A simple template for Electron app development using React and TypeScript.
Install Node.js. If your project uses native Node modules, it's important to have the proper build tools in order to compile them. If your project doesn't need native Node modules, ignore the following instructions on compiling.
On Windows you need the windows-build-tools. Open PowerShell with admin rights and execute the following command:
npm install --global windows-build-tools
Note: this will install the Visual Studio 2017 build tools. Depending on which native Node module you are using, you may need the 2015 version instead. Simply append the parameter --vs2015 if that is the case.
Installing the windows build tools will take some time, so wait patiently.
I think it should just work.
Open up a terminal and clone the project with Git, cd into the project root folder and install all dependencies:
git clone https://github.com/hikikones/minimal-electron-react-webpack-boilerplate.git my-project
cd my-project
npm install
If you have a native module and get an error about some Python function not working during dependency installation, you may have to install Python 2 with the PATH environment variable. Then remove the node_modules folder and install all dependencies again with npm install.
The following commands are used for development and building:
| Node.js command | Description |
|---|---|
npm start |
Builds the project in development mode and launches Electron. |
npm run package |
Generates a portable application in the dist folder. |
npm run publish |
Generates a distributable application in the dist folder. |
This repository uses Github Actions for the build pipeline in order to create a distributable installation file for Windows, macOS and Ubuntu. The configuration file is found in .github/workflows/build.yml. The build is triggered whenever a semantic release tag of the form v*.*.* is created. The version also needs to be reflected in the package.json file. That is, say you have pushed the latest commit to the master branch that completes version v1.0.0 of your application, and the version is reflected in package.json, then the following two commands will trigger the build:
git tag v1.0.0
git push --tags
The build workflow from .github/workflows/build.yml will then initiate, creating a release in draft mode on the repository, building the application on each OS and finally uploading each resulting installation file to the newly created release. You can then review the release before deciding to publish it.