V'exe

A fast and simple Node.js to .exe compiler. No Node.js required on the target machine.

Built on top of Node.js SEA and esbuild.

Requirements

• Node.js >= 20
• Windows (primary target) — Linux and macOS supported

Installation

npm install -g @nexoz12/vexe

Usage

vexe build ./src/index.js --output ./dist --target win-x64 --name myapp

Options

| Flag | Default | Description | |------|---------|-------------| | -o, --output | ./dist | Output directory | | -t, --target | win-x64 | Target platform (win-x64, linux-x64, macos-x64) | | -n, --name | app | Output executable name |

Config file

Create a vexe.config.js at the root of your project:

module.exports = {
  output: "./dist",
  target: "win-x64",
  name: "myapp"
};

How it works

1. Bundles your project with esbuild into a single file
2. Uses Node.js SEA (Single Executable Application) to embed it into a Node binary
3. Injects the blob with postject
4. Outputs a standalone executable

Note on Windows Defender

Because V'exe injects a blob into a Node binary, some antivirus software may flag the output. This is a known limitation of Node SEA on Windows. You can sign the output executable with a code signing certificate to avoid this.

License

MIT — see LICENSE