Package Building

ElectronNET.Core integrates with Visual Studio's publishing system to create distributable Electron packages using electron-builder. The process leverages .NET's build system while automatically generating the necessary Electron configuration files.

🎯 Publishing Overview

The publishing process differs slightly between ASP.NET and console applications:

• ASP.NET Apps - Use folder publishing with SelfContained=true
• Console Apps - Use folder publishing with SelfContained=false

📋 Prerequisites

Before publishing, ensure you have:

• Node.js 22.x installed
• RuntimeIdentifier set correctly for your target platform
• Project configured for Release builds

🚀 Publishing Process

Step 1: Create Publish Profiles

Add publish profiles to Properties/PublishProfiles/:

ASP.NET Application Profile (Windows)

win-x64.pubxml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Project>
  <PropertyGroup>
    <Configuration>Release</Configuration>
    <Platform>Any CPU</Platform>
    <PublishDir>publish\$(Configuration)\$(TargetFramework)\$(RuntimeIdentifier)\</PublishDir>
    <PublishProtocol>FileSystem</PublishProtocol>
    <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
    <RuntimeIdentifier>win-x64</RuntimeIdentifier>
    <SelfContained>true</SelfContained>
    <PublishSingleFile>false</PublishSingleFile>
  </PropertyGroup>
</Project>

ASP.NET Application Profile (Linux)

linux-x64.pubxml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Project>
  <PropertyGroup>
    <Configuration>Release</Configuration>
    <Platform>Any CPU</Platform>
    <PublishDir>publish\$(Configuration)\$(TargetFramework)\$(RuntimeIdentifier)\</PublishDir>
    <PublishProtocol>FileSystem</PublishProtocol>
    <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
    <RuntimeIdentifier>linux-x64</RuntimeIdentifier>
    <SelfContained>true</SelfContained>
    <PublishSingleFile>false</PublishSingleFile>
  </PropertyGroup>
</Project>

Console Application Profile (Windows)

win-x64.pubxml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Project>
  <PropertyGroup>
    <Configuration>Release</Configuration>
    <Platform>Any CPU</Platform>
    <PublishDir>publish\$(Configuration)\$(TargetFramework)\$(RuntimeIdentifier)\</PublishDir>
    <PublishProtocol>FileSystem</PublishProtocol>
    <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
    <RuntimeIdentifier>win-x64</RuntimeIdentifier>
    <SelfContained>false</SelfContained>
    <PublishSingleFile>false</PublishSingleFile>
    <PublishReadyToRun>false</PublishReadyToRun>
  </PropertyGroup>
</Project>

Console Application Profile (Linux)

linux-x64.pubxml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Project>
  <PropertyGroup>
    <Configuration>Release</Configuration>
    <Platform>Any CPU</Platform>
    <PublishDir>publish\$(Configuration)\$(TargetFramework)\$(RuntimeIdentifier)\</PublishDir>
    <PublishProtocol>FileSystem</PublishProtocol>
    <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
    <RuntimeIdentifier>linux-x64</RuntimeIdentifier>
    <SelfContained>false</SelfContained>
    <PublishSingleFile>false</PublishSingleFile>
  </PropertyGroup>
</Project>

Step 2: Configure Electron Builder

ElectronNET.Core automatically adds a default electron-builder.json file under Properties\electron-builder.json.
Please see here for details of the available configuration options: https://www.electron.build/.

Step 3: Publish from Visual Studio

1. Right-click your project in Solution Explorer
2. Select "Publish"
3. Select your publish profile (Windows/Linux)
4. Click "Publish"

The publish process will:

• Build your .NET application
• Copy all files as needed
• Install npm dependencies
• Run electron-builder

Note

When running publish for a Linux configuration on Windows, Electron.NET will automatically use WSL for the platform-specific steps.

After publishing, build the final package, the final results will be in

publish\Release\netx.0\xxx-xxx\

🚀 Next Steps

• Startup Methods - Understanding different launch modes for packaged apps
• Debugging - Debug packaged applications
• Migration Guide - Update existing projects for new publishing

💡 Benefits

✅ Native VS Integration - Use familiar publish workflows
✅ Cross-Platform Building - Build Linux packages from Windows
✅ Automatic Configuration - No manual electron-builder setup
✅ Multiple Package Types - NSIS, AppImage, DMG, etc.
✅ CI/CD Ready - Easy integration with build pipelines