yackage

Package your Node.js project into an executable.

This project is targeted for apps built with Yue library and Yode Node.js runtime.

Install

npm i -g yackage

Usage

Usage: yackage [options] [command]

Options:

  --platform <platform>          Target platform (default: $npm_config_platform ||
                                 process.platform)
  --arch <arch>                  Target arch (default: $npm_config_arch ||
                                 process.arch)
  --app-dir <dir>                Path to the source code dir of app (default:
                                 current working dir)
  --unpack <pattern>             Files to ignore when generating asar package
                                 (default: *.node)
  --unpack-dir <pattern>         Dirs to ignore when generating asar package
  --no-minify                    Do not minify the JavaScript source code
  --extra-info-plist             The extra string to insert into the Info.plist
  --identity <identity>          The identity used for signing app bundle on macOS
  --entitlements <entitlements>  Path to the entitlements file when signing app
                                 bundle on macOS

Commands:

  init                     Create an empty project under current directory
  build <outputDir>        Build app bundle
  dist <outputDir>         Build app bundle and generate app distribution
  dirty-build <outputDir>  Build app bundle without reinstalling modules

Note that before using Yackage, the target app must have fetch-yode listed as a dependency.

Configuration

Configure your project by adding following fields to package.json:

{
  "main": "app.js",
  "build": {
    "appId": "com.app.id"
    "productName": "App"
    "copyright": "Copyright © 2020 Company",
    "minify": true,
    "unpack": "+(*.node|*.png)",
    "unpackDir": "{assets,build}",
    "ignore": [ "assets/*" ],
    "icons": {
      "win": "assets/icon.ico",
      "mac": "assets/icon.icns"
    },
    "extraInfoPlist": "<key>LSUIElement</key><true/>"
  }
}

Examples

Generate executable from the app under current working directory:

cd /path/to/app/
yackage build out

Generate executable from path under arbitrary path:

yackage build out --app-dir /path/to/app

Generate executable for arbitrary platform:

yackage build out --platform win32 --arch ia32

Generate distributions:

yackage dist out --app-dir /path/to/app

How yackage works

1. Run npm pack to generate tarball for the app.
2. Extract the tarball to temporary directory and run npm install.
3. Use asar to pacakge the app and its dependencies.
4. Append the generated ASAR archive to Yode.
5. Yode would automatically recognize the ASAR archive appended in the executable and start with it.

Differences from packaging in Electron

By default yackage would unpack the .node files so they are not extracted dynamically when running, otherwise anti-virus softwares would complain.

The unpacked files are placed in the res directory instead of the usual .unpacked directory, so the final distribution would look more formal.

The .js files are compressed with uglify-js by default.

The virutal root directory of ASAR archive is ${process.execPath}/asar. Using process.execPath as virutal root directory directly would confuse Node.js since it should be a file.

License

Public domain.