ElectronJS Installer

Set up

root folder
|---application folder
|-------package.json
|-------main.js
|-------index.html
|-------node_modules
|---exe folder
|---setup folder
|---node_modules

Install

1. At root folder, install electron-winstaller

   npm install electron-winstaller
   

2. At application folder, install squirrel

   npm install electron-squirrel-startup
   

3. Open main.js, at the top, add the code

   // squirrel event handled and app will exit in 1000ms, so don't do anything else
   if (handleSquirrelEvent(app)) {return;}
   

4. Next line of end main.js, add code

   function handleSquirrelEvent(application) {
   if (process.argv.length === 1) {
   return false;
   }
   const ChildProcess = require('child_process');
   const path = require('path');
   const appFolder = path.resolve(process.execPath, '..');
   const rootAtomFolder = path.resolve(appFolder, '..');
   const updateDotExe = path.resolve(path.join(rootAtomFolder, 'Update.exe'));
   const exeName = path.basename(process.execPath);
   const spawn = function(command, args) {
   let spawnedProcess, error;
   try {
   spawnedProcess = ChildProcess.spawn(command, args, {
   detached: true
   });
   } catch (error) {}
   return spawnedProcess;
   };
   const spawnUpdate = function(args) {
   return spawn(updateDotExe, args);
   };
   const squirrelEvent = process.argv[1];
   switch (squirrelEvent) {
   case '--squirrel-install':
   case '--squirrel-updated':
   // Optionally do things such as:
   // - Add your .exe to the PATH
   // - Write to the registry for things like file associations and
   //   explorer context menus
   // Install desktop and start menu shortcuts
   spawnUpdate(['--createShortcut', exeName]);
   setTimeout(application.quit, 1000);
   return true;
   case '--squirrel-uninstall':
   // Undo anything you did in the --squirrel-install and
   // --squirrel-updated handlers
   // Remove desktop and start menu shortcuts
   spawnUpdate(['--removeShortcut', exeName]);
   setTimeout(application.quit, 1000);
   return true;
   case '--squirrel-obsolete':
   // This is called on the outgoing version of your app before
   // we update to the new version - it's the opposite of
   // --squirrel-updated
   application.quit();
   return true;
   }
   };
   

5. Back to the root folder

   electron-packager ./electron-aloha --electron-version=8.2.0 --asar --overwrite
   

6. Root folder, create build.js, this will create installer-folder too!

   const electronInstaller = require('electron-winstaller');
   var settings = {
        appDirectory: 'electron-aloha-win32-x64',
        outputDirectory: 'aloha-installer',
        setupExe: 'aloha-installer.exe',
        noMsi: true,
        noDelta: true,
        authors: 'Phan Quang Dai',
        exe: 'electron-aloha.exe',
        description: 'fangdai.tk'
   }
   resultPromise = electronInstaller.createWindowsInstaller(settings);
   resultPromise.then(() => {
    console.log("The installers of your application were succesfully created !");
   }, (e) => {
    console.log(`Well, sometimes you are not so lucky: ${e.message}`)
   });
   

7. Back to root folder, let’s build it!

   node build.js
   

   Ok, that’s all the instructions how to make a setup file!