# electron-userland/electron-builder

A complete solution to package and build a ready for distribution Electron app with “auto update” support out of the box

Repository: https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-builder
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/electron-builder
Homepage: https://www.electron.build
Language: TypeScript
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: electron, builder, auto-update, squirrel, nsis, macos, linux, deb, rpm, appx, dmg, pkg, snap, electron-builder, distribution-electron, electron-updater, muon, msi, contributions-welcome, help-wanted
Last push: 2026-08-26T16:47:46+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 93/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:39:23.370411+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 81, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4122, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 46, "gap_med": 3, "n_releases_24m": 62}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 14652, forks 1870 (observed 2026-08-28T04:11:07.397093+00:00)

## What it is
electron-builder is a complete packaging and build solution for Electron apps, producing ready-for-distribution installers for macOS, Windows, and Linux. It includes built-in auto-update support via electron-updater, code signing, notarization, and publishing to GitHub Releases, S3, and other providers.

## Use cases
- package an electron app into a windows installer
- build a dmg for macos distribution
- create an appimage or deb package for linux
- add auto-update to my electron app
- sign and notarize a mac app on CI
- publish electron app releases to github releases
- build a portable exe without installation
- compile native node modules for a packaged electron app

## When to choose
- you are shipping an Electron app to end users on macOS, Windows, or Linux
- you need installers (NSIS, DMG, deb, rpm, AppImage, snap, AppX/MSI) with minimal configuration
- you want built-in auto-update with differential updates and staged rollouts
- you need code signing and macOS notarization integrated into your build pipeline

## When to avoid
- your app is not built with Electron (e.g. Tauri, Qt, native apps)
- you only need a simple zip archive without installers or updates
- you need MSI auto-updates, which electron-updater does not support
- you want a GUI-based packaging tool rather than CLI configuration

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: build-tool, deployment, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, cross-platform, desktop-applications
- platform: cross-platform, windows, cli
- tags: electron, packaging, auto-update, code-signing, notarization, nsis, dmg, appimage, snap, installer, automation, macos, linux, nodejs

## Member repositories
- electron-userland/electron-builder (main) score 93

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:07.397093+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:12:26.214204+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-builder (fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:07.397093+00:00, sha 6b55dc16365c)
  - homepage: https://www.electron.build (fetched 2026-08-29T08:06:02.170237+00:00, sha b3cdae67f7c3)
  - site_page: https://www.electron.build/docs (fetched 2026-08-29T08:06:02.179895+00:00, sha 70f4625eb0ed)
  - site_page: https://www.electron.build/docs/targets (fetched 2026-08-29T08:06:02.182911+00:00, sha 4ea1a2dee020)
  - site_page: https://www.electron.build/docs/mac (fetched 2026-08-29T08:06:02.185254+00:00, sha 847e612b12b2)
  - site_page: https://www.electron.build/docs/win (fetched 2026-08-29T08:06:02.187905+00:00, sha b7d9b20e6964)
  - site_page: https://www.electron.build/docs/linux (fetched 2026-08-29T08:06:02.190646+00:00, sha dbacae40a241)
  - site_page: https://www.electron.build/docs/configuration (fetched 2026-08-29T08:06:02.195085+00:00, sha 23d88e5af73e)
  - site_page: https://www.electron.build/docs/contents (fetched 2026-08-29T08:06:02.198930+00:00, sha c45d0c62e443)
  - site_page: https://www.electron.build/docs/file-patterns (fetched 2026-08-29T08:06:02.201881+00:00, sha db2482c96d66)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.