Protocol Handler

You can set your app as the default app to open for a specific protocol. For instance, in this demo we set this app as the default for electron-api-demos://. The demo button above will launch a page in your default browser with a link. Click that link and it will re-launch this app.

Packaging

This feature will only work on macOS when your app is packaged. It will not work when you're launching it in development from the command-line. When you package your app you'll need to make sure the macOS plist for the app is updated to include the new protocol handler. If you're using electron-packager then you can add the flag --extend-info with a path to the plist you've created. The one for this app is below.

Renderer Process

            const {shell} = require('electron')
            const path = require('path')
            const protocolHandlerBtn = document.getElementById('protocol-handler')
            protocolHandlerBtn.addEventListener('click', () => {
                const pageDirectory = __dirname.replace('app.asar', 'app.asar.unpacked')
                const pagePath = path.join('file://', pageDirectory, '../../sections/system/protocol-link.html')
                shell.openExternal(pagePath)
            })
          

Main Process

            const {app, dialog} = require('electron')
            const path = require('path')

            if (process.defaultApp) {
                if (process.argv.length >= 2) {
                    app.setAsDefaultProtocolClient('electron-api-demos', process.execPath, [path.resolve(process.argv[1])])
                }
            } else {
                app.setAsDefaultProtocolClient('electron-api-demos')
            }

            app.on('open-url', (event, url) => {
                dialog.showErrorBox('Welcome Back', `You arrived from: ${url}`)
            })

          

macOS plist

            
                
                    
                        
                            CFBundleURLTypes
                            
                                
                                    CFBundleURLSchemes
                                    
                                        electron-api-demos
                                    
                                    CFBundleURLName
                                    Electron API Demos Protocol
                                
                            
                            ElectronTeamID
                            VEKTX9H2N7