65 lines
3.3 KiB
Markdown
65 lines
3.3 KiB
Markdown
# Boilerplates and CLIs
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Electron development is unopinionated - there is no "one true way" to develop,
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build, package, or release an Electron application. Additional features for
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Electron, both for build- and run-time, can usually be found on
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[npm](https://www.npmjs.com/search?q=electron) in individual packages, allowing developers to build both
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the app and build pipeline they need.
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That level of modularity and extendability ensures that all developers working
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with Electron, both big and small in team-size, are never restricted in what
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they can or cannot do at any time during their development lifecycle. However,
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for many developers, one of the community-driven boilerplates or command line
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tools might make it dramatically easier to compile, package, and release an
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app.
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## Boilerplate vs CLI
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A boilerplate is only a starting point - a canvas, so to speak - from which
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you build your application. They usually come in the form of a repository you
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can clone and customize to your heart's content.
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A command line tool on the other hand continues to support you throughout the
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development and release. They are more helpful and supportive but enforce
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guidelines on how your code should be structured and built. *Especially for
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beginners, using a command line tool is likely to be helpful*.
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## electron-forge
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A "complete tool for building modern Electron applications". Electron Forge
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unifies the existing (and well maintained) build tools for Electron development
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into a cohesive package so that anyone can jump right in to Electron
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development.
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Forge comes with [a ready-to-use template](https://electronforge.io/templates) using Webpack as a bundler. It includes an example typescript configuration and provides two configuration files to enable easy customization. It uses the same core modules used by the
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greater Electron community (like [`electron-packager`](https://github.com/electron/electron-packager)) –
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changes made by Electron maintainers (like Slack) benefit Forge's users, too.
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You can find more information and documentation on [electronforge.io](https://electronforge.io/).
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## electron-builder
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A "complete solution to package and build a ready-for-distribution Electron app"
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that focuses on an integrated experience. [`electron-builder`](https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-builder) adds one
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single dependency focused on simplicity and manages all further requirements
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internally.
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`electron-builder` replaces features and modules used by the Electron
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maintainers (such as the auto-updater) with custom ones. They are generally
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tighter integrated but will have less in common with popular Electron apps
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like Atom, Visual Studio Code, or Slack.
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You can find more information and documentation in [the repository](https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-builder).
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## electron-react-boilerplate
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If you don't want any tools but only a solid boilerplate to build from,
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CT Lin's [`electron-react-boilerplate`](https://github.com/chentsulin/electron-react-boilerplate) might be worth
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a look. It's quite popular in the community and uses `electron-builder`
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internally.
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## Other Tools and Boilerplates
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The ["Awesome Electron" list](https://github.com/sindresorhus/awesome-electron#boilerplates) contains more tools and boilerplates
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to choose from. If you find the length of the list intimidating, don't
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forget that adding tools as you go along is a valid approach, too.
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