This plugin simplifies the process of building an Electron application by focusing on the renderer while also seamlessly managing the builds for the main and preload processes. It allows for an easy setup and coordinated build process, making it more convenient to work with all parts of an Electron app in a unified workflow.

Full-example

Installation

npm i -D @electron-buddy/vite-plugin electron terser
yarn add -D @electron-buddy/vite-plugin electron terser
pnpm add -D @electron-buddy/vite-plugin electron terser

Electron doesn't protect your source code. Minimum protection is provided by terser and do not use sensitive information in the client-side code.

Getting Started

package.json

{
  "main": "dist/main.js",
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "vite",
    "build": "vite build",
    "preview": "vite preview",
    "start": "electron-buddy --preview"
  }
}

vite.config.ts

It’s recommended to set root to the renderer directory, not the root of the project.

import { defineConfig } from 'vite';
import { electron } from '@electron-buddy/vite-plugin';

export default defineConfig({
  root: './renderer', // index.html directory
  plugins: [electron()]
});

main entry file (main/index.ts)

import { BrowserWindow } from 'electron';

const win = new BrowserWindow({
  width:1280,
  height:720,
  webPreferences: {
    preload: join(__dirname, './preload.js'), // relative path (both)
    sandbox: false
  }
});

if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' && process.env['RENDERER_URL']) {
  await win.loadURL(process.env['RENDERER_URL']); // vite dev server url (dev server)
} else {
  await win.loadFile(join(__dirname, './renderer/index.html')); // relative path (build)
}

Default Folder Structure

If you configure as above, ensure that you follow this folder structure.

src
├── main
│   ├── index.ts
├── renderer
│   ├── index.html
├── preload
│   ├── index.ts
├── vite.config.ts
├── dist
    ├── main.js
    ├── preload.js
    ├── renderer
        ├── index.html
        ├── ...
├── tsconfig.json

Custom OutDir & Entries

❗️Remember to update the main field in package.json if you change the output directory (e.g., to ./out/main.js).

export default defineConfig({
    root: './renderer',
    plugins: [
        electron({
            outDir: './out', // custom output directory
            preload: {
                entry: './preload2/index.ts' // custom preload entry
            },
            main: {
                entry: './main2/index.ts' // custom main entry
            }
        })
    ]
});

CLI

 Usage: electron-buddy [options]

Options:
    --help      Show help message
    --preview   Run electron app with 'main' entry file (same as 'electron .')

Multiple Entries

Sometimes, you may need multiple renderers, such as for a splash screen, a loading screen, and more. To achieve this, simply add additional .html files to the renderer directory(root of vite.config.*).

src
├── renderer
│   ├── index.html
│   ├── splash.html
│   ├── loading.html

# after build..

dist
├── renderer
    ├── index.html
    ├── splash.html
    ├── loading.html

main entry file (main/index.ts)

if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' && process.env['RENDERER_URL']) {
  await win.loadURL(process.env['RENDERER_URL'] + '/splash.html'); // vite dev server url (dev server)
} else {
  await win.loadFile(join(__dirname, './renderer/splash.html')); // relative path (build)
}

Notice

• Only Dependencies are packed in the final build. DevDependencies are not included.