testDesktopHelloWorldApp

A minimal Electron proof of concept that is packaged with its own Electron runtime, published through npm, and launched by a global terminal command.

Project structure

bin/testDesktopHelloWorldApp.js  Global CLI launcher
src/main.js                      Electron main process source
src/index.html                   Hello World renderer
scripts/                         Small build/verification helpers
build/                           Minified intermediate output (generated)
release/mac-universal/           Self-contained macOS app (generated)
payload/                         Symlink-safe npm payload zip (generated)

Only the launcher, installer, package.json, README, and generated macOS app archive are included in the npm package. Source, build scripts, and development dependencies are excluded. The application code inside the .app is stored in Electron's app.asar archive; the JavaScript main process is bundled and minified first.

The .app is zipped with macOS ditto because npm tarballs do not preserve the framework symlinks inside an Electron application. npm's postinstall extracts it to the package's runtime directory; the CLI also performs this check as a fallback.

Build locally

Requirements: macOS, Node.js 18 or newer, and npm.

npm install
npm run build
npm run verify:package

The build creates a universal macOS application at release/mac-universal/testDesktopHelloWorldApp.app. Code signing and notarization are disabled for this proof of concept.

Test the global npm installation locally

npm run build
npm pack
npm install -g ./testdesktophelloworldapp-1.0.0.tgz
cd /tmp
testDesktopHelloWorldApp

Remove the local test with npm uninstall -g testdesktophelloworldapp.

If macOS blocks the unsigned app, allow it in System Settings → Privacy & Security, or Control-click the app and choose Open. This is expected because the POC is neither signed nor notarized.

Publish to npm

The unscoped npm name must be available and your npm account must be logged in:

npm login
npm run build
npm pack --dry-run
npm publish

npm package names are lowercase, so the canonical install command is:

npm install -g testdesktophelloworldapp

The requested mixed-case spelling normally resolves to the same registry package:

npm install -g testDesktopHelloWorldApp

After installation, from any directory, run exactly:

testDesktopHelloWorldApp

No separate Electron installation and no electron . or npm start command is required.