@electron-forge/maker-nsis

An electron-forge maker for NSIS that supports electron-forge v6 and can be used as a replacement for electron-builder. Supports code-signing and basic updates with electron-updater.

Features

- Creates Windows installers using NSIS (Nullsoft Scriptable Install System)
- Supports code-signing for Windows applications
- Compatible with electron-forge v6
- Supports basic updates with electron-updater
- Cross-architecture support (x64, ia32, arm64)

Installation

``bash
npm install --save-dev @electron-forge/maker-nsis
`

Configuration

To use this maker, add it to your electron-forge configuration in package.json:

`json
{
"config": {
"forge": {
"packagerConfig": {},
"makers": [
{
"name": "@electron-forge/maker-nsis",
"config": {
// Optional: Code signing configuration
"codesign": {
"certificateFile": "./path/to/certificate.p12",
"certificatePassword": "your-certificate-password",
"signingHashAlgorithms": ["sha256"],
"timestampServer": "http://timestamp.digicert.com"
},
// Optional: Auto-updater configuration
"updater": {
"url": "https://your-update-server.com",
"channel": "latest",
"publisherName": ["Your Company Name"]
},
// Optional: Additional app-builder-lib configuration
"getAppBuilderConfig": async () => {
return {
// Additional app-builder-lib configuration
"productName": "My App",
"artifactName": "${productName}-Setup-${version}.${ext}",
"compression": "maximum",
"oneClick": false,
"allowToChangeInstallationDirectory": true
};
}
}
}
]
}
}
}
`

Configuration Options

$3


- codesign: Configuration object for Windows code signing
- certificateFile: Path to the signing certificate file
- certificatePassword: Password for the certificate file
- signingHashAlgorithms: Array of hash algorithms to use for signing (e.g., ["sha256"])
- timestampServer: URL for the timestamp server

$3

- updater: Configuration object for electron-updater compatibility
- url: Base URL for update files
- channel: Update channel (default: "latest")
- publisherName: Array of publisher names for the app-update.yml file
- updaterCacheDirName: Optional cache directory name for updates

$3

- getAppBuilderConfig: Async function that returns additional configuration for app-builder-lib

Usage

Once configured, you can build your installer with:

`bash
npm run make
`

This will generate a Windows NSIS installer in the out/make directory.

Code Signing

To properly sign your Windows application:

1. Obtain a valid code signing certificate from a trusted Certificate Authority
2. Configure the codesign option with the path to your certificate file and its password
3. Run the make command - your application will be automatically signed during the build process

Auto-updater Support

This maker includes built-in support for electron-updater:

1. Configure the updater option with your update server URL
2. Include electron-updater in your application dependencies
3. Publish your updates to the specified URL
4. The installer will include an app-update.yml file that electron-updater will use

Development

To build the maker from source:

`bash
npm run build
`

To lint the source code:

`bash
npm run lint
``

Requirements

- Node.js >= 20.0.0
- Windows platform for building (for code signing and NSIS compilation)

License

MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.