electron-builder Module

Main electron-builder module API reference

The main electron-builder module exports the primary build functions and re-exports types from app-builder-lib.

Installation

npm install electron-builder --save-dev

Main Functions

build()

Builds the application for the specified platforms and targets.

function build(
  options: PackagerOptions & PublishOptions,
  packager?: Packager
): Promise<Array<string>>

options · PackagerOptions & PublishOptions · required

Combined build and publish options.

packager · Packager

Optional Packager instance.

Returns: Promise<Array<string>> - Array of artifact paths.

Example:

const { build, Platform } = require("electron-builder")

build({
  targets: Platform.MAC.createTarget(),
  config: {
    appId: "com.example.app"
  }
})

createTargets()

Creates a target map for specified platforms.

function createTargets(
  platforms: Array<Platform>,
  type?: string | null,
  arch?: string | null
): Map<Platform, Map<Arch, Array<string>>>

platforms · Array<Platform> · required

Array of platforms to build for (e.g., [Platform.MAC, Platform.WINDOWS]).

type · string | null

Target type (e.g., "dmg", "nsis"). If null, builds default targets.

arch · string | null

Architecture: "x64", "arm64", "ia32", "armv7l", or "all".

Returns: Target map for use with build().

Example:

const { createTargets, Platform } = require("electron-builder")

const targets = createTargets(
  [Platform.MAC, Platform.WINDOWS],
  "dmg",
  "x64"
)

Platform Class

Represents a build platform.

Static Properties

Platform.MAC · Platform

macOS platform instance.

Platform.WINDOWS · Platform

Windows platform instance.

Platform.LINUX · Platform

Linux platform instance.

Methods

createTarget()

Creates targets for this platform.

createTarget(
  type?: string | Array<string> | null,
  ...archs: Array<Arch>
): Map<Platform, Map<Arch, Array<string>>>

type · string | Array<string> | null

Target type(s) (e.g., "dmg", ["dmg", "zip"]).

archs · ...Array<Arch>

Architectures to build for.

Example:

const { Platform, Arch } = require("electron-builder")

// Default target, current architecture
Platform.MAC.createTarget()

// Specific targets
Platform.MAC.createTarget(["dmg", "zip"])

// Specific architectures
Platform.MAC.createTarget("dmg", Arch.x64, Arch.arm64)

fromString()

Converts a string to a Platform instance.

static fromString(name: string): Platform

name · string · required

Platform name: "mac", "darwin", "win", "win32", "windows", or "linux".

Example:

const platform = Platform.fromString("mac")

Arch Enum

Architecture enumeration.

enum Arch {
  ia32 = 0,
  x64 = 1,
  armv7l = 2,
  arm64 = 3,
  universal = 4
}

Functions

archFromString()

Converts a string to an Arch value.

function archFromString(name: string): Arch

name · string · required

Architecture name: "ia32", "x64", "armv7l", "arm64", or "universal".

getArchSuffix()

Gets the suffix for an architecture.

function getArchSuffix(arch: Arch, defaultArchs?: Array<Arch>): string

Exported Types

The module re-exports all types from app-builder-lib:

Configuration Types

• Configuration - Main configuration interface
• MacConfiguration - macOS-specific options
• WindowsConfiguration - Windows-specific options
• LinuxConfiguration - Linux-specific options
• PlatformSpecificBuildOptions - Common platform options

Target Options

• DmgOptions - DMG target options
• PkgOptions - PKG target options
• NsisOptions - NSIS installer options
• NsisWebOptions - NSIS web installer options
• PortableOptions - Portable app options
• AppImageOptions - AppImage options
• SnapOptions - Snap package options
• DebOptions - Debian package options
• AppXOptions - AppX package options
• MsiOptions - MSI installer options
• SquirrelWindowsOptions - Squirrel.Windows options

Core Types

• Packager - Main packager class
• BuildResult - Build result interface
• PackagerOptions - Packager options
• Target - Build target abstract class
• TargetConfiguration - Target configuration
• BeforeBuildContext - Before build hook context
• AfterPackContext - After pack hook context

File and Asset Types

• FileAssociation - File association configuration
• Protocol - URL protocol configuration
• FileSet - File set specification
• AsarOptions - ASAR archive options

Metadata Types

• Metadata - package.json metadata
• AuthorMetadata - Author information
• RepositoryInfo - Repository information
• AppInfo - Application information

Code Signing

• WindowsSignOptions - Windows code signing
• CustomWindowsSign - Custom Windows signing
• CustomMacSign - Custom macOS signing

Artifact Events

• ArtifactCreated - Artifact creation event
• ArtifactBuildStarted - Artifact build start event

Publishing

• PublishOptions - Publishing options
• PublishManager - Publish manager class
• UploadTask - Upload task interface

Platform Packagers

• MacPackager - macOS packager
• WinPackager - Windows packager
• LinuxPackager - Linux packager

Utilities

• CancellationToken - Cancellation token
• ProgressInfo - Download progress info
• log - Logger utility

Import Examples

CommonJS

const builder = require("electron-builder")
const { build, Platform, Arch, createTargets } = require("electron-builder")

ES Modules / TypeScript

import * as builder from "electron-builder"
import { build, Platform, Arch, createTargets } from "electron-builder"
import type { Configuration, PackagerOptions } from "electron-builder"

See Also

• Programmatic Usage Guide
• app-builder-lib API
• Configuration Interface
• PackagerOptions Interface