Package and ship
Package and make distributables
Use Electron Forge to create an unpacked application first, then build the platform-specific installer or archive.
10 minute lesson
Forge separates two useful failure boundaries.
Packaging builds the application directory. Making wraps that packaged app in a distributable format.
Create an unpacked application:
npm run packageOpen the generated app under out/ and repeat the core manual checks. This catches paths that worked only through the development server.
Stop npm start before testing. The packaged app must not depend on a live Webpack development server or source file outside its bundle.
Check load, edit, save, restart, export, menu shortcuts, navigation denial, and permission denial. Inspect the userData location to confirm packaged and development identities behave as intended.
Then create a distributable:
npm run makeA maker converts the packaged app into a platform format such as a DMG, ZIP, Squirrel installer, DEB, or RPM.
Makers are platform-specific. Build macOS artifacts on macOS, Windows artifacts on Windows, and Linux artifacts on the matching Linux environment unless the selected maker explicitly documents another setup.
When make fails, find the stage first. A renderer bundling error, native-module rebuild error, signing error, and maker error need different fixes.
Install the distributable on a clean test account. Launching the unpacked folder proves packaging; installing and uninstalling prove the maker result.
Lesson completed