nw-builder

Build NW.js applications for Mac, Windows and Linux.

For version 3, please go to the corresponding branch.

Major Features

• Get, run or build applications.
• Integrate FFmpeg community builds
• Configure executable fields and icons
• Downloading from mirrors
• Node Native Addon support

Table of Contents

• Installation
• Usage
• Concepts
• API Reference
• Guides
• Contributing
• Roadmap
• FAQ
• License

Install

Every NW.js release includes a modified Node.js binary at a specific version. It is recommended to install exactly that version on the host system. Not doing so may download ABI incompatible Node modules. Consult the NW.js versions manifest for what Node.js version to install. It is recommended to use a Node version manager (such as volta, n, nvm, or nvm-windows) to be able to easily install and switch between Node versions.

For example, NW.js v0.83.0 comes with Node.js v21.1.0.

$: node --version
v21.1.0

Usage

This package can be used via a command line interface, be imported as a JavaScript module, or configured via the Node manifest as a JSON object.

ESM import:

import nwbuild from "nw-builder";

CJS import:

let nwbuild;
import("nwbuild")
  .then((object) => {
    nwbuild = obj;
  })
  .catch((error) => {
    console.error(error);
  });

Node manifest usage:

{
    "nwbuild": {
        // user specified options
    }
}

From here on we will show nw-builder functionality by using the JavaScript module. Please note that the same method applies when using a command line or Node manifest.

Concepts

nw-builder can get, run and build NW.js applications. We refer to them as get, run and build modes.

Get Mode

Deprecation warning: From v4.6.4 onward, run mode is deprecated. This logic will be ported over to nwjs/npm-installer repo and removed in the next major release.

By default you get the normal build of the latest NW.js release for your specific platform and arch. For more information, please refer to the API reference.

nwbuild({
  mode: "get"
});

Get the community built FFmeg which contains proprietary codecs. This options is disabled by default. Please read the license's constraints before enabling this option.

nwbuild({
  mode: "get",
  ffmpeg: true
});

Get Node headers if you have to rebuild Node addons.

nwbuild({
  mode: "get",
  nativeAddon: "gyp"
});

Run Mode

Deprecation warning: From v4.6.0 onward, run mode is deprecated. This logic will be ported over to nwjs/npm-installer repo and removed in the next major release.

nwbuild({
  mode: "run",
  srcDir: "./app",
  glob: false,
});

Build Mode

Build with defaults:

nwbuild({
  mode: "build",
});

Managed Manifest

You can let nw-builder manage your node modules. The managedManifest options accepts a boolean, string or object type. It will then remove devDependencies, autodetect and download dependencies via the relevant packageManager. If none is specified, it uses npm as default.

Setting it to true will parse the first Node manifest it encounters as the NW manifest.

nwbuild({
  mode: "build",
  managedManifest: true,
});

Setting it to a string implies that you are passing the file path to the NW manifest.

nwbuild({
  mode: "build",
  managedManifest: "./nw.js",
});

Setting it to a object implies you are directly passing the NW manifest as a JavaScript object.

nwbuild({
  mode: "build",
  managedManifest: {
    name: "nwdemo",
    main: "index.html"
  },
});

Rebuild Node addons

Currently this feature is quite limited. It only builds node addons which have a binding.gyp file in the srcDir. There are plans to support nan, cmake, ffi and gn and auto rebuild native addons which are installed as node modules.

nwbuild({
  mode: "build",
  nodeAddon: "gyp",
});

We recommend rebuilding Node addons for NW.js via node-gyp if you are using NW.js v0.83.0 or above.

node-gyp rebuild --target=21.1.0 --nodedir=/path/to/nw/node/headers

NW.js's Node version should match the Node version on the host machine due to ABI differences in V8.

API Reference

Options

| Name | Type | Default | Description | | ---- | ------- | --------- | ----------- | | mode | "get" \| "run" \| "build" | "build" | Choose between get, run or build mode | | version | string \| "latest" \| "stable" | "latest" | Runtime version | | flavor | "normal" \| "sdk" | "normal" | Runtime flavor | | platform | "linux" \| "osx" \| "win" | | Host platform | | arch | "ia32" \| "x64" \| "arm64" | | Host architecture | | downloadUrl | "https://dl.nwjs.io" \| "https://npm.taobao.org/mirrors/nwjs" \| https://npmmirror.com/mirrors/nwjs \| "https://github.com/corwin-of-amber/nw.js/releases/" | "https://dl.nwjs.io" | Download server. Supports file systems too (for example file:///home/localghost/nwjs_mirror) | | manifestUrl | "https://nwjs.io/versions" \| "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nwutils/nw-builder/main/src/util/osx.arm.versions.json" | "https://nwjs.io/versions" | Versions manifest | | cacheDir | string | "./cache" | Directory to cache NW binaries | | srcDir | string | "./" | File paths to application code | | outDir | string | "./out" | Directory to store build artifacts | | managedManifest | boolean \| string \| object | false | Managed manifest | | nodeAddon | false \| "gyp" | false | Rebuild Node native addons | | cache | boolean | true| If true the existing cache is used. Otherwise it removes and redownloads it. | | ffmpeg | boolean | false| If true the chromium ffmpeg is replaced by community version with proprietary codecs. | | glob | boolean | true| If true file globbing is enabled when parsing srcDir. | | logLevel | "error" \| "warn" \| "info" \| "debug" | "info"| Specify level of logging. | | zip | boolean \| "zip" \| "tar" \| "tgz" | false| If true, "zip", "tar" or "tgz" the outDir directory is compressed. |

Guides

Get unofficial MacOS builds

If you're running older Apple machines, you can download the unofficial builds.

Note: You will have to manually remove quarantine flag.

sudo xattr -r -d com.apple.quarantine /path/to/nwjs.app

nwbuild({
  mode: "get",
  platform: "osx",
  arch: "arm64",
  downloadUrl: "https://github.com/corwin-of-amber/nw.js/releases/download",
  manifestUrl: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nwutils/nw-builder/main/src/util/osx.arm.versions.json",
});

Note: Community FFmpeg binaries may not be available for unofficial builds. You will have to rebuild them yourself.

Get binaries via mirrors

China mirror:

nwbuild({
  mode: "get",
  downloadUrl: "https://npm.taobao.org/mirrors/nwjs",
});

Singapore mirror:

nwbuild({
  mode: "get",
  downloadUrl: "https://cnpmjs.org/mirrors/nwjs/",
});

Let nw-builder manage your native addons

Note: this behaviour is buggy and quite limited. This guide is to show what will be possible in the coming minor releases.

nwbuild({
  mode: "build",
  managedManifest: true,
  nativeAddon: "gyp",
});

Contributing

External contributor

• We use Conventional Commits style of commit messages.
• On opening a new PR, the comments will guide you on how to construct the new PR.
• When making changes, try to follow SOLID and DRY principles.
• Pull requests are squashed and merged onto the main branch.
• PR title is used as commit's first line, PR description is used as commit body.
• Only commit messages starting with fix, feat and chore are recognised by the Release Please bot.
• Lint your code before commiting your change.
• Add tests whenever possible.

Maintainer guidelines

• Approve pull requests before merging.
• Enforce conventional commits before merging pull requests.
• A commit's first line should be formatted as <type>[optional scope]: <description>.
• A commit's body should have a description of changes in bullet points followed by any links it references or issues it fixes or closes. It may include an optional Notes: ... section to provide additional context on why the PR is being merged when it doesn't seem like it should.
• Google's Release Please Action is used to update the changelog, bump the package version and generate GitHub releases.
• NPM Publish Action publishes to npm if there is a version bump.

Roadmap

Bugs

• Managed Manifest is broken. If glob is disabled and srcDir has no package.json, build fails.
• Add back error, info, warn and debug logs

Features

• feat(get): support canary releases
• feat(bld): rename MacOS Helper apps
• feat(pkg): add AppImage installer
• feat(pkg): add NSIS installer
• feat(pkg): add DMG installer
• feat(get): add Linux ARM unofficial support
• feat(bld): add source code protection
• feat(pkg): add code signing

Chores

• chore(cli): migrate from yargs to commander
• chore(get): verify sha checksum for downloads
• chore: annotate file paths as fs.PathLike instead of string.
• chore(bld): factor out core build step
• chore(bld): factor out linux config
• chore(bld): factor out macos config
• chore(bld): factor out windows config
• chore(bld): factor out native addon
• chore(bld): factor out compressing
• chore(bld): factor out managed manifest
• chore(bld): move .desktop entry file logic to create-desktop-shortcuts package
• chore(util): factor out file paths as constant variables

FAQ

License

MIT License.