b4658efae5
* docs: add custom dir placeholder explainer to installation docs * docs: provide a more concrete example of using ELECTRON_CUSTOM_DIR
181 lines
6.7 KiB
Markdown
181 lines
6.7 KiB
Markdown
# Installation
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To install prebuilt Electron binaries, use [`npm`][npm].
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The preferred method is to install Electron as a development dependency in your
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app:
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```sh
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npm install electron --save-dev
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```
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See the [Electron versioning doc][versioning] for info on how to
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manage Electron versions in your apps.
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## Global Installation
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You can also install the `electron` command globally in your `$PATH`:
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```sh
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npm install electron -g
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```
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## Customization
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If you want to change the architecture that is downloaded (e.g., `ia32` on an
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`x64` machine), you can use the `--arch` flag with npm install or set the
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`npm_config_arch` environment variable:
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```shell
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npm install --arch=ia32 electron
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```
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In addition to changing the architecture, you can also specify the platform
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(e.g., `win32`, `linux`, etc.) using the `--platform` flag:
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```shell
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npm install --platform=win32 electron
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```
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## Proxies
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If you need to use an HTTP proxy, you need to set the `ELECTRON_GET_USE_PROXY` variable to any
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value, plus additional environment variables depending on your host system's Node version:
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* [Node 10 and above][proxy-env-10]
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* [Before Node 10][proxy-env]
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## Custom Mirrors and Caches
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During installation, the `electron` module will call out to
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[`@electron/get`][electron-get] to download prebuilt binaries of
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Electron for your platform. It will do so by contacting GitHub's
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release download page (`https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v$VERSION`,
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where `$VERSION` is the exact version of Electron).
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If you are unable to access GitHub or you need to provide a custom build, you
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can do so by either providing a mirror or an existing cache directory.
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#### Mirror
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You can use environment variables to override the base URL, the path at which to
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look for Electron binaries, and the binary filename. The URL used by `@electron/get`
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is composed as follows:
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```javascript
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url = ELECTRON_MIRROR + ELECTRON_CUSTOM_DIR + '/' + ELECTRON_CUSTOM_FILENAME
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```
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For instance, to use the China CDN mirror:
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```shell
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ELECTRON_MIRROR="https://cdn.npm.taobao.org/dist/electron/"
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```
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By default, `ELECTRON_CUSTOM_DIR` is set to `v$VERSION`. To change the format,
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use the `{{ version }}` placeholder. For example, `version-{{ version }}`
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resolves to `version-5.0.0`, `{{ version }}` resolves to `5.0.0`, and
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`v{{ version }}` is equivalent to the default. As a more concrete example, to
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use the China non-CDN mirror:
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```shell
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ELECTRON_MIRROR="https://npm.taobao.org/mirrors/electron/"
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ELECTRON_CUSTOM_DIR="{{ version }}"
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```
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The above configuration will download from URLs such as
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`https://npm.taobao.org/mirrors/electron/8.0.0/electron-v8.0.0-linux-x64.zip`.
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#### Cache
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Alternatively, you can override the local cache. `@electron/get` will cache
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downloaded binaries in a local directory to not stress your network. You can use
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that cache folder to provide custom builds of Electron or to avoid making contact
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with the network at all.
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* Linux: `$XDG_CACHE_HOME` or `~/.cache/electron/`
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* MacOS: `~/Library/Caches/electron/`
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* Windows: `$LOCALAPPDATA/electron/Cache` or `~/AppData/Local/electron/Cache/`
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On environments that have been using older versions of Electron, you might find the
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cache also in `~/.electron`.
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You can also override the local cache location by providing a `electron_config_cache`
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environment variable.
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The cache contains the version's official zip file as well as a checksum, stored as
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a text file. A typical cache might look like this:
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```sh
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├── httpsgithub.comelectronelectronreleasesdownloadv1.7.9electron-v1.7.9-darwin-x64.zip
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│ └── electron-v1.7.9-darwin-x64.zip
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├── httpsgithub.comelectronelectronreleasesdownloadv1.7.9SHASUMS256.txt
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│ └── SHASUMS256.txt
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├── httpsgithub.comelectronelectronreleasesdownloadv1.8.1electron-v1.8.1-darwin-x64.zip
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│ └── electron-v1.8.1-darwin-x64.zip
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├── httpsgithub.comelectronelectronreleasesdownloadv1.8.1SHASUMS256.txt
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│ └── SHASUMS256.txt
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├── httpsgithub.comelectronelectronreleasesdownloadv1.8.2-beta.1electron-v1.8.2-beta.1-darwin-x64.zip
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│ └── electron-v1.8.2-beta.1-darwin-x64.zip
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├── httpsgithub.comelectronelectronreleasesdownloadv1.8.2-beta.1SHASUMS256.txt
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│ └── SHASUMS256.txt
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├── httpsgithub.comelectronelectronreleasesdownloadv1.8.2-beta.2electron-v1.8.2-beta.2-darwin-x64.zip
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│ └── electron-v1.8.2-beta.2-darwin-x64.zip
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├── httpsgithub.comelectronelectronreleasesdownloadv1.8.2-beta.2SHASUMS256.txt
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│ └── SHASUMS256.txt
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├── httpsgithub.comelectronelectronreleasesdownloadv1.8.2-beta.3electron-v1.8.2-beta.3-darwin-x64.zip
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│ └── electron-v1.8.2-beta.3-darwin-x64.zip
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└── httpsgithub.comelectronelectronreleasesdownloadv1.8.2-beta.3SHASUMS256.txt
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└── SHASUMS256.txt
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```
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## Skip binary download
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When installing the `electron` NPM package, it automatically downloads the electron binary.
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This can sometimes be unnecessary, e.g. in a CI environment, when testing another component.
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To prevent the binary from being downloaded when you install all npm dependencies you can set the environment variable `ELECTRON_SKIP_BINARY_DOWNLOAD`.
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E.g.:
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```sh
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ELECTRON_SKIP_BINARY_DOWNLOAD=1 npm install
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```
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## Troubleshooting
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When running `npm install electron`, some users occasionally encounter
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installation errors.
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In almost all cases, these errors are the result of network problems and not
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actual issues with the `electron` npm package. Errors like `ELIFECYCLE`,
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`EAI_AGAIN`, `ECONNRESET`, and `ETIMEDOUT` are all indications of such
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network problems. The best resolution is to try switching networks, or
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wait a bit and try installing again.
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You can also attempt to download Electron directly from
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[electron/electron/releases][releases]
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if installing via `npm` is failing.
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If installation fails with an `EACCESS` error you may need to
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[fix your npm permissions][npm-permissions].
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If the above error persists, the [unsafe-perm][unsafe-perm] flag may need to be
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set to true:
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```sh
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sudo npm install electron --unsafe-perm=true
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```
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On slower networks, it may be advisable to use the `--verbose` flag in order to
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show download progress:
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```sh
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npm install --verbose electron
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```
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If you need to force a re-download of the asset and the SHASUM file set the
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`force_no_cache` environment variable to `true`.
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[npm]: https://docs.npmjs.com
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[versioning]: ./electron-versioning.md
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[releases]: https://github.com/electron/electron/releases
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[proxy-env-10]: https://github.com/gajus/global-agent/blob/v2.1.5/README.md#environment-variables
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[proxy-env]: https://github.com/np-maintain/global-tunnel/blob/v2.7.1/README.md#auto-config
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[electron-get]: https://github.com/electron/get
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[npm-permissions]: https://docs.npmjs.com/getting-started/fixing-npm-permissions
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[unsafe-perm]: https://docs.npmjs.com/misc/config#unsafe-perm
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