What kinds of installers and builds can electron-builder produce?

Updated

electron-builder produces distribution-ready artifacts for macOS, Windows, and Linux from a single command. According to the project's own description, it "produces installers, portable builds, and distribution-ready archives easily," targeting all three desktop platforms. So the practical answer is: you get platform-native installers (like .dmg/.pkg on macOS, .exe/.msi on Windows, and .AppImage/.deb/.rpm on Linux), plus portable builds and archives you can hand directly to users — all driven by the electron-builder command rather than separate per-platform toolchains.

The three artifact categories

electron-builder groups its output into three broad kinds:

  • Installers — platform-native setup programs that guide a user through installation.
  • Portable builds — self-contained executables that run without an install step.
  • Distribution-ready archives — packaged bundles (e.g. zipped app directories) suitable for direct distribution or further processing.

This distinction matters when you decide what to ship: an installer is best for typical end users, a portable build suits users who can't or won't install software, and an archive is useful for internal distribution or as an input to your own packaging pipeline.

Cross-platform targets

Platform Typical artifact types
macOS Installers and app bundles, with notarization support
Windows Installers and portable builds, with Authenticode signing
Linux Installers and portable/archive formats

The exact set of formats per platform is configured in your build configuration; electron-builder maps your target choices to the appropriate native packaging for each OS.

One command to build

The headline workflow is a single command: electron-builder reads your configuration and produces the artifacts for the platforms you've specified. You don't invoke separate tools per OS — the command handles packaging and building into "a ready-for-distribution Electron app."

A typical flow looks like this:

  1. Configure your targets (which platforms and which artifact types) in your project's build config.
  2. Run the electron-builder command.
  3. Collect the resulting installers, portable builds, or archives from the output directory.

The expected result is a set of files you can distribute without further packaging work.

Auto-update and signing come with the build

Two capabilities are built into the same pipeline and affect what you can ship:

  • Auto-update via electron-updater, supporting differential updates, staged rollouts, and multiple providers such as GitHub Releases and S3, with minimal configuration.
  • Code signing and notarization — macOS notarization and Windows Authenticode signing are available out of the box, so users see trusted, verified apps.

If you plan to distribute publicly, factor signing into your build choices early, since it changes which artifacts are ready to ship versus which need additional steps.

How to choose

  • Shipping to general users? Use platform-native installers.
  • Users can't install software, or you want a no-setup option? Use a portable build.
  • Feeding another pipeline or distributing internally? Use a distribution-ready archive.
  • Need updates after release? Add electron-updater and pick a provider like GitHub Releases or S3.
  • Distributing to the public? Enable macOS notarization and Windows Authenticode signing so the apps appear verified.

The specific formats available per platform and the exact configuration keys are defined by electron-builder's own documentation, so confirm target names there before finalizing your build config.