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https://github.com/meteor-community-packages/meteor-desktop

Build a Meteor's desktop client with hot code push.
https://github.com/meteor-community-packages/meteor-desktop

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Build a Meteor's desktop client with hot code push.

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![Logo](docs/meteor-desktop.png)



# Meteor Desktop

###### aka Meteor Electron Desktop Client

> Build desktop apps with Meteor & Electron. Full integration with hot code push implementation.



[![npm version](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/@meteor-community/meteor-desktop.svg)](https://npmjs.org/package/@meteor-community/meteor-desktop)



![Demo](docs/demo.gif)



## What is this?



This is a complete implementation of integration between `Meteor` and `Electron` aiming to achieve the same level of developer experience like `Meteor` gives.

To make it clear from the start, this is a **desktop client** - it is just like your mobile

clients with `Cordova` - but this is for desktops with `Electron`. It also features a full hot code

push implementation - which means you can release updates the same way you are used to.



## Migrating from `meteor-desktop` to `@meteor-community/meteor-desktop`

This package was created by [wojtkowiak](https://github.com/wojtkowiak/) and was published under the name `meteor-desktop` up until version 2.2.5. After 2.2.6 it transitioned to being owned and published under the [Meteor-Community-Packages](https://github.com/Meteor-Community-Packages) GitHub and npm org.



To migrate from the original `meteor-desktop`:

1. Replace the npm package

   * Replace your package.json "devDependencies" entry for `"meteor-desktop"` to `"@meteor-community/meteor-desktop"`

2. Replace the two Meteor Atmosphere packages

   * Run `meteor remove omega:meteor-desktop-bundler` and `meteor add communitypackages:meteor-desktop-bundler`

   * Run `meteor remove omega:meteor-desktop-watcher` and `meteor add communitypackages:meteor-desktop-watcher`



## Prerequisites



 - Meteor >= `1.12.1`

 - at least basic [Electron](http://electron.atom.io/) framework knowledge

 - mobile platform added to project__*1__  



__*1__ you can always build with `--server-only` if you do not want to have mobile clients,  you do not actually have to have android sdk or xcode to go on with your project



## Quick start

```bash

cd /your/meteor/app

meteor npm install --save-dev @meteor-community/meteor-desktop

meteor add-platform ios # or android

npm run desktop -- init



meteor --mobile-server=127.0.0.1:3000



# open new terminal

npm run desktop

```



The first time, you can also combine `npm run desktop -- init` and `npm run desktop` into `npm run desktop -- --scaffold` once meteor is running.



## Usage `--help`



```

// Assumming you have a `desktop` script in npm scripts that equals to "@meteor-community/meteor-desktop"

Usage: npm run desktop -- [command] [options]



  Commands:



    init                       scaffolds .desktop dir in the meteor app

    run [ddp_url]              (default) builds and runs desktop app

    build [ddp_url]            builds your desktop app

    build-installer [ddp_url]  creates the installer

    just-run                   alias for running `electron .` in `.meteor/desktop-build`

    package [ddp_url]          runs electron packager

    init-tests-support         prepares project for running functional tests of desktop app



  Options:



    -h, --help                            output usage information

    -b, --build-meteor                    runs meteor to obtain the mobile build, kills it after

    -t, --build-timeout   timeout value when waiting for meteor to build, default 600sec

    -p, --port                      port on which meteor is running, when with -b this will be passed to meteor when obtaining the build

    --production                          builds meteor app with the production switch, uglifies contents of .desktop, packs app to app.asar

    -a, --android                         force adding android as a mobile platform instead of ios

    -s, --scaffold                        will scaffold .desktop if not present

    -i, --ignore-stderr [string]          only with -b, strings that when found will not terminate meteor build

    --meteor-settings               only with -b, adds --settings options to meteor

    --prod-debug                          forces adding dev tools to a production build

    --ia32                                generate 32bit installer/package

    --all-archs                           generate 32bit and 64bit installers

    --win                                 generate Windows installer

    --linux                               generate Linux installer

    --mac                                 generate Mac installer

    -d, --debug                           run electron with debug switch    

    -V, --version                         output the version number



  [ddp_url] - pass a ddp url if you want to use different one than used in meteor's --mobile-server

              this will also work with -b

```

#### `--build-meteor`

If you just want to build the desktop app, package it or build installer without running the

`Meteor` project separately you can just use `-b` and all will be done automatically - this is useful when

for example building on a CI etc.



#### `--android`

When there is no mobile platform in the project and `-b` is used, mobile platform is added

automatically and removed at the end of the build process. Normally an `ios` platform is added

but you can change this to `android` through this option.



Documentation

=================

  * [Architecture](#architecture)

     * [How does this work with Meteor?](#how-does-this-work-with-meteor)

     * [How the Electron app is structured?](#how-the-electron-app-is-structured)

     * [Where is my app.on('ready')?](#where-is-my-apponready)

  * [Scaffolding your desktop app](#scaffolding-your-desktop-app)

     * [settings.json](#settingsjson)

        * [Applying different window options for different OS](#applying-different-window-options-for-different-os)

        * [Supported dependency version types](#supported-dependency-version-types)

     * [desktop.js](#desktopjs)

        * [skeletonApp](#skeletonapp)

        * [eventsBus](#eventsbus)

        * [modules](#modules)

        * [Module](#module)

  * [Writing modules](#writing-modules)

     * [extract](#extract)

  * [Hot code push support](#hot-code-push-support)

  * [Meteor.isDesktop](#meteorisdesktop)

  * [Accessing local filesystem in Meteor](#accessing-local-filesystem-in-meteor)

  * [Accessing .desktop/assets in Meteor](#accessing-desktopassets-in-meteor)

  * [Desktop and Module - communication between Meteor and Electron](#desktop-and-module)

     * [Module - desktop side](#module---desktop-side)

     * [Desktop - Meteor side](#desktop---meteor-side)

  * [desktopHCP - .desktop hot code push](#desktophcp---desktop-hot-code-push)

     * [How this works](#how-this-works)

     * [Caveats](#caveats)

  * [How to write plugins](#how-to-write-plugins)

     * [meteorDependencies in package.json](#meteordependencies-in-packagejson)

        * [List of known plugins:](#list-of-known-plugins)

  * [Squirrel autoupdate support](#squirrel-autoupdate-support)

  * [Native modules support](#native-modules-support)

  * [Testing desktop app and modules](#testing-desktop-app-and-modules)

  * [MD_LOG_LEVEL](#md_log_level)

  * [Packaging](#packaging)

  * [Building installer](#building-installer)

    * [Building for linux](#building-for-linux)

    * [Building for Windows Store (AppX)](#building-for-windows-store-appx)

  * [Roadmap](#roadmap)

  * [Contribution](#contribution)

  * [Built with meteor-desktop](#built-with-meteor-desktop)

  * [FAQ](#faq)  

  * [Changelog](CHANGELOG.md)



## Architecture



If you have ever been using any `Cordova` plugins before you will find this approach alike. In `Cordova` every plugin exposes its native code through a JS api available in some global namespace like `cordova.plugins`. The approach used here is similar.



In `Electron` app, there are two processes running along in your app. The so-called `main

process` and `renderer process`. Main process is just a JS code executed in `node`, and the

renderer is a `Chromium` process. In this integration your `Meteor` app is being run in the

`renderer` process and your desktop specific code runs in the `main` process. They are

communicating through IPC events. Basically, the desktop side publishes its API as an IPC event

listeners. In your `Meteor` code, calling it is as simple as `Desktop.send('module', 'event');`.  



Code on the desktop side is preferred to be modular - that is just for simplifying testing and

encapsulating functionalities into independent modules. However, you do not have to follow this style, there is an `import` dir in which you can structure your code however you want. The basics of an `Electron` app are already in place (reffered as `Skeleton App`) and your code is loaded like a plugin to it.



Below is a high level architecture diagram of this integration.



![High level architecture](docs/high-level-arch.png)



#### How does this work with Meteor?

> or how hacky is this?



The main goal was to provide a non hacky integration without actually submitting any desktop

oriented pull request to `Meteor`.

The whole concept is based on taking the `web.cordova` build, modifying it as little as possible

and running it in the `Electron's` renderer process. The current `cordova` integration

architecture is more or less conceptually replicated.



Currently the only modification that the mobile build is subjected to is injecting the `Meteor.isDesktop` variable.



To obtain the mobile build, this integration takes the build from either

`.meteor/local/cordova-build` (version `< 1.3.4.1`) or from `.meteor/local/build/programs/web.cordova`.

Because `index.html` is not present in the `web.cordova` directory and `program.json` lacks

`version` field, they are just downloaded from the running project.



#### How the `Electron` app is structured?



The produced `Electron` app consists barely of 4 files:



- `app.asar` - bundled `Skeleton App` and `node_modules` (including all your dependencies from

`settings.json` and modules)

- `meteor.asar` - your `Meteor` app bundled to an `.asar`

- `desktop.asar` - processed contents from `.desktop`

- `package.json` - `Electron` requires a `package.json` to be present



While developing, the `app` is not asared so you can take a closer look at the `Skeleton` that is

 produced by this integration. You will find it in the `.meteor/desktop-build` directory.



#### Where is my `app.on('ready')`?



The `app.on('ready')` is handled for you by the `Skeleton` app, but that does not mean you can

not hook into it. Basically, code that is in the constructor of `.desktop/desktop.js` and

all constructors of your modules is executed while being inside `ready`. Remember that is always

a good practice not to do time consuming tasks inside the constructors but instead delay those tasks

by hooking to `beforeDesktopJsLoad`, `desktopLoaded` or `afterInitialization` on the `eventsBus`.



## Scaffolding your desktop app



If you have not run the example from the Quick start paragraph, first you need to scaffold a

`.desktop` dir in which your `Electron's` main process code lives.

To do that run: (assuming `npm install --save-dev meteor-desktop` did add successfully a `desktop`

entry in the `package.json scripts` section)

```bash

npm run desktop -- init

```



This will generate an exemplary `.desktop` dir. Lets take a look what we can find there:

```

.desktop

├── assets                     # place all your assets here

├── import                     # all code you do not want to structure into modules  

├── modules                    # your desktop modules (check modules section for explanation)

│    └── example               # module example

│         ├── index.js         # entrypoint of the example module

│         ├── example.test.js  # functional test for the example module

│         └── module.json      # module configuration  

├── desktop.js                 # your Electron main process entry point - treated like a module

├── desktop.test.js            # functional test for you desktop app

├── settings.json              # your app settings

└── squirrelEvents.js          # handling of squirrel.windows events

```



Tak a look into the files. Most of them have meaningful comments inside.



Some files are described more in detail below..

### settings.json



This is the main configuration file for your desktop app.

Below you can find brief descriptions of the fields.



field|description

-----|-----------

`name`|just a name for your project

`version`|version of the desktop app

`projectName`|this will be used as a `name` in the generated app's package.json

`devTools`|whether to install and open `devTools`, set automatically to false when building with `--production`

`singleInstance`|sets the single instance mode - [more](https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/master/docs/api/app.md#appmakesingleinstancecallback)

`desktopHCP`|whether to use `.desktop` hot code push module - [more](#desktophcp---desktop-hot-code-push)

`desktopHCPIgnoreCompatibilityVersion`|ignore the `.desktop` compatibility version and install new versions even if they can be incompatible

`desktopHCPCompatibilityVersion`|allows to override `.desktop` compatibility version

`squirrel.autoUpdateFeedUrl`| DEPRECATED url passed to [`autoUpdater.setFeedUrl`](https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/master/docs/api/auto-updater.md#autoupdatersetfeedurlurl-requestheaders), [more](#squirrel-autoupdate-support)

`squirrel.autoUpdateFeedHeaders`| DEPRECATED http headers passed to [`autoUpdater.setFeedUrl`](https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/master/docs/api/auto-updater.md#autoupdatersetfeedurlurl-requestheaders)

`squirrel.autoUpdateCheckOnStart`| DEPRECATED whether to check for updates on app start

`rebuildNativeNodeModules`|turn on or off recompiling native modules, [more](#native-modules-support)

`webAppStartupTimeout`|amount of time after which the downloaded version is considered faulty if Meteor app did not start - [more](#hot-code-push-support)

`exposeLocalFilesystem`|turns on or off local filesystem exposure over url alias, [more](#accessing-local-filesystem-in-meteor)

`exposedModules`|array of module names, exposes any renderer modules in `Desktop.electron` space, i.e. list `webFrame` here to acess it via `Desktop.electron.webFrame` in Meteor project code

`showWindowOnStartupDidComplete`|normally, main window appears after Chromes `did-stop-loading` event, set this to `true` if you want to depened on Meteor's `startupDidComplete` event

`window`|production options for the main window - see [here](https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/master/docs/api/browser-window.md#new-browserwindowoptions)

`windowDev`|development options for the main window, applied on top of production options

`uglify`|whether to process the production build with uglify

`plugins`|meteor-desktop plugins list

`dependencies`|npm dependencies of your desktop app, the same like in `package.json`, only explicit versions are supported - check [here](#supported-dependency-version-types)

`linkPackages`|array of packages names you want to link (runs `npm link ` for every package listed)

`packageJsonFields`|fields to add to the generated `package.json` in your desktop app

`builderOptions`|[`electron-builder`](https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-builder) [options](https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-builder/wiki/Options)

`builderCliOptions`|specify additional electron-builder CLI options e.g for [publishing artifacts](https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-builder/wiki/Publishing-Artifacts)

`packagerOptions`|[`electron-packager`](https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-packager) [options](https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-packager/blob/master/docs/api.md)

`extract`|array containing dependencies that should not be packed into asar (should not be needed as there is an automatic algorithm that will exclude all dependencies containing binary files)



##### Applying different window options for different OS



You can use `_windows`, `_osx`, `_linux` properties to set additional settings for different OS.

The default `settings.json` is already using that for setting a different window icon for OSX.



##### Supported dependency version types



Only explicit versions are supported to avoid potential problems with different versions being

installed. It is no different from `Meteor` because the same applies to adding `Cordova` plugins.



You can however use a local path to a npm package - and that will not be forbidden. **You need**

to keep track what has been distributed to your clients and what your current code is expecting

when releasing a HCP update.



### desktop.js



The `desktop.js` is the entrypoint of your desktop app. Let's take a look what references we

receive in the constructor.

```javascript

    /**

     * @param {Object} log         - Winston logger instance

     * @param {Object} skeletonApp - reference to the skeleton app instance

     * @param {Object} appSettings - settings.json contents

     * @param {Object} eventsBus   - event emitter for listening or emitting events

     *                               shared across skeleton app and every module/plugin

     * @param {Object} modules     - references to all loaded modules

     * @param {Object} Module      - reference to the Module class

     * @constructor

     */

    constructor({ log, skeletonApp, appSettings, eventsBus, modules, Module })

```

Some of the references are describe in detail below:



#### `skeletonApp`



This is a reference to the Skeleton App. Currently there are only two methods you can call.  

`isProduction` - whether this is a production build  

`removeUncaughtExceptionListener` - removes the default handler so you can put your own in place



#### `eventsBus`



This is just an `EventEmitter` that is an event bus meant to be used across all entities running

in the `Electron's` main process (`.desktop`). Currently there are several events emitted on the

bus by the `Skeleton App` that you may find useful:



event name|payload|description

----------|-------|------------

`unhandledException`| |emitted on any unhandled exceptions, by hooking to it you can run code before any other handler will be executed   

`beforePluginsLoad`| |emitted before plugins are loaded

`beforeModulesLoad`| |emitted before internal modules and modules from `.desktop` are loaded

`beforeDesktopJsLoad`| |emitted before `desktop.js` is loaded

`beforeLocalServerInit`| |emitted before local http server starts

`desktopLoaded`|`(desktop)`|emitted after loading `desktop.js`, carries the reference to class instance exported from it

`afterInitialization`| |emitted after initialization of internal modules like HCP and local HTTP server

`startupFailed`| |emitted when the `Skeleton App` could not start you `Meteor` app  

`beforeLoadFinish`| |emitted when the `Meteor` app finished loading, but just before the window is shown  

`loadingFinished`| |emitted when the `Meteor` app finished loading (also after HCP reload)  

`windowSettings`|`(windowSettings)`|emitted with the settings that will be passed to [`BrowserWindow`](https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/master/docs/api/browser-window.md) constructor - if needed the object can be modified in the event handler to override window settings from `settings.json`  

`windowCreated`|`(window)`|emitted when the [`BrowserWindow`](https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/master/docs/api/browser-window.md) (`Chrome` window with `Meteor` app) is  created, passes a reference to this window

`newVersionReady`|`(version, desktopVersion)`|emitted when a new `Meteor` bundle was downloaded and is ready to be applied  

`revertVersionReady`|`(version)`|emitted just before the `Meteor` app version will be reverted (due to faulty version fallback mechanism) be applied  

`beforfeLoadUrl`|`(port, lastPort)`|emitted before `webContents.loadURL` is invoked, in other words just before loading the Meteor app; `port` - the port on which the app is served, `lastPort` - the port on which the app was served previously (when HCP is applied)

`beforeReload`|`(pendingVersion, containsDesktopUpdate)`|emitted just before HCP reload

`moduleLoadFailed`|`(dirName, error)`|emitted if a module failed to load

`childWindow`|`(openWindowHandlerResult, details)`| emitted when child window is created. Gives possibility to reject or set up BrowserWindowConstructorOptions. For details see [setWindowOpenHandler](https://www.electronjs.org/docs/latest/api/web-contents#contentssetwindowopenhandlerhandler)



Your can also emit events on this bus as well. A good practice is to namespace them using dots,

like for instance `myModule.initalized`.



#### `modules`



Object with references to other modules and plugins. Plugins can be found under their names i.e.,

`modules['meteor-desktop-splash-screen]`.  

Any module can be found under the name from `module.json`.

Internal modules such as `autoupdate` and `localServer` are also there. You can also get reference to the `desktop.js` from `modules['desktop']` (note that the reference is also passed in

the `desktopLoaded` event).



#### `Module`



Class that provides a way of defining API reachable by `Meteor` app - [more](#module---desktop-side).



## Writing modules



Module is just an encapsulated piece of code. Usually you would just provide certain type of

grouped functionality in it. You can treat it like a plugin to your desktop app.  

One important rule is that you should not import files from the outside of your module directory

as this will cause you problems when writing tests.  

You can always reach to other modules through `modules` and you can as well add a module with

 some common code or utils.

Every module lives in its own directory and has to have a `module.json` file. Currently there are

 only four fields there supported:

- `name` - name of your module, will be used as a key in `modules` object

- `dependencies` - list of npm deps

- `extract` - list of files that should be excluded from packing into `.asar` (e.g. executables,

files meant to be changed etc)

- `settings` - this object is passed as `settings` field in the object passed to module constructor



#### `extract`

A little bit more about this. Files should be listed in a form of relative path to the module

directory without any leading slashes, for example `extract: [ "dir/something.exe" ]` will be

matched to `.desktop/modules/myModule/dir/something.exe`.



To path to your extracted files is added to your module `settings` as `extractedFilesPath`

. So your module constructor can look like this:

```javascript

import path from 'path';

export default class Desktop {

    constructor({ log, skeletonApp, appSettings, eventsBus, modules, settings, Module }) {

        this.pathToExe = path.join(settings.extractedFilesPath, 'dir/something.exe');

    }

}

```

**WARNING:** currently the path of the file is not reconstructed meaning `extract: [ "dir1/something.exe", "dir2/something.exe' ]` will try to put both `something.exe` files to the same dir and that may fail or produce inconsistent result. So the bare file names without the path must be unique.



## Hot code push support



Applications produced by this integration are fully compatible with `Meteor`'s hot code push

mechanism.  

The faulty version recovery is also in place - [more about it here](https://guide.meteor.com/mobile.html#recovering-from-faulty-versions). You can configure the timeout via

`webAppStartupTimeout` field in `settings.json`.  



Versions are downloaded and served from [`userData`](https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/master/docs/api/app.md#appgetpathname) directory.

There you can find `autoupdate.json` and `versions` dir. If you want to return to first

bundled version just delete them.



You can also analyze `autoupdate.log` if you are experiencing any issues.



## `Meteor.isDesktop`



In your `Meteor` app to run a part of the code only in the desktop context you can use `Meteor.isDesktop`. Use it the same way you would use `Meteor.isClient` or `Meteor.isCordova`.



## Accessing local filesystem in Meteor



Local filesystem is exposed under and url alias (similarly to [Cordova integration](https://guide.meteor.com/mobile.html#accessing-local-files)).

This feature is disabled by default so you need to enable it first by setting

`exposeLocalFilesystem` in your `settings.json` to `true`. Files are exposed under

`/local-filesystem/` url.



You can use some convenience methods:

- **`Desktop.getFileUrl(absolutePath)`** - returns an url to a file

- **`Desktop.fetchFile(absolutePath)`** - invokes `fetch` on a file's url and returns it's

`Promise`



## Accessing `.desktop/assets` in Meteor



Assets are exposed over an url alias `\___desktop\`.

So to display an image named `test.png` from `.desktop/assets` you should use a

`\___desktop\test.png` url.



You can use some convenience methods:

- **`Desktop.getAssetUrl(assetPath)`** - returns an asset's url

- **`Desktop.fetchAsset(assetPath)`** - invokes `fetch` on an asset's url and returns it's

`Promise`



## `Desktop` and `Module` - communication between Meteor and Electron



### `Module` - desktop side

Use it to declare your API on the desktop side which you can later call from Meteor project.

```javascript

    this.module = new Module('myModuleName');

```

[Documentation of the Module API](docs/api/module.md) - basically, it reflects [`ipcMain`](https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/master/docs/api/ipc-main.md).  



The only two additions are the `fetch` and `respond` methods:

 - **fetch```(event, timeout = 2000, ...args)```** - like send but returns a `Promise` that resolves to a response, timeouts after 2000ms by default

 - **call```(module, ...args)```** - `fetch` but without the need specify timeout

 - **setDefaultFetchTimeout```(timeout)```** - set the default timeout for `fetch` within this module

 - **respond```(event, fetchId, ...data)```** is a convenient method of sending response to `Desktop.fetch`. The `fetchId` is always the second argument received in `on`.  

Here is an [usage example](https://github.com/wojtkowiak/meteor-desktop-localstorage/blob/master/src/index.js#L31).



### `Desktop` - Meteor side

[Documentation of the Desktop API](docs/api/desktop.md) - reflects partially [`ipcRenderer`](https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/master/docs/api/ipc-renderer.md)*.    



* `sendSync` and `sendToHost` are not available



Use it to call and listen for events from the desktop side.



The only difference is that you always need to precede arguments with module name.

There are two extra methods:  

- **fetch```(module, event, timeout = 2000, ...args)```** - like send but returns a `Promise` that resolves to a response, timeouts after 2000ms by default

- **call```(module, event, ...args)```** - `fetch` but without the need specify timeout

- **setDefaultFetchTimeout```(timeout)```** - set the default timeout for `fetch`

- **respond```(module, event, fetchId, ...data)```** is a convenient method of sending response to `Module.fetch`. The `fetchId` is always the second argument received in `on`.  

- **sendGlobal** - alias for `ipcRenderer.send` - if you need to send an IPC that is not namespaced



Example of `send` and `fetch` usage - [here](https://github.com/wojtkowiak/meteor-desktop-localstorage/blob/master/plugins/localstorage/localstorage.js#L9).  



## desktopHCP - `.desktop` hot code push

> #### experimental!



There is an experimental support for hot code push of the `.desktop` directory.  

It works similarly to the `Meteor`'s builtin one. It also produces a `version` and

`compatibilityVersion` to detect whether the update can be made.  

In `Meteor` whenever you change any of your `Cordova` dependencies (add/remove/change version)

you will make an incompatible change meaning that a new version will not be hot code pushed.  

The same applies here. In this case your desktop dependencies are npm packages.   

To make it clear, **npm packages are not hot code pushed** - only contents of `.desktop` are.



The `compatibilityVersion` is calculated from combined list of:

 - dependencies from `settings.json`

 - plugins from `settings.json`

 - dependencies from all modules in `.desktop/modules`

 - major version of `meteor-desktop` (X.Y.Z - only X is taken)

 - major version from `settings.json` (X.Y.Z - only X is taken).



Be aware that when it comes to linked packages (via `linkPackages` in `settings.json`) the

explicitly declared version (the one in `settings.json` or modules) is taken into account, not the

actual one from package's package.json. The same applies to packages added from local paths.  

Generally, it is a bad idea to build production app with linked/local packages. Changes in those will not trigger a compatibility version change so you migh accidentally push a new version with `desktopHCP` that will not work.



#### How this works

Two Meteor plugins are added to your project - bundler and watcher. Bundler prepares the `desktop.asar` which is then added to you project as an asset.   

Watcher just watches for file changes and triggers project rebuilds.   



#### Caveats

- desktop app needs to be restarted when a new bundle is applied

- the bundled desktop app goes over normal HCP mechanism meaning that a `desktop.asar` file will

also be

distributed to your mobile clients and cause unnecessary updates in case you only made changes in

 `.desktop`

- files that are excluded from `desktop.asar` (via `extract` settings in a desktop module) are

not updated, nor checked for changes!

- if you had errors (i.e. syntax) in `.desktop` which prevented startup, watcher might not work correctly and further changes

 in `.desktop` will not trigger rebuilds, in that case you need to make any

change in `version` field in the `desktop.version` to trigger rebuild (this file is in the root of

your project) - this can be any change like just adding random char to the hash

- after reload logs will no longer be shown in the console



## How to write plugins



Plugin is basically a module exported to a npm package. `module.json` is not needed and not taken

 into account because `name` and `dependencies` are already in `package.json`. Also you can not use

 the `extract` functionality as that only works in modules. Plugin `settings` are set and taken

 from the `plugins` section of `settings.json`. [Here](scaffold/settings.json#L26) is an example of passing settings to splash

 screen plugin.



 While developing you will probably need to make use of `linkPackages` in `settings.json`, so that

 your npm-packaged plugin would be linked instead of downloaded. However the advised approach is

 to make the development test driven - meaning that you should make your tests the main way of

 verifying whether the plugin does what it should.

#### `meteorDependencies` in `package.json`

One extra feature is that you can also depend on Meteor packages through `meteorDependencies`

field in `package.json`. Check out [`meteor-desktop-localstorage`](https://github.com/wojtkowiak/meteor-desktop-localstorage/blob/master/package.json#L52) for example.  

A good practice when your plugin contains a meteor plugin is to publish both at the same version.

You can then use `@version` in the `meteorDependecies` to indicate that the Meteor plugin's

version should be equal to npm package version.



If you made a plugin, please let us know so that it can be listed here.

##### List of known plugins:

[`meteor-desktop-system-notifications`](https://github.com/tzapu/meteor-desktop-system-notifications)  

[`meteor-desktop-splashscreen`](https://github.com/wojtkowiak/meteor-desktop-splash-screen)  

[`meteor-desktop-localstorage`](https://github.com/wojtkowiak/meteor-desktop-localstorage) (deprecated, do not use from `1.0.0`)  



## Squirrel autoupdate support (DEPRECATED)



Squirrel Window and OSX autoupdates are supported. So far the only tested server is

[`electron-release-server`](https://github.com/ArekSredzki/electron-release-server) and the

default url `http://127.0.0.1/update/:platform/:version` provided in `settings.json` assumes you

will be using it.  

The `:platform` and `:version` tags are automatically replaced by correct values.   

You can hook into Squirrel Windows events in `squirrelEvents.js` in `.desktop`.



More:  

https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/master/docs/api/auto-updater.md  

https://github.com/ArekSredzki/electron-release-server



## Native modules support



This integration fully supports rebuilding native modules (npm packages with native node modules)

 against `Electron's` `node` version. The mechanism is enabled by default.



## Testing desktop app and modules



For unit tests you should not have problems with using [electron-mocha](https://github.com/jprichardson/electron-mocha).  

For functional testing [Spectron](http://electron.atom.io/spectron) should be used.



There are two exemplary tests present in the default scaffold. Check them out as they have some

comments in them.  

To run them you need to init functional test support by invoking:

```

npm run desktop -- init-tests-support

```

Two tasks should be added to your `scripts` section: `test-desktop` and `test-desktop-watch`.

Feel free to run the tests with: `npm run test-desktop`.



For testing modules there is a [test suite](https://github.com/wojtkowiak/meteor-desktop-test-suite) available.

It is used extensively in the plugins (splash screen & localstorage) tests so you can check there

for more examples.



## `MD_LOG_LEVEL`

`MD_LOG_LEVEL` env var is used to set the logger verbosity. It is set to

`ALL` by default but you can change it to any of `INFO, WARN, ERROR, DEBUG, VERBOSE, TRACE`. You can also

select multiple levels joining them with a comma, for example: `INFO,WARN`.



## Packaging



`npm run desktop -- package `



This produces a package using [`electron-packager`](https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-packager).  

Package is produced and saved in `.desktop-package` directory. You can pass options via `packagerOptions` in

`settings.json`.



## Building installer



`npm run desktop -- build-installer `



This packages and builds installer using [`electron-builder`](https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-builder).  

Installer is produced and saved in `.desktop-installer` directory. You can pass options via

`builderOptions` in `settings.json`.  

If you do not pass any target platforms via `--win`, `--linux` or `--mac` it will build for your

current platform. If at least one the platform is specified, the current platform will not be

added automatically. So if you want to build Windows and Mac at the same time, being on Mac,

you need to pass `--win --mac`, not only `--win`. To check what targets you can build on certain platform and what does it require

check [Multi-Platform-Build](https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-builder/wiki/Multi-Platform-Build)



Please note that `electron-builder` does not use `electron-packager` to create a package. So the

options from `packagerOptions` are not taken into account.



##### Building for linux

Currently there are some defaults provided only for `Windows` and `Mac`. If you want to build for

 `Linux` you need to add a [`linux`](https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-builder/wiki/Options#LinuxBuildOptions) section in your `builderOptions` and comply to these

 [requirements](https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-builder/wiki/Multi-Platform-Build#linux).



##### Building for Windows Store (AppX)

Change `target: ["appx"]` in `win` section of `builderOptions`. In case of problems please refer to

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



## Developing meteor-desktop



No matter which method below you choose, run `npm run build-watch` in your local meteor-desktop folder before making changes to the code, if you want them reflected in Meteor apps that depend on the package.



### Using devEnvSetup.js

To help you contribute, there is a development environment setup script. It also runs default tests.



This script assumes you have `npm`, `git` and `meteor` available from the command line. Note that by default, the script will install packages in the *parent* directory of where it is, so it is recommended to clone meteor-desktop inside an empty dir.



```bash

mkdir meteor-desktop-dev && cd meteor-desktop-dev

git clone https://github.com/Meteor-Community-Packages/meteor-desktop.git

cd meteor-desktop

npm install

node devEnvSetup.js

```



### Without using devEnvSetup.js



1. Clone and install meteor-desktop as above

2. From a clean Meteor project, install meteor-desktop from its local folder: `meteor npm i --save-dev /path/to/meteor-desktop` (doesn't work with npm link, tbc)

3. In your Meteor app's `package.json`:

   1. Add a script `desktop` with `METEOR_PACKAGE_DIRS=/path/to/meteor-desktop/plugins node /path/to/meteor-desktop/dist/bin/cli.js`

   2. Add `METEOR_PACKAGE_DIRS=/path/to/meteor-desktop/plugins` to the `start` script as well.



The last step is so that the desktop HCP Meteor packages are also taken from your local meteor-desktop repo. 

Make sure to run Meteor with `meteor npm start` rather than just `meteor`.



Finally, follow the above "Quick start" steps (except the npm install) from your Meteor app.



## Built with `meteor-desktop`



Built an app using meteor-desktop? File an issue or PR to list it here.



* [Coygo](https://www.coygo.app) - Multi-exchange cryptocurrency and digital asset trading tool



## FAQ



> How to disable `zip` building when using `build-installer` on OSX.



Add `target: ["dmg"]` to `mac` section of `builderOptions`.



## Changelog



is [here](CHANGELOG.md)