Introduction

Bootstrap and package your project with Angular 8 and Electron (Typescript + SASS + Hot Reload) for creating Desktop applications.

Currently runs with:

• Angular v8.1.3
• Electron v6.0.2
• Electron Builder v21.2.0

With this sample, you can :

• Run your app in a local development environment with Electron & Hot reload
• Run your app in a production environment
• Package your app into an executable file for Linux, Windows & Mac

/!\ Angular 8.0 CLI needs Node 10.9 or later to work.

Getting Started

Clone this repository locally :

git clone https://github.com/maximegris/angular-electron.git

Install dependencies with npm :

npm install

There is an issue with yarn and node_modules that are only used in electron on the backend when the application is built by the packager. Please use npm as dependencies manager.

If you want to generate Angular components with Angular-cli , you MUST install @angular/cli in npm global context. Please follow Angular-cli documentation if you had installed a previous version of angular-cli.

npm install -g @angular/cli

To build for development

• in a terminal window -> npm start

Voila! You can use your Angular + Electron app in a local development environment with hot reload !

The application code is managed by main.ts. In this sample, the app runs with a simple Angular App (http://localhost:4200) and an Electron window. The Angular component contains an example of Electron and NodeJS native lib import. You can disable "Developer Tools" by commenting win.webContents.openDevTools(); in main.ts.

Included Commands

Command	Description
npm run ng:serve:web	Execute the app in the browser
npm run build	Build the app. Your built files are in the /dist folder.
npm run build:prod	Build the app with Angular aot. Your built files are in the /dist folder.
npm run electron:local	Builds your application and start electron
npm run electron:linux	Builds your application and creates an app consumable on linux system
npm run electron:windows	On a Windows OS, builds your application and creates an app consumable in windows 32/64 bit systems
npm run electron:mac	On a MAC OS, builds your application and generates a .app file of your application that can be run on Mac

Your application is optimised. Only /dist folder and node dependencies are included in the executable.

You want to use a specific lib (like rxjs) in electron main thread ?

You can do this! Just by importing your library in npm dependencies (not devDependencies) with npm install --save. It will be loaded by electron during build phase and added to the final package. Then use your library by importing it in main.ts file. Easy no ?

Browser mode

Maybe you want to execute the application in the browser with hot reload ? You can do it with npm run ng:serve:web. Note that you can't use Electron or NodeJS native libraries in this case. Please check providers/electron.service.ts to watch how conditional import of electron/Native libraries is done.

Branch & Packages version

• Angular 4 & Electron 1 : Branch angular4
• Angular 5 & Electron 1 : Branch angular5
• Angular 6 & Electron 3 : Branch angular6
• Angular 7 & Electron 3 : Branch angular7
• Angular 8 & Electron 6 : (master)