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https://github.com/cawa-93/vite-electron-builder

Secure boilerplate for Electron app based on Vite. TypeScript + Vue/React/Angular/Svelte/Vanilla
https://github.com/cawa-93/vite-electron-builder

best-practices boilerplate electron electron-builder react template typescript vite vite-electron vue vue-tsc

Last synced: 3 months ago
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Secure boilerplate for Electron app based on Vite. TypeScript + Vue/React/Angular/Svelte/Vanilla

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README 

        
> [!Important]

> This project is mainrained by **developer from Ukraine** 🇺🇦

> 

> Due to the ongoing war resulting from Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, I currently lack the time for the full development of this open-source project. My primary focus is on ensuring the well-being of myself and my family. I'll prioritize and review all new contributions as soon as possible.

>

> If you can, please consider [supporting Ukraine](https://stand-with-ukraine.pp.ua/) or [me personally](https://www.buymeacoffee.com/kozack). 

>

> Thank you for your understanding and support.

---



# Vite Electron Builder Boilerplate



This is a template for secure electron applications. Written following the latest safety requirements, recommendations

and best practices.



Under the hood is [Vite] — A next-generation blazing fast bundler, and [electron-builder] for packaging.



## Get started



Follow these steps to get started with the template:



1. Click the **[Use this template](https://github.com/cawa-93/vite-electron-builder/generate)** button (you must be

   logged in) or just clone this repo.

2. If you want to use another package manager you may need to edit [`.github/workflows`](https://github.com/search?q=npm+repo%3Acawa-93%2Fvite-electron-builder+path%3A.github%2Fworkflows&type=Code) since npm is used as default. (See also https://github.com/cawa-93/vite-electron-builder/issues/944)

   > **Note**:

   > This template configured to install `peerDependencies` automatically.



That's all you need. 😉



❤️ **If you like this template, don't forget to give a ⭐ or [send support](https://www.buymeacoffee.com/kozack/)!** 



## Features



### Electron [![Electron version](https://img.shields.io/github/package-json/dependency-version/cawa-93/vite-electron-builder/dev/electron?label=%20)][electron]



- This template uses the latest electron version with all the latest security patches.

- The architecture of the application is built according to the

  security [guides](https://www.electronjs.org/docs/tutorial/security) and best practices.

- The latest version of the [electron-builder] is used to package the application.



### Vite [![Vite version](https://img.shields.io/github/package-json/dependency-version/cawa-93/vite-electron-builder/dev/vite?label=%20)][vite]



- [Vite] is used to bundle all source codes. It's an extremely fast bundler, that has a vast array of amazing features.

  You can learn more about how it is arranged in [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXrhg26VCSc) video.

- Vite [supports](https://vitejs.dev/guide/env-and-mode.html) reading `.env` files. You can also specify the types of

  your environment variables in [`types/env.d.ts`](types/env.d.ts).

- Automatic hot-reloads for the `Main` and `Renderer` processes.



Vite provides many useful features, such as: `TypeScript`, `TSX/JSX`, `CSS/JSON Importing`, `CSS Modules`

, `Web Assembly` and much more.



> [See all Vite features](https://vitejs.dev/guide/features.html).



### TypeScript [![TypeScript version](https://img.shields.io/github/package-json/dependency-version/cawa-93/vite-electron-builder/dev/typescript?label=%20)][typescript] (optional)



- The latest version of TypeScript is used for all the source code.

- **Vite** supports TypeScript out of the box. However, it does not support type checking.

- Code formatting rules follow the latest TypeScript recommendations and best practices thanks

  to [@typescript-eslint/eslint-plugin](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@typescript-eslint/eslint-plugin).



> [Guide to disable typescript and remove dependencies](https://github.com/cawa-93/vite-electron-builder/discussions/339) 



### Vue [![Vue version](https://img.shields.io/github/package-json/dependency-version/cawa-93/vite-electron-builder/dev/vue?label=%20&)][vue] (optional)



- By default, web pages are built using [Vue]. However, you can easily change that. Or not use additional frameworks at

  all.

- Code formatting rules follow the latest Vue recommendations and best practices thanks to [eslint-plugin-vue].



> [Find more forks 🔱 for others frameworks or setups](https://github.com/cawa-93/vite-electron-builder/discussions/categories/forks)



### Continuous Integration



- The configured workflow will check the types for each push and PR.

- The configured workflow will check the code style for each push and PR.

- **Automatic tests**

  used [Vitest ![Vitest version](https://img.shields.io/github/package-json/dependency-version/cawa-93/vite-electron-builder/dev/vitest?label=%20&color=yellow)][vitest]

  -- A blazing fast test framework powered by Vite.

  - Unit tests are placed within each package and are ran separately.

  - End-to-end tests are placed in the root [`tests`](tests) directory and use [playwright].



![Workflow graph](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/1662812/213429323-ef4bcc87-c273-4f2f-b77f-c04cf6dbc36d.png)



### Publishing



- Each time you push changes to the `main` branch, the [`release`](.github/workflows/release.yml) workflow starts, which creates a new draft release. For each next commit will be created and replaced artifacts. That way you will always have draft with latest artifacts, and the release can be published once it is ready. 

  - Code signing supported. See [`release` workflow](.github/workflows/release.yml).

  - **Auto-update is supported**. After the release is published, all client applications will download the new version

  and install updates silently.

  

> **Note**:

> This template **configured only for GitHub public repository**, but electron-builder also supports other update distribution servers. Find more in [electron-builder docs](https://www.electron.build/configuration/publish).



## How it works



The template requires a minimum amount [dependencies](package.json). Only **Vite** is used for building, nothing more.



### Project Structure



The structure of this template is very similar to a monorepo. The entire source code of the project is divided into three modules (packages) that are each bundled independently:



- [`packages/renderer`](packages/renderer). Responsible for the contents of the application window. In fact, it is a

  regular web application. In developer mode, you can even open it in a browser. The development and build process is

  the same as for classic web applications. Access to low-level API electrons or Node.js is done through the _preload_

  layer.

- [`packages/preload`](packages/preload). Contain Electron [**preload scripts**](https://www.electronjs.org/docs/latest/tutorial/tutorial-preload). Acts as an intermediate bridge between the _renderer_ process and the API

  exposed by electron and Node.js. Runs in an _isolated browser context_, but has direct access to the full Node.js

  functionality.

- [`packages/main`](packages/main)

  Contain Electron [**main script**](https://www.electronjs.org/docs/tutorial/quick-start#create-the-main-script-file). This is

  the main process that powers the application. It manages creating and handling the spawned BrowserWindow, setting and

  enforcing secure permissions and request handlers. You can also configure it to do much more as per your need, such

  as: logging, reporting statistics and health status among others.



Schematically, the structure of the application and the method of communication between packages can be depicted as follows:

```mermaid

flowchart TB;



packages/preload <-. IPC Messages .-> packages/main



    subgraph packages/main["packages/main (Shared beatween all windows)"]

    M[index.ts] --> EM[Electron Main Process Modules]

    M --> N2[Node.js API]

    end



subgraph Window["Browser Window"]

    subgraph packages/preload["packages/preload (Works in isolated context)"]

    P[index.ts] --> N[Node.js API]

    P --> ED[External dependencies]

    P --> ER[Electron Renderer Process Modules]

    end



    subgraph packages/renderer

    R[index.html] --> W[Web API]

    R --> BD[Bundled dependencies]

    R --> F[Web Frameworks]

    end

    end



packages/renderer -- Call Exposed API --> P

```

### Build web resources



The `main` and `preload` packages are built in [library mode](https://vitejs.dev/guide/build.html#library-mode) as it is

simple javascript.

The `renderer` package builds as a regular web app.



### Compile App



The next step is to package a ready to distribute Electron app for macOS, Windows and Linux with "auto update" support

out of the box.



To do this, use [electron-builder]:



- Using the npm script `compile`: This script is configured to compile the application as quickly as possible. It is not

  ready for distribution, it is compiled only for the current platform and is used for debugging.

- Using GitHub Actions: The application is compiled for any platform and ready-to-distribute files are automatically

  added as a draft to the GitHub releases page.



### Working with dependencies



Because the `renderer` works and builds like a _regular web application_, you can only use dependencies that support the

browser or compile to a browser-friendly format.



This means that in the `renderer` you are free to use any frontend dependencies such as Vue, React, lodash, axios and so

on. However, you _CANNOT_ use any native Node.js APIs, such as, `systeminformation`. These APIs are _only_ available in

a Node.js runtime environment and will cause your application to crash if used in the `renderer` layer. Instead, if you

need access to Node.js runtime APIs in your frontend, export a function form the `preload` package.



All dependencies that require Node.js api can be used in

the [`preload` script](https://www.electronjs.org/docs/latest/tutorial/process-model#preload-scripts).



#### Expose in main world

Here is an example. Let's say you need to read some data from the file system or database in the renderer.



In the preload context, create a function that reads and returns data. To make the function announced in the preload

available in the render, you usually need to call

the [`electron.contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld`](https://www.electronjs.org/ru/docs/latest/api/context-bridge). However,

this template uses the [unplugin-auto-expose](https://github.com/cawa-93/unplugin-auto-expose) plugin, so you just need

to export the method from the preload. The `exposeInMainWorld` will be called automatically.



```ts

// preload/index.ts

import { readFile } from 'node:fs/promises';



// Encapsulate types if you use typescript

interface UserData {

  prop: string

}



// Encapsulate all node.js api

// Everything you exported from preload/index.ts may be called in renderer

export function getUserData(): Promise {

  return readFile('/path/to/file/in/user/filesystem.json', {encoding:'utf8'}).then(JSON.parse);

}

```



Now you can import and call the method in renderer



```ts

// renderer/anywere/component.ts

import { getUserData } from '#preload'

const userData = await getUserData()

```



> Find more in [Context Isolation tutorial](https://www.electronjs.org/docs/tutorial/context-isolation#security-considerations).



### Working with Electron API



Although the preload has access to all of Node.js's API, it **still runs in the BrowserWindow context**, so a limited

electron modules are available in it. Check the [electron docs](https://www.electronjs.org/ru/docs/latest/api/clipboard)

for full list of available methods.



All other electron methods can be invoked in the `main`.



As a result, the architecture of interaction between all modules is as follows:



```mermaid

sequenceDiagram

renderer->>+preload: Read data from file system

preload->>-renderer: Data

renderer->>preload: Maximize window

activate preload

preload-->>main: Invoke IPC command

activate main

main-->>preload: IPC response

deactivate main

preload->>renderer: Window maximized

deactivate preload

```



> Find more in [Inter-Process Communication tutorial](https://www.electronjs.org/docs/latest/tutorial/ipc).



### Modes and Environment Variables



All environment variables are set as part of the `import.meta`, so you can access them vie the following

way: `import.meta.env`.



> **Note**:

> If you are using TypeScript and want to get code completion you must add all the environment variables to

the [`ImportMetaEnv` in `types/env.d.ts`](types/env.d.ts).



The mode option is used to specify the value of `import.meta.env.MODE` and the corresponding environment variables files

that need to be loaded.



By default, there are two modes:



- `production` is used by default

- `development` is used by `npm run watch` script



When running the build script, the environment variables are loaded from the following files in your project root:



```

.env                # loaded in all cases

.env.local          # loaded in all cases, ignored by git

.env.[mode]         # only loaded in specified env mode

.env.[mode].local   # only loaded in specified env mode, ignored by git

```



> **Warning**: 

> To prevent accidentally leaking env variables to the client, only variables prefixed with `VITE_` are exposed to your

Vite-processed code.



For example let's take the following `.env` file:



```

DB_PASSWORD=foobar

VITE_SOME_KEY=123

```



Only `VITE_SOME_KEY` will be exposed as `import.meta.env.VITE_SOME_KEY` to your client source code, but `DB_PASSWORD`

will not.



You can change that prefix or add another. See [`envPrefix`](https://vitejs.dev/config/shared-options.html#envprefix)



## Contribution



See [Contributing Guide](contributing.md).



[vite]: https://github.com/vitejs/vite/



[electron]: https://github.com/electron/electron



[electron-builder]: https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-builder



[vue]: https://github.com/vuejs/vue-next



[vue-router]: https://github.com/vuejs/vue-router-next/



[typescript]: https://github.com/microsoft/TypeScript/



[playwright]: https://playwright.dev



[vitest]: https://vitest.dev



[vue-tsc]: https://github.com/johnsoncodehk/vue-tsc



[eslint-plugin-vue]: https://github.com/vuejs/eslint-plugin-vue



[cawa-93-github]: https://github.com/cawa-93/



[cawa-93-sponsor]: https://www.patreon.com/Kozack/