of 8192 bytes instead of the default of 1024 bytes).

32 bit + 64 bit¶

If you build both ia32 and x64 arch (--x64 --ia32), you in any case get one installer. Appropriate arch will be installed automatically. The same applied to web installer (nsis-web target).

Web Installer¶

To build web installer, set target to nsis-web. Web Installer automatically detects OS architecture and downloads corresponding package file. So, user don’t need to guess what installer to download and in the same time you don’t bundle package files for all architectures in the one installer (as in case of default nsis target). It doesn’t matter for common Electron application (due to superb LZMA compression, size difference is acceptable), but if your application is huge, Web Installer is a solution.

To customize web installer, use the top-level nsisWeb key (not nsis).

If for some reasons web installer cannot download (antivirus, offline):

Download package file into the same directory where installer located. It will be detected automatically and used instead of downloading from the Internet. Please note — only original package file is allowed (checksum is checked).
Specify any local package file using --package-file=path_to_file.

Custom NSIS script¶

Two options are available — include and script. script allows you to provide completely different NSIS script. For most cases it is not required as you need only to customise some aspects, but still use well-tested and maintained default NSIS script. So, include is recommended.

Keep in mind — if you customize NSIS script, you should always state about it in the issue reports. And don’t expect that your issue will be resolved.

Add file build/installer.nsh.

Define wanted macro to customise: customHeader, preInit, customInit, customUnInit, customInstall, customUnInstall, customRemoveFiles, customInstallMode, customWelcomePage, customUnWelcomePage.

Example

!macro customHeader
  !system "echo '' > ${BUILD_RESOURCES_DIR}/customHeader"
!macroend

!macro preInit
  ; This macro is inserted at the beginning of the NSIS .OnInit callback
  !system "echo '' > ${BUILD_RESOURCES_DIR}/preInit"
!macroend

!macro customInit
  !system "echo '' > ${BUILD_RESOURCES_DIR}/customInit"
!macroend

!macro customInstall
  !system "echo '' > ${BUILD_RESOURCES_DIR}/customInstall"
!macroend

!macro customInstallMode
  # set $isForceMachineInstall or $isForceCurrentInstall
  # to enforce one or the other modes.
!macroend

!macro customWelcomePage
  # Welcome Page is not added by default for installer.
  !insertMacro MUI_PAGE_WELCOME
!macroend

!macro customUnWelcomePage
  !define MUI_WELCOMEPAGE_TITLE "custom title for uninstaller welcome page"
  !define MUI_WELCOMEPAGE_TEXT "custom text for uninstaller welcome page $\r$\n more"
  !insertmacro MUI_UNPAGE_WELCOME
!macroend

BUILD_RESOURCES_DIR and PROJECT_DIR are defined.
build is added as addincludedir (i.e. you don’t need to use BUILD_RESOURCES_DIR to include files).
build/x86-unicode and build/x86-ansi are added as addplugindir.
File associations macro registerFileAssociations and unregisterFileAssociations are still defined.
All other electron-builder specific flags (e.g. ONE_CLICK) are still defined.

If you want to include additional resources for use during installation, such as scripts or additional installers, you can place them in the build directory and include them with File. For example, to include and run extramsi.msi during installation, place it in the build directory and use the following:

!macro customInstall
  File /oname=$PLUGINSDIR\extramsi.msi "${BUILD_RESOURCES_DIR}\extramsi.msi"
  ExecWait '"msiexec" /i "$PLUGINSDIR\extramsi.msi" /passive'
!macroend

Is there a way to call just when the app is installed (or uninstalled) manually and not on update?

Use ${isUpdated}.

${ifNot} ${isUpdated}
  # your code
${endIf}

GUID vs Application Name¶

Windows requires to use registry keys (e.g. INSTALL/UNINSTALL info). Squirrel.Windows simply uses application name as key. But it is not robust — Google can use key Google Chrome SxS, because it is a Google.

So, it is better to use GUID. You are not forced to explicitly specify it — name-based UUID v5 will be generated from your appId or name. It means that you should not change appId once your application in use (or name if appId was not set). Application product name (title) or description can be safely changed.

You can explicitly set guid using option nsis.guid, but it is not recommended — consider using appId.

It is also important to set the Application User Model ID (AUMID) to the appId of the application, in order for notifications on Windows 8/8.1 to function and for Window 10 notifications to display the app icon within the notifications by default. The AUMID should be set within the Main process and before any BrowserWindows have been opened, it is normally the first piece of code executed: app.setAppUserModelId(appId)

Portable¶

To build portable app, set target to portable (or pass --win portable).

For portable app, following environment variables are available:

PORTABLE_EXECUTABLE_FILE - path to the portable executable.
PORTABLE_EXECUTABLE_DIR - directory where the portable executable is located.
PORTABLE_EXECUTABLE_APP_FILENAME - sanitized app name to use in file paths.

Common Questions¶

How do change the default installation directory to custom?

It is very specific requirement. Do not do if you are not sure. Add custom macro:

!macro preInit
  SetRegView 64
  WriteRegExpandStr HKLM "${INSTALL_REGISTRY_KEY}" InstallLocation "C:\MyApp"
  WriteRegExpandStr HKCU "${INSTALL_REGISTRY_KEY}" InstallLocation "C:\MyApp"
  SetRegView 32
  WriteRegExpandStr HKLM "${INSTALL_REGISTRY_KEY}" InstallLocation "C:\MyApp"
  WriteRegExpandStr HKCU "${INSTALL_REGISTRY_KEY}" InstallLocation "C:\MyApp"
!macroend

Is it possible to made single installer that will allow configuring user/machine installation?

Yes, you need to switch to assisted installer (not default one-click).

package.json

"build": {
  "nsis": {
    "oneClick": false
  }
}

electron-builder.yml

nsis:
  oneClick: false